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A DICTIONARY OF THE BIBLE. 






i 























































































Ruins at the place where Jesus foretold the ruin of Jerusalem. 






THE UNIVERSAL 

BIBLE DICTIONARY 

Based on Wm. Smith's One Volume Work 


EDITED BY 

F. N. PELOUBET, D.D. 

Author of 

“Select Notes on the International Lessons” 


ASSISTED BY 

ALICE D. ADAMS, 


M.A. 


SELF-PRONOUNCING 

500 ILLUSTRATIONS AND MAPS 




-J3>S 4-4° 

.S^ 


This entire work, including the text, illustrations, diagrams, 
charts, tables and other contents, is fully protected by copyright, 
under the new and amplified copyright laws of the United States. 
All parties are warned not to reproduce any part of the contents 
of this work, as all infringements will be rigorously prosecuted 
to the full extent of the law. 

COPYRIGHT, 1912, BY THE JOHN C. WINSTON CO. 





©a.Ai|B16 9 4 


PREFACE. 


The purpose of this New Bible Dictionary is to bring to 

the great body of our Sunday School teachers, and intelligent 
Christian households, a Bible Dictionary fully abreast of the latest 
modern scholarship, giving them the things which will most aid 
them in their work but omitting long discussions and theories, and 
questions which are still in the melting pot, both for want of room, 
and because they can be discussed intelligently only by trained 
scholars. 

Something more than a quarter of a century ago the Editor 
supervised the revision of the smaller one-volume Bible Dictionary 
of that great scholar Dr. William Smith, which he had himself 
condensed from his large four- volume work. 

But since even that time there has been an immense increase 
in our knowledge concerning the Bible, from almost every direction. 
Investigations and discoveries in Egypt, Palestine and Babylonia; 
new inscriptions and monuments ; new light from scholarship in 
textual and higher criticism and from literature, science, explora- 
tion and travel, — these and other sources of knowledge demand a 
new revision of the older work, bringing the book up to date. 

Every article has been tested by the best and most modern 
authority and there is scarcely an article which has not been changed 
in some respect, while in many cases the changes have been great and 
important, or the articles wholly rewritten. 

Proper names used in the Revised Version have been added wher- 
ever they have differed from the Authorized Version. 

The signification of proper names has been given in all 
instances where there was any good authority. 

The pronunciation of proper names is in a chaotic state, on 
account of the frequent transliteration of Hebrew names into Greek 
and Latin, the English coming sometimes through one language, and 
at other times through another. But the accent is marked according 
to the best authorities available, while the syllables are pronounced 
according to the English mode, except that g and ch (k) are hard 
except in Bethphage, Rachel and cherub. 


PREFACE. 


The tables of money, weights, and measures are new, and in 
the best known form, and as accurately worked out as is possible from 
the latest and best authorities and special articles by experts. It 
is necessary to read the notes appended to the tables, because the 
values depend on the date, the country where they are used, and 
various influences; just as we have in this country four different 
sizes of quarts, two different weights for a ton, two or three different 
pounds. 

The chronological tables, the dates of events, are also in new 
tables and forms. Archbishop Ussher’s dates have been retained by 
the. side of other dates, because they are given in the margin of most 
of our Bibles, and are necessary for comparison with the Revised 
dates, and in the early history give at least the order of events. 
Besides these the dates of the Assyrian Eponym Canon are given ; 
the generally accepted dates of the New Testament, and for Old 
Testament the dates given in Professor Willis J. Beecher’s “Dated 
Events of the Old Testament,” which is the most carefully and wisely 
worked out scheme yet devised (1907). 

The maps are new, and in accord with the very latest authori- 
ties, such as Professors William M. Ramsay and George Adam 
Smith. 

Many new pictures have been added, and several plans which will 
make the descriptions both more accurate and more vivid. 

This Dictionary has no room for detailed speculations and 
debatable theories, but devotes itself to the facts of the Bible itself, 
illuminated from every possible source that can aid the ordinary 
reader to know and love and understand the Word of God for his 
knowledge and education and daily life. 

A large part of this work has been done under my direction by 
Miss Alice Dana Adams, B.A., M.A. (Wellesley), an historical 
student (author of Radcliffe Monograph, No. 14), and an expert 
in this kind of work. 

F. N. P. 

Auburndale, Mass., January, 1912. 


INDEX OF ILLUSTRATIONS 


PAGE 


Abraham, Traditional Oak of 6 

Absalom, Pillar of 7 

Aceldama, Traditional “Field of Blood” 9 

Acre, Panorama of, with modern town 8 

Adder 12 

Agrippa. See “Herod.” 

Alabaster vases 23 

Alexander the Great, Coin of Macedon with head of. . 377 

Alexandria, Pompey’s Pillar at 24 

Almond tree 26 

Almug tree 24 

Aloes, Lign 26 

Altar, Ancient rock-altar, at Megiddo 27 

Altar figure, Egyptian 27 

Amon (the god) 31 

Anklets 471 

Antioch, Tetradrachm of 37 

Antipas. See “Herod.” 

Antonia, Fortress of 309 

Apamean coin showing word “Noe” on ark 455 

Appian Way, Rome 494 

Archelaus, Coins of : , 44 

Archer, Egyptian 47 

Archers in line of battle 48 

Areopagus (Mars’ Hill) at Athens 389 

Armlets 46 

Armor, Roman soldier in full 47 

Ass, Eastern . 53 

Assarion= farthing 418 

Assyrian and Egyptian ornaments. 471 

Assyrian and Egyptian quivers and bows 544 

Assyrian band of music. 426 

Assyrian brick from Nimrud, with Shalmanezer’s name 100 

Assyrian deity : 270 

Assyrian helmets 48 

Assyrian palace genius 53 

Assyrian siege 54 

Assyrian standards 646 

Assyrian throne or chair of state 690 

Athens, Acropolis at 57 

Athens, Areopagus (Mars’ Hill) at 389 

Athens, North colonnade of Parthenon 58 

Augustus, Emperor 60 

Augustus, Silver stater of 60 


Baalbec, Ruins of temple of Baal at 

Babylon, Plan of ancient 

Babylonia, Pottery coffins found in Upper. . . . 

Babylonian deluge story 

Babylonian scene of the Fall of Man 

Balancer, Egyptian, weighing rings of gold 

Balm of Gilead 

Basin, Ewer, etc., Oriental 

Basket for bottles 

Baskets, Egyptian 

Battering ram 

Battering ram and tower 

Battle-axes, Egyptian 

Bear, Syrian 

Beards 

Bedouin, Camp of 

Bedouin sheikh 

Beds or couches, Egyptian 

Beersheba: the East Well f- 

Beersheba: the main street 

Bethany, Views of 

Bethel, Site of ancient 


. 65 

. 70 
. 102 
. 454 
. 67 

. 71 

. 72 

. 75 

. 75 
. 75 
. 178 
. 730 
. 47 
. 76 
. 232 
. 683 
. 41 
. 77 
. 79 
. 78 

84,85 
,. 86 


PAGE 

Bethesda, Pool of, from above 88 

Bethlehem, Church of the Nativity 89 

Bethlehem, So-called Field of Boaz, near 98 

Bethlehem, Star of 152 

Bethlehem, View of 90 

Bethphage 92 

Bethshean, Citadel of ancient 92 

Black Obelisk of Shalmanezer 608 

Black Obelisk, Bas-relief showing representation of 

Israelites 280 

Boar, Wild 654 

Boaz, So-called Field of, near Bethlehem 98 

Book, An ancient bound 743 

Bottles, Ancient Greek glass 99 

Bottles, Skin 99 

Bows, Assyrian and Egyptian 544 

Bracelets 99 

Brick from Nimrud, with Shalmanezer’s name 100 

Brick, Jews and captives making, in Egypt 100 

Bulrush ! 101 

Burial Jar, with skeleton of child, from Megiddo 101 


Camel, Saddled 105 

Camphire 106 

Candlestick, Golden (from the Arch of Titus) 107 

Capernaum, Site of (Tell Hum) 108 

Carob beans (husks of swine) 268 

Castor and Pollux 558 

Catapult 729 

Cattle, Syrian 474 

Charioteer, Bas-relief of a Roman 114 

Cherith, Traditional Brook 115 

Cinnamon 120 

Claudius, Coin of 121 

Coffins, Pottery; found in Upper Babylonia 102 

Coin, Apamean. showing word “Noe” on ark 455 

Coin: assarion= farthing 418 

Coin: bronze lepton = mite 413 

Coin: denarius of Caesar 418 

Coin: Jewish half-shekel 418 

Coin: Jewish shekel 418 

Coin of Antioch (tetradrachm) 37 

Coin of Augustus (silver stater) 60 

Coin of Claudius 121 

Coin of Crete 128 

Coin of Cyrene 132 

Coin of Ephesus 180 

Coin of Herod Agrippa 1 250 

Coin of Herod Agrippa I (bronze) 18 

Coin of Herod Agrippa II (large bronze) 18 

Coin of Herod Antipas 252 

Coin of Judas Maccabeus (shekel) 376 

Coin of Macedon with head of Alexander the Great. . . 377 

Coin of Philip the tetrach 252 

Coin of Rhodes (didrachm) ... — 559 

Coin of Tiberius (silver denarius) 691 

Coin of Titus and Herod Agrippa II 252 

Coin: Persian, or Golden, Daric 418 

Coin to commemorate capture of Judea 312 

Coins of Archelaus 44 

Coins struck by Pontius Pilate 517 

Colocynthus or wild gourd 228 

Colossi at Thebes 685 

Coney 124 

Coral, Common, of the Mediterranean 125 

Coriander 125 

Crane 128 


Crete, Coin of 128 

Cross, Various forms of the 129 

Crow (implement of war) 730 

Crowns, Various forms of 130 

Cuckoo of Palestine 131 

Cuirass, Leather 47 

Cyrene, Coin of 132 

Damascus, Great mosque in 136, 137 

Damascus, Panorama of, showing river Abana 135 

Damascus, Scene in, showing houses on walls 134 

Daric, Persian, or Golden 418 

Darius, Impression of the cylinder seal of 140 

David, So-called Tower of, in Jerusalem 311 

Deer, Fallow 194 

Deluge story, Babylonian 454 

Denarius of Caesar 418 

Diadem. 148 

Dials, Ancient 148 

Diana of the Ephesians 149 

Diana of the Ephesians, Temple of 149 

Diana, Ruins of Temple of, at Ephesus 181 

Dog, Syrian 152 

Eagle, Imperial 156 

Eagles, Gier. 157 

Edom, Gorge of Wady Sik, in 161 

Edom, Rock-hewn tombs at Petra in 160, 702 

Egypt, Embalming in 165 

Egypt, Jews and captives tnaking brick in 100 

Egypt, Modern; as it was in the time of the Exodus. . 190 

Egyptian altar figure 27 

Egyptian and Assyrian ornaments 471 

Egyptian and Assyrian quivers and bows 544 

Egyptian archer 47 

Egyptian balancer weighing rings of gold 71 

Egyptian baskets 75 

Egyptian battle-axes 1 47 

Egyptian beds or couches 77 

Egyptian censers 112 

Egyptian god Setush 271 

Egyptian harps 239, 427 

Egyptian hoe; mattock 393 

Egyptian iron key 345 

Egyptian princess 507 

Egyptian standards 646 

Egyptian weighing rings for money 560 

Egyptian wheat, 735 

Egyptian winepress 737 

Egyptians expressing the juice of the grape 738 

Embalming, Process in (from an Egyptian painting) .. 165 

Ephesians, Diana of the 149 

Ephesians, Temple of Diana of the 149 

Ephesus, Coin of 180 

Ephesus, Ruins of Temple of Diana 181 

Ephesus, Site of the Theatre 182 

Ethiopian ox-cart 110 

-Evangelists, Emblems of the 227 

Fallow deer 194 

Fennel flower, or vetches 200 

“Field of blood” Traditional (Aceldama) 9 

Fig tree 198 

Fishermen, Jewish, by the Sea of Galilee 209 

Flax 200 

Flesh hooks 260 

Fortress, Syrian, from monuments 729 

Fox, Syrian. 202 

Frankincense 203 

Galilee, Fishermen by the Sea of : 209 

Garments, Outer, of Mohammedan women of present 

day.. 740 

Gehenna, Traditional. 214 

Gethsemane, Anciert olive tree in Garden of 218 

Gezer, Rows of nillars at 518 

Goat, Wild, of Bible (Syrian Ibex) 223 


PAGE 

Gourd, Wild (Colocynthus) 228 

Grape, Egyptians expressing the juice of the 738 

Grapes, Gathering 726 

Half-shekel, Jewish 418 

Hammurabi monument 234 

Harps, Egyptian 239,427 

Hawk or kestrel 241 

Hebron 244 

Helmets, Assyrian 48 

Hermon, Mount 249 

Herod Agrippa I, Bronze coin of 18 

Herod Agrippa I, Coin of 250 

Herod Agrippa II and Titus, Coin of 252 

Herod Agrippa II, Large bronze coin of 18 

Herod Antipas, Coin of 252 

Herod Philip, Coin of 252 

Herod’s Temple, as restored by Fergusson 677 

Herod’s Temple, Cross-section of 678 

Herod’s Temple, Plan of. 676 

Herod’s Temple, Plan of Holy House 679 

Hinges 258 

Hinnom, Reputed valley of 257 

Hittite god, Representation of a 259 

Hooks, Flesh 260 

Hoopoe, or lapwing 354 

Hor, Traditional Mount 261 

Horned Cerastes (Adder) 12 

Horns as head ornaments 262 

House, Eastern battlemented 266 

Husks of swine (carob bean) 268 

Hyssop 268 

Ibex, Syrian: the wild goat of the Bible 223 

Incense altar from Taanach, Ancient. 274 

Israelites, Representation of, on Black Obelisk. 280 

Jaffa (Joppa) from the sea 327 

Jericho, Double line of walls of 300 

Jericho, Tell of, from the west 302 

Jerusalem, approach from southwest -307 

Jerusalem, Church of Holy Sepulchre 312 

J erusalem, Fortress of Antonia 309 

Jerusalem, from the North 304 

Jerusalem, Golden Gate '. 211 

Jerusalem, Holy Stone; peak of Mt. Zion 680 

Jerusalem, Jaffa Gate 308 

Jerusalem, Mosque el Aksa 306 

Jerusalem, Mosque of Omar 672 

Jerusalem, Outline showing strong position of. 305 

Jerusalem, Pool of Mamilla 526 

Jerusalem, Plan of the city of between 306. 307 

Jerusalem, Royal Porch, Cross-section of 681 

Jerusalem, Ruins at the place where Jesus foretold the 


Jerusalem, Salomon’s buildings, Gound v plan of 674 

Jerusalem, Solomon’s Temple, Ground plan of 673 

Jerusalem, Temple of Herod, Cross-section of 678 

Jerusalem, Temple of Herod: plan of Holy House 679 

Jerusalem, Temple of Herod restored 677 

Jerusalem, Tower of David, So-called 311 

Jerusalem, Traditional Via Dolorosa 310 

Joppa (Jaffa), from the sea 327 

Jordan at traditional site of Christ’s baptism. 323 

Jordan near Dan 329 

Judah, Scene in the wilderness of 335 

Judea, Coin to commemorate capture of 312 

Kestrel or hawk 241 

Key, Egyptian iron 345 

Kidron valley 344 

Lachish, Site of ancient (Tell el-Hesy) 351 

Lamp with Christian inscription 353 

Lapwing or hoopoe 354 

Laver, Brazen, on wheels 354 

Leek, Common 358 


Lentils . 359 

Leopard, Syrian 359 

Lily of Palestine 364 

Lily, Scarlet ’ . 364 

Lion, Asiatic 365 

Lizard — ’ ” 366 

Lock, Ancient 366 

Locusts 367 

Loom, Ancient Roman 732 

Lyre, Egyptian picture of Bedouin playing the " ! 426 

Maccabeus, Judas, Silver shekel of 376 

Macedon Coin of, with the head of Alexander the Great 377 

Mandrake. . . 7 . . . .' 333 

Manna tree of the Sinaitic peninsula 383 

Mars’ Hill (Areopagus) at Athens 389 

Mattock or Egyptian hoe. . .• 393 

Megiddo, Ancient, from the north 398 

Megiddo, Ancient rock altar at ■ 27 

Megiddo, Walls of 398 

Merenptah, Monument of 279 

Millet 410 

Mint..... 411 

Mite (bronze lepton). 413 

Mitre. 413 

Moabite stone 416 

Mole, Palestinian 417 

Money, Rings weighed for 560 

Mosque el Aksa, Jerusalem. 306 

Mosque of Omar, Jerusalem 672 

Musical instruments: of percussion 427 

Musical Instruments: wind 427 

Mustard plant 428 

Myrrh. *. 429 

Myrtle 429 

Nain, Ruins of. 434 

Nazareth 438 

Nazareth, Fountain of the Virgin at 436 

Nebuchadnezzar, Inscription on a brick of 440 

Nettle of Palestine 445 

Nile, Scene on the 450 

Nimrud, Assyrian brick from 100 

Nippur, Excavated temple at 67 

Nippur. Excavations in the temple at 68, 104 

Nob, Site of 456 

“Noe”, Apamean coin showing word on ark 455 

Nose jewels worn in East 457 

Oak of Abraham, Traditional 6 

Obelisks 166 

Olive branches and olives 464 

Olive tree and oil press 465 

Olives, Mount of 467 

Omar, Mosque of at Jerusalem 672 

Ornaments, Egyptian and Assyrian 471 

Ostrich 472 

Oven, An Eastern 472 

Owl 474 

Ox-cart, Ethiopian 110 

Oxyrhyncus papyri, Page from the 473 

Palm tree, showing fruit 482 

Papyrus documents, 742 

Papyrus reed 552 

Parthenon, North colonnade of 58 

Partridge, Greek 486 

Paul and Peter, Traditional portraits of 491 

Peacock 495 

Pearl oyster 495 

Pentateuch at Shechem 498 

Persian armlets 46 

Peter and Paul, Traditional portraits of 491 

Peira, Facade of a rock-hewn tomb at 160 

Philip the tetrarch, Coin of 252 

Philistines. Representation of, on Egyptian monument. . 513 
Phoenician ship 623 


4>agb 

Phylactery for arm 203 

Pilate, Pontius, Coins struck by ' 517 

Pillar of Absalom 7 

Pillars, Rows of, at Gezer 518 

Pine, Eastern 518 

Pistachio nuts 458 

Plough, Eastern 523 

Pompey’s p liar, Alexandria 24 

Pool ofMamilla, Jerusalem 526 

Pools of Solomon, So-called, above Bethlehem 525 

Porch, Cross-section of Royal 681 

Potter’s field, Traditional 527 

Pyramids, The great 163 


Quail 543 

Quivers and bows, Assyrian and Egyptian 544 

Rameses II, Head of mummy of 506 

Rameses II, Statue of 506 

Raven 549 

Reed, Papyrus 552 

Rephidim, Reputed Vale of 555 

Rhodes, Didrachm of 559 

Rings and signets 560 

Rings weighed for money 560 

Roe, Wild 562 

Roman Forum 565 

Roman galley 623 

Roman loom, Ancient 732 

Roman soldier in full armor 47 

Rome: Appian Way ; . 494 

Rome: Coliseum 566 

Rose of Sharon .•> 568 

Rue 569 


Salsola kali 

Salutation, Modes of, in the East 

Samaria, Glimpse of ancient 

Samaria, Harvard excavations at 

Samaria, Hill of, from south 

Samaria, Plan of 

Samaritan high priest 

Samaritan Pentateuch 

Sanballat, Jewish papyrus naming 

Sandals 

Sanhedrin in council 

Scapegoat, Wilderness of the 

Scorpion 

Scourge (flagellun) 

Scourging 

Seal found at Megiddo 

Seal with frame 

Seal and signets # 

Sennacherib, Cylinder of (Taylor Cylinder) 

Sennacherib on throne 

Sepulchre, Diagram of Jewish 

Serpent, denoting immortality 

Shadoof, Modern _. 

Shalmanezer, Assyrian brick bearing name of. . 

Shalmanezer, Black Obelisk of 

Sheep, Broad-tailed 

Sheepfold, Eastern 

Shekel, Jewish 

Shekel, Half, Jewish 

Shekel (silver) of Judas Maccabeus 

Shiloh, Site of 

Ship, Phoenician • 

Shishak, Head of, from temple of Karnak 

Shittim wood (acacia) • 

Sidon, View of 

Signets and rings. 

Siloam, Modern village of 

Siloam, Pool of. 

Sin, Reputed Wilderness of 

Sinai, Peaks of 

Snail • - • 

Solomon, Pools of, so-called, above Bethlehem 


... 638 
... 578 
... 581 
... 585 
... 579 
... 580 
... 583 
... 498 
. .. 588 
... 589 
... 590 
... 59 

... 596 
... 596 
... 302 
... 600 
... 600 
... 602 
... 603 
... 701 
... 605 
... 734 
... 100 
... 608 
... 614 
... 614 
... 418 
... 418 
... 376 
...620 
... 623 
... 624 
... 625 
... 758 
... 560 
... 629 
... 629 
. .. 632 
633, 634 
... 638 
... 525 


> 


Solomon’s buildings on Temple Hill, Plan of 

Solomon’s Temple, Plan of Holy House 

Sowing and ploughing in the grain 

Sparrow, Syrian 

Sparrows in market 

Sphinx and pyramids 

Spikenard 

Sponge of commerce 

Standards, Assyrian and Egyptian 

Star of Bethlehem 

Stephen’s death, Traditional site of 

Stone water-jars 

Stork 

Swallow 

Synagogue, Ruins of, at Kefr Birim 

Taanach, Ancient Incense altar from 

Tabernacle, Ground plan of 

Tabor, Mount . . . . . 

Tamarisk or manna tree of the Sinaitic peninsula 

Tares 

Taylor Cylinder 

Tell el Muteselline, ancient Megiddo, from the north.. 

Temple Area at Jerusalem: Golden Gate 

Temple Area at Jerusalem: Mosque el Aksa 

Temple Area at Jerusalem: Mosque of Omar 

Temple: Cross-section of Herod’s 

Temple: Cross-section of Royal Porch 

Temple: Ground plan of Herod’s 

Temple: Ground plan of Herod’s Holy House 

Temple: Ground plan of Solomon’s Holy House 

Temple of Herod as restored by Fergusson 

Thebes, Colossi at 

Thorn. Palestine 

Threshing floor, Eastern. 

Threshing implements of Asia Minor 

Threshing instrument 


PAGE 

Throne, Assyrian • 690 

Tiberius, Head of Emperor 691 

Tiberius, Silver stater of 691 

Timbrel 693 

Tomb, Diagram of Jewish 701 

Tomb, The Garden 700 

Tombs, Rock-hewn, in Petra in Edom 160, 702 

Tower, Watch 705 

Trumpets, Ancient 707 

Twin-brothers (Castor and Pollux) 558 

Tyre, View of 709 

Unicorn or wild ox 714 

Upper room 265 

Vetches 200 

Via Dolorosa, Jerusalem, Traditional 310 

Vine 725 

Viper 606 

Vulture 727 

Washing the hands 731 

Washing vessels, Eastern 731 

Watch-tower 705 

Water, A modern method of drawing 734 

Water-pots 527 

Well, Ancient, in Palestine 734 

Wheat Egyptian 735 

Wilderness of Judah, Scene in 335 

Wine press, Egyptian 737 

Women, Outer garments of Mohammedan 740 

Wormwood 741 

Writing tablets 744 

Zidon (Sidon), View of 758 

Zion, Holy Stone, Peak of Mount 680 


PAGS 

. 674 

. 673 

. 16 

. 644 

. 644 

. 164 

. 645 

. 645 

. 646 

. 152 

. 647 

. 527 

. 650 

. 653 

. 655 

. 274 

. 660 

. 664 

. 383 

. 668 

. 602 

, 398 

211 

. 306 

672 

678 

681 

676 

. 679 

. 673 

677 

685 

, 689 

17 

17 

, 17 


BIBLE DICTIONARY 


A 


A. See Alpha. 

Aa'ron (ar'on) ( bright or shining), 
the son of Amram and Jochebed, and 
the elder brother of Moses and Miriam. 
Num. 26:59; 33:39. (b.c. 1573.) He 

was a Levite, and is first mentioned in 
Ex. 4:14. He was appointed by Jeho- 
vah to be the interpreter. Ex. 4:16, of 
his brother Moses, who was “slow of 
speech ;” and accordingly he was not 
only the organ of communication with 
t jhe Israelites and with Pharaoh, Ex. 
4 : 30 ; 7:2, but also the actual instru- 
ment of working most of the miracles 
of the Exodus. Ex. 7 : 19, etc. On the 
way to Mount Sinai, during the battle 
with Amalek, Aaron with Hur stayed 
up the weary hands of Moses, when 
they were lifted up for the victory of 
Israel. Ex. 17 : 10. He is mentioned as 
dependent upon his brother and deriv- 
ing all his authority from him. Left, on 
Moses’ departure into Sinai, to guide the 
people, Aaron is tried for a moment on 
his own responsibility, and he fails from 
a weak inability to withstand the de- 
mand of the people for visible “ gods to 
go before them,” by making an image 
of Jehovah, in the well-known form of 
Egyptian idolatry (Apis or Mnevis). 
He repented of his sin, and Moses 
gained forgiveness for him. Deut. 9 : 
20. Aaron was now consecrated by 
Moses to the new office of the high 
priesthood. Ex. 29 : 9. From this time 
the history of Aaron is almost entirely 
that of the priesthood, and its chief 
feature is the great rebellion of Korah 
and the Levites. Leaning, as he seems 
to have done, wholly on Moses, it is 
not strange that he should have shared 
his sin at Meribah and its punishment. 
See story' in Num. 20:10-12. Aaron’s 
death seems to have followed very 


speedily. It took place on Mount Hor, 
after the transference of his robes and 
office to Eleazar. Num. 20 : 28. This 
mount is still called the “ Mountain of 
Aaron.” See Hor. The wife of Aaron 
was Elisheba, Ex. 6 : 23 ; and the two 
sons who survived him, Eleazar and 
Ithamar. The high priesthood descend- 
ed to the former, and to his descendants 
until the time of Eli, who, although of 
the house of Ithamar, received the high 
priesthood and transmitted it to his chil- 
dren.; with them it continued till the 
accession of Solomon, who took it from 
Abiathar and restored it to Zadok (of 
the house of Eleazar). See Abiathar. 

Aar'onites (ar'on-Ites), 1 Chron. 12: 
27, priests of the family of Aaron. 

Ab (ab) {father), an element in the 
composition of many proper names, of 
which Abba is the Aramaic form, mean- 
ing “ father ” or “ my father.” 

Ab. See Month. 

Abad'don (a-bad'don). See Apol- 
lyon. 

Abag'tha (a-bag'tha) {given by for- 
tune), one of the seven eunuchs in the 
Persian court of Ahasuerus. Esther 1 : 
10. 

Abana {probably stony), one of the 
“ rivers of Damascus.” 2 Kings 5 : 12. 
The Barada and the Awaj are now the 
chief streams of Damascus, the former 
representing the Abana and the latter 
the Pharpar of the text. The Barada 
(Abana) rises in the Antilibanus, at 
about 23 miles from the city, after flow- 
ing through which it runs across the 
plain, of. whose fertility it is the chief 
source, till it loses itself in the lake or 
marsh Bahret-el-Kibliyeh. 

Ab'arim {part beyond), a mountain 
or range of highlands on the east of tfa. 
Jordan, in the land of Moab, facing Jer- 


ABB 


2 


ABI 


icho, and forming the eastern wall of the 
Jordan valley at that part. Its most 
elevated spot was “ the Mount Nebo, 
* head ’ of ‘ the ’ Pisgah,” from which 
Moses viewed the Promised Land before 
his death. These mountains are men- 
tioned in Num. 27 : 12 ; 33 : 47, 48, and 
Deut. 32:49. 

Ab'ba (ab'ba). See Ab. 

Ab'da (ab'da). 1. Father of Adoni- 
ram. 1 Kings 4 : 6. 

2. Son of Shammua, Neh. 11:17; 
called Obadiah in 1 Chron. 9 : 16. 

Ab'de=el (tb'de-el), father of Shele- 
miah. Jer. 36 : 26. 

Ab'di (ab'di) (servant of (God)). 1. 

A Merarite, and ancestor of Ethan the 
singer. 1 Chron. 6 : 44. 

2. The father of Kishi, a Merarite in 
the reign of Hezekiah. 2 Chron. 29 : 12. 

3. One of the Bene-Elam in the time 

of Ezra, who had married a foreign 
wife. Ezra 10:26. (b.c. 458.) 

Ab'di=el (ab'di-el) (servant of God), 
son of Guni and father of Ahi, one of 
the Gadites who were settled in the land 
of Bashan, 1 Chron. 5 : 15. 

Ab'don (ab'don) (servile). 1. A 
judge of Israel, Judges 12:13, 15; per- 
haps the same person as Bedan, in 1 
Sam. 12: 11. 

2. Son of Shashak. 1 Chron. 8 : 23. 

3. First-born son of Jehiel, son of 
Gideon. 1 Chron. 8 : 30 ; 9 : 35, 36. 

4. Son of Micah, a contemporary of 

Josiah, 2 Chron. 34 : 20, called Achbor 
in 2 Kings 22:12. (b.c. 628.) 

5. A city in the tribe of Asher, given 

to the Gershonites, Josh. 21:30; 1 

Chron. 6:74; the modern Abdeh, 10 
miles northeast of Accho. 

Abed'nego (a-bed'ne-go) (servant of 
Nego, probably the same as Nebo), the 
Chaldsean name given to Azariah, one 
of the three friends of Daniel, miracu- 
lously saved from the fiery furnace. 
Dan. 3. 

A'bel (a'bel) (breath, vapor, transi- 
toriness, probably so called from the 
shortness of his life), the second son of 
Adam, murdered by his brother Cain, 
Gen. 4 : 1-16 ; he was a keeper or feeder 
of sheep. Our Lord spoke of Abel as 
the first martyr, Matt. 23 : 35 ; so did the 
early Church subsequently. The tradi- 
tional site of his murder and his grave 
are pointed out near Damascus. 

A'bel (a'bel), the name of several 
places in Palestine, probably signifies a 
meadow. 


A'bel=beth=ma'achah (a'bel-beth-ma/- 
a-kah) (meadow of the house of Maa- 
chah), a town of some importance, 2 
Sam. 20:15, in the extreme north of 
Palestine, which fell an early prey to 
the invading kings of Syria, 1 Kings 15 : 
20, and Assyria. 2 Kings 15 : 29. 

A'beLma'im (a'bel-ma'im) (Abel of 
waters), also called simply Abel, 2 Sam. 
20 : 14, 18, another name for Abel-beth- 
maachah. 2 Chron. 16 : 4. 

A'bel=meho'lah (a'bel-me-ho'lah) 

(meadow of the dance), in the north- 
ern part of the Jordan valley, 1 Kings 
4 : 12, to which the routed Bedouin host 
fled from Gideon. Judges 7:22. Here 
Elisha was found at his plough by Eli- 
jah returning up the valley from Horeb. 
1 Kings 19 : 16-19. 

A'beLmiz'raim (a'bel-miz'ra-im) 

(meadow of Egypt), the name given by 
the Canaanites to the floor of Atad, at 
which Joseph, his brothers and the 
Egyptians made their mourning for 
Jacob. G^n. 50:11. It was “beyond 
Jordan,” which generally means to the 
east of Jordan. See Atad. Schaff and 
others say it was on the west bank, for 
the writer was on the east of Jordan. 
It was between Egypt and Hebron. 

A'bel=shit'tim (a'bel-shit'tim) (mead- 
ow of acacias), in the “plains” of 
Moab, on the low level of the Jordan 
valley, opposite Jericho. The last rest- 
ing-place of Israel before crossing the 
Jordan. Num. 33:49. The place is 
most frequently mentioned by its shorter 
name of Shittim. See Shittim. 

A'bel (a'bel), Stone of (“the great 
stone”), the place where the ark rested 
in the field of Joshua at Beth-shemesh. 

1 Sam. 6 : 18. Abel should be Eben = 
stone. 

A'bez (a'bez) (white), a town in the 
possession of Issachar, named between 
Kishion and Kemeth in Josh. 19 : 20 only. 

A'bi (a'bi), mother of King Hezekiah, 

2 Kings 18 : 2 ; written Abijah in 2 
Chron. 29 : 1. 

Abi'a, Abi'ah (a-bi'a). 1. Son of 
Becher, the son of Benjamin. 1 Chron. 
7:8. 

2. Wife of Hezron. 1 Chron. 2 : 24. 

3. Second son of Samuel. 1 Sam. 8 : 
2; 1 Chron. 6:28. 

4. The son of Rehoboam. 1 Chron. 
3:10; Matt. 1:7. See Abijah, 1. 

5. Mother of King Hezekiah. [Abi.] 

Abi'a (a-bi'a), Course of, the eighth 

of the 24 courses or classes into which 


ABt 


ABI 


the priests were divided for serving at 
the altar. 1 Chron. 24 ; Luke 1 : 5. See 
Abijah, 4. 

A'bLal'bon (a'bi-al'bon) ( father of 
strength). See Abiel. 

Abi'asaph (a-bi'a-saf) ( father has 
gathered ), Ex. 6:24, otherwise written 
Ebi'asaph. 1 Chron. 6:23, 37; 9:19. 
One of the descendants of Korah, and 
head of the Korhites. Among the re- 
markable descendants of Abiasaph were 
Samuel the prophet, 1 Chron. 6 : 33, and 
Heman the singer. 

Abi'athar (a-bi'a-thar) ( father of 
abundance) , high priest and fourth in 
descent from Eli. (b.c. 1060-1012.) Abi- 
athar was the only one of all the sons 
of Ahimelech the high priest who es- 
caped the slaughter inflicted upon his 
father’s house by Saul, in revenge for 
his having inquired of the Lord for 
David and given him the shew-bread to 
eat. 1 Sam. 22. Abiathar having be- 
come high priest fled to David, and was 
thus enabled to inquire of the Lord for 
him. 1 Sam. 23:9; 30:7; 2 Sam. 2 : 1 ; 
5 : 19, etc. He adhered to David in his 
wanderings while pursued by Saul ; he 
was with him while he reigned in He- 
bron, and afterwards in Jerusalem. 2 
Sam. 2 : 1-3. He continued faithful to 
him in Absalom’s rebellion. 2 Sam. 15 : 
24, 29, 35, 36 ; 17 : 15-17 ; 19 : 11. When, 
however, Adonijah set himself up for 
David’s successor on the throne, in op- 
position to Solomon, Abiathar sided 
with him, while Zadok was on Solo- 
mon’s side. For this Abiathar was de- 
prived of the high priesthood. Zadok 
had joined David at Hebron, 1 Chron. 
12: 28, so that there were henceforth 
two high priests in the reign of David, 
and till the deposition of Abiathar by 
Solomon, when Zadok became the sole 
high priest. 

A'bib (a'bib). [Month.] 

Abi'da, or Abi'dah (a-bi'dah) ( father 
of knowledge), a son of Midian. Gen. 
25: 4; 1 Chron. 1:33. 

Abi'dan (a-bi'dan) ( father of the 
judge), chief of the tribe of Benjamin 
at the time of the Exodus, (b.c. 1491.) 
Num. 1 : 11 ; 2 : 22 ; 7 : 60, 65 ; 10 : 24. 

A'bi=el (a'bi-el), or Abi'el (a-bi'el), 
( father of strength, i. e. strong). 1. 
Father of Kish, and consequently grand- 
father of Saul, 1 Sam. 9:1, as well as 
of Abner, Saul’s commander-in-chief. 1 
Sam. 14:51. 


3 


2. One of David’s mighty men. 1 

Chron. 11 : 32. In 2 Sam. 23 : 31 he is 
called Abi-albon. 

Abi=e'zer (a-bi-e'zer) ( father is 
help). 1. Eldest son of Gilead, and de- 
scendant of Manasseh. Josh. 17:2; 1 
Chron. 7: 18; Judges 6: 15. He was the 
ancestor of the great judge Gideon. 
[Gideon.] 

2. One of David’s mighty men. 2 

Sam. 23 : 27 ; 1 Chron. 11 : 28 ; 27 : 12. 

Abigail (ab'i-gal) (father is joy ) . 1. 

The beautiful wife of Nabal, a wealthy 
owner of goats and sheep in Carmel. 
(b.c. 1060.) When David’s messengers 
were slighted by Nabal, Abigail sup- 
plied David and his followers with pro- 
visions, and succeeded in appeasing his 
anger. Ten days after this Nabal died, 
and David sent for Abigail and made 
her his wife. 1 Sam. 25 : 14, etc. By 
her he had a son, called Chileab in 2 
Sam. 3 : 3, but Daniel in 1 Chron. 3 : 1. 

2. A sister of David, married to 
Jether the Ishmaelite , and mother, by 
him, of Amasa. 1 Chron. 2 : 17. In 2 
Sam. 17 : 25, for Israelite read Ishmael- 
ite. 

Abiha'il (ab-i-ha'il) (father is might) . 
1 . Father of Zuriel, chief of the Levit- 
ical family of Merari, a contemporary of 
Moses. Num. 3:35. (b.c. 1490.) 

2. Wife of Abishur. 1 Chron. 2 : 29. 

3. Son of Huri, of the tribe of Gad. 
1 Chron. 5 : 14. 

4. Wife of Rehoboam. She is called 
the daughter, i. e. descendant, of Eliab, 
the elder brother of David. 2 Chron. 
11 : 18. 

5. Father of Esther and uncle of Mor- 
decai. Esther 2:15; 9:29. 

Abi'hu (a-bl'hu) (he [God] is fath- 
er), the . second son, Num. 3 : 2, of Aaron 
by Elisheba. Ex. 6 : 23. Being, together 
with his elder brother Nadab, guilty of 
offering strange fire to the Lord, he 
was consumed by fire from heaven. 
Lev. 10:1, 2. (b.c. 1490.) 

Abi'hud (a-bi'hud), son of Bela and 
descendant of Benjamin. 1 Chron. 8:3. 

Abi'jah (a-bi'jah), or Abi'jam (my 
father is Jehovah). 1 . Son and succes- 
sor of Rehoboam on the throne of Judah. 
1 Kings 14:31; 2 Chron. 12:16. He is 
called Abijah in Chronicles, Abijam 
in Kings. He began to reign b.c. 920, 
and reigned three years. He endeav- 
ored to recover the kingdom of the 
Ten Tribes, and made war on Jero- 
boam. He was successful in battle, and 


AB1 


4 


AB1 


took several of the cities of Israel. 
We are told that he walked in all the 
sins of Rehoboam. 1 Kings 14 : 23, 24. 

2. The second son of Samuel, called 
Abiah in our version. [Abia, Abiah, 
No. 3.] 

3. Son of Jeroboam I., king of Israel ; 
died in his childhood. 1 Kings 14. 

4. A descendant of Eleazar, who gave 
his name to the eighth of the 24 courses 
into which the priests were divided by 
David. 1 Chron. 24 : 10 ; 2 Chron. 8 : 14 ; 
Neh. 12:4, 17. 

5. One of the priests who entered into 
a covenant with Nehemiah to walk in 
God’s law, Neh. 10:7; unless the name 
is rather that of a family, and the same 
with the preceding. 

Abi'jam (a-bi'jam). [Abijah, 1.] 

Ab'ila (ab'i-la). [Abilene.] 

Abile'ne (ab-i-le'ne), Luke 3: 1, a dis- 
trict situated on the eastern slope of An- 
tilibanus, fertilized by the river Barada 
(Abana). The capital, Abila, was 18 
miles from Damascus, and stood in a 
remarkable gorge called Suk Wady Ba- 
rada. 

Abim'a=el (a-bim'a-el), a descendant 
of Joktan, Gen. 10:28; 1 Chron. 1:22, 
and probably the progenitor of an Arab 
tribe. 

Abim'elech (a-bim'e-lek) ( Melech is 
father ), the name of several Philistine 
kings, was probably a common title of 
these kings, like that of Pharaoh among 
the Egyptians and that of Caesar and 
Augustus among the Romans. Hence in 
the title of Ps. 34 the name of Abimelech 
is given to the king, who is called Achish 
in 1 Sam. 21 : 11. 1. A Philistine, king 

of Gerar, Gen. 20, 21, who, exercising 
the right claimed by Eastern princes of 
collecting all the beautiful women of 
their dominions into their harem, Gen. 
12 : 15 ; Esther 2 : 3, sent for and took 
Sarah. A similar account is given of 
Abraham’s conduct on this occasion to 
that of his behavior towards Pharaoh. 
[Abraham.] 

2. Another king of Gerar in the time 
of Isaac, of whom a similar narrative 
is recorded in relation to Rebekah. Gen. 
26 : 1, etc. 

3. Son of the judge Gideon by his 
Shechemite concubine. Judges 8:31. 
After his father’s death he murdered 
all his brethren, 70 in number, with the 
exception of Jotham, the youngest, who 
concealed himself ; and he then per- 


suaded the Shechemites to elect him 
king. Shechem now became an inde- 
pendent state. After Abimelech had 
reigned three years, the citizens of 
Shechem rebelled. He was absent at 
the time, but he returned and quelled 
the insurrection. Shortly after he 
stormed and took Thebez, but was 
struck on the head by a woman with the 
fragment of a millstone, comp. 2 Sam. 
11 : 21 ; and lest he should be said to 
have died by a woman, he bade his 
armor-bearer slay him. 

4. A son of Abiathar. 1 Chron. 18 : 
16. 

Abin'adab (a-bin'a-dab). 1. A Levite, 
a native of Kirjath-jearim, in whose 
house the ark remained 20 years. 1 
Sam. 7:1, 2; 1 Chron. 13:7. (b.c. 

1042.) 

2. Second son of Jesse, who followed 
Saul to his war against the Philistines. 
1 Sam. 16 : 8 ; 17 : 13. 

3. A son of Saul, who was slain with 

his brothers at the fatal battle on 
Mount Gilboa. 1 Sam. 31 : 2. (b.c. 

1055.) 

4. Father of one of the twelve chief 
officers of Solomon. 1 Kings 4 : 11. 

Ab'iner (ab'ner). Same as Abner. 
1 Sam. 14 : 50, margin. 

Abin'o=am (a-bin'o-am), the father 
of Barak. Judges 4:6, 12; 5:1, 12. 

Abiram (a-bi'ram). 1. A Reubenite, 
son of Eliab, who with Korah, a Levite, 
organized a conspiracy against Moses 
and Aaron. Num. 16. [For details, see 
Korah.] (b.c. 1490.) 

2. Eldest son of Hiel the Bethelite, 
who died when his father laid the foun- 
dations of Jericho, 1 Kings 16:34, and 
thus accomplished the first part of the 
curse of Joshua. Josh. 6:26. (b.c. 

about 905.) 

Abish'ag (a-bish'ag), a beautiful Shu- 
nammite (from Shunem, in the tribe of 
Issachar), taken into David’s harem to 
comfort him in his extreme old age. 1 
Kings 1 : 1-4. 

Abisha'i, or Abish'a=i (a-bish'a-I) 
(my father is Jesse), the eldest of the 
three sons of Zeruiah, David’s sister, 
and brother to Joab and Asahel. 1 
Chron. 2 : 16. Like his two brothers he 
was the devoted follower of David. 
He was his companion in the desperate 
night expedition to the camp of Saul. 
1 Sam. 26:6-9. (b.c. 1060.) On the 

outbreak of Absalom’s rebellion he re- 


ABI 


5 


ABR 


mained true to the king, and com- 
manded a third part of the army in 
the decisive battle against Absalom. He 
rescued David from the hands of a 
gigantic Philistine, Ishbi-benob. 2 Sam. 
21 : 17. His personal prowess on this, 
as on another occasion, when he fought 
single-handed against three hundred, 
won for him a place as captain of the 
second three of David’s mighty men. 2 
Sam. 23 : 18 ; 1 Chron. 11 : 20. 

Abish'alom (a-bish'a-16m) ( father is 
peace), father or grandfather of Maa- 
chah, who was the wife of Rehoboam 
and mother of Abijah. 1 Kings 15:2, 
10. He is called Absalom in 2 Chron. 
11 : 20, 21. This person must be David’s 
son. Absalom’s daughter, Tamar, 2 
Sam. 14 : 27 is with much probability 
identified with Maachah. 

Abishu'a, or Abish'u=a (a-bish'u-a) 
( father of salvation) . 1. Son of Bela, 

of the tribe of Benjamin. 1 Chron. 8: 
4. 

2. Son of Phinehas, the son of Ele- 
azar, and father of Bukki, in the ge- 
nealogy of the high priests. 1 Chron. 
6 : 4, 5, 50, 51 ; Ezra 7:4, 5. 

Ab'ishur (ab'i-shur) ( father is a 

wall), son of Shammai. 1 Chron. 2:28. 

Ab'ital (ab'i-tal) ( father is dew) t 
one of David’s wives. 2 Sam. 3:4; i 
Chron. 3 : 3. 

Ab'itub (ab'i-tub) ( father of good- 
ness), son of Shaharaim by Hushim. 1 
Chron. 8 : 11. 

Abi'ud (a-bi'ud), descendant of Zoro- 
babel in the genealogy of Jesus Christ. 
Matt. 1 : 13. 

Ablution. [Purification.] 

Ab'ner (ab'ner) ( father is light or 
my father is Ner). 1. Son of Ner, who 
was the brother of Kish, 1 Chron. 9 : 36, 
the father of Saul. (b.c. 1063.) Abner, 
therefore, . was Saul’s first cousin, and 
was made by him commander-in-chief 
of his army. 1 Sam. 14 : 50 ; 17 : 55 ; 
26 : 5-14. After the death of Saul 
David was proclaimed king of Judah; 
and some time subsequently Abner pro- 
claimed Ish-bosheth, Saul’s son, king of 
Israel. War soon broke out between 
the two rival kings, and a “ very sore 
battle ” was fought at Gibeon between 
the men of Israel under Abner and the 
men of Judah under Joab. 2 Sam. 2: 
16. Abner had married Rizpah, Saul’s 
concubine, and this, according to the 
views of Oriental courts, might be so 


interpreted as to imply a design upon 
the throne. Rightly or wrongly, Ish- 
bosheth so understood it, and he even 
ventured to reproach Abner with it. 
Abner, incensed at his ingratitude, 
opened negotiations with David, by 
whom he was most favorably received at 
Hebron. He then undertook to procure 
his recognition throughout Israel; but 
after leaving his presence for the pur- 
pose was enticed back by Joab, and 
treacherously murdered by him and his 
brother Abishai, at the gate of the city, 
partly, no doubt, from fear lest so dis- 
tinguished a convert to their cause 
should gain too high a place in David’s 
favor, but ostensibly in retaliation for 
the death of Asahel. David, in sorrow 
and indignation, poured forth a simple 
dirge over the slain hero. 2 Sam. 3 : 
33, 34. 

2. The father of Jaasiel, chief of the 
Benjamites in David’s reign, 1 Chron. 
27:21; probably the same as the pre- 
ceding. 

Abomination of Desolation, men- 
tioned by our Saviour, Matt. 24 : 15, as 
a sign of the approaching destruction 
of Jerusalem, with reference to Dan. 9 : 
27 ; 11:31; 12 : 11. The prophecy re- 
ferred ultimately to the destruction of 
Jerusalem by the Romans, and conse- 
quently the “ abomination ” must de- 
scribe some occurrence connected with 
that event. It appears most probable 
that .the profanities of the Zealots con- 
stituted the abomination, which was the 
sign of impending ruin ; but most peo- 
ple refer it to the standards or banners 
of the Roman army. They were abom- 
ination because there were idolatrous 
images upon them. 

A'braham (a'bra-ham), originally 
Abram (a'bram) ( exalted father), 
changed to Abraham ( father of a mul- 
titude), was the founder of the He- 
brew nation. He was born in Ur of 
the Chaldees, the ruins of which have 
been identified as Mugheir on the lower 
Euphrates, where lately successful ex- 
cavations have been made. 

Ussher’s date (b.c. 1996-1822), cannot 
be far from right, for Abraham rescued 
Lot from Amraphel (Gen. 14), who has 
been identified with Hammurabi, about 
b.c. 2100. (Prof. Clay.) Terah, Abra- 
ham’s father, with their families mi- 
grated to Haran in Mesopotamia. On 
the death of his father, Abram, then in 
the 75th year of his age, with Sarai and 


ABR 


6 


ABR 


Lot, pursued his course to the land of 
Canaan, by divine command. Gen. 12: 
5. He passed through the heart of the 
country by the great highway to She- 
chem, and pitched his tent beneath the 
terebinth of Moreh. Gen. 12:6. Here 
he received in vision from Jehovah the 
further revelation that this was the 
land which his descendants should in- 
herit. Gen. 12 : 7. The next halting- 
place of the wanderer was. on a moun- 
tain between Bethel and Ai, Gen. 12 : 8 ; 
but the country was suffering from 
famine, and Abram journeyed still 
southward to the rich corn-lands of 
Egypt. There, fearing that the great 
beauty of Sarai might tempt the pow- 



THE TRADITIONAL OAK OF ABRAHAM. 

(Near Hebron.) 

erful monarch of Egypt and expose his 
own life to peril, he arranged that Sarai 
should represent herself as his sister, 
which her actual relationship to him, as 
probably the daughter of his father 
Terah, allowed her to do with some 
semblance of truth. But her beauty 
was reported to the king, and she was 
taken into the royal harem. The decep- 
tion was discovered, and Pharaoh with 
some indignation dismissed Abram from 
the country. Gen. 12 : 10-20. He left 
Egypt with great possessions, and, ac- 
companied by Lot, returned by the south 
of Palestine to his former encampment 
between Bethel and Ai. The increased 
wealth of the two kinsmen was the ulti- 


mate cause of their separation. Lot 
chose the fertile plain of the Jordan 
near Sodom, while Abram pitched his 
tent among the oak groves of Mamre, 
close to Hebron. Gen. 13. Lot with 
his family and possessions having been 
carried away captive by Chedorlaomer 
king of Elam, who had invaded Sodom, 
Abram pursued the conquerors and ut- 
terly routed them not far from Damas- 
cus. The captives and plunder were all 
recovered, and Abram was greeted on 
his return by the king of Sodom, and by 
Melchizedek king of Salem, priest of 
the most high God, who mysteriously 
appears upon the scene to bless the pa- 
triarch and receive from him a tenth 
of the spoil. Gen. 14. After this the 
thrice-repeated promise that his de- 
scendants should become a mighty na- 
tion and possess the land in which he 
was a stranger was confirmed with all 
the solemnity of a religious ceremony. 
Gen. 15. Ten years had passed since he 
had left his father’s house, and the ful- 
filment of the promise was apparently 
more distant than at first. At the sug- 
gestion of Sarai, who despaired of hav- 
ing children of her own, he took , as 
his concubine Hagar, her Egyptian 
maid, who bore him Ishmael in the 
86th year of his age. Gen. 16. [Hagar ; 
Ishmael.] But this was not the ac- 
complishment of the promise. Thirteen 
years elapsed, during which Abram still 
dwelt in Hebron, when the covenant 
was renewed, and the rite of circum- 
cision established as its sign. This most 
important crisis in Abram’s life, when 
he was 99 years old, is marked by the 
significant change of his name to Abra- 
ham, “ father of a multitude while 
his wife’s from Sarai became Sarah. 
The promise that Sarah should have a 
son was repeated in the remarkable 
scene described in ch. 18. Three men 
stood before Abraham as he sat in his 
tent door in the heat of the day. The 
patriarch, with true Eastern hospitality, 
welcomed the strangers, and bade them 
rest and refresh themselves. The meal 
ended, they foretold the birth of Isaac, 
and went on their way to Sodom. Abra- 
ham accompanied them, and is repre- 
sented as an interlocutor in a dialogue 
with Jehovah, in which he pleaded in 
vain to avert the vengeance threatened 
to the devoted cities of the plain. Gen. 
18:17-33. In remarkable contrast with 
Abraham’s firm faith with regard to the 



ABR 


7 


ABS 


magnificent fortunes of his posterity- 
stands the incident which occurred dur- 
ing his temporary residence among the 
Philistines in Gerar, whither he had 
for some cause removed after the de- 
struction of Sodom. It was almost a 
repetition of what took place in Egypt 
a few years before. At length Isaac, 
the long-looked-for child, was born. 
Sarah’s jealousy, aroused by the mock- 
ery of Ishmael at the “great banquet” 
which Abraham made to celebrate the 
weaning of her son, Gen. 21 : 9, de- 
manded that, with his mother Hagar, 
he should be driven out. Gen. 21 : 10. 
But the severest trial of his faith was 
yet to come. For a long period the his- 
tory is almost silent. At length he re- 
ceives the strange command to take 
Isaac, his only son, and offer him for a 
burnt offering at an appointed place. 
Abraham hesitated not to obey. His 
faith, hitherto unshaken, supported him 
in this final trial, “ accounting that God 
was able to raise up his son, even from 
the dead, from whence also he received 


Sarah died, Gen. 23 : 2, and was buried 
in the cave of Machpelah. The remain- 
ing years of Abraham’s life are marked 
by but few incidents. After Isaac’s 
marriage with Rebekah and his removal 
to Lahai-roi, Abraham took to wife Ke- 
turah, by whom he had six children, 
Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ish- 
bak and Shuah, who became the ances- 
tors of nomadic tribes inhabiting the 
countries south and southeast of Pales- 
tine. Abraham lived to see the gradual 
accomplishment of the promise in the 
birth of his grandchildren Jacob and 
Esau, and witnessed their growth to 
manhood. Gen. 25 : 26. At the goodly 
age of 175 he was “ gathered to his 
people,” and laid beside Sarah in the 
tomb of Machpelah by his sons Isaac 
and Ishmael. Gen. 25 : 7-10. 

A'bram (a'bram) (a high father ), the 
earlier name of Abraham. 

Absalom (ab'sa-lom) ( father is 
peace), third son of David by Maachah, 
daughter of Talmai king of Geshur, a 
Syrian district adjoining the northeast 



THE “ PILLAR OF ABSALOM.” 


him in a figure.” Heb. 11 : 19. The sac- 
rifice was stayed by the angel of Jeho- 
vah, the promise of spiritual blessing 
made for the first time, and Abraham 
with his son returned to Beersheba, and 
for a time dwelt there. Gen. 22. But 
we find him after a few years in his 
original residence at Hebron, for there 


frontier of the Holy Land. Absalom 
had a sister, Tamar, who was violated 
by her half-brother Amnon. The nat- 
ural avenger of such an outrage would 
be Tamar’s full brother Absalom. He 
brooded over the wrong for two years, 
and then invited all the princes to a 
sheep-shearing feast at his estate in 



ABS 


ACC 


ument or tomb which Absalom had built 
during his lifetime in the king’s dale, 
i. e., the valley of the Kedron, at the 
foot of Mount Olivet, near Jerusalem, 
2 Sam. 18 : 18, comp, with 14 : 27, for his 
three sons, and where he probably ex- 
pected to be buried. The tomb there 
now, and called by Absalom’s name, 
was probably built at a later date. 

Ac'cad (ac'cad), one of the cities in 



PANORAMA OF BAY OF ACRE AND THE MODERN TOWN HAIFA. 


Baal-hazor, on the borders of Ephraim 
and Benjamin. Here he ordered his 
servants to murder Amnon, and then 
fled for safety to his grandfather’s 
court at Geshur, where he remained for 
three years. At the end of that time 
he was brought back by an artifice of 
Joab. David, however, would not see 
Absalom for two more years; but at 
length Joab brought about a reconcilia- 
tion. Absalom now began 
at once to prepare for re- 
bellion. He tried to sup- 
plant his father by courting 
popularity, standing in the 
gate, conversing with every 
suitor, and lamenting the 
difficulty which he would 
find in getting a hearing. 

He also maintained a splen- 
did retinue, 2 Sam. 15 : 1, and 
was admired for his per- 
sonal beauty. It is probable 
too that the great tribe of 
Judah had taken some of- 
fence at David’s govern- 
ment. Absalom raised the 
standard of revolt at Heb- 
ron, the old capital of Judah, 
now supplanted by Jerusa- 
lem. The revolt was at first 
completely successful ; David 
fled from his capital over 
the Jordan to Manhanaim in 
Gilead, and Absalom occu- 
pied Jerusalem. At last, 
after being solemnly 
anointed king of Jerusalem, 

2 Sam. 19 : 10, Absalom 
crossed the Jordan to attack 
his father, who by this time 
had rallied around him a 
considerable force. A de- 
cisive battle was fought in 
Gilead, in the wood of Eph- 
raim. Here Absalom’s forces 
were totally defeated, and 
as he himself was escaping his head was 
caught in the branches of a terebinth, 
where he was left hanging while the 
mule on which he was riding ran away 
from under him. He was dispatched 
by Joab in spite of the prohibition of 
David, who, loving him to the last, had 
desired that his life might be spared. 
He was buried in a great pit in the 
forest, and the conquerors threw stones 
over his grave, an old proof of bitter 
hostility. Josh. 7 : 26. 

Absalom’s Pillar, or Place, a mon- 


the land of Shinar. . Gen. 10 : 10. It is 
probably the same as Agade, named as 
being in northern Babylonia, but no 
further clue to its position is known. 

Ac'caron (ac'caron). [Ekron.] 

Ac'cho (ac'cho) (the Ptolemais of 
the Maccabees and New Testament), 
now called Acca, or more usually by 
Europeans St. Jean d’Acre, the most 
important seaport town on the Syrian 
coast, about 30 miles south of Tyre. It 
was situated on a slightly projecting 
headland, at the northern extremity of 



ACE 


9 


ACH 


that spacious bay which is formed by 
the bold promontory of Carmel on the 
opposite side. In the 2nd or 3rd cen- 
tury b.c. it was named Ptolemais, after 
one of the Ptolemies. Later it reverted 
to its original name. It is named in 
Judges 1 : 31, as a Canaanite city in the 
tribe of Asher. The only notice of it 
in the New Testament is in Acts 21 : 
7, where it is called Ptolemais. 

Acel'dama (acel'dama) ( the Held of 
blood ) ( Akeldama in the Revised Ver- 
sion), the name given by the Jews of 
Jerusalem to a field near Jerusalem pur- 


hence Achaia and Macedonia are fre- 
quently mentioned together in the New 
Testament to indicate all Greece. Acts 
18:12; 19:21; Rom. 15:26; 16:5; 1 
Cor. 16:15; 2 Cor. 7:5; 9:2; 11:10; 
1 Thess. 1 : 7, 8. In the time of the em- 
peror Claudius it was governed by a 
proconsul, translated in the Authorized 
Version “deputy,” of Achaia. Acts 18: 
12 . 

Acha'icus (acha'icus) ( belonging to 
Achaia ), a name of a Christian. 1 Cor 
16 : 17. 

A'chan (a'chan) {trouble), an Is- 



traditional “ field of blood.” (See Aceldama.) 


chased with the money which Judas re- 
ceived for the betrayal of Christ, and 
so called from his violent death therein. 
Acts 1 : 19. The “ field of blood ” is 
now shown on the steep face of the 
so-called “ valley of Hinnom,” south of 
the pool of Siloam. 

Acha'ia (acha'ia) ( Greece ) signifies 
in the New Testament a Roman prov-, 
ince which included the whole of the 
Peloponnesus and the greater part of 
Hellas proper, with the adjacent islands. 
This province, with that of Macedonia, 
comprehended the whole of Greece; 


raelite of the tribe of Judah, who, when 
Jericho and all that it contained were 
accursed and devoted to destruction, se- 
creted a portion of the spoil in his tent. 
For this sin he was stoned to death with 
his whole family by the people, in a 
valley situated between Ai and Jericho, 
and their remains, together with his 
property, were burnt. Josh. 7 : 19-26. 
From this event the valley received the 
name of Achor (i. e., trouble). 

[Achor.] (b.c. 1451.) 

A'char (a'char) = A'chan (a'chan). 
1 Chron. 2 : 7. 



ACH 


10 


ADA 


A'chaz (a'chaz) = A'haz (a'haz), 

king of Judah. Matt. 1: 9. 

Ach'bor (ach'bor) (mouse). 1. 
Father of Baal-hanan king of Edom. 
Gen. 36 : 38, 39 ; 1 Chron. 1 : 49. 

2. Son of Michaiah, a contemporary 
of Josiah, 2 Kings 22:12, 14; Jer. 26: 
22 ; 36 : 12, called Abdon in 2 Chron. 34 : 
20. (b.c. 623.) 

A'chim (a'kim), son of Sadoc and 
father of Eliud in our Lord’s genealogy. 
Matt. 1 : 14. The Hebrew form of the 
name would be Jachin, which is a short 
form of Jehoiachim, Jehovah will es- 
tablish. 

A'chish (a'kish), a Philistine king 
of Gath, who in the title to the 34th 
Psalm is called Abimelech. David 
twice found a refuge with him when he 
fled from Saul. (b.c. 1061.) On the 
first occasion he was alarmed for his 
safety, feigned madness, and was sent 
away. 

Ach'metha (ak'me-tha). [Ecbata- 

NA.] 

A'chor (a'kor), Valley of (valley of 
trouble), the spot at which Achan was 
stoned. Josh. 7:24, 26. On the north- 
ern boundary of Judah, Josh. 15 : 7, near 
Jericho. 

Ach'sa. 1 Chron. 2:49. [Achsah.] 

Ach'sah (ak'sah) ( ankle-chain , ank- 
let), daughter of Caleb. Her father 
promised her in marriage to whoever 
should take Debir. Othniel, her father’s 
younger brother, took that city, and ac- 
cordingly received the hand of Achsah 
as his reward. Caleb added to her 
dowry the upper and lower springs. 
Josh. 15:15-19; Judges 1:11-15. 

Ach'shaph (ak'shaf) (fascination) , a 
city within the territory of Asher, named 
between Beten and Alammelech, Josh. 
19 : 25 ; originally the seat of a Canaan- 
ite king. Josh. 11:1; 12:20. 

Ach'zib (ak'zib) (lying, false). 1. A 
city in the lowlands of Judah, named 
with Keilah and Mareshah. Josh. 15 : 
44 ; Micah 1 : 14. It is probably the 
same with Chezib and Chozeba, which 
see. 

2. A town belonging to Asher, Josh. 
19:29, from which the Canaanites were 
not expelled, Judges 1:31; afterwards 
Ecdippa. It is now es-Zib, on the sea- 
shore, 8V 2 miles north of Acre. 

Acrab'bim. See Maaleh-Acrabbim, 
Josh. 15 : 3, in the margin. 

Acts of the Apostles. — Characteris- 
tics. It is the history of the founding 


of the Christian Church and its early 
development. The Gospels record what 
Jesus began to do and to teach, the 
Acts records what he continued to do, 
as the ever-living leader in heaven, with 
a personal presence on earth through 
the Holy Spirit. The Acts is “ the 
Church of God in action.” 

It is a book of missionary activity. 

It is a book of victories, the greatest 
victories recorded in history. 

The author was Luke, according to 
most of the leading English scholars. 

Date of writing must have been after 
the publication of Luke’s Gospel. The 
arguments are almost conclusive for a 
date somewhere between a.d. 62 and 70. 
The date is not far from a.d. 63, for 
the narrative breaks off abruptly at the 
end of Paul’s two years’ residence at 
Rome. Evidently because there is no 
more to tell at the time. 

The extent of the history in time 
covers about thirty-three years, or one 
generation, from the Resurrection of 
Jesus to the close of the first imprison- 
ment of Paul. 

The extent of the history as to sub- 
ject is limited chiefly to — 

1. The records of the church at Jeru- 
salem (chaps. 1-12). 

2. The record of Paul’s missionary 
work in so far as it describes the de- 
velopment of the Jewish type of Chris- 
tianity into a world-wide Christianity. 

The geographical extent of the his- 
tory carries us over nearly the whole 
Roman world. It begins at Jerusalem 
and ends at Rome. 

Ad'adah (ad'a-dah) (festival or holi- 
day), one of the cities in the extreme 
south of Judah, named with Dimonah 
and Kedesh. Josh. 15 : 22. 

A'dah (a'dah) (adornment, beauty). 
1. The first of the two wives of Lamech, 
by whom were borne to him Jabal and 
Jubal. Gen. 4:19. 

2. A Hittitess, one of the three wives 
of Esau, mother of Eliphaz. Gen. 36 : 2, 
10, 12, 16. In Gen. 26 : 34 she is called 
Bashemath. (b.c. 1797.) 

Ada'iah (ad-a'-yah) (Jehovah has 
adorned). H Maternal grandfather of 
King Josiah, and native of Boscath in 
the lowlands of Judah. 2 Kings 22:1. 

2. A Levite of the Gershonite branch, 
and ancestor of Asaph. 1 Chron. 6 : 41. 
In v. 21 he is called Iddo. 

3. A Benjamite, son of Shimhi, 1 


ADA 


11 


ADB 


Chron. 8:21, who is apparently the 
same as Shema in v. 13. 

4. A priest, son of Jeroham. 1 Chron. 

9 : 12 ; Neh. 11 : 12. 

5. Ancestor of Maaseiah, one of the 
captains who supported Jehoiada. 2 
Chron. 23 : 1. 

6. One of the descendants of Bani, 
who had married a foreign wife after 
the return from Babylon. Ezra IQ: 29. 
(b.c. 459.) 

7. The descendant of another Bani, 
who had also taken a foreign wife. 
Ezra 10 : 39. 

8. A man of Judah, of the line of 
Pharez. Neh. 11 : 5. 

Ada'lia (ad-a'H-a), the fifth son of 
Haman. Esther 9 : 8. 

Ad'am (ad'am) ( ruddy or one made 
or produced), the name of the first man, 
and of mankind collectively. Man was 
the crowning act of creation.. His body 
was made of the dust of the earth, as all 
bodies are, but probably through the evo- 
lution of the lower animals ; but he was 
not created a man till God breathed 
into that body a living soul. “ A great 
personality may possibly make a great 
brain, but no brain can make a great 
personality. ... If a human per- 
sonality would enter a young chim- 
panzee’s brain where it would find all 
the required cerebral convolutions, that 
ape could then grow into a true inventor 
or philosopher.” — Professor W. H. 
Thomson. The missing link is a human 
soul. Adam was created (not born) a 
perfect man in body and spirit, but as 
innocent and completely inexperienced 
as a babe. The man Adam was placed 
in a garden which the Lord God had 
planted “ eastward in Eden,” for the 
purpose of dressing it and keeping it. 
[Eden.] He was permitted to eat of 
the fruit of every tree in the garden 
but one, which was called “ the tree of 
the knowledge of good and evil,” be- 
cause it was the test of Adam’s obe- 
dience. By it Adam could know good 
and evil in the divine way, through obe- 
dience; thus knowing good by experi- 
ence in resisting temptation and form- 
ing a strong and holy character, while 
he knew evil only by observation and 
inference. Or he could “know good 
and evil,” in Satan’s way, by experi- 
encing the evil and knowing good only 
by contrast. By the subtlety of the 
serpent the woman who was given to 
be with Adam was beguiled into a vio- 


lation of the one command which had 
been imposed upon them. She took of 
the fruit of the forbidden tree and gave 
it to her husband. The propriety of its 
name was immediately shown in the 
results which followed : self-conscious- 
ness was the first-fruits of sin; their 
eyes were opened and they knew that 
they were naked. Though the curse of 
Adam’s rebellion of necessity fell upon 
him, yet the very prohibition to eat of 
the tree of life after his transgression 
was probably a manifestation of divine 
mercy, because the greatest malediction 
of all would have been to have the gift 
of indestructible life superadded to a 
state of wretchedness and sin. The di- 
vine mercy was also shown in the prom- 
ise of a deliverer given at the very time 
the curse was imposed, Gen. 3 : 15, and 
opening a door of hope to Paradise re- 
gained for him and his descendants. 
Adam is stated to have lived 930 years. 
His sons mentioned in Scripture are 
Cain, Abel and Seth; it is implied, how- 
ever, that he had others. 

Ad'am (ad'am). Man, generically, 
for the name Adam was not confined to 
the father of the human race, but like 
homo was applicable to woman as well 
as to man. Gen. 5 : 2. 

Ad'am (ad'am), a city on the Jor- 
dan, “beside Zaretan,” in the time of 
Joshua. Josh. 3:16. 

Ad'amah (ad'a-mah) {red lands), one 
of the “ fenced cities ” of Naphtali, 
named between Chinnereth and Ramah. 
Josh. 19: 36. 

Adamant, the translation of the 
Hebrew word Shamir in Ezek. 3 : 9 and 
Zech. 7:12. In Jer. 17:1 it is trans- 
lated “ diamond,” a word which is de- 
rived from “ Adamant.” In these three 
passages the word is the representative 
of some stone of excessive hardness, and 
is used metaphorically. It is very prob- 
able that by Shamir is intended emery, 
a variety of corundum, a mineral in- 
ferior only to the diamond in hardness. 

Ad'ami (ad'a-ml) {red lands), a place 
on the border of Naphtali. Josh. 19: 33. 

A'dar (a'dar), a place on the south 
boundary of Judah. Josh. 15:3. 

A'dar (a'dar). [Month.] 

Ad'asa (ad'a-sa), a place in Judea, 
about four miles from Beth-horon. 1 
Macc. 7 : 40, 45. 

Ad'be=el (ad'be-el) {a miracle of 
God), a son of Ishmael, Gen. 25:13; 1 


ADD 


12 


ADM 


Chron. 1 : 29, and probably the progen- 
itor of an Arab tribe. 

Ad'dan (ad'dan), one of the places 
from which some of the captivity re- 
turned with Zerubbabel to Judea who 
could not show their pedigree as Israel- 
ites. Ezra 2:59. Called Addon in Neh. 
7: 61. 

Ad'dar, son of Bela, 1 Chron. 8:3; 
called Ard in Num. 26: 40. 

Adder. This word is used for any 
poiso'nous snake, and is applied in this 
general sense by the translators of the 
Authorized Version. The word adder 
occurs five times in the text of the 
Authorized Version (see below), and 
three times in the margin as synony- 
mous with cockatrice, viz., Isa. 11:8; 
14 : 29 ; 59 : 5. It represents four He- 
brew words : 



HORNED CERASTES (ADDER). 


1. Acshub is found only in Ps. 140 : 3, 
and may be represented by the Toxicoa 
of Egypt and North Africa. 

2. Pethen. [Asp.] 

3. Tsepha, or Tsiphoni, occurs five 
times in the Hebrew Bible. In Prov. 
23 : 32 it is translated adder, and in Isa. 
11:8, 14:29, 59:5, Jer. 8:17, it is ren- 
dered cockatrice. From Jeremiah we 
learn that it was of a hostile nature, 
and from the parallelism of Isa. 11 : 8 
it appears that the Tsiphoni was con- 
sidered even more dreadful than the 
Pethen. 

4. Shephiphon occurs only in Gen. 49: 
17, where it is used to characterize the 
tribe of Dan. The habit of lurking in 
the sand and biting at the horse’s heels 
here alluded to suits the character of a 
well-known species of venomous snake, 
and helps to identify it with the cele- 
brated horned viper, the asp of Cleo- 
patra (Cerastes), which is found abun- 
dantly in the dry sandy deserts of 
Egypt, Syria and Arabia. The cer- 


astes is extremely venomous, a foot to 
eighteen inches long, of grey color, 
with brown or blackish spots, and a 
horn above each eye. At Thebes it 
was regarded as sacred. 

Ad'di (ad'di). Luke 3:28. Son of 
Cosam, and father of Melchi in our 
Lord’s genealogy; the third above Sala- 
thiel. 

Addon. [Addan.] 

A'der (a'-der) (dock), a Benjamite, 
son of Beriah, chief of the inhabitants 
of Aijalon. 1 Chron. 8:15. The name 
is more correctly Eder. 

Ad ida (ad'-i-da), a fortified town 
near Jerusalem, probably the Hadid of 
Ezra 2 : 33, and referred to in 1 Macc. 
12 : 38. 

A'di=el (a'di-el) (ornament of God). 

1. A prince of the tribe of Simeon, 
descended from the prosperous family 
of Shimei. 1 Chron. 4 : 36. He took 
part in the murderous raid made by his 
tribe upon the peaceable Hamite shep- 
herds of the valley of Gedor in the 
reign of Hezekiah. 

2. A priest, ancestor of Maasiai. 1 
Chron. 9 : 12. 

3. Father of Azmaveth, David’s treas- 
urer. 1 Chron. 27 : 25. 

A'din (a'din) (delicate), ancestor of 
a family who returned from Baby- 
lon with Zerubbabel, to the number of 
454, Ezra 2 : 15, or 655 according to 
the parallel list in Neh. 7 : 20. (b.c. 

536.) They joined with Nehemiah in 
a covenant to separate themselves from 
the heathen. Neh. 10:16. 

Ad'ina (ad'i-na) (delicate), one of 
David’s captains beyond the Jordan, and 
a chief of the Reubenites. 1 Chron. 
11 : 42. 

Adi'no, or Ad'ino, the Eznite. 2 

Sam. 23:8. See Jashobeam. 

Aditha'im (ad-i-tha'im), a town be- 
longing to Judah, lying in the low 
country, and named, between Shar- 
aim and hag-Gederah, in Josh. 15:36 
only. 

Adla'i (ad-la'i) or Ad'la=i, father of 
Shaphat, the overseer of David’s herds 
that fed in the broad valleys. 1 Chron. 
27 : 29. 

Ad'mah (ad'mah) (red lands), one 
of the “ cities of the plain,” always 
coupled with Zeboim. Gen. 10 : 19 ; 14 : 

2, 8 ; Deut. 29.: 23 ; Hos. 11 : 8. 

Ad'matha (ad'ma-tha) (unre- 
strained), one of the seven princes of 
Persia. Esther 1 : 14. 


ABN 


13 


ADO 


Ad'na (ad'na) (pleasure). 1. One of 
the family of Pahath-moab, who re- 
turned with Ezra and married a for- 
eign wife. Ezra 10:30. (b.c. 459.) 

2. A priest, descendant of Harim in 
the days of Joiakim, the son of Jeshua. 
Neh. 12:15. (b.c. 500.) 

Ad’nah (ad'na) (pleasure). 1. A 
Manassite who deserted from Saul and 
joined the fortunes of David on his 
road to Ziklag from the camp of the 
Philistines. He was captain of a thou- 
sand of his tribe, and fought at David’s 
side in the pursuit of the Amalekites. 
1 Chron. 12:20. (b.c. 1055.) 

2. The captain of over 300,000 men 
of Judah who were in Jehoshaphat’s 
army. 2 Chron. 17:14. (b.c. 908.) 

Ado'ni=be'zek (a-do'ni-be'zek) (lord 
of Bezek), king of Bezek, a city of 
the Canaanites. [Bezek.] This chief- 
tain was vanquished by the tribe of 
Judah, Judges 1:4-7, who cut off his 
thumbs and great toes, and brought 
him prisoner to Jerusalem, where he 
died. He confessed that he had in- 
flicted the same cruelty upon 70 petty 
kings whom he had conquered. 

Adoni'jah (ad-o-ni'jah) (my Lord is 
Jehovah). 1 . The fourth son of David 
by Haggith, born at Hebron while his 
father was king of Judah. 2 Sam. 
3 : 4. After the death of his three 
brothers, Amnon, Chileab and Absalom, 
he became eldest son ; and when his 
father’s strength was visibly declining, 
put forward his pretensions to the 
crown. Adonijah’s cause was espoused 
by Abiathar and by Joab the famous 
commander of David’s army. [Joab.] 
His name and influence secured a large 
number of followers among the cap- 
tains of the royal army belonging to 
the tribe of Judah, comp. 1 Kings 1:9; 
and these, together with all the princes 
except Solomon, were entertained by 
Adonijah at a great sacrificial feast 
held “ by the stone of Zoheleth, which 
is by En-rogel.” [En-rocel.] Ap- 
prised of these proceedings, David im- 
mediately caused Solomon to be pro- 
claimed king, 1 Kings 1 : 33, 34, at 
Gihon. [Gihon.] This decisive meas- 
ure struck terror into the opposite 
party, and Adonijah fled to the sanctu- 
ary, but was pardoned by Solomon on 
condition that he should “ show him- 
self a worthy man.” 1 Kings 1 : 52. 
The death of David quickly followed 
on these events ; and Adonijah begged 


Bath-sheba to procure Solomon’s con- 
sent to his marriage with Abishag, who 
had been the wife of David in his old 
age. 1 Kings 1 : 3. This was regarded 
as equivalent to a fresh attempt on the 
throne, and therefore Solomon ordered 
him to be put to death by Benaiah. 1 
Kings 2 : 25. 

2. A Levite in the feign of Jehosha- 
phat. 2 Chron. 17 : 8. 

3. The same as Adonikam. Neh. 10 : 
16. [Adonikam.] 

Adoni'kam (a-don-i'kam) or Adon'= 
ikam. The sons of Adonikam, 666 in 
number, were among those who re- 
turned from Babylon with Zerubbabel. 
Ezra 2:13; Neh. 7:18; 8:39; Ezra 8: 
13 ; 1 Esd. 5 : 14. The name is given 
as Adonijah in Neh. 10: 16. 

Adoni'ram (ad-o-m'ram) (the Lord 
is exalted), 1 Kings 4:6. By an un- 
usual contraction Adoram, 2 Sam. 20: 
24 and 1 Kings 12 : 18 ; also Hadoram, 
2 Chron. 10 : 18, chief receiver of the 
tribute during the reigns of David, 2 
Sam. 20 : 24, Solomon, 1 Kings 4 : 6, 
and Rehoboam, 1 Kings 12 : 18. This 
last monarch sent him to collect the 
tribute from the rebellious Israelites, 
by whom he was stoned to death, (b.c. 
937.) 

Adonize'dek (a-do'nf-ze'dek) (lord 
of righteousness), the king of Jerusa- 
lem who organized a league with four 
other Amorite princes against Joshua. 
The confederate kings having laid siege 
to Gibeon, Joshua marched to the relief 
of his new allies and put the besiegers 
to flight. The five kings took refuge 
in a cave at Makkedah, whence they 
were taken and slain, their bodies hung 
on trees, and then buried in the place 
of their concealment. Josh. 10:1-27. 

Adoption, an expression used by St. 
Paul in reference to the present and 
prospective privileges of Christians. 
Rom. 8:15, 23 ; Gal. 4:5; Eph. 1 : 5. 
He probably alludes to the Roman cus- 
tom by which a person not having chil- 
dren of his own might adopt as his 
son one born of other parents. The 
relationship was to all intents and pur- 
poses the same as existed between a 
natural father and son. The term is 
used figuratively to show the close re- 
lationship to God of the Christian. Gal. 
4:4, 5 ; Rom. 8 : 14-17. He is received 
into God’s family from the world, and 
becomes a child and heir of God. 

A'dor, or Ado'ra. - [Adoraim.] 


ADO 


14 


ADTJ 


Adora'im (ad-o-ra'im), a city forti- 
fied by Rehoboam, 2 Chron. 11:9, in 
Judah. Adoraim is probably the same 
place with Adora, 1 Macc. 13 : 20, unless 
that be Dor, on the seacoast below Car- 
mel. Robinson identifies it with Dura, 
a “ large village ” on a rising ground 
west of Hebron. 

Ado'ram (a-do'ram). [Adoniram ; 
H ADORA M.] 

Adoration. The acts and postures 
by which the Hebrews expressed adora- 
tion bear a great similarity to those 
still in use among Oriental nations. 
To rise up and suddenly prostrate the 
body was the most simple method ; but, 
generally speaking, the prostration was 
conducted in a more formal manner, 
the person falling upon the knee and 
then gradually inclining the body until 
the forehead touched the ground. Such 
prostration was usual in the worship 
of Jehovah, Gen. 17:3; Ps. 95:6; it 
was the formal mode of receiving vis- 
itors, Gen. 18 : 2, of doing obeisance to 
one of superior station, 2 Sam. 14 ; 4, 
and of showing respect to equals, 1 
Kings 2 : 19. It was accompanied by 
such acts as a kiss, Ex. 18 : 7, laying 
hold of the knees or feet of the person 
to whom the adoration was paid, Matt. 
28 : 9, and kissing the ground on which 
he stood, Ps. 72 : 9 ; Micah 7 : 17. 
Similar adoration was paid to idols, 1 
Kings 19 : 18 ; sometimes, however, the 
act consisted simply in kissing the hand 
to the object of reverence, Job 31 : 27, 
and in kissing the statue itself, Hos. 
13: 2. 

Adram'melech (a-dram'me-lek) (u e. 
Adar-prince or Adar-Molech) . 1. The 
name of an idol introduced into Sa- 
maria by the colonists from Sephar- 
vaim. 2 Kings 17 : 31. He was wor- 
shipped with rites resembling those of 
Molech, children being burnt in his 
honor. Adrammelech was probably 
the male power of the sun, and Anam- 
melech, who is mentioned with Adram- 
melech as a companion god, the female 
power of the sun. 

2. Son of the Assyrian king Sennach- 
erib, who, with his brother Sharezer, 
murdered their father in the temple of 
Nisroch at Nineveh, after the failure of 
the Assyrian attack on Jerusalem. The 
parricides escaped into Armenia. 2 
Kin. 19:37; 2 Chr. 32:21; Isa. 37:38. 

Adramyt'tium (ad-ra-myt'ti-um), 
named from Adramys, brother of Croe- 


sus king of Lydia. A seaport in the 
province of Asia [Asia], situated on a 
bay of the yEgean Sea, about 70 miles 
north of Smyrna, in the district an- 
ciently called .Eolis, and also Mysia. 
See Acts 16:7. [Mitylene.] Acts 27: 
2. The modern Adramyti is a poor 
village. 

A'dria (a'dri-a), more properly 
A'drias, the Adriatic Sea. Acts 27 : 27. 
The word seems to have been derived 
from the town of Adria, near the Po. 
In Paul’s time it included the whole 
sea between Greece and Italy, reaching 
south as far as Crete and Sicily. 

A'dri=el ( flock of God), son of Bar- 
zillai, to whom Saul gave his daughter 
Merab, although he had previously 
promised her to David, 1 Sam. 18 : 19. 
(b.c. about 1062.) His five sons were 
amongst the seven descendants of Saul 
whom David surrendered to the Gibe- 
onites. 2 Sam. 21 : 8. 

Adul'lam (a-dul'lam) ( Feast of 
water), in the valley of Elah, near 
where David fought Goliath. It was 
the seat of a Canaanite king, Josh. 12: 
15, and evidently a place of great antiq- 
uity. Gen. 38 : 1, 12, 20. Fortified by 
Rehoboam, 2 Chron. 11 : 7, it was one 
of the towns reoccupied by the Jews 
after their return from Babylon, Neh. 
11 : 30, and still a city in the time of the 
Maccabees, 2 Macc. 12 : 38. David’s cave 
of Adullam was probably in that vicin- 
ity; 10 miles N. W. of Hebron. The 
limestone cliffs of the whole of that 
locality are pierced with extensive ex- 
cavations, which suit all we are told 
about David’s stronghold. 1 Sam. 22: 
1; 2 Sam. 23:13; 1 Chron. 11:15. 

Adultery. Ex. 20 : 14. The parties 
to this crime, according to Jewish law, 
were a married woman and a man who 
was not her husband. The Mosaic pen- 
alty was that both the guilty parties 
should be stoned, and it applied as well 
to the betrothed as to the married 
woman, provided she were free. Deut. 
22 : 22-24. A bondwoman so offending 
was to be scourged, and the man was to 
make a trespass offering. Lev. 19 : 20- 
22. At a later time, and when, owing 
to Gentile example, the marriage tie be- 
came a . looser bond of union, public 
feeling in regard to adultery changed, 
and the penalty of death was seldom or 
never inflicted. The famous trial by 
the waters of jealousy, Num. 5:11-29, 
was probably an ancient custom, which 


ADU 


15 


AGR 


Moses found deeply seated. But this 
ordeal was wholly in favor of the inno- 
cent, and exactly opposite to most or- 
deals. For the water which the accused 
drank was perfectly harmless, and only 
by a miracle could it produce a bad ef- 
fect; while in most ordeals the accused 
must suffer what naturally produces 
death, and be proved innocent only by 
a miracle. Symbolically adultery is used 
to express unfaithfulness to covenant 
vows to God, who is represented as the 
husband of his people. 

Adum'mim {red objects), a rising 
ground or pass “ over against Gilgal,” 
and “ on the south side of the ‘ tor- 
rent,’” Josh. 15:7; 18:17, which is the 
position still occupied by the road lead- 
ing up from Jericho and the Jordan val- 
ley to Jerusalem, on the south face of 
the gorge of the Wady Kelt. Luke 
10 : 30-36. 

Advocate, or Paraclete, one that 
pleads the cause of another. 1 John 2: 
1 . Used by Christ, John 14:16; 15: 
26 ; 16 : 7, to describe the office and work 
of the Holy Spirit, and translated Com- 
forter, i. e. (see margin of Revised Ver- 
sion) Advocate, Helper, Intercessor. 
This use of the word is derived from 
the fact that the Jews, being largely 
ignorant of the Roman law and the 
Roman language, had to employ Roman 
advocates in their trials before Roman 
courts. Applied to Christ, 1 John 2 : 1. 
dz ' gypt . [Egypt.] 

>£'neas (e'ne-as), a paralytic at 
Lydda healed by St. Peter. Acts 9 : 33, 
34. 

/ E'non (e'non) {springs), a plac.e 
“ near to Salim,” at which John bap- 
tized. John 3 : 23. It was evidently 
west of the Jordan, comp. 3 : 22 with 
26, and with 1 : 28, and abounded in 
water. It is given in the Onomasticon 
as eight miles south of Scythopolis, 
“ near Salem and the Jordan.” 

>Era. [Chronology.] 

/Ethio'pi=a. [Ethiopia.] 

Affinity. [Marriage.] 

Ag'abus (ag'a-biis), a Christian 
prophet in the apostolic age, mentioned 
in Acts 11 : 28 and 21 : 10. He predicted, 
Acts 11 : 28, that a famine would take 
place in the reign of Claudius. Josephus 
mentions a famine which prevailed in 
Judea in the reign of Claudius, and 
swept away many of the inhabitants. 
In Acts 21 : 10 we learn that Agabus and 


Paul met at Caesarea some time after 
this. 

A'gag (a'gag), possibly the title of 
the kings of Amalek, like Pharaoh of 
Egypt. < One king of this name is men- 
tioned in Num. 24:7, and another in 1 
Sam. 15 : 8, 9, 20, 32. The latter was the 
king of the Amalekites, whorh Saul 
spared contrary to Jehovah’s well-known 
will. Ex. 17 : 14 ; Deut. 25 : 17. For this 
act of disobedience Samuel was com- 
missioned to declare to Saul his rejec- 
tion, and he himself sent for Agag and 
cut him in pieces, (b.c. about 1079.) 
1 Sam. 15 : 33. Harnan is called the 
Agagite in Esther 3:1, 10 ; 8:3, 5. The 
Jews consider him a descendant of Agag 
the Amalekite, but the connection is 
doubtful. 

A'gagite (a'gag-ite). [Agag.] 

Agar (a/gar). [Hagar.] 

Agate, a beautifully-veined semi- 
transparent precious stone, a variety of 
quartz. Its colors are delicately ar- 
ranged in stripes or bands or blended in 
clouds. It is mentioned four times in 
the text of the Authorized Version, viz., 
in Ex. 28 : 19 ; 39 : 12 ; Isa. 54 : 12 ; Ezek. 
27 : 16. In the two former passages, 
where it is represented by the Hebrew 
word shebo, it is spoken of as forming 
the second stone in the third row of the 
high priest’s breastplate ; in each of the 
two latter places the original word is 
cadcod, by which, no doubt, is intended 
a different stone. [Ruby.] Our Eng- 
lish agate derives its name from the 
Achates, on the banks of which it was 
first found. 

Age, Old. The aged occupied a 
prominent place in the social and polit- 
ical system of the Jews. In private life 
they were looked up to as the deposita- 
ries of knowledge, Job 15 : 10; the young 
were ordered to rise up in their pres- 
ence, Lev. 19 : 32 ; they allowed them to 
give their opinion first, Job 32:4; they 
were taught to regard grey hairs as a 
“ crown of glory,” Prov. 16 : 31 ; 20 : 29. 
The attainment of old age was regarded 
as a special blessing. Job 5 : 26. In 
public affairs age formed under Moses 
the main qualification of those who acted 
as the representatives of the people in 
all matters of difficulty and deliberation. 
[Elders.] 

Ag'ee, or A'gee, a Hararite, father of 
Shammah, one of David’s three might- 
iest heroes. 2 Sam. 23 : 11. 

Agriculture. This was little cared 


AGR 


16 


AGR 


for by the patriarchs. The pastoral life, 
however, was the means of keeping the 
sacred race, whilst yet a family, distinct 
from mixture and locally unattached, 
especially whilst in Egypt. When grown 
into a nation it supplied a similar check 
on the foreign intercourse, and became 
the basis of the Mosaic commonwealth. 
“ The land is mine,” Lev. 25 : 23, was a 
dictum which made agriculture likewise 
the basis of the theocratic relation. 
Thus every family felt its own life with 
intense keenness, and had its divine 
tenure which it was to guard from alien- 
ation. The prohibition of culture in the 
sabbatical year formed a kind of rent 
reserved by the divine Owner. Land- 


10. Two kinds of cummin (the black 
variety called “fitches,” Isa. 28:27), and 
such podded plants as beans and lentils, 
may be named among the staple prod- 
uce. 

Ploughing and Sowing. — The plough 
was probably very light, one yoke of 
oxen usually sufficing to draw it. Moun- 
tains and steep places were hoed. Isa. 7 : 
25. New ground and fallows, Jer. 4:3; 
Hos. 10 : 12, were cleared of stones and 
of thorns, Isa. 5 : 2, early in the year, 
sowing or gathering from “ among 
thorns” being a proverb for slovenly 
husbandry. Job 5:5; Prov. 24 : 30, 31. 
Sowing also took place without previous 
ploughing, the seed being scattered 



SOWING AND PLOUGHING IN THE GRAIN. 


marks were deemed sacred, Deut. 19 : 14, 
and the inalienability of the heritage was 
insured by its reversion to the owner in 
the year of jubilee; so that only so many 
years of occupancy could be sold. Lev. 
25 : 8-16, 23-35. 

e Rain. — Water was abundant in Pales- 
tine from natural sources. Deut. 8:7; 
11 : 8-12. Rain was commonly expected 
soon after the autumnal equinox. The 
period denoted by the common scriptural 
expressions of the “ early ” and the “ lat- 
ter rain,” Deut. 11:14; Jer. 5:24; Hos. 
6:3; Zech. 10 : 1 ; James 5 : 7, generally 
reaching from November to April, con- 
stituted the “ rainy season,” and the re- 
mainder of the year the “ dry season.” 

Crops. — The cereal crops of constant 
mention are wheat and barley, and more 
rarely rye and millet (?). Of the two 
former, together with the vine, olive and 
fig, the use of irrigation, the plough and 
the harrow, mention is made in the book 
of Job, 31 : 40 ; 15 : 33 ; 24 : 6 ; 29 : 19 ; 39 : 


broadcast and ploughed in afterwards. 
The soil was then brushed over with a 
light harrow, often of thorn bushes. In 
highly-irrigated spots the seed was tram- 
pled in by cattle. Isa. 32 : 20. Seventy 
days before the passover was the time 
prescribed for sowing. The oxen were 
urged on by a goad like a spear. Judges 
3 : 31. The proportion of harvest gath- 
ered to seed sown was often vast ; a hun- 
dred fold is mentioned, but in such a 
way as to signify that it was a limit 
rarely attained. Gen. 26:12; Matt. 13: 
8. Sowing a field with divers seed was 
forbidden. Deut. 22 : 9. 

Reaping and Threshing . — The wheat, 
etc., was reaped by the sickle or pulled 
up by the roots. It was bound in 
sheaves. The sheaves or heaps were 
carted, Amos 2 : 13, to the floor — a cir- 
cular spot of hard ground probably as 
now, from 50 to 80 or 100 feet in diam- 
eter. 2 Sam. 24 : 16, 18. On these the 
oxen, etc., forbidden to be muzzled, 


AGR 


17 


Deut. 25 : 4, trampled out the grain. 
At a later time the Jews used a thresh- 
ing sledge called morag, Isa. 41 : 15 ; 


AGR 



THRESHING IMPLEMENTS OF ASIA MINOR. 

2 Sam. 24: 22; 1 Chron. 21:23, prob- 
ably resembling the noreg, still em- 
ployed m Egypt— a stage with three 
rollers ridged with iron, which, aided 
by the driver’s weight, crushed out, 
often injuring, the grain, as well as 
cut or tore the straw, which thus be- 
came fit for fodder. Lighter grains 
were beaten out with a stick. Isa. 28: 



THRESHING INSTRUMENT (SIDE VIEW). 


Winnowing.— The shovel and fan, Isa. 
30.24, indicate the process of winnow- 
ing— a conspicuous part of ancient hus- 
bandry. Ps. 35:5; Job 
21 : 18 ; Isa. 17 : 13. 
Evening was the favor- 
ite time, Ruth 3 : 2, when 
there was mostly a 
breeze. The fan. Matt. 
3 : 12, was perhaps a 
broad shovel which 
threw the grain up 
against the wind. The 
last process was the 
shaking in a sieve to 
separate dirt and ref- 
use. Amos 9 : 9. Fields 
and floors were not 
commonly enclosed ; vineyards mostly 
were, with a tower and other buildings. 
Num. 22 : 24 ; Ps. 80 : 13 ; Isa. 5:5; Matt. 
21 : 33 ; comp. Judges 6 : 11. The gardens 
also and orchards were enclosed, fre- 
quently by banks of mud from ditches. 

With regard to occupancy, a tenant 
might pay a fixed money rent, Cant. 8 : 
11, or a stipulated share of the fruits. 2 
Sam. 9 : 10 ; Matt. 21 : 34. A passer-by 
might eat any quantity of corn or 
grapes, but not reap or carry off fruit. 
Deut. 23 : 24, 25 ; Matt. 12 : 1. The 

rights of the corner to be left, and of 
gleaning [Corner; Gleaning], formed 
the poor man’s claim on the soil for 
support. For his benefit, too, a sheaf 
forgotten in carrying to the floor was 
to be left; so also with regard to the 
vineyard and the olive grove. Lev. 19: 

9, 10 ; Deut. 24 : 19. 



27. The use of animal manure was fre- 
quent. Ps. 83:10; 2 Kings 9:37; Jer. 
8 : 2, etc. 


THRESHING FLOOR (EASTERN), 



AGR 


18 


AHA 


Agrip'pa (a-grip'pa). [Herod.] 



BRONZE COIN OF HEROD AGRIPPA I. 



LARGE BRONZE COIN OF AGRIPPA II. 

A'gur (a'gur) (a gatherer, i. e. col- 
lector of wise words), the son of Jakeh, 
an unknown Hebrew sage, who uttered 
or collected the sayings of wisdom re- 
corded in Prov. 30. 

A'hab (a'hab) ( father's brother), 
probably with the signification of “ one 
who closely resembles his father.” 1. 
Son of Omri, seventh king of Israel, 
reigned b.c. 876-854. He married Jeze- 
bel, daughter of Ethbaal king of Tyre ; 
and in obedience to her wishes, caused 
a temple to be built to Baal in Samaria 
itself, and an Asherah-pole to be con- 
secrated to Astarte. See 1 Kings 18 : 
19. One of Ahab’s chief tastes was for 
splendid architecture, which he showed 
by building an ivory house and several 
cities. Desiring to add to his pleasure- 
grounds at Jezreel the vineyard of his 
neighbor Naboth, he proposed to buy it 
or give land in exchange for it; and 
when this was refused by Naboth in ac- 
cordance with the Levitical law, Lev. 
25 : 23, a false accusation of blasphemy 
was brought against him, and he was 
murdered, and Ahab took possession of 
the coveted fields. 1 Kings 21 : 16. 
Thereupon Elijah declared that the en- 
tire extirpation of Ahab’s house was the 
penalty appointed for his long course of 
wickedness. [Elijah.] The execution, 
however, of the sentence was delayed 
in consequence of Ahab’s deep repent- 
ance. 1 Kings 21 : 29. 

Ahab undertook three campaigns 
against Ben-hadad II. king of Damas- 
cus, two defensive and one offensive. In 
the first Ben-hadad laid siege to Sa- 


maria, but was repulsed with great loss. 

1 Kings 20 : 1-21. Next year Ben-ha- 
dad again invaded Israel by way of 
Aphek, on the east of Jordan; yet Ahab’s 
victory was so complete that Ben-hadad 
himself fell into his hands, but was re- 
leased contrary to God’s will, 1 Kings 
20:22-34, on condition of restoring the 
cities of Israel, and admitting Hebrew 
commissioners into Damascus. After 
this great success Ahab enjoyed peace 
for three years, when he attacked Ra- 
moth in Gilead, on the east of Jordan, 
in conjunction with Jehoshaphat king of 
Judah, which town he claimed as be- 
longing to Israel. Being told by the 
prophet Micaiah that he would fall, he 
disguised himself, but was slain by “ a 
certain man who drew a bow at a ven- 
ture.” When buried in Samaria, the 
dogs licked up his blood as a servant 
was washing his chariot ; a partial ful- 
filment of Elijah’s prediction, 1 Kings 
21 : 19, which was more literally accom- 
plished in the case of his son. 2 Kings 
9 : 26. 

2. A lying prophet, who deceived the 
captive Israelites in Babylon, and was 
burnt to death by Nebuchadnezzar. Jer. 
29 : 21. 

Ahar'ah (a-har'ah), third son of 
Benjamin. 1 Chron. 8:1. [Aher; 
Ahiram.] 

Ahar'hel (a-har'hel), a name occur- 
ring in an obscure fragment of the 
genealogies of Judah. 1 Chron. 4:8. 

A'hasai (a'ha-sai), a priest, ancestor 
of Maasiai, Neh. 11 : 13 ; called Jahze- 
rah in 1 Chron. 9 : 12. 

Ahas'bai (a-has'ba-I), father of 
Eliphelet, one of David’s thirty-seven 
captains. 2 Sam. 23 : 34. In the cor- 
rupt list in 1 Chron. 11 : 35, Eliphelet 
appears as “ Eliphal the son of Ur.” 

Ahashve'rosh. Another (the He- 
brew) form of Ahasuerus. Ezra 4 : 6, 
in margin. 

Ahasue'rus (a-has-u-e'rus), the name 
of one Median and two Persian kings 
mentioned in the Old Testament. 

1. In Dan. 9 : 1 Ahasuerus is said to 
be the father of Darius the Mede. It is 
difficult to place this Ahasuerus, because 
no Darius the Mede has been found in 
the records. 

2. The Ahasuerus king of Persia, re- 
ferred to in Ezra 4 : 6, is placed by 
Cheyne between Cyrus and Artaxerxes 
Longimanus. 

3. The third is the Ahasuerus of the 


AHA 


19 


AHE 


book of Esther, who is recognized by 
most as the Xerxes of history, Esther 
1:1 (b.c. 485), and this conclusion is 
fortified by the resemblance of char- 
acter and by certain chronological indi- 
cations, the accounts of his life and 
character agreeing with the book of 
Esther. In the third year of Ahasuerus 
was held a great feast and assembly in 
Shushan the palace, Esther 1 : 3, follow- 
ing a council held to consider the in- 
vasion of Greece. He divorced his 
queen Vashti for refusing to appear in 
public at this banquet, and married, four 
years afterwards, the Jewess Esther, 
cousin and ward of Mordecai. Five 
years after this, Haman, one of his 
counsellors, having been slighted by 
Mordecai, prevailed upon the king to or- 
der the destruction of all the Jews in 
the empire. But before the day ap- 
pointed for the massacre, Esther and 
Mordecai induced the king to put Ha- 
man to death, and to give the Jews the 
right of self-defence. 

Aha'va (a-ha'vah), a place, Ezra 
8 : 15, or a river, 8 : 21, on the banks 
of which Ezra collected the second ex- 
pedition which returned with him from 
Babylon to Jerusalem. Perhaps it is the 
modern Hit , on the Euphrates due east 
of Damascus. 

A'haz (a'haz) (he hath grasped ), 
twelfth king of Judah, son of Jotham, 
reigned 742-726 (exact dates unsettled). 
At the time of his accession, Rezin king 
of Damascus and Pekah king of Israel 
had recently formed a league against 
Judah, and they proceeded to lay siege 
to Jerusalem. Upon this Isaiah hastened 
to give advice and encouragement to 
Ahaz, and the allies failed in their attack 
on Jerusalem. Isa. 7, 8, 9. But the allies 
inflicted a most severe injury on Judah 
by the capture of Elath, a flourishing 
port on the Red Sea, while the Philis- 
tines invaded the west and south. 2 Kings 
16 ; 2 Chron. 28. Ahaz having forfeited 
God’s favor by his wickedness, sought 
deliverance from these numerous trou- 
bles by appealing to Tiglath-pileser king 
of Assyria, who freed him from his 
most formidable enemies. But Ahaz 
had to purchase this help at a costly 
price; he became tributary to Tiglath- 
pileser. He was weak, a gross idolater, 
and sought safety in heathen ceremonies, 
making his son pass through the fire 
to Molech, consulting wizards and nec- 
romancers, Isa, 8 : 19, and other idol- 


atrous practices. 2 Kings 23 : 12. His 
only service of permanent value was 
the introduction of the sun-dial. On 
account of his character he was refused 
a burial with the kings his ancestors. 2 
Chron. 28 : 27. 

2. Son of Micah. 1 Chron. 8 : 35, 36 ; 
9: 41, 42. 

Ahazi'ah (a-ha-zi'ah) (Jehovah hath 
grasped). 1. Son of Ahab and Jezebel, 
eighth king of Israel, reigned b.c. 854- 
853. After the battle of Ramoth in 
Gilead, in which Ahab perished [Ahab], 
the vassal king of Moab refused his 
yearly tribute ; comp. Isa. 16 : 1. Before 
Ahaziah could take measures for en- 
forcing his claim, he was seriously in- 
jured by a fall through a lattice in his 
palace at Samaria. Being an idolater, 
he sent to inquire of the oracle of Baal- 
zebub in the Philistine city of Ekron 
whether he should recover his health. 
But Elijah, who now for the last time 
exercised the prophetic office, rebuked 
him for this impiety, and announced to 
him his approaching death. The only 
other recorded transaction of his reign 
is his endeavor to join the king of 
Judah in trading to Ophir or Tarshish. 
[See Tarshish.] 1 Kings 22:48-53; 2 
Kings 1 ; 2 Chron. 20 : 35-37. 

2. Sixth king of Judah, son of Jeho- 
ram and Athaliah (daughter of Ahab), 
and therefore nephew of the preceding 
Ahaziah, reigned one year, b.c. 843. He 
is called Azariah, 2 Chron. 22 : 6, prob- 
ably by a copyist’s error, and Jehoahaz. 
2 Chron. 21 : 17. He was 22 years old at 
his accession. 2 Kings 8 : 26 (his age 42, 
in 2 Chron. 22:2, is a copyist’s error). 
Ahaziah was an idolater, and he allied 
himself with his uncle Jehoram king of 
Israel against Hazael, the new king of 
Syria. The two kings were, however, 
defeated at Ramoth, where Jehoram was 
severely wounded. The revolution car- 
ried out in Israel by Jehu- under the 
guidance of Elisha broke out while Aha- 
ziah was visiting his uncle at Jezreel. 
As Jehu approached the town, Jehoram 
and Ahaziah went out to meet him; the 
former was shot through thfe heart by 
Jehu, and Ahaziah was pursued and 
mortally wounded. He died when he 
reached Megiddo. 

Ah'ban (brother of an intelligent 
one), son of Abishur by his wife Abi- 
hail. 1 Chron. 2 : 29. He was of the 
tribe of Judah. 

A'her (another), ancestor of Hushim, 


AH1 


20 


AHI 


a Benjamite. The name occurs in the 
genealogy of Benjamin. 1 Chron. 7 : 12. 
It is not improbable that Aher and Ahi- 
ram, Num. 26 : 38, are the same. 

A'hi (a'hl) ( a brother). 1. A Gad- 
ite, chief of a family who lived in 
Gilead in Bashan, 1 Chron. 5 : 15. Prob- 
ably an abbreviation of Ahijah. 

2. A descendant of Shamer, of the 
tribe of Asher. 1 Chron. 7 : 34. 

Ahiah (a-hl'ah) or Ahi'jah ( Jeho- 
vah is brother). 1. Son of Ahitub, 
grandson of Phinehas and great-grand- 
son of Eli, succeeded his father as high 
priest in the reign of Saul. 1 Sam. 14 : 
3, 18. Ahiah is probably the same per- 
son as Ahimelech the son of Ahitub. 

2. One of Solomon’s princes. 1 Kings 
4:3. 

3. A prophet of Shiloh, 1 Kings 14 : 2, 
hence called the Shilonite, 11 : 29, of 
whom we have two remarkable proph- 
ecies extant, the one in 1 Kings 11 : SO- 
SO, addressed to Jeroboam, announcing 
the rending of the ten tribes from 
Solomon ; the other in 1 Kings 14 : 6-16, 
in which he foretold the death of Abijah, 
the king’s son, who was sick, and the 
destruction of Jeroboam’s house on ac- 
count of the images which he had set 
up. 1 Kings 14 : 2, 3. 

4. Father of Baasha king of Israel. 1 
Kings 15 : 27, 33. 

5. Son of Jerahmeel. 1 Chron. 2:25. 

6. A Benjamite, apparently. 1 Chron. 
8:7. 

7. One of David’s mighty men. 1 
Chron. 11 : 36. 

8. A Levite in David’s reign. 1 Chron. 
26 : 20. 

9. One of the “ heads of the people ” 
who joined in the covenant with Nehe- 
miah. Neh. 10:26. 

Ahi'am, son of Sharar the Hararite 
(or of Sacar, 1 Chron. 11:35), one of 
David’s thirty mighty men. 2 Sam. 23 : 
33. 

Ahi'an, a Manassite of the family of 
Shemidah. 1 Chron. 7 : 19. 

Ahie'zer (a-hi-e'zer) ( brother is 
help). 1. Son of Ammishaddai, heredi- 
tary chieftain of the tribe of Dan. Num. 
1: 12; 2:25; 7:66. (b.c. 1490.) 

2. The Benjamite chief of a body of 
archers in the time of David. 1 Chron. 
12: 3. 

Ahi'hud (a-hi'hud) ( brother is maj- 
esty). 1. The son of Shelomi and 
prince of the tribe of Asher. Num. 34: 
27. 


2. Chieftain of the tribe of Benjamin. 

1 Chron. 8 : 7. 

Ahi'jah (a-hi'jah). [Ahiah.] 

Ahi'kam (a-hi'kam) ( the brother 
riseth up), son of Shaphan the scribe, 
an influential officer at the court of Jo- 
siah, was one of the delegates sent by 
Hilkiah to consult Huldah. 2 Kings 22 : 
12-14. In the reign of Jehoiakim he 
successfully used his influence to pro- 
tect the prophet Jeremiah. Jer. 26:24. 
He was the father of Gedaliah. [Ge- 
DALIAH.] (B.C. 623.) 

Ahi'Iud (a-hi'lud) ( child’s brother), 

I. Father of Jehoshaphat, the recorder 
or chronicler of the kingdom in the 
reigns of David and Solomon. 2 Sam. 
8 : 16 ; 20 : 24 ; 1 Kings 4:3; 1 Chron. 
18 : 15. 

2. The father of Baana, one of Solo- 
mon’s twelve commissariat officers. 1 
Kings 4 : 12. 

Ahim'aaz (a-him'a-az) {my brother 
is anger). 1. Son of Zadok, the high 
priest in David’s reign, and celebrated 
for his swiftness of foot. During Ab- 
salom’s rebellion he carried to David 
the important intelligence that Ahitho- 
phel had counselled an immediate at- 
tack upon David and his followers. 2 
Sam. 15 : 24-37 ; 17 : 15-22. Shortly aft- 
erwards he was the first to bring to the 
king the good news of Absalom’s defeat. 

2 Sam. 18:19-33. (b.c. 1023.) 

2. Saul’s wife’s father. 1 Sam. 14: 50. 

3. One of Solomon’s commissariat of- 
ficers, who became his son-in-law. 1 
Kings 4 : 15. 

Ahi'man (a-hi'man). 1. One of the 
three giant Anakim who inhabited 
Mount Hebron, Num. 13:22, 23, seen 
by Caleb and the spies, (b.c. 1490.) 
The whole race was cut off by Joshua, 
Josh. 11: 21, and the three brothers were 
slain by the tribe of Judah. Judges 1 : 
10 . 

2. A Levite porter. 1 Chron. 9 : 17. 

Ahim'elech (a-him'e-lek) {brother of 
Melech). 1. Son of Ahitub, 1 Sam. 22: 

II, 12, and high priest at Nob in the 
days of Saul. He gave David the shew- 
bread to eat, and the sword of Goliath ; 
and for so doing was put to death, with 
his whole house, by Saul’s order. Abia- 
thar alone escaped. [Abiathar.] (b.c. 
1085-1060.) 

2. A Hittite. 1 Sam. 26 : 6. 

Ahi'moth (a-hi'moth) {brother is 
death), a Levite apparently in the time 
of David. 1 Chron. 6: 25. In v. 35, for 


AHI 


21 


AHU 


Ahimoth we find Mahath, as in Luke 
3 : 26.. 

Ahin'adab (a-hm'a-dab) ( brother is 
generous ), son of Iddo, one of Solo- 
mon’s twelve commissaries who supplied 
provisions for the royal household. 1 
Kings 4 : 14. 

Ahin'o=am (a-hin'o-am) ( brother is 
pleasantness). 1. The daughter of Ahi- 
maaz and wife of Saul. 1 Sam. 14:50. 

2. A native of Jezreel who was mar- 
ried to David during his wandering life. 
1 Sam. 25:43. (b.c. 1060.) She lived 

with him and his other wife Abigail at 
the court of Achish, 27 : 3 ; was taken 
prisoner with her by the Amalekites 
when they plundered Ziklag, 30 : 5, but 
was rescued by David. 30 : 18. 

Ahi'o (a-hi'o) (brotherly) . 1. Son 

of Abinadab, who accompanied the ark 
when it was brought out of his father’s 
house. 2 Sam. 6:3, 4 ; 1 Chron. 13 : 7. 
(b.c. 1042.) 

2. A Benjamite, one of the sons of 
Beriah. 1 Chron. 8 : 14. 

3. A Benjamite, son of Jehiel. 1 
Chron. 8 : 31 ; 9 : 37. 

Ahi'ra (a-hl'ra) (Ra is brother, i. e. 
protector). Chief of the tribe of Naph- 
tali. Num. 1 : 15 ; 2 : 29 ; 7 : 78, 83 ; 10 : 
27. 

Ahi'ram (a-hi'ram) ( brother is ex- 
alted), one of the sons of Benjamin, and 
ancestor of the Ahiramites. Num. 26: 
38. In Gen. 46 : 21 the name appears as 
“ Ehi and Rosh.” It is uncertain 
whether Ahiram is the same as Aher, 
1 Chron. 7 : 12, or Aharah, 1 Chron. 
8 : 1 . 

Ahis'amach (a-his'a-mak) ( brother 
has supported), a Danite, father of Aho- 
liab, one of the architects of the taber- 
nacle. Ex. 31:6; 35 : 34 ; 38 : 23. 

Ahish'ahar (a-hish'a-har) ( brother 
of the dawn), one of the sons of Bilhan, 
the grandson of Benjamin. 1 Chron. 7 : 
10 . 

Ahi'shar (a-hi'shar), the controller of 
Solomon’s household. 1 Kings 4 : 6. 

Ahith'ophel (a-hith'o-fel) (my 
brother is folly), a native of Giloh, was 
a privy councillor of David, whose wis- 
dom was highly esteemed, though his 
name had an exactly opposite significa- 
tion. 2 Sam. 16 : 23. (b.c. 1055-1023.) 

He was, according to the opinion of 
many, the grandfather of Bath-sheba. 
Comp. 2 Sam. 11 : 3 with 23 : 24. Ahith- 
ophel joined the conspiracy of Absalom 
against David, and persuaded him to 


take possession of the royal harem, 2 
Sam. 16 : 21, and recommended an im- 
mediate pursuit of David. His advice 
was wise ; but Hushai advised otherwise. 
When Ahithophel saw that Hushai’s ad- 
vice prevailed, he despaired of success, 
and returning to his own home “ put his 
household in order and hanged himself.” 
2 Sam. 17 : 1-23. 

Ahi'tub (a-hi'tub) (brother is good- 
ness). 1. The son of Phinehas and 
grandson of Eli, and therefore of the 
family of Ithamar. 1 Sam. 14:3; 22:9, 
11 . ' He was succeeded by his son Ahi- 
jah or Ahimelech. 

2. Son of Amariah, and father of Za- 
dok the high priest, 1 Chron. 6:7, 8 ; 2 
Sam. 8 : 17, of the house of Eleazar. 

Ah'lab (ah'lab) (fertile), a city of 
Asher from which the Canaanites were 
not driven out. Judges 1:31. 

Ahiai (ah'lai) or Ah'la=i (O that!) 
1. Daughter of Sheshan, whom, having 
no sons, he gave in marriage to his 
Egyptian slave Jarha. 1 Chron. 2:31, 
35. She was the granddaughter of Isha, 
a Jerahmeelite. 

2. Father (or mother?) of Zabad of 
Judah, one of David’s mighty men, 1 
Chron. 11 : 41. 

Aho'ah, son of Bela, the son of Ben- 
jamin. 1 Chron. 8:4. In 1 Chron. 8:7 
he is called Ahiah. The patronymic, 
Ahohite, is found in 2 Sami. 23 : 9, 28 ; 
1 Chron. 11:12, 29; 27:4. 

Aho'hite. [Ahoah.] 

Aho'lah (a-ho'lah) and Aho'hbah 
(a-ho'li-ba), two symbolical names, de- 
scribed as harlots, the former represent- 
ing Samaria and the latter Judah. Ezek. 
23. R. V. Oholah and Oholibah. 

Ahoii=ab (a-ho'li-ab), a Danite of 
great skill as a weaver and embroiderer, 
whom Moses appointed with Bezaleel to 
erect the tabernacle. Ex. 35 : 30-35. 
(b.c. 1490.) R. V. Oholiab. 

Aholiba'mah (a-hol-i-ba'mah) or 
Aholib'amah (tent of the high place), 
one of the three wives of Esau. (b.c. 
1797.) She was the daughter of Anah. 
Gen. 36 : 2, 25. R. V. Oholibamah. In 
the earlier narrative, Gen. 26 : 34, Aholi- 
bamah is called Judith, which may have 
been her original name. 

Ahu'mai (a-hu'ma-i), son of Jahath, 
a descendant of Judah, and head of one 
of the families of the Zorathites. 1 
Chron. 4 : 2. 

Ahu'zam (a-hu'zam) (possessor), 
properly Ahuzzam, son of Ashur, the 


AHU 


22 


ALA 


father or founder of Tekoa, by his wife 
Naarah. 1 Chron. 4:6. 

Ahuz'zath (a-huz'zath) ( posses- 

sion ), one of the friends of the Philis- 
tine king Abimelech, who accompanied 
him at his interview with Isaac. Gen. 
26:26. (b.c. about 1804.) 

A'i (a'i) {heap). 1. A city lying 
east of Bethel and “beside Bethaven.” 
Josh. 7:2; 8:9. It was the second city 
taken by Israel after the passage of the 
Jordan, and was “utterly destroyed.” 
Its site is found at Haiyan about two 
miles S. E. of Bethel. Josh. 7:3-5; 8; 
9:3; 10: 1, 2; 12 : 9. 

2. A city of the Ammonites, appar- 
ently attached to Heshbon. Jer. 49:3. 

Ai'ah (a-I'ah) {falcon). 1. Son of 
Zibeon, a descendant of Seir and an- 
cestor of one of the wives of Esau, 1 
Chron. 1 : 40, called in Gen. 36 : 24, Ajah. 
He probably died before his father, as 
the succession fell to his brother Anah. 

2. Father of Rizpah, the concubine of 
Saul. 2 Sam. 3:7; 21 : 8, 10, 11. (b.c. 

before 1055.) 

Ai'ath (a-i'ath) (feminine of Ai), 
a place named by Isaiah, Isa. 10 : 28, in 
connection with Migron and Michmash, 
probably the same as Ai. 

Ai'ja (a-I'ja), like Aiath probably a 
variation of the name Ai, mentioned 
with Michmash and Bethel. Neh. 11 : 31. 

Aij'alon (aj'a-lon) or Aj'alon (aj'-a- 
lon) {place of gazelles). 1. A city of 
the Kohathites. Josh. 21 : 24 ; 1 Chron. 
6 : 69. It was a Levitical city and a city 
of refuge. It was originally allotted to 
the tribe of Dan, Josh. 19:42, (Au- 
thorized Version, Ajalon), which tribe, 
however, was unable to dispossess the 
Amorites of the place. Judges 1 : 35. 
Aijalon was one of the towns fortified 
by Rehoboam, 2 Chron. 11 : 10, and the 
last we hear of- it is as being in the 
hands of the Philistines. 2 Chron. 28': 
18. Being on the very frontier of the 
two kingdoms, we can understand how 
Aijalon should be spoken of sometimes, 
1 Chron. 6 : 69, comp, with 66, as in 
Ephraim, and sofnetimes, 2 Chron. 11 : 
10; 1 Sam. 14: 31, as in Judah and Ben- 
jamin. It is represented by the modern 
Yalo, a little to the north of the Jaffa 
road, about 14 miles out of Jerusalem. 

2. A broad and beautiful valley near 
the city of Aijalon over which Joshua 
commanded the moon to stand still dur- 
ing the pursuit after the battle of Gib- 
eon. Josh. 10:12. 


3. A place in Zebulun, mentioned as 
the burial-place of Elon, one of the 
Judges. Judges 12:12. 

Aij'eleth Sha'har (aj'e-leth sha'-har) 
{the hind of the dawn), to be found 
once only in the Bible, in the title of 
Ps. 22. It probably is the name of the 
melody to which the psalm was to be 
sung. 

Ain (a'in) {eye, or spring). 1. One 
of the landmarks on the eastern boun- 
dary of Palestine. Num. 34:11. It is 
probably ’Ain el-’Azy, the main source 
of the Orontes. 

2. One of the southernmost cities of 
Judah, Josh. 15:32; afterwards allotted 
to Simeon, Josh. 19 : 7 ; 1 Chron. 4 : 32, 
and given to the priests, Josh. 21 : 16. 

A'jah = Ai'ah, 1. Gen. 36:24. 

Aj'alon (aj'a-lon). [Aijalon.] 

A'kan (a'kan), son of Ezer, one of 
the “ dukes ” or chieftains of the 
Horites, and descendant of Seir. Gen. 
36: 27. He is called Jakan in 1 Chron. 
1: 42. 

Akel'dama. R. V. of Acts 1 : 19 for 
Aceldama. 

Ak'kub (ak'kub) {insidious). 1. 
A descendant of Zerubbabel and son of 
Elioenai. 1 Chron. 3 : 24. 

2. One of the porters or doorkeepers 
at the east gate of the temple. 1 Chron. 
9:17; Ezra 2:42; Neh. 7:45. 

3. One of the Nethinim, whose family 
returned with Zerubbabel. Ezra 2 : 45. 
(b.c. 536.) 

4. A Levite who assisted Ezra in' ex- 
pounding the law to the people. Neh. 
8: 7. 

Akrabbim (a-krab'bim) {Scor- 
pions). The full form is Maaleh- 
acrabbim {the scorpion pass), a pass 
between the south end of the Dead 
Sea and Zin, forming one of the land- 
marks on the south boundary at once of 
Judah, Josh. 15 : 3, and of the Holy 
Land. Num. 34:4. Also the boundary 
of the Amorites. Judges 1 : 36. As to 
the name, scorpions abound in the whole 
of this district. 

Alabaster, from the Arabic al bas- 
traton, a whitish stone, or from Albas- 
tron, the place in Egypt where it is 
found. It occurs only in Matt. 26:7; 
Mark 14 : 3 ; Luke 7 : 37. The ancients 
considered alabaster to be the best ma- 
terial in which to preserve their oint- 
ments. The Oriental alabaster (referred 
to in the Bible) is a translucent car- 
bonate of lime, formed on the floors of 


ALA 


23 


ALE 


limestone caves by the percolation of 
water. It is of the same material as our 
marbles, but differently formed. It is 
usually clouded or banded like agate, 
hence sometimes called onyx marble. 



ALABASTER VASES 

Inscription on the center vessel denotes the 
quantity it holds. 

Our common alabaster is different 
from this, being a variety of gypsum or 
sulphate of lime, used in its finer forms 
for vases, etc. ; in the coarser it is 
ground up for plaster of Paris. The 
noted sculptured slabs from Nineveh 
are made of this material. 

Al'ameth (al'a-meth), properly Al'= 
emeth (covering) , one of the sons of 
Becher, the son of Benjamin. 1 Chron. 
7:8. 

Alam'melech (a-lam'me-lek) (king’s 
oak), a place within the limits of Asher, 
named between Achshaph and Amad. 
Josh. 19 : 26 only. 

Al'amoth (al'a-moth) (virgins). Ps. 
46, title ; 1 Chron. 15 : 20. Some in- 
terpret it to mean a musical instru- 
ment, and others a melody for treble 
voices. 

Al'emeth (al'e-meth) (covering). 1. 
A Benjamite, son of Jehoadah or Jarah. 
1 Chron. 8:36; 9 : 42, and descended 
from Jonathan the son of Saul. 

2. A Levitical city of Benjamin. 1 
Chron. 6 : 60. Given as Almon in 
Joshua 21 : 18. Now Almit on the hills 
north of Anathoth. 

Alexan'der III. (defender of men), 
king of Macedon, surnamed the Great, 
the son of Philip and Olympias, was 
born at Pella b.c. 356, and succeeded his 


father b.c. 336. Two years afterwards 
he crossed the Hellespont (b.c. 334) to 
carry out the plans of his father, and ex- 
ecute the mission of Greece to the civ- 
ilized world. He subjugated Syria and 
Palestine b.c. 334-332. Egypt next sub- 
mitted to him b.c. 331, and in this year 
he founded Alexandria. In the same 
year he finally defeated Darius at Gau- 
gamela, who in b.c. 330 was murdered. 
The next two years were occupied by 
Alexander in the consolidation of his 
Persian conquests and the reduction of 
Bactria. In b.c. 327 he crossed the In- 
dus ; turning westward he reached Susa 
b.c. 325, and proceeded to Babylon b.c. 
324, which he chose as the capital of his 
empire. In the next year (b.c. 323) he 
died there of intemperance, at the early 
age. of 32, in the midst of his gigantic 
plans ; and those who inherited his con- 
quests left his designs unachieved and 
unattempted. Cf. Dan. 7:6; 8:5; 11 : 

3. Alexander is intended in Dan. 2 : 39 
and also Dan. 7:6; 8:5-7; 11:3, 4, 
the latter indicating the rapidity of his 
conquests and his power. He ruled 
with great dominion, and did according 
to his will, Dan. 11:3; “and there was 
none that could deliver . . . out of his 
hand.” Dan. 8 : 7. 

Alexan'der (al-ex-an'der). 1. Son 
'of Simon the Cyrenian, who was com- 
pelled to bear the cross for our Lord. 
Mark 15: 21. 

2. One of the kindred of Annas the 
high priest. Acts 4 : 6. 

3. A Jew at Ephesus whom his coun- 
trymen put forward during the tumult 
raised by Demetrius the silversmith, 
Acts 19 : 33, to plead their cause with 
the mob. 

4. An Ephesian Christian reprobated 
by St. Paul in 1 Tim. 1:20 as having, 
together with one Hymenaeus, put from 
him faith and a good conscience, and so 
made shipwreck concerning the faith. 
This may be the same with 

5. Alexander the coppersmith, men- 
tioned by the same apostle, 2 Tim. 4: 14, 
as having done him many mischiefs. 

Alexan dria, or Alexandri a (al-ex- 
an'dri-a) (from Alexander) , 3 Macc. 
3:1; Acts 18:24; 6:9, the Hellenic, 
Roman and Christian capital of Egypt. 

Situation. — Alexandria was situated 
on the Mediterranean Sea, directly oppo- 
site the island of Pharos, 12 miles west 
of the Canopic branch of the Nile and 
120 miles from the present city of Cairo. 


ALE 


24 


ALL 


It was founded by Alexander the Great, 
B.c. 331, who himself traced the ground 
plan of the city. The work thus be- 
gun was continued after the death of 
Alexander by the Ptolemies. 

Description . — Under the despotism of 
the later Ptolemies the trade of Alex- 



andria declined, but its population and 
wealth were enormous. Its importance 
as one of the chief corn-ports of Rome 
secured for it the general favor of the 
first emperors. Its population was 
mixed from the first. According to Jo- 
sephus, Alexander himself assigned to 
the Jews a place in his new city. Philo 
estimates the number of the Alexandrine 
Jews in his time at a little less than 
1,000,000; and adds that two of the five 
districts of Alexandria were called 
“ Jewish districts,” and that many Jews 
lived scattered in the remaining three. 
“ For a long period Alexandria was the 
greatest of known cities.” After Rome 
became the chief city of the world, 
Alexandria ranked second to Rome in 
wealth and importance, and second to 
Athens only in literature and science. 
Its collection of books grew to be the 
greatest library of ancient times, and 
contained at one time 700,000 rolls or 
volumes. Here was made the Septua- 
gint translation of the Old Testament 
into Greek, begun about b.c. 285. The 
commerce of Alexandria, especially in 
grain, was very great. According to 
the common legend, St. Mark first 
“ preached the gospel in Egypt, and 
founded the first church in Alexandria.” 
At the beginning of the second century 
the number of Christians at Alexandria 


must have been very large, and the great 
leaders of Gnosticism who arose there 
(Basilides, Valentinus) exhibit an ex- 
aggeration of the tendency of the 
Church. 

Present Condition. — The city is now 
called Iscanderia. Its population in 1900 
was 319,700 ( Cram’s Atlas'* and is in- 
creasing. “ Cleopatra’s Needle,” now set 
up in New York, was taken from this 
city. 

Alexan'drians, the Jewish colonists 
of Alexandria, who were admitted to the 
privileges of citizenship and had had a 
synagogue at Jerusalem. Acts 6 : 9. 

Algum or Almug Trees, the former 



THE ALMUG. 


occurring in 2 Chron. 2:8; 9 : 10, 11, 
the latter in 1 Kings 10 : 11, 12. These 
words are identical. From 1 Kings 10 : 
11, 12 ; 2 Chron. 9 : 10, 11, we learn that 
the almug was brought in great plenty 
from Ophir for Solomon’s temple and 
house, . and for the construction of mu- 
sical instruments. It is probable that 
this tree is the red sandal wood, which 
is a native of India and Ceylon. The 
wood is very heavy, hard and fine 
grained, and of a beautiful garnet color. 
Ali'ah (a-lTah). [Alvah.] 

Ali'an (a-li'an). [Alvan.] 

Allegory, a figure of speech, which 
has been defined by Bishop Marsh, in 
accordance with its etymology, as “a 
representation of one thing which is in- 
tended to excite the representation of 
another thing.” “ A figurative repre- 
sentation containing a meaning other 



ALL 


25 


ALM 


than and in addition to the literal.” 

“ A fable or parable is a short allegory 
with one definite moral.” — Encyc. Brit. 
In every allegory there is a twofold 
sense — the immediate or historic, which 
is understood from the words, and the 
ultimate, which is concerned with the 
things signified by the words. The alle- 
gorical interpretation is not of the 
words, but of the things signified by 
them, and not only may, but actually 
does, coexist with the literal interpreta- 
tion in every allegory, whether the nar- 
rative in which it is conveyed be of 
things possible or real. An illustration 
of this may be seen in Gal. 4 : 24, where 
the apostle gives an allegorical inter- 
pretation to the historical narrative of 
Hagar and Sarah, not treating that nar- 
rative as an allegory in itself, as our 
Authorized Version would lead us to 
suppose, but drawing from it a deeper 
sense than is conveyed by the imme- 
diate representation. (Addison’s Vision 
of Mirza and Bunyan’s Pilgrim's Prog- 
ress are among the best allegories in 
all literature.) 

Alleluia, so written in Rev. 19 : 1, 
foil., or more properly Hallelujah, 
praise ye Jehovah, as it is found in the 
margin of Ps. 104 : 35 ; 105 : 45 ; 106 ; 
111 : 1 ; 112 : 1 ; 113 : 1 ; comp. Ps. 

113:9; 115:18; 116:19; 117:2. The 
literal meaning of “hallelujah” suffi- 
ciently indicates the character of the 
Psalms in which it occurs as hymns of 
praise and thanksgiving. 

Alliances. On the first establish- 
ment of the Hebrews in Palestine no 
connections were formed between them 
and the surrounding nations. But with 
the extension of their power under the 
kings alliances became essential to the 
security of their commerce. Solomon 
concluded two important treaties exclu- 
sively for commercial purposes ; the first 
with Hiram king of Tyre, 1 Kings 5 : 
2-12 ; 9 : 27, the second with a Pharaoh, 
king of Egypt, 1 Kings 10 : 28, .29. 
When war broke out between Amaziah 
and Jeroboam II. a coalition was formed 
between Rezin, king of Syria, and Pe- 
kah on the one side, and Ahaz and 
Tiglath-pileser, king of Assyria, on the 
other, 2 Kings 16 : 5-9. 

The formation of an alliance was at- 
tended with various religious rites. A 
victim was slain and divided into two 
parts, between which the contracting 
parties passed. Gen, 15 : 10. Generally 


speaking, the oath alone is mentioned in 
the contracting of alliances, either be- 
tween nations. Josh. 9 : 15, or individ- 
uals. Gen. 26:28; 31:53; 1 Sam. 20; 
17 ; 2 Kings 11 : 4. The event was cele- 
brated by a feast. Gen. 26 : 30 ; Ex. 24 : 
11 ; 2 Sarp. 3 : 12, 20. Salt, as symbolical 
of fidelity, was used on these occasions. 
Occasionally a pillar or a heap of stones 
was set up as a memorial of the al- 
liance. Gen. 31 : 52. Presents were also 
sent by the parties soliciting the al- 
liance. 1 Kings 15 : 18 ; Isa. 30:6; 1 
Macc. 15 : 18. The fidelity of the Jews 
to their engagements was conspicuous 
at all periods of their history, Josh. 9 : 
18, and any breach of covenant was vis- 
ited with very severe punishment. 2 Sam. 
21 : 1 ; Ezek. 17 : 16. 

Allon (al'lon) ( an oak), a Simeon- 
ite, ancestor of Ziza, a prince of his 
tribe in the reign of Hezekiah. 1 
Chron. 4 : 37. 

Allon (al'lon), a large strong tree of 
some description, probably an oak. 

1. Allon, more accurately Elon, a 
place named among the cities of Naph- 
tali. Josh. 19 : 33. Probably the more 
correct construction is to take it with 
the following word, i. e., “ the oak by 
Zaanannim.” 

2. Allon-bachuth (al'lon-bak'uth) 

( oak of weeping), the tree under which 
Rebekah’s nurse, Deborah,, was buried. 
Gen. 35 : 8. 

Almo'dad (al-mo'dad), the first in 
order of the descendants of Joktan. 
Gen. 10:26; 1 Chron. Ic20. 

Al'mon (al'mon) ( concealed ), a city 
within the tribe of Benjamin, with 
“ suburbs ” given to the priests. Josh. 
21:18. [Alemeth.] 

AI'mon=diblatha / im (al'mon-dib-la- 
tha'im) ( concealing the two cakes), one 
of the latest stations of the Israelites, 
between Dibon-gad and the mountains 
of Abarim. Num. 33 : 46, 47. It . is 
probably identical with Beth-diblathaim. 

Almond Tree; Almond. This word 
is found in Gen. 43:11; Ex. 25:33, 34; 
37 : 19, 20 ; Num. 17 : 8 ; Eccles. 12:5; 
Jer. 1 : 11, in the text of the Authorized 
Version. The Hebrew means to wake 
or watch, because it is the first to awake 
from the sleep of winter. The tree is 
a native of Asia and North Africa, but 
it is cultivated in the milder parts of 
Europe. “ It resembles the peach _ tree 
in form, blossom and fruit. It is in 
fact only another species of the same 


ALM 


26 


ALP 


genus.” The height of the tree is about 
15 to 30 feet; the flowers are pink, and 
arranged for the most part in pairs; 
the leaves are long ovate, with a ser- 
rated margin and an acute point. The 
covering of the fruit is downy and suc- 
culent, enclosing the hard shell which 
contains the kernel. It is this nut for 



ALMOND. 


which the tree is chiefly valued. It is 
curious to observe, in connection with 
the almond-bowls of the golden candle- 
stick, that, in the language of lapida- 
ries, almonds are pieces of rock crystal, 
even now used in adorning branch can- 
dlesticks. 

Alms. The duty of alms-giving, es- 
pecially in kind, consisting chiefly in 
portions to be left designedly from prod- 
uce of the field, the vineyard and the 
oliveyard, Lev. 19 : 9, 10 ; 23 : 22 ; Deut. 
15:11; 24:19; 26:2-13; Ruth 2:2, is 
strictly enjoined by the law. Every 
third year also, Deut. 14 : 28, 29, each pro- 
prietor was directed to share the tithe 
of his produce with “the Levite, the 
stranger, the fatherless and the widow.” 
The theological estimate of alms-giving 
among the Jews is indicated in the fol- 
lowing passages : Job 31 : 17 ; Prov. 10 : 
2; 11:4; Esther 9:22; Ps. 112:9; Acts 
9 : 36, the case of Dorcas ; 10 : 2, of Cor- 
nelius ; to which may be added Tobit 4 : 
10, 11 ; 14 :10, 11, and Ecclus. 3 : 30 ; 40 : 
24. The Pharisees were zealous in 
alms-giving, but too ostentatious in 
their mode of performance, for which 
our Lord finds fault with them. Matt. 
6 : 2. The duty of relieving the poor 
was not neglected by the Christians. 
Matt. 6:1-4; Luke 14 : 13 ; Acts 20 ; 


35 ; Gal. 2 : 10. Regular proportionate 
giving was expected. Acts 11 : 30 ; 
Rom. 15 : 25-27 ; 1 Cor. 16 : 1-4. 

Almug Trees. [Algum Trees.]. 

Aloes, Lign Aloes (in Heb. Ahalim, 
Ahaloth), the name of a costly and 
sweet-smelling wood which is men- 
tioned in Num. 24:6; Ps. 45:8; Prov. 



7 : 17 ; Cant. 4 : 14 ; John 19 : 39. It is 
usually identified with the Aquilaria 
agallocha, an aromatic wood much val- 
ued in India. This tree sometimes 
grows to the height of 120 feet, being 12 
feet in girth. 

A'loth (a'loth), a place or district, 
forming with Asher the jurisdiction of 
the ninth of Solomon’s commissariat 
officers. 1 Kings 4:16. 

Alpha (al'fa) (a), the first letter of 
the Greek alphabet. With Omega (ft), 
the last letter, it is used in the Old 
Testament and in the New to express 
the eternity of God, as including both 
the beginning and the end. Rev. 1 : 8, 
11; 21:6; 22:13; Isa. 41:4; 44:6; 
hence these letters became a favorite 
symbol of the eternal divinity of our 



Lord, and were used for this purpose 
in connection with the cross, or the 
monogram of Christ (L e., the first two 
letters, ch and r, of Christ’s name in 
Greek). Both Greeks and Hebrews 
employed the letters of the alphabet as 
numerals. 

Alphabet. [Writing.] 

Alphae'us (al-fe'us) ( changing ). 1. 

The father of the apostle James the 


ALT 


27 


ALT 


Less. Matt. 10 : 3 ; Mark 3 : 18 ; Luke 6 : 
15 ; Acts 1 : 13. He has been identified 
with Cleophas, R. V. Clopas, the hus- 
band of Mary, John 19 : 25, but the 
identification is very doubtful. But 
comp. Mark 15 : 40. For a fuller dis- 
cussion see James. 

2. Father of the Apostle Matthew. 
Mark 2 : 14, comp. Matt. 9 : 9. 

Altar. The first altar of which we 
have any account is that built by Noah 
•when he left the ark. Gen. 8 : 20. In 
the early times altars were usually built 
in certain spots hallowed by religious 



ANCIENT ROCK ALTAR AT MEGIDDO. 

(With cavities for receiving fluid offerings.) 

associations, e. g., where God appeared. 
Gen. 12:7; 13:18; 26:25; 35:1. 

Though generally erected for the offer- 
ing of sacrifice, in some instances they 
appear to have been only memorials. 
Gen. 12 : 7 ; Ex. 17 : 15, 16. Altars were 
most probably originally made of earth. 
The law of Moses allowed them to be 
made of either earth or unhewn stones. 
Ex. 20 : 24, 25. 

I. The Altar of Burnt Offering. It 
differed in construction at different 
times. (1) In the tabernacle. Ex. 27 : 1 
ff. ; 38 : 1 ff., it was comparatively small 
and portable. In shape it was square. 
It was five cubits in length, the same in 
breadth, and three cubits high. It was 
made of planks of shittim (or acacia) 
wood overlaid with brass. The interior 
was hollow. Ex. 27 : 8 . At the four 
corners were four projections called 
horns, made, like the altar itself, of 
shittim wood overlaid with brass, Ex. 
27 : 2 , and to them the victim was 


bound when about to be sacrificed. Ps. 
118 : 27. Round the altar, midway be- 
tween the top and bottom, ran a pro- 
jecting ledge, on which perhaps the 
priest stood when officiating. To the 
outer edge of this, again, a grating or 
net work of brass was affixed, and 



EGYPTIAN ALTAR FIGURE. 


reached to the bottom of the altar. At 
the four corners of the network were 
four brazen rings, into which were in- 
serted the staves by which the altar was 
carried. These staves were of the same 
materials as the altar itself. As the 
priests were forbidden to ascend the 
altar by steps, Ex. 20 : 26, it has been 
conjectured that a slope of earth led 
gradually up to the ledge from which 
they officiated. The place of the altar 
was at “ the door of the tabernacle of 
the congregation.” Ex. 40:29. (2) In 

Solomon’s temple the altar was consid- 
erably larger in its dimensions. It dif- 
fered too in the material of which it 
was made, being entirely of brass. 1 
Kings 8 : 64 ; 2 Chron. 7:7. It had no 
grating, and instead of a single gradual 


AXT 


28 


AMA 


slope, the ascent to it was probably 
made by three successive platforms, to 
each of which it has been supposed that 
steps led. The altar erected by Herod 
in front of the temple was 15 cubits in 
height and 50 cubits in length and 
breadth. According to Lev. 6 : 12, 13, a 
perpetual fire was to be kept burning on 
the altar. 

II. The Altar of Incense, called also 

the golden altar to distinguish it from 
the altar of burnt offering, which was 
called the brazen altar. Ex. 38: 30. (a) 

That in the tabernacle was made of 
acacia wood, overlaid with pure gold. 
In shape it was square, being a cubit in 
length and breadth and two cubits in 
height. Like the altar of burnt offering 
it had horns at the four corners, which 
were of one piece with the rest of the 
altar. This altar stood in the holy 
place, “before the vail that is by the 
ark of the testimony.” Ex. 30 : 6 ; 40 : 5. 
( b ) The altar of Solomon’s temple was 
similar, 1 Kings 7:48;.l Chron. 28:18, 
but was made of cedar overlaid with 
gold. 

III. Other Altars. In Acts 17:23 
reference is made to an altar to an un- 
known god. There were several altars 
in Athens with this inscription, erected 
during the time of a plague, since they 
knew not what god was offended and 
required to be propitiated. 

Al=taschith (al-tas'chith) ( destroy 
not), found in the introductory verse 
to Psalms 57, 58, 59, 75. It was prob- 
ably the beginning of some song or 
poem to the tune of which those psalms 
were to be chanted. 

A'lush (a'lush) ( tumult of men), one 
of the stations of the Israelites on their 
journey to Sinai, the last before Rephi- 
dim. Num. 33 : 13, 14. 

Al'vah (tall), a duke of Edom, Gen. 
36 : 40 ; written Aliah in 1 Chron. 1 : 
51. 

Al'van (tall), a Horite, son of Sho- 
bal, Gen. 36 : 23 ; written Alian in 1 
Chron. 1 : 40. 

A' mad (a/mad) (domicile), an un- 
known place in Asher, between Alam- 
melech and Misheal. Josh. 19 : 26 only. 

A'mal (a'mal) (labor), an Asherite, 
son of Helen. 1 Chron. 7 : 35. 

Am'alek (am'a-lek) a son of Eliphaz 
by his concubine Timnah, grandson of 
Esau, and chieftain (“duke,” Author- 
ized Version) of Edom. Gen, 36: 12, 16; 
1 Chron. 1 : 36. 


Am'alekites (am'a-lek-ites), a no- 
madic tribe of uncertain origin, which 
occupied the peninsula of Sinai and the 
wilderness intervening between the 
southern hill-ranges of Palestine and 
the border of Egypt. Num. 13 : 29 ; 1 
Sam. 15 : 7 ; 27 : 8. Their wealth con- 
sisted in flocks and herds. Mention is 
made of a “ town,” 1 Sam. 15 : 5, but 
their towns could have been little more 
than stations or nomadic enclosures. 
The Amalekites first came in contact 
with the Israelites at Rephidim, but 
were signally defeated. Ex. 17 : 8-16. 
In union with the Canaanites they again 
attacked the Israelites on the borders of 
Palestine, and defeated them near Hor- 
mah, Num. 14:45. Saul undertook an 
expedition against' them. 1 Sam. 14 : 48. 
Their power was thenceforth broken, 
and they degenerated into a horde of 
banditti. Their destruction was com- 
pleted by David. 1 Sam. 30 : 1-17. 

Am'alekites, Mount of, a mountain 
in Ephraim, Judges 12:15, probably so 
named because the Amalekites once held 
possession of it. 

A'mam (a'mam), a city in the south 
of Judah, named with Shema and Mol- 
adah in Josh. 15 : 26 only. 

Am'ana (am'a-na) (a covenant), ap- 
parently a mountain in or near Leb- 
anon. Cant. 4:8. It is commonly as- 
sumed that this is the mountain in 
which the river Abana, 2 Kings 5 : 12, 
has its source. 

Amari'ah (am-a-ri'ah) (Jehovah 
hath promised),. 1. Father of Ahitub, 
according to 1 Chron. 6 : 7, 52, and son 
of Meraioth, in the line of the high 
priests. 

2. The high priest in the reign of Je- 
hoshaphat. 2 Chron. 19 : 11. He was 
the son of Azariah. 

3. The head of a Levitical house of 
the Kohathites. 1 Chron. 23 : 19 ; 24 : 
23. 

4. The head of one of the twenty- 
four courses of priests. 2 Chron. 31 : 
15 ; Neh. 10:3; 12 : 2, 13. 

5. One of the sons of Bani in the 
time of Ezra. Ezra 10 : 42. 

6. A priest who returned with Zerub- 
babel. Neh. 10 : 3 ; 12 : 2, 13. 

7. A descendant of Pharez. Neh. 11 ; 
4. 

8. An ancestor of Zephaniah the 
prophet. Zeph. 1 : 1. 

Am'asa (am'a-sa) (a burden). 1. 


AMA 


AME 


Son of Ithra or Jether, by Abigail, 
David’s sister. 2 Sam. 17 : 25. He 
joined in Absalom’s rebellion, b.c. 1023, 
was appointed commander-in-chief, and 
suffered defeat by Joab. 2 Sam. 18 : 6-8. 
David, incensed against Joab for killing 
Absalom, forgave Amasa and appointed 
him Joab’s successor. 2 Sam. 19:13. 
Joab afterwards, when they were both 
in pursuit of the rebel Sheba, pretending 
to salute Amasa, stabbed him with his 
sword. 2 Sam. 20 : 10. 

2. A prince of Ephraim, son of Had- 
lai, in the reign of Ahaz. 2 Chron. 28 : 
12 . 

Amas'a=i (a-mas'a-i), or Amasa'i 
( burdensome ). 1. A Kohathite, father 

of Mahath and ancestor of Samuel. 1 
Chron. 6 : 25, 35. 

2. Chief of the captains of Judah and 
Benjamin, who deserted to David while 
an outlaw at Ziklag. 1 Chron. 12 : 18. 
(b.c. 1057.) 

3. One of the priests who blew trump- 
ets before the ark. 1 Chron. 15 : 24. 

4. Another Kohathite, in the reign of 
Hezekiah. 2 Chron. 29 : 12. 

Amash'a=i (a-mash'a-I), or Amasha'i 
(burdensome) , son of Azareel, a priest 
in the time of Nehemiah, Neh. 11:13; 
apparently the same as Maasiai. 1 
Chron. 9 : 12. 

Amasi'ah (am-a-si'ah) ( Jehovah 
hath borne), son of Zichri and captain 
of 200,000 warriors of Judah in the 
reign of Jehoshaphat. 2 Chron. 17:16. 
(b.c. 910.) 

A'math. [Hamath.] 

Amazi'ah (am-a-zi'ah) (Jehovah is 
strong). 1. Son of Joash, and ninth 
king of Judah, reigned b.c. 796-767. He 
succeeded to the throne at the age of 25, 
on the murder of his father, and pun- 
ished the murderers. In order to re- 
store his kingdom to the greatness of 
Jehoshaphat’s days, he made war on the 
Edomites, defeated them in the Valley 
of Salt, south of the Dead Sea, and 
took their capital, Selah or Petra, to 
which he gave the name of Jokteel, i. e. 
“ God-subdued.” Flushed with his suc- 
cess, he challenged Joash king of Israel 
to battle, but was completely defeated, 
and himself was taken prisoner and 
conveyed by Joash to Jerusalem, which 
opened its gates to the conqueror. 
Amaziah lived 15 years after the death 
of Joash; and in the 29th year of his 
reign was murdered by conspirators at 
Lachish, whither he had retired from 


29 


Jerusalem for safety. 2 Chron. 25 : 27. 

2. A descendant of Simeon. 1 Chron. 
4: 34. 

3. A Levite. 1 Chron. 6 : 45. 

4. Priest of the golden calf at Bethel, 
who endeavored to drive the prophet 
Amos from Israel into Judah. Amos 
7:10, 12, 14. 

Ambassador, a person of high rank 
employed by a government to represent 
it and transact its business at the seat 
of government of some other power. 
The earliest examples of ambassadors 
employed occur in Num. 20:14; 21:21; 
afterwards in that of the fraudulent 
Gibeonites, Josh. 9 : 4, etc., and in the 
instances of civic strife mentioned in 
Judges 11:12 and 20:12. Ambassadors 
are found to have been employed not 
only on occasions of hostile challenge 
or insolent menace, 1 Kings 20 : 2, 6 ; 

2 Kings 14:8, but of friendly compli- 
ment, of request for alliance or other 
aid, of submissive deprecation and of 
curious inquiry. 2 Kings 16 : 7 ; 18 : 14 ; 
2 Chron. 32 : 31. Ministers are called 
ambassadors of Christ. 

Ambassage, embassy, a message of 
a public nature brought by ambassadors. 
The word also sometimes includes the 
ambassadors themselves. Luke 14 : 32. 

Amber (Heb. chasmal) occurs only 
in Ezek. 1:4, 27 ; 8:2. It is usually 
supposed that the Hebrew word chas- 
mal denotes a metal. But Cheyne’s 
“ Encyclopaedia Biblica ” decides in fa- 
vor of the yellow amber. 

Amen, literally “ true ;” and, used as 
a substantive, “ that which is true,” 
“ truth,” Isa. 65 : 16 ; a word used in 
strong asseverations, fixing, as it were, 
the stamp of truth upon the assertion 
which it accompanied, and making it 
binding as an oath. Comp. Num. 5 : 22. 
In the synagogues and private houses it 
was customary for the people or mem- 
bers of the family who were present to 
say “ amen ” to the prayers which were 
offered. Matt. 6 : 13 ; 1 Cor. 14 : 16. 

And not only public prayers, but those 
offered in private, and doxologies, were 
appropriately concluded with “ amen.” 
Rom. 9:5; 11:36; 15 : 33 ; 16 : 27 ; 2 Cor. 
13 : 14, etc. 

Amethyst (Heb. achlamah), a sub- 
species of quartz of a bluish-violet color. 
Mention is made of this precious stone, 
which formed the third in the third row 
of the high priest’s breastplate, in Ex. 


AMI 


30 


AMM 


28 : 19 ; 39 : 12. It occurs also in Rev. 
21 : 20 . 

A'mi (a' ml), one of Solomon’s serv- 
ants, Ezra 2:57; called Amon in Neh. 
7: 59. 

Amin'adab (a-min'a-dab). Matt. 1: 
4; Luke 3:33. [Amminadab 1.] 

Amit'tai (a-mit'ta-i) {true), father 
of the prophet Jonah. 2 Kings 14 : 25 ; 
Jonah 1 : 1. 

Am'mah (am'mah) {head), The 
hill of, a hill facing Giah by the way 
of the wilderness of Gibeon, named as 
the point to which Joab pursued Abner. 
2 Sam. 2 : 24. 

Am'mi (am'mi), i. e., as explained 
in the margin of the Authorized Ver- 
sion, my people. Hos. 2 : 1. 

Am'miel (am' mi-el) {God is my 
kinsman). 1. The spy from the tribe 
of Dan. Num. 13:12. (b.c. 1490.) He 

perished by the plague for his evil re- 
port. 

2. Father of Machir of Lo-debar. 2 
Sam. 9:4, 5 ; 17 : 27. 

3. Father of Bath-sheba, 1 Chron. 3 : 
5, called Eliam in 2 Sam. 11:3. 

4. The sixth son of Obed-edom, 1 
Chron. 26 : 5, and one of the doorkeep- 
ers of the temple. 

Am'mihud (am'ml-hud) {my kins- 
man is glory). 1. An Ephraimite, 
father of Elishama, the chief of the 
tribe at the time of the Exodus. Num. 
1 : 10 ; 2 : 18 ; 7 : 48, 53 ; 10 : 22 ; 1 Chron. 
7 : 26, and, through him, ancestor of 
Joshua. 

2. A Simeonite, father of Shemuel. 
Num. 34 : 20. 

3. The father of Pedahel, prince of 
the tribe of Naphtali. Num. 34:28. 

4. The father of Talmai king of Ge- 
shur. 2 Sam. 13 : 37. 

5. A descendant of Pharez, son of Ju- 
dah. 1 Chron. 9 : 4. 

Amminadab (am-mm'a-dab) {my 
kinsman is generous) . 1. Son of Ram 

or Aram, and father of Nahshon, or 
Naasson (as it is written Matt. 1:4; 
Luke 3:33); Num. 1:7; 2:3; Ruth 4: 
19, 20; 1 Chron. 2: 10. One of the an- 
cestors of Jesus Christ. 

2. The chief of the 112 sons of Uzziel, 
a junior Levitical house of the family 
of the Kohathites. Ex. 6 : 23 ; 1 Chron. 
15 : 10, 11. 

3. In 1 Chron. 6 : 22, Izhar, the son of 
Kohath, is called Amminadab; probably 
a clerical error. 

Ammin'adib (am-mm'a-dib). Prob- 


ably another form of Amminadab. He 
was noted for the swiftness of his 
chariots. Cant. 6 : 12. It is uncertain 
whether we ought to read here Am- 
minadib, with the Authorized Version, 
or my willing people, as in the margin. 

Ammishad'da=i (am'mi-shad'da-i) 
{kinsman is the Almighty) , the father 
of Ahiezer, prince of the tribe of Dan 
at the time of the Exodus. Num. 1 : 
12; 2: 25; 7: 66, 71; 10: 25. 

Ammiz'abad (am-miz'a-bad) {kins- 
man has made a present), the son of 
Benaiah, who commanded the third di- 
vision of David’s army. 1 Chron. 27 : 6. 

Am'mon (am'mon), Ammonites 
(am'mon-ites), Children of Ammon, 
a people descended from Ben-ammi, 
the son of Lot by his younger daughter. 
Gen. 19 : 38 ; comp. Ps. 83 : 7, 8. The 
Ammonites are frequently mentioned 
with the Moabites (descendants of Ben- 
ammi’s half-brother), and sometimes 
under the same name. Comp. Judges 
10 : 6 ; 2 Chron. 20 : 1 ; Zeph. 2 : 8, etc. 
The precise position of the territory of 
the Ammonites is not ascertainable. In 
the earliest mention of them, Deut. 2 : 
20, they are said to have dwelt in their 
place, Jabbok being their border. Num. 
21 : 24 ; Deut. 2 : 37 ; 3 : 16. Land or 
country is, however, but rarely ascribed 
to them. Their capital city was Rab- 
bath, called also Rabbath Amnion, on 
the Jabbok. We find everywhere traces 
of the fierce habits of marauders in 
their incursions, 1 Sam. 11:2; Amos 1 : 
13, and a very high degree of crafty 
cruelty to their foes. Jer. 49:1-6; 
Judges 11 : 12. Moab was the settled 
and civilized half of the nation of Lot, 
and Ammon formed its predatory and 
Bedouin section. On the west of Jor- 
dan they never obtained a footing. 
The hatred in which the Ammonites 
were held by Israel is stated to have 
arisen partly from their denial of as- 
sistance, Deut. 23 : 4, to the Israelites 
on their approach to Canaan. But 
whatever its origin the animosity con- 
tinued in force to the latest date. The 
tribe was governed by a king, Judges 
11 : 12, etc. ; 1 Sam. 12 : 12 ; 2 Sam. 10 : 
1; Jer. 40:14, and by “ princes.” 2 
Sam. 10 : 3 ; 1 Chron. 19 : 3. The divin- 
ity of the tribe was Molech [Molech], 
and they were gross idolaters. 

Ammoni'tess, a woman of Ammon- 
ite race. 1 Kings 14 : 21, 31 ; 2 Chron. 
1 12 : 13. 


AMM 


31 


AMO 


Am'mon=no. See No-amon. 

Am'non (am'ndn) {faithful). 1. 
Eldest son of David. He dishonored 
his half-sister Tamar, and was in con- 
sequence murdered by her brother. 2 
Sam. 13 : 1-29. 

2. Son of Shimon. 1 Chron. 4 : 20. 

A'mok (a'mok), a priest who re- 
turned with Zerubbabel. Neh. 12 : 7, 20. 
(b.c. 536.) 

A'mon (a'mon) or A'men (the hid- 
den one), an Egyptian divinity, whose 
name occurs in that of No-amon. Nah. 
3 : 8. Amen was one of the eight gods 
of the first order, and chief of the 
triad of Thebes. He was worshiped 
at that city as Amen Ra, or “ Amen the 
Sun.” 

A'mon (a'mon) (a master work- 
man). 1. One of Ahab’s governors. 
1 Kings 22:26; 2 Chron. 18 : 25. 

2. Same as Ami. Neh. 7 : 59. 

3. King of Judah, son and successor 
of Manasseh, reigned two years, from 
b.c. 641-639. Amon devoted himself 
wholly to the service of false gods, but 
was killed in a conspiracy, and was suc- 
ceeded by his son Josiah. 2 Kings 21. 

Am'orite, the Am'orites (am'or- 
Ites) (commonly explained as moun- 
taineer, but the explanation is doubtful). 
One of the chief nations who possessed 
the land of Canaan before its conquest 
by the Israelites. As dwelling on the 
elevated portions of the country, they 
are contrasted with the Canaanites, who 
were the dwellers in the lowlands ; and 
the two thus formed the main broad 
divisions of the Holy Land, Num. 13 : 
29 ; and see Gen. 14 : 7 ; Deut. 1 : 7, 20, 
“mountain of the Amorites,” 44; Josh. 
5:1; 10 : 6 ; 11 : 3. They first occupied 
the barren heights west of the Dead 
Sea, at the place called afterwards En- 
gedi. From this point they stretched 
west to Hebron. At the date of the 
invasion of the country, Sihon, their 
then king, had taken the rich pasture 
land south of the Jabbok. This rich 
tract, bounded by the Jabbok on the 
north, the Arnon on the south, the 
Jordan on the west and “ the wilder- 
ness ” on the . east, Judges 11 : 21, 22, 
was, perhaps, in the most special sense 
the “land of the Amorites,” Num. 21: 
31; Josh. 12:2, 3; 13:10 ; Judges 11: 
21, 22; but their possessions are dis- 
tinctly stated to have extended to the 
very foot of Hermon, Deut. 3:8; 4 : 48, 
embracing “ Gilead and all Bashan,” 3 : 


10, with the Jordan valley on the east 
of the river. 4 : 49. After the conquest 



oi Canaan nothing of importance is 
heard of the Amorites in the Bible. 

A'mos (burden), native of Tekoa in 
Judah, about six miles south of Bethle- 
hem, originally a shepherd and dresser 
of sycomore trees, who was called by 
God’s Spirit to be a prophet, although 
not trained in any of the regular pro- 
phetic schools. Amos 1:1; 7 : 14, 15. 
He travelled from Judah into the 
northern kingdom of Israel or Ephraim, 
and there exercised his ministry, appar- 
ently not for any long time. His date 
cannot be later than b.c. 741, for he 
lived in the reigns of Uzziah king of 
Judah and Jeroboam II. king of Israel ; 
but his ministry probably took place at 
an earlier date, perhaps about the mid- 
dle of Jeroboam’s reign. Nothing is 
known of the time or manner of his 
death. 

A'mos, Book of. The book of the 
prophecies of Amos seems to be divided 
into four principal portions closely con- 
nected together. (1) From 1:1 to 2:3 
he denounces the sins of the nations 
bordering on Israel and Judah. (2) 
From 2 : 4 to 6 : 14 he describes the state 
of those two kingdoms, especially the 
former. (3) From 7:1 to 9:10 he re- 


AMO 


32 


ANA 


lates his visit to Bethel, and sketches 
the impending punishment of Israel. 
At last he promises blessings. The 
chief peculiarity of the style consists 
in the number of allusions to natural 
objects and agricultural occupations, as 
might be expected from the early life 
of the author. 

A'moz (a'moz) (strong), father of 
the prophet Isaiah, and, according to 
rabbinical tradition, brother of Amaziah 
king of Judah. 2 Kings 19:2, 20; 20: 
1 ; Isa. 1 : 1. 

Amphip olis (am-fip'o-lis) (a city 
surrounded by water), a city of Mace- 
donia, through which Paul and Silas 
passed on their way from Philippi to 
/ Thessalonica. Acts 17 : 1. It was dis- 
tant 33 Roman miles from Philippi, to 
the southwest, and about three miles 
from the sea. Its site is now occupied 
by a village called N eokhorio ; in Turk- 
ish Jeni-Keui , or “ New Town.” 

Am'plias (am'pli-as) (large), a 
Christian at Rome. Rom. 16 : 8. 

Arnplia tus (R. V., Rom. 16:8) the 
full name of which Amplias, above, is 
the contraction. The name in this form 
is “ common in the sepulchral inscrip- 
tions of persons connected with Caesar’s 
household.” 

Am'ram (am'ram) (an exalted peo- 
ple ). 1. A Levite of the family of the 

Kohathites, and father of Moses. Ex. 
6 : 18, 20 ; Num. 26 : 59. 

2. A son of Dishon and descendant 
of Seir, 1 Chron. 1:41; properly “ Ham- 
ram ”= Hemdan in Gen. 36 : 26. 

3. One of the sons of Bani in the time 

of Ezra, who had married a foreign 
wife. Ezra 10:34. (b.c. 459.) 

Am'ramites. A branch of the great 
Kohathite family of the tribe of Levi, 
Num. 3 : 27 ; 1 Chron. 26 : 23 ; descended 
from Amram, the father of Moses. 

Am'raphel (am'ra-fel), generally 
identified with Hammurabi the first to 
make a united kingdom of Babylonia. 
He joined in the incursion of the 
Elamite Chedorlaomer against the kings 
of Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities 
of the plain. Gen. 14. (b.c. 2100 or 

2200 .) 

Amulets were ornaments, gems, 
scrolls, etc., worn as preservatives 
against the power of enchantments, 
and generally inscribed with mystic 
forms or characters. The “ earrings ” 
in the Bible (in some cases nose-rings) 
were often ornamented with some talis- 


manic symbol, and served as amulets. 
Those in Gen. 35:4 are often supposed 
to be of this sort. They are subse- 
quently mentioned among the spoils of 
Midian. Judges 8 : 24. The “ earrings ” 
in Isa. 3 : 20 were also amulets, as in 
R. V. 

Am'zi (am'zi) (strong). 1. A Levite 
of the family of Merari. 1 Chron. 6: 
46. 

2. A priest. Neh. 11:12. 

A'nab (a'nab) (grape), a town in 
the mountains of Judah, Josh. 15:50, 
named with Debir and Hebron as once 
belonging to the Anakim. Josh. 11 : 21. 

A'nah (a'nah) (hearkening to), the 
son of Zibeon and father of Aholiba- 
mah, one of Esau’s wives. Gen. 36 : 
2, 14, 25. He is supposed to have dis- 
covered the “ hot springs ” (not 
“mules,” as in the Authorized Version) 
in the desert as he fed the asses of 
Zibeon his father. 

Ana'harath (an-a'ha-rath) (gorge 
or pass), a place within the border of 
Issachar, named with Shihon and Rab- 
bith. Josh. 19 : 19. 

Anai'ah (an-a-i'ah) (Jehovah has 
answered) . i. Probably a priest. Neh. 
8:4. 

2. One of the “heads of the people” 
who signed the covenant with Nehe- 
miah. Neh. 10 : 22. 

An'akim (an'a-kim) (long-necked) , 
a race of giants, descendants of Arba, 
Josh. 15 : 13 ; 21 : 11, dwelling in the 
southern part of Canaan, and partic- 
ularly at Hebron, which from their 
progenitor received the name of “ city 
of Arba.” Anak was the name of the 
race rather than that of an individual. 
Josh. 14: 15. The race appears to have 
been divided into three tribes or fam- 
ilies, bearing the names Sheshai, Ahi- 
ma-n and Talmai. Though the war- 
like appearance of the Anakim had 
struck the Israelites with terror in the 
time of Moses, Num. 13 : 28 ; Deut. 9 : 2, 
they were nevertheless dispossessed by 
Joshua, Josh. 11 : 21, 22, and their chief 
city, Hebron, became the possession of 
Caleb. Josh. 15 : 14 ; Judges 1 : 20. After 
this time they vanish from history. 

An'amim, a Mizraite people or tribe. 
Gen. 10 : 13 ; 1 Chron. 1:11. 

Anam'melech (a-nam'me-lek) (god 
Anu is king), one of the idols wor- 
shiped by the colonists introduced into 
Samaria from Sepharvaim. 2 Kings 
17 : 31. He was worshiped with rites 


i-i.iv/i 


33 


ANE 


resembling those of Molech, and is the 
companion-god to Adrammelech. 

A'nan (a'nan) {a cloud), one of the 
“ heads of the people ” who signed the 
covenant with Nehemiah. Neh. 10 : 26. 

Ana'ni (an-a'ni) ([God] hath cov- 
ered), the seventh son of Elioenai, de- 
scended from the royal line of Judah. 
1 Chron. 3 : 24. 

Anani'ah (ana-ni'a) ( Jehovah hath 
covered), probably a priest, and ances- 
tor of Azariah, who assisted in rebuild- 
ing the city wall in the days of Ne- 
hemiah. Neh. 3 : 23. 

Anani'ah, a place, named between 
Nob and Hazor, in which the Ben- 
jamites lived after their return from 
captivity. Neh. 11:32. 

Anani'as (an-a-nl'as) ( Jehovah 
hath been gracious). 1. A high priest 
in Acts 23 : 2-5 ; 24:1. He was the son 
of Nedebseus. He was nominated to 
the office by Herod king of Chalcis, in 
a. d. 47 ; was deposed shortly before 
Felix left the province, and assassin- 
ated by the Sicarii at the beginning of 
the last Jewish war. 

2. A disciple at Jerusalem, husband 
of Sapphira. Acts 5 : 1-11. Having 
sold his goods for the benefit of the 
church, he kept back a part of the price, 
bringing to the apostles the remainder 
as if it was the whole, his wife being 
privy to the scheme. St. Peter de- 
nounced the fraud, and Ananias fell 
down and expired. 

3. A Jewish disciple at Damascus, 
Acts 9 : 10-17, of high repute, Acts 22 : 
12, who sought out Saul during the pe- 
riod of blindness which followed his 
conversion, and announced to him his 
future commission as a preacher of the 
gospel. Tradition makes him to have 
been afterwards bishop of Damascus, 
and to have died by martyrdom. 

A'nath (a'nath) {answer), father of 
Shamgar. Judges 3:31; 5:6. 

Anathema (a-nath'e-ma), which lit- 
erally means a thing suspended, is the 
equivalent of the Hebrew word signify- 
ing a thing or person devoted. Any 
object so devoted to Jehovah was ir- 
redeemable. If an inanimate object, it 
was to be given to the priests, Num. 
18:14; if a living creature or even a 
man, it was to be slain. Lev. 27 : 28, 
29. The word anathema frequently oc- 
curs in St. Paul’s writings, and is gen- 
erally translated accursed. An ex- 
amination of the passages in which it 


occurs shows that it had acquired a 
more general sense as expressive either 
of strong feeling, Rom. 9:3, or of dis- 
like and condemnation. 1 Cor. 12 : 3, 
16 : 22 ; Gal. 1 : 9. 

An'athoth (an'a-thoth) {answered 
prayer). 1. Son of Becher, a son of 
Benjamin. 1 Chron. 7 : 8. 

2. One of the “ heads of the people ” 
who signed the covenant in the time of 
Nehemiah. Neh. 10 : 19. 

An'athoth (an'a-thoth), a priests’ 
city belonging to the tribe of Benja- 
min, with “ suburbs.” Josh. 21 : 18 ; 1 
Chron. 6 : 60. Anathoth lay two or three 
miles from Jerusalem. Isa. 10:30. The 
cultivation of the priests survives in 
tilled fields of grain, with figs and olives. 
There are the remains of walls and 
strong foundations, and the quarries still 
supply Jerusalem with building stones. 

Anchor. Acts 27 : 29. 

An'drew (an'dru) {manly), one of 
the apostles of our Lord, John 1:40; 
Matt. 4:18, brother of Simon Peter. 
He was of Bethsaida, and had been a 
disciple of John the Baptist, leaving 
him to follow our Lord. By his means 
his brother Simon was brought to 
Jesus. John 1 : 41. His place among 
the apostles seems to have been fourth, 
next after the three Peter, James and 
John, and in company with Philip. 
Mark 3 : 18 ; Acts 1 : 13. The traditions 
about him are various. He is said to 
have preached in Scythia, in Greece, in 
Asia Minor and Thrace, and to have 
been crucified at Patrae in Achaia. 

Androni'cus (an-dro-nl'kus) {man- 
conqueror). 1. An officer left as vice- 
roy, 2 Macc. 4 : 31, in Antioch by An- 
tiochus Epiphanes during his absence. 
2 Macc. 4 : 31-38. 

2. Another officer of Antiochus 
Epiphanes who was left by him on 
Garizem. 2 Macc. 5 : 23. 

3. A Christian at Rome, saluted by 
St. Paul, Rom. 16 : 7, together with 
Junia, or Junias. 

A'nem (a'nem) {two springs), a 
city of Issachar, with “ suburbs,” be- 
longing to the Gershonites. 1 Chron. 
6: 73. 

A'ner (a'ner), a city of Manasseh, 
west of Jordan, with “ suburbs,” given 
to the Kohathites. 1 Chron. 6 : 70. 

A'ner (a'ner), one of the three 
Amorite chiefs of Hebron who aided 
Abraham in the pursuit after the four 
invading kings. Gen. 14:13, 24. 


ANE 


34 


ANI 


Aneth'othite, 2 Sam. 23 : 27, Anet'= 
othite, 1 Chron. 27 : 12, and An'toth= 
ite (an'toth-ite), 1 Chron. 11:28; 12:3, 
an inhabitant of Anathoth, of the tribe 
of Benjamin. 

Angel of the Lord. Gen. 16 : 7, etc. 
The special form in which God mani- 
fested himself to man, and hence 
Christ’s visible form before the incarna- 
tion. Compare Acts 7 : 30-38 with .the 
corresponding Old Testament history; 
and Gen. 18 : 1, 13, 14, 33 and 19 : 1. 

Angels. By the word “ angels ” O’. 
e., “ messengers ” of God) we ordinarily 
understand a race of spiritual beings of 
a nature exalted far above that of man, 
although infinitely removed from that 
of God — whose office is “to do him 
service in heaven, and by his appoint- 
ment to succor and defend men on 
earth.” I. Scriptural use of the word. 
— There are many passages in which the 
expression “ angel of God ” is certainly 
used for a manifestation of God him- 
self. Gen. 22 : 11 with 12, and Ex. 3 : 
2 with 6 and 14. It is to be observed, 
also, that side by side with these ex- 
pressions we read of God’s being mani- 
fested in the form of man — as to Abra- 
ham at Mamre, Gen. 18 : 2, 22, comp. 
19 : 1 ; to Jacob at Penuel, Gen. 32 : 24, 
30; to Joshua at Gilgal, Josh. 5:13, 15, 
etc. Besides this, which is the highest 
application of the word angel, we find 
the phrase used of any messengers of 
God, such as the prophets, Isa. 42 : 19 ; 
Hag. 1 : 13 ; Mai. 3 : 1, the priests, Mai. 

2 : 7, and the rulers of the Christian 
churches. Rev. 1 : 20. 

II. Nature of angels. — Angels are 
termed “ spirits,” as in Heb. 1:14; but 
were able to appear in bodily form as 
repeatedly in O. T. history and ex- 
pressly implied in Luke 20 : 36 ; Philip. 
3: 21. The angels are revealed to us as 
beings such as man might be, and will 
be when the power of sin and death is 
removed, because always beholding his 
face, Matt. 18 : 10, and therefore being 
“ made like him.” 1 John 3 : 2. Their 
number must be very large, 1 Kings 
22:19; Matt. 26:53; Heb. 12:22; their 
strength is great, Ps. 103 : 20 ; Rev. 5:2; 
18 : 21 ; their activity marvelous, Isa. 6 : 
2-6 ; Matt. 26 : 53 ; Rev. 8 : 13 ; their ap- 
pearance varied according to circum- 
stances, but was often brilliant and daz- 
zling. Matt. 28:2-7; Rev. 10:1, 2. Of 
the nature of “ fallen angels,” the cir- 
cumstances and nature of the tempta- 


tion by which they fell, we know ab- 
solutely nothing. All that is certain is 
that they “left their first estate,” and 
that they are now “ angels of the devil.” 
Matt. 25 : 41 ; Rev. 12 : 7, 9. On the 
other hand, the title specially assigned 
to the angels of God — that of the 
“ holy ones,” see Dan. 4 : 13, 23 ; 8 : 13 ; 
Matt. 25 : 31 — is precisely the one which 
is given to those men who are renewed 
in Christ’s image. Comp. Heb. 2 : 10 ; 
5:9; 12 : 23. 

III. Office of the angels. — Of their 
office in heaven we have only vague 
prophetic glimpses, as in 1 Kings 22 : 19 ; 
Isa. 6:1-3; Dan. 7:9, 10; Rev. 5:11, 
etc., which show us nothing but a never- 
ceasing adoration. They are represented 
as being, in the widest sense, agents of 
God’s providence, natural and super- 
natural, to the body and to the soul. 
In one word, they are Christ’s ministers 
of grace now, as they shall be of judg- 
ment hereafter. Matt. 13 : 39, 41, 49 ; 16 : 
27 ; 24 : 31, etc. That there are degrees 
of the angelic nature, both fallen and 
unfallen, and special titles and agencies 
belonging to each, is clearly declared by 
St. Paul, Eph. 1 : 21 ; Rom. 8 : 38 ; but 
what their general nature is it is useless 
to speculate. 

Amiam (a'ni-am) ( sighing of the 
people ), a Manassite, son of Shemidah. 

1 Chron. 7 : 19. 

A'nim (a'nim) (fountains) , a city in 
the mountains of Judah, named in con- 
nection with Eshtemoh and Goshen. 
Josh. 15 : 50. 

Anise (an'is). This word occurs 
only in Matt. 23 : 23. Dill (Anethum 
graveolens ) is intended here rather than 
the similar plant now called Anise. 
There is direct evidence for this in the 
statement by Rabbi Eliezer (Tract. 
Maaseroth, c. iv, 5). that the seeds, 
leaves and the stem of dill are “ sub- 
ject to tithe.” “Dill is an annual or a 
biennial herb, of the order Umbelliferae, 
with a stem one to three feet high, much 
dissected leaves, small yellow flowers, 
and flattened oval fruits about one-fifth 
of an inch long, of a brownish color, 
with a lighter-colored wing-like border, 
and a pungent aromatic odor and taste. 
It is found wild in corn fields in central 
and southern Europe and Egypt, per- 
haps escaped from cultivation. It has 
been cultivated from remote antiquity.” 
Its seeds are used in cookery as a con- 
diment, their flavor being greatly liked 


ANK 


35 


ANT 


by the people of the East generally. 
It. is also used in medicine, as a car- 
minative ; it diminishes swellings and 
its infusion is useful as a wash ‘for 
indolent ulcers. Its oil is useful in 
neuralgia and joint affections. 

Anklet. This word does not occur 
in the Authorized Version; but anklets 
are referred to in Isa. 3 : 16, 18, 20. 
They were as common as bracelets 
and armlets, and made of much the 
same materials. The pleasant jingling 
and tinkling which they made as they 
knocked against each other was no 
doubt one of the reasons why they were 
admired. They are still worn in the 
East. 

Anna (an'na) (grace), a “prophet- 
ess ” in Jerusalem at the time of our 
Lord’s presentation in the temple. Luke 
2 : 36. She was of the tribe of Asher. 

An'nas (an'nas) (merciful), son of 
one Sethi, was appointed high priest 
a.d. 7 by Quirinius, the imperial gov- 
ernor of Syria, but was obliged by 
Valerius Gratus, procurator of Judea, 
to give way to Ismael, son of Phabi, 
at the beginning of the reign of Tibe- 
rius, a.d. 15. About a.d. 18 Joseph 
Caiaphas, son-in-law of Annas, became 
high priest, John 18 : 13 ; but in Luke 
3 : 2 Annas and Caiaphas are both called 
high priests. Our Lord’s first hearing, 
John 18 : 13, was before Annas, who 
then sent him bound to Caiaphas. Some 
maintain that the two, Annas and Cai- 
aphas, were together at the head of the 
Jewish people, — Caiaphas as actual high 
priest, Annas as president of the San- 
hedrin. Acts 4 : 6. Others again sup- 
pose that Annas held the office of sagan, 
or substitute of the high priest; others 
still that Annas held the title and was 
really the ruling power. He lived to 
old age, having had five sons high 
priests. 

Anointing, in Holy Scripture) is 
either, I. Material — with oil — or II. 
Spiritual — with the Holy Ghost. I. 
Material. — (1) Ordinary. Anointing 
the body or head with oil was a com- 
mon practice with the Jews, as with 
other Oriental nations. Deut. 28 : 40 ; 
Ruth 3:3; Micah 6 : 15. Anointing the 
head with oil or ointment seems also to 
have been a mark of respect sometimes 
paid by a host to his guests. Luke 7 : 
46 and Ps. 23 : 5. (2) Official. It was a 

rite of inauguration into each of the 
three typical offices of the Jewish com- 


monwealth. a. Prophets were occasion- 
ally anointed to their office, 1 Kings 
19 : 16, and were called messiahs, or 
anointed. 1 Chron. 16 : 22 ; Ps. 105 : 15. 
b. Priests, at the first institution of the 
Levitical priesthood, were all anointed 
to their offices, Ex. 40:15; Num. 3:3; 
but afterwards anointing seems to have 
been specially reserved for the high 
priest, Ex. 29 : 29 ; Lev. 16 : 32 ; so thaf 
“ the priest that is anointed,” Lev. 4 : 3, 
is generally thought to mean the high 
priest, c. Kings. Anointing was the 
principal and divinely-appointed cere- 
mony in the inauguration of the Jewish 
kings. 1 Sam. 9 : 16 ; 10 : 1 ; 1 Kings 1 : 
34, 39. The rite was sometimes per- 
formed more than once. David was 
thrice anointed, d. Inanimate objects 
also were anointed with oil, in token of 
their being set apart for religious serv- 
ice. Thus Jacob anointed a pillar at 
Bethel. Gen. 31 : 13 ; Ex. 30 : 26-28. (3) 

Ecclesiastical. Anointing with oil is 
prescribed by St. James to be used for 
the recovery of the sick. James 5 : 14. 
Analogous to this is the anointing with 
oil practiced by the twelve. Mark 6 : 13. 
II. Spiritual. — (1) In the Old Testa- 
ment a Deliverer is promised under the 
title of Messiah, or Anointed, Ps. 2:2; 
Dan. 9 : 25, 26 ; and the nature of his 
anointing is described to be spiritual, 
with the Holy Ghost. Isa. 61 : 1 ; see 
Luke 4:18. In the New Testament 
Jesus of Nazareth is shown to be the 
Messiah, or Christ, or Anointed, of the 
Old Testament, John 1 : 41 ; Acts 9 : 22 ; 
17:2, 3 ; 18 : 4, 28 ; and the historical 
fact of his being anointed with the Holy 
Ghost is asserted and recorded. John 
1 : 32, 33 ; Acts 4 : 27 ; 10 : 38. Christ 
was anointed as prophet, priest and 
king. (2) Spiritual anointing with the 
Holy Ghost is conferred also upon 
Christians by God. 2 Cor. 1 : 21. 
“ Anointing ” expresses the sanctifying 
influences of the Holy Spirit upon 
Christians, who are priests and kings 
unto God. 

Ant (Heb. nemaldh). This insect is 
mentioned twice in the Old Testament: 
in Prov. 6 : 6 ; 30 : 25. In the former of 
these passages the diligence of this in- 
sect is instanced by the wise man as an 
example worthy of imitation ; in the 
second passage the ant’s wisdom is es- 
pecially alluded to ; for these insects, 
“ though they be little on the earth, are 
exceeding wise.” For a long time Eu- 


ANT 


36 


ANT 


ropean commentators and naturalists 
denied that ants stored up grain for 
future use, as was asserted in Proverbs ; 
but while this is true of most of the 104 
European species, two of those species 
do lay up food, and are called harvest- 
ing ants. Like species have been found 
in Texas and South America, and are 
known to exist in Palestine. They show 
many other proofs of their skill. Some 
of them build wonderful houses; these 
are often several stories high, some- 
times five hundred times the height of 
the builders, with rooms, corridors, and 
vaulted roofs supported by pillars. 
Some species keep a kind of cows; 
others have a regular army of soldiers; 
some keep slaves. “ No closer imita- 
tion of the ways of man could be found 
in the entire animal economy.” (See 
Encyc. Brit.) McCook’s “The Honey 
Ants ” gives many curious facts about 
the habits of this peculiar kind of ant, 
and of the harvesting ants of the Amer- 
ican plains. 

An'tichrist (an'ti-christ). This term 
is employed by the apostle John alone, 
and is defined by him in a manner 
which leaves no doubt as to its intrinsic 
meaning. With regard to its application 
there is less certainty. In the first pas- 
sage — 1 John 2 : 18 — in which it oc- 
curs, the apostle makes direct reference 
to the false Christs whose coming, it had 
been foretold, should mark the last days. 
In v. 22 we find, “ he is antichrist, that 
denieth the Father and the Son;” and 
still more positively, “ every spirit that 
confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come 
in the flesh is of antichrist.” Comp. 2 
John 7. Antichrist is the embodiment 
of the spirit which stands in opposition 
to the true nature and spirit of Christ 
whether this moral antagonism is em- 
bodied in individuals or in institutions. 
At the time Revelation was written the 
Roman Emperors and the priestly cult 
were antichrist. But the same spirit 
has existed ever since. 

The coming of Antichrist was be- 
lieved to be foretold in the “ vile per- 
son ” of Daniel’s prophecy, Dan. 11 : 21, 
which received its first accomplishment 
in Antiochus Epiphanes, but of which 
the complete fulfillment was reserved 
for the last times. He is identified with 
“the man of sin, the son of perdition.” 
2 Thess. 2 : 3. This interpretation brings 
Antichrist into close connection with 
the gigantic power of evil, symbolized 


by the “beast,” Rev. 13, who received 
his power from the dragon (t. e., the 
devil, the serpent of Genesis), continued 
for forty and two months, and was in- 
vested with the kingdom of the ten 
kings who destroyed the harlot Babylon, 
Rev. 17 : 12, 17, the city of seven hills. 
The destruction of Babylon is to be fol- 
lowed by the rule of Antichrist for a 
short period, Rev. 17 : 10, to be in his 
turn overthrown in “ the battle of that 
great day of God Almighty,” Rev. 16 : 
14, with the false prophet and all his 
followers. Rev. 19. The personality of 
Antichrist is to be inferred as well from 
the personality of his historical pre- 
cursor as from that of him to whom 
he stands opposed. For all that Anti- 
christ stands for, the persecutions of 
Christians, the inquisitions, the spirit of 
political ambitions that would crush 
true reforms, is ever embodied in some 
personality, the interpreter and servant 
of Satan, the great Antichrist. 

An'tioch (an'ti-ok) (from Antio- 
chus). 1 . In Syria. The capital of 
the Greek kings of Syria, and after- 
wards the residence of the Roman gov- 
ernors of the province which bore the 
same name. 

Situation. — This metropolis was situ- 
ated where the chain of Lebanon, run- 
ning northward, and the chain of Tau- 
rus, running eastward, are brought to 
an abrupt meeting. Here the Orontes 
breaks through the mountains ; and An- 
tioch was placed at a bend of the river, 
16^2 miles from the Mediterranean, 
partly on an island, partly on the levee 
which forms the left bank, and partly 
on the steep and craggy ascent of 
Mount Silpius, which rose abruptly on 
the south. It is about 300 miles north 
of Jerusalem. In the immediate neigh- 
borhood was Daphne, the celebrated 
sanctuary of Apollo, 2 Macc. 4 : 33 ; 
whence the city was sometimes called 
Antioch by Daphne, to distinguish it 
from other cities of the same name. 

Description. — The city was founded 
about 300 b.c. by Seleucus Nicator. It 
grew under the successive Seleucid 
kings till it became a city of great ex- 
tent and of remarkable beauty. One 
feature, which seemk to have been char- 
acteristic of the great Syrian cities, — 
a vast street with colonnades, intersect- 
ing the whole from end to end, — was 
added by Antiochus Epiphanes. By 
Pompey it was made a free city, and 


ANT 


37 


APH 


such it continued till the time of An- 
toninus Pius. The early emperors raised 
there some large and important struc- 
tures, such as aqueducts, amphitheatres 
and baths. Antioch, in Paul’s time, 
was the third city of the Roman em- 



TETRADRACHM OF ANTIOCH. 


pire, and contained over 200,000 inhab- 
itants. Its population in 1900 was 17,- 
500 {Cram’s Atlas'). 

Bible History . — No city, after Jeru- 
salem, is so intimately connected with 
the history of the apostolic church. 
Jews were settled there from the first in 
large numbers, were governed by their 
own ethnarch, and allowed to have the 
same political privileges with the 
Greeks. The chief interest of Antioch, 
however, is connected with the progress 
of Christianity among the heathen. 
Here the first Gentile church was 
founded, Acts 11 : 20, 21 ; here the disci- 
ples of Jesus Christ were first called 
Christians. 11 : 26. It was from An- 
tioch that St. Paul started on his three 
missionary journeys. 

2. In Pisidia, Acts 13:14; 14:19, 21; 
2 Tim. dr: 11, on the borders of Phrygia, 
corresponds to Yalobatch, which is dis- 
tant from Ak-sher six hours over the 
mountains. This city, like the Syrian 
Antioch, was founded by Seleucus Nica- 
tor. Under the Romans it became the 
centre of administration in southern 
Galatia. 

Anti'ochus (an-ti'-o-kiis) (an oppo- 
nent), the name of a number of kings 
of Syria who lived during the interval 
between the Old and New Testaments, 
and had frequent connection with the 
Jews during that period. They are re- 
ferred to in the Apocrypha, especially 
in the books of the Maccabees. 

An'tipas (an'ti-pas) {like the 
father), martyr at Pergamos, Rev. 2: 
13, and according to tradition the bishop 
of that place. 

An'tipas (an'ti-pas). [Herod.] 

Antip'atris {belonging to Antipater), 


a town to which the soldiers conveyed 
St. Paul by night on their march. Acts 
23 : 31. It was about 28 miles south of 
Caesarea. Herod, when he rebuilt the 
city, changed it to Antipatris, in honor 
of his father, Antipater. The site is 
now called Ras el ’Ain, “ the Spring- 
head.” 

Anto'nia (an-to'm-a) (from Marc 
Antony), a square stone fortress or cas- 
tle adjoining the northwest corner of 
the temple area at Jerusalem. There 
was a tower at each corner. It was 
rebuilt by Herod the Great, and named 
by him from Marc Antony. From the 
stairs of this castle Paul addressed the 
multitude who had assaulted him. Acts 
21 : 31-40. 

Antothi'jah (an-to-thi'jah) {answers 
of Jehovah ), a Benjamite, one of the 
sons of Jeroham. 1 Chron. 8 : 24. 

An'tothite (an'-toth-ite), a dweller 
at Anathoth. 1 Chron. 11 : 28 ; 12 : 3. 
[Anathoth.] 

A'nub (a'nub) {confederate), son of 
Coz and descendant of Judah, through 
Ashur the father of Tekoa. 1 Chron. 
4:8. 

Apel'Ies (a-pel'les), a Christian sa- 
luted by St. Paul in Rom. 16: 10. Tra- 
dition makes him bishop of Smyrna or 
Heraclea. 

Apes (Heb. kophim) are mentioned 
in 1 Kings 10 : 22 and 2 Chron. 9 : 21. 
There can be little doubt that the apes 
were brought from the same country 
which supplied ivory and peacocks, both 
of which are common in Ceylon ; and 
Sir E. Tennent has drawn attention to 
the fact that the Tamil names for apes, 
ivory and peacocks are identical with 
the Hebrew. 

Aphar'sathchites (a-f ar'sath-kites) , 
Aphar'sites (a-far'sites), Aphar'sa- 
cites, the names of certain tribes col- 
onies from which had been planted in 
Samaria by the Assyrian leader Asnap- 
per. Ezra 4:9; 5:6. The first and last 
are regarded as the same. Whence 
these tribes came is entirely a matter of 
conjecture. 

A'phek (a'fek) {fortress), the name 
of several places in Palestine. 1. A 
royal city of the Canaanites, the king 
of which was killed by Joshua, Josh. 
12 : 18 ; probably the same as Aphekah 
in Josh. 15 : 53. 

2. A city, apparently in the extreme 
north of Asher, Josh. 19 : 30, from which 
the Canaanites were not ejected, Judges 


APH 


38 


APO 


1 : 31 ; though here it is Aphik. This 
is probably the same place as Aphek, 
Josh. 13:4, on the extreme north “bor- 
der of the Amorites,” identified with 
the Aphaca of classical times, the mod- 
ern Afka. 

3. A place at which the Philistines en- 
camped while the Israelites pitched in 
Eben-ezer, before the fatal battle in 
which the sons of Eli were killed and 
the ark was taken. 1 Sam. 4 : 1. This 
would be somewhere to the northwest 
of and at no great distance from Jeru- 
salem. Perhaps the same as 1 . 

4. The scene of another encampment 
of the Philistines, before an encounter 
not less disastrous than that just named, 
— the defeat and death of Saul. 1 Sam. 
29 : 1. It is possible that it may be the 
same place as the preceding. 

5. A city on the military road from 
Syria to Israel. 1 Kings 20 : 26. It is 
now found in Fik, at the head of the 
Wady Fik, 3 miles east of the Sea of 
Galilee. G. A. Smith says, in Sharon. 

Aphe'kah (a-fe'kah) ( strong place), 
a city of Judah, in the mountains, Josh. 
15 : 53 ; probably the same as Aphek, 1. 

Aphi'ah (a-fi'ah) ( refreshed ), one 
of the forefathers of King Saul. 1 
Sam. 9 : 1. 

A'phik (a' fik), a city of Asher from 
which the Canaanites were not driven 
out. Judges 1 : 31. Probably the same 
place as Aphek, 2. 

Aph'rah (af'rah) (dust), The house 
of, a place mentioned in Micah 1 : 10 . 
Its site is uncertain. 

Aph' ses ( the dispersion), chief of the 
18th of the 24 courses in the service of 
the temple. 1 Chron. 24 : 15. 

Apoc'alypse. A Greek word mean- 
ing revelation, applied chiefly to the 
book of Revelation by John. [Revela- 
tion.] 

Apoc'rypha (concealed, hidden). 1. 
Old Testament Apocrypha. — The collec- 
tion of books to which this term is pop- 
ularly applied includes the following 
(the order given is that in which they* 
stand in the English version) : I. 1 Es- 
dras; II. 2 Esdras; III. Tobit; IV. Ju- 
dith ; V. The rest of the chapters of the 
book of Esther, which are found neither 
in the Hebrew nor in the Chaldee; VI. 
The Wisdom of Solomon ; VII. The 
Wisdom of Jesus the Son of Sirach, or 
Ecclesiasticus ; VIII. Baruch; IX. The 


Song of the Three Holy Children; X. 
The History of Susanna; XI. The His- 
tory of the destruction of Bel and the 
Dragon; XII. The Prayer of Manasses 
king of Judah; XIII. 1 Maccabees; 
XIV. 2 Maccabees. The primary mean- 
ing of apocrypha , “ hidden, secret,” 
seems, toward the close of the second 
century, to have been associated with 
the signification “ spurious,” and ulti- 
mately to have settled down into the 
latter. The separate books of this 
collection are treated of in distinct 
articles. 

2. New Testament Apocrypha. — A 
collection of legendary and spurious 
Gospels, Acts of the Apostles, and Epis- 
tles. They are so entirely inferior to 
the genuine books, so full of nonsen- 
sical and unworthy stories of (Jhrist 
and the apostles, that they have never 
been regarded as divine, or bound up 
in our Bibles. It is said that Moham- 
med obtained his ideas of Christ en- 
tirely from these spurious gospels. 

Apollo'nia (ap-ol-lo'ni-a) (belong- 
ing to Apollo), a city of Macedonia, 
through which Paul and Silas passed on 
their way from Philippi and Amphipo- 
lis to Thessalonica. Acts 17 : 1. Ac- 
cording to the Antonine Itinerary it 
was distant 30 Roman miles from Am- 
phipolis and 37 Roman miles from 
Thessalonica. 

Apolios (a-pol'los), a Jew from 
Alexandria, eloquent (which may also 
mean learned) and mighty in the Scrip- 
tures; one instructed in the way of the 
Lord, according to the imperfect view of 
the disciples of John the Baptist, Acts 
18 : 24, but on his coming to Ephesus 
during a temporary absence of St. Paul, 
a.d. 53, more perfectly taught by Aquila 
and Priscilla. After this he became a 
preacher of the gospel, first in Achaia 
and then in Corinth. Acts 18 : 27 ; 19 : 1. 
When the apostle wrote his First Epis- 
tle to the Corinthians, Apolios was with 
or near him, 1 Cor. 16:12; probably at 
Ephesus in a.d. 57. He is mentioned 
but once more in the New Testament, 
in Titus 3 : 13. After this nothing is 
known of him. Tradition makes him 
bishop of Caesarea. 

Apol'lyon (a-pol'li-on); or, as it is 
literally in the margin of the Author- 
ized Version of Rev. 9:11, “a destroy- 
er,” is the rendering of the Hebrew 
word Abaddon, “the angel of the bot- 
tomless pit.” From the occurrence of 


APO 


39 


APP 


the word in Ps. 88 : 11, the rabbins have 
made Abaddon the nethermost of the 
two regions into which they divide the 
lower world ; but that in Rev. 9 : 11 
Abaddon is the angel and not the abyss 
is perfectly evident in the Greek. 

Apostle ( one sent forth), in the New 
Testament originally the official name 
of those twelve of the disciples whom 
Jesus chose to send forth first to preach 
the gospel and to be with him during the 
course of his ministry on earth. The 
word also appears to have been used in 
a non-official sense to designate a much 
wider circle of Christian messengers 
and teachers. See 2 Cor. 8 : 23 ; Philip. 
2 : 25. It is only of those who were 
officially designated apostles that we 
treat in this article. Their names are 
given in Matt. 10 : 2-4. A summary of 
their history will be found in the Ap- 
pendix. 

Their office. — (1) The original qualifi- 
cation of an apostle, as stated by St. 
Peter on the occasion of electing a suc- 
cessor to the traitor Judas, was that he 
should have been personally acquainted 
with the whole ministerial course of our 
Lord, from his baptism by John till the 
day when he was taken up into heaven. 
(2) They were chosen by Christ him- 
self. (3) They had the power of work- 
ing miracles. (4) They were inspired. 
John 16 : 13. (5) Their work seems to 

have been pre-eminently that of found- 
ing the churches and upholding them 
by supernatural power specially be- 
stowed for that purpose. (6) The office 
ceased, as a matter of course, with its 
first holders ; all continuation of it, from 
the very conditions of its existence (cf. 
1 Cor. 9:1), being impossible. 

Early history and training. — The 
apostles were from the lower ranks of 
life, simple and uneducated; some of 
them were related to Jesus according to 
the flesh ; some had previously been dis- 
ciples of John the Baptist. Our Lord 
chose them early in his public career. 
They seem to have been all on an equal- 
ity, both during and after the ministry 
of Christ on earth. Early in our Lord’s 
ministry he sent them out two and two 
to preach repentance and to perform 
miracles in his. name. Matt. 10; Luke 
9. They accompanied him in his jour- 
neys, saw his wonderful works, heard 
his discourses addressed to the people, 
and made inquiries of him on religious 
matters. They recognized him as the 


Christ of God, Matt. 16 : 16 ; Luke 9 : 20, 
and ascribed to him supernatural power, 
Luke 9 : 54 ; but in the recognition of the 
spiritual teaching and mission of Christ 
they made very slow progress, held back 
as they were by weakness of apprehen- 
sion and by national prejudices. Even 
at the removal of our Lord from the 
earth they were yet weak in their knowl- 
edge, Luke 24:21; John 16:12, though 
he had for so long been carefully pre- 
paring and instructing them. On the 
feast of Pentecost, ten days after our 
Lord’s ascension, the Holy Spirit came 
down on the assembled church, Acts 2 ; 
and from that time the apostles became 
altogether different men, giving witness 
with power of the life and death and 
resurrection of Jesus, as he had de- 
clared they should. Luke 24 : 48 ; Acts 
1 : 8, 22 ; 2:32; 3 : 15 ; 5:32; 13 : 31. 

Later labors and history. — First of all 
the mother-church at Jerusalem grew up 
under their hands, Acts 3-7, and their 
superior dignity and power were univer- 
sally acknowledged by the rulers and 
the people. Acts 5:12 ff. Their first 
mission out of Jerusalem was to Sa- 
maria, Acts 8 : 5-25, where the Lord 
himself had, during his ministry, sown 
the seed of the gospel. Here ends the 
first period of the apostles’ agency, dur- 
ing which its centre is Jerusalem and 
the prominent figure is that of St. Peter. 
The centre of the second period of the 
apostolic agency is Antioch, where a 
church soon was built up, consisting of 
Jews and Gentiles; and the central fig- 
ure of this and of the subsequent period 
is St. Paul. The third apostolic period 
is marked by the almost entire disap- 
pearance of the twelve from the sacred 
narrative, and the exclusive agency of 
St. Paul, the great apostle of the Gen- 
tiles. Of the missionary work of the 
rest of the twelve we know absolutely 
nothing from the sacred narrative. 

Ap'paim (ap'pa-im), or Appa'im 
(the nostrils), son of Nadab, and de- 
scended from Jerahmeel, the founder of 
an important family of the tribe of 
Judah. 1 Chron. 2 : 30, 31. 

Appeal. The principle of appeal 
was recognized by the Mosaic law in the 
establishment of a central court under 
the presidency of the judge or ruler for 
the time being, before which all cases 
too difficult for the local courts were to 
be tried. Deut. 17 : 8, 9. According to 
the above regulation, the appeal lay in 


APP 


40 


ARA 


the time of the Judges to the judge, 
Judges 4: 5, and under the monarchy to 
the king. Jehoshaphat delegated his ju- 
dicial authority to a court permanently 
established for the purpose. 2 Chron. 
19 : 8. These courts were re-established 
by Ezra. Ezra 7 : 25. After the insti- 
tution of the Sanhedrin the final appeal 
lay to them. St. Paul, as a Roman citi- 
zen, exercised a right of appeal from the 
jurisdiction of the local court at Jeru- 
salem to the emperor. Acts 25 : 11. 

Ap'phia (af'fi-a), a Christian woman 
addressed jointly with Philemon and 
Archippus in Phil. 2 ; apparently a mem- 
ber of Philemon’s household, and not 
improbably his wife. 

Ap'pii Fo'rum (ap'pi-I-fo'rum ( mar- 
ket of Appius), a well-known station on 
the Appian Way, the great road which 
led from Rome to the neighborhood of 
the Bay of Naples. Acts 28:15. There 
is no difficulty in identifying the site 
with some ruins near Treponti, 43 miles 
from Rome. 

Ap'pius, Market of. Revised Ver- 
sion for Appii Forum. Acts 28 : 15. 

Apple Tree, Apple (Heb. tappuach ). 
Mention of the apple tree occurs in the 
Authorized Version in Cant. 2:3; 8:5, 
and Joel 1 : 12. The fruit of this tree 
is alluded to in Prov. 25 : 11 and Cant. 
2 : 5 ; 7 : 8. It is a difficult matter to say 
what is the specific tree denoted by the 
Hebrew word tappuach. “ The apple 
proper is rare in Syria, and its fruit in- 
ferior.’] Most modern writers maintain 
that it is either the quince or the citron ; 
others speak of the apricot, which is 
abundant and deliciously perfumed. 
The quince has some plausible argu- 
ments. in its favor. Its fragrance was 
held in high esteem by the ancients. 
The quince was sacred to Venus. On 
the other hand, Dr. Royle says, “The 
rich color, fragrant odor and handsome 
appearance of the citron, whether in 
flower or in fruit, are particularly 
suited to the passages of Scripture 
mentioned above.” Dr. G. E. Post, 
who lived many years in Palestine, tells 
us that the apple fulfills all the condi- 
tions perfectly. The tree often grows 
to a large size, is planted in orchards, 
and is a special favorite of the people 
of Palestine and Syria. The fruit is 
indeed inferior to the apples of Europe 
and America; but the better kinds have 
a delicious aroma, and it is for this 


that they are chiefly prized. — Hastings’ 
Bib. Die. 

Aq'uila (ak'wi-la) (an eagle), a Jew 
whom St. Paul found at Corinth on his 
arrival from Athens. Acts 18 : 2. 
(a.d. 52.) He was a native of Pontus, 
but had fled, with his wife Priscilla, 
from Rome, in consequence of an order 
of Claudius commanding all Jews to 
leave the city. He became acquainted 
with St. Paul, and they abode together, 
and wrought at their common trade 
of making the Cilician tent or hair- 
cloth. On the departure of the apostle 
from Corinth, a year and six months 
after, Priscilla and Aquila accompanied 
him to Ephesus. There they remained, 
and there they taught Apollos. At 
what time they became Christians is 
uncertain. 

Ar (a city), or Ar of Moab, one of 
the chief places of Moab. Num. 21 : 
28 ; Isa. 15 : 1. In later times the place 
was known as Areopolis and Rabbath- 
Moab. After its destruction by an 
earthquake the city was rebuilt about 
10 miles south of the old site. The 
ruins of this later city, still called Rab- 
bah, lie about halfway between Kerak 
and the Wady Mojeb, the Roman road 
passing through it. 

A'ra, one of the sons of Jether, the 
head of a family of Asherites. 1 
Chron. 7:38. 

A'rab (a'rab) (ambush), a city of 
Judah in the mountainous district, 
probably in the neighborhood of 
Hebron; mentioned only in Josh. 15: 52. 

Ar'abah (ar'a-bah) (burnt up). Al- 
though this word appears in the Au- 
thorized Version in its original shape 
only in Josh. 18 : 18, yet in the Hebrew 
text it is of frequent occurrence. It 
indicates more particularly the deep- 
sunken valley or trench which forms 
the most striking among the many 
striking natural features of Palestine, 
and which extends with great uniform- 
ity of formation from the slopes of 
Hermon to the Elanitic Gulf (Gulf of 
Akabah) of the Red Sea; the most re- 
markable depression known to exist on 
the surface of the globe. Through the 
northern portion of this extraordinary 
fissure the Jordan rushes through the 
lakes of Huleh and Gennesaret down 
its tortuous course to the deep chasm 
of the Dead Sea. This portion, about 
150 miles in length, is known amongst 


ARA 


41 


the Arabs by the name of el-Ghor. 
The southern boundary of the Ghor is 
the wall of cliffs which crosses the val- 
ley about 10 miles south of the Dead 
Sea. From their summits, southward 
to the Gulf of Akabah, the valley 
changes its name, or, it would be more 
accurate to say, retains its old name of 
Wady el-Arabah. 

Ara'bia (a-ra'bi-a) ( desert , barren ), 
a country known in the Old Testament 
under two designations: (1) The East 
Country, Gen. 25 : 6, or perhaps the 
East, Gen. 10:30; Num. 23:7; Isa. 2: 
6; and Land the Sons of the East, 



A BEDOUIN SHEIKH. 


Gen. 29:1; Gentile name, Sons of the 
East. Judges 6:3; 7:12; 1 Kings 

4:30; Job 1:3; Isa. 11:14; Jer. 49:28; 
Ezek. 25 : 4. From these passages it 
appears that Land of the East and Sons 
of the East indicate, primarily, the 
country east of Palestine, and the tribes 
descended from Ishmael and from 
Keturah ; and that this original signifi- 
cation may have become gradually ex- 
tended to Arabia and its inhabitants 
generally, though without any strict lim- 
itation. (2) ’ Arab and ’Arab, whence 
Arabia. 2 Chron. 9 : 14 ; Isa. 21 : 13 ; 
Jer. 25:24; Ezek. 27:21. “Arabia is 
a triangular peninsula, included be- 
tween the Mediterranean and Red seas, 


ARA 


the Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf. 
Its extreme length, north and south, is 
about 1300 miles, and its greatest 
breadth 1500 miles.” — Encyc. Brit. 

Divisions. — Arabia may be divided in- 
to Arabia Proper, containing the whole 
peninsula as far as the limits of the 
northern deserts; Northern Arabia 
( Arabia Deserta ), constituting the great 
desert of Arabia; and Western Arabia, 
the desert of Petra and the peninsula of 
Sinai, or the country that has been 
called Arabia Petrcea. I. Arabia Proper, 
or the Arabian peninsula, consists of 
high table-land, declining towards the 
north. Most of it is well peopled, 
watered by wells and streams, and en- 
joys periodical rains. The most fertile 
tracts are those on the southwest and 
south. II. Northern Arabia, or the 
Arabian Desert, is a high, undulating, 
parched plain, of which the Euphrates 
forms the natural boundary from the 
Persian Gulf to the frontier of Syria, 
whence it is bounded by the latter coun- 
try and the desert of Petra on the 
northwest and west, the peninsula of 
Arabia forming its southern limit. It 
has few oases, the water of the wells is 
generally either brackish or unpotable, 
and it is visited by the sand-wind called 
Samoom. The inhabitants, principally 
descended from Ishmael and from Ke- 
turah, have always led a wandering and 
pastoral life. They conducted a consid- 
erable trade of merchandise of Arabia 
and India from the shores of the Per- 
sian Gulf. Ezek. 27:20-24. III. Wes- 
tern Arabia includes the peninsula of 
Sinai [Sinai] and the desert of Petra, 
corresponding generally with the limits 
of Arabia Petraea. The latter name 
is probably derived from that of 
its chief city, not from its stony char- 
acter. It was mostly peopled by de- 
scendants of Esau, and was generally 
known as the land of Edom or Idumaea 
[Edom], as well as by its older appel- 
lation, the desert of Seir or Mount 
Seir. [Seir.] 

Inhabitants. — “ Arabia, which once 
ruled from India to the Atlantic, now 
has eight or nine millions of inhab- 
itants, about one-fifth of whom are 
Bedouin or wandering tribes, and the 
other four-fifths settled Arabs.” — Encyc. 
Brit. (1) The descendants of Joktan 
occupied the principal portions of the 
south and southwest of the peninsula, 


ARA 


42 


ARA 


with colonies in the interior. The prin- 
cipal Joktanite kingdom, and the chief 
state of ancient Arabia, was that of the 
Yemen. (2) The Ishmaelites appear 
to have entered the peninsula from the 
northwest. That they have spread over 
the whole of it (with the exception of 
one or two districts on the south coast), 
and that the modern nation is predom- 
inantly Ishmaelite, is asserted by the 
Arabs. (3) Of the descendants of 
Keturah the Arabs say little. They 
appear to have settled chiefly north of 
the peninsula in Desert Arabia, from 
Palestine to the Persian Gulf. (4) In 
northern and western Arabia are other 
peoples which, from their geographical 
position and mode of life, are some- 
times classed with the Arabs. Of these 
are Amalek, the descendants of Esau, 
etc. 

Productions . — “ The productions are 
varied. The most noted animal is the 
horse. Camels, sheep, cattle, asses, 
mules and cats are common. Agricul- 
tural products are coffee, wheat, barley, 
millet, beans, pulse, dates and the com- 
mon garden plants. In . pasture lands 
Arabia is peculiarly fortunate. In min- 
eral products it is singularly poor, lead 
being most abundant.” — Encyc. Brit. 

Religion . — The most ancient idolatry 
of the Arabs we must conclude to have 
been fetishism. Magianism, an impor- 
tation from Chaldsea and Persia, must 
be reckoned among the religions of the 
pagan Arabs ; but it never had very 
numerous followers. Christianity was 
introduced into southern Arabia toward 
the close of the second century, and 
about a century later it had made great 
progress. It flourished chiefly in the 
Yemen, where many churches were 
built. Judaism was propagated in Ara- 
bia, principally by Karaites, at the cap- 
tivity. They are now nominally Mo- 
hammedans. 

Language. — Arabic, the language of 
Arabia, is the most developed and the 
richest of Shemitic languages, and the 
only one of which we have an extensive 
literature; it is, therefore, of great im- 
portance to the study of Hebrew. 

Government . — Arabia is now under 
the government of the Ottoman empire. 

Ara'bians, the nomadic tribes inhab- 
iting the country to the east and south 
of Palestine, who in the early times of 
Hebrew history were known as Ishmael- 
ites and descendants of Keturah. 


A'rad (a' rad) (a wild ass), a Ben- 
jamite, son of Beriah, who drove out 
the inhabitants of Gath. 1 Chron. 8: 
15. 

A'rad (a'rad), a royal city of the 
Canaanites, named with Hormah and 
Libnah. Josh. 12 : 14. The wilderness 
of Judah was to “ the south of Arad.” 
Judges 1 : 16. It may be identified with 
a hill, Tel *. Arad , northeast by east from 
Milh (Moladah), and sixteen miles 
from Hebron. 

A'rah (wayfarer) . 1. An Asherite, 

of the sons of Ulla. 1 Chron. 7 : 39. 

2. The sons of Arah returned with 
Zerubbabel in number 775 according to 
Ezra 2 : 5, but 652 acording to Neh. 7 : 
10. One of his descendants, She- 
chaniah, was the father-in-law of 
Tobiah the Ammonite. Neh. 6:18. 

A' ram (a' ram). 1. The name by 
which the Hebrews designated, gener- 
ally, the country lying to the northeast 
of Palestine; the great mass of that 
high table-land which, rising with sud- 
den abruptness from the Jordan and 
the very margin of the lake of Gen- 
nesaret, stretches, at an elevation of no 
less than 2000 feet above the level of 
the sea, to the banks of the Euphrates 
itself. Throughout the Authorized Ver- 
sion the word is, with only a few ex- 
ceptions, rendered, as in the Vulgate 
and LXX., Syria. Its earliest occur- 
rence in the book of Genesis is in the 
form of Aram-naharaim, i. e. “ Aram 
of or between the two rivers.” Gen. 
24:10, Authorized Version “Mesopota- 
mia.” In the later history we meet 
with a number of small nations or 
kingdoms forming parts of the general 
land of Aram; but as Damascus in- 
creased in importance it gradually ab- 
sorbed the smaller powers, 1 Kings 20 : 
1, and the name of Aram was at last 
applied to it alone. Isa. 7:8; also 1 
Kings 11 : 24, 25 ; 15 : 18, etc. 

2. Another Aram is named in Gen. 
22 : 21, as a son of Kemuel and de- 
scendant of Nahor. 

3. An Asherite, one of the sons of 
Shamer. 1 Chron. 7 : 34. 

4. Son of Esrom or Hezron, and the 
Greek form of the Hebrew Ram. Matt. 
1:3, 4 ; Luke 3 : 33. 

A'ram=nahara'im (a'ram-na-ha'ra'- 
im) ( Aram of two rivers). Ps. 60, 
title. [Aram, 1.] 

A'ram=zo'bah (a'ram-zo'-bah). Ps. 
60, title. [Aram, 1.] 



ARA 


43 


ARC 


Arami'tess, a female inhabitant of 
Aram. 1 Chron. 7 : 14. 

A'ran (a'ran) {wild goat), a Horite, 
son of Dishan and brother of Uz. Gen. 
36 : 28 ; 1 Chron. 1 : 42. 

Ar'arat (ar'a-rat) {high ground ), a 
mountainous district of Asia mentioned 
in the Bible in connection with the fol- 
lowing events: — (1) As the resting- 
place of the ark after the deluge. Gen. 
8 : 4. (2) As the asylum of the sons of 

Sennacherib. 2 Kings 19 : 37 ; Isa. 37 : 
38; Authorized Version has “the land 
of Armenia.” (3) As the ally, and 
probably the neighbor, of Minni and 
Ashchenaz. Jer. 51:27. [Armenia.] 
The name Ararat was unknown to the 
geographers of Greece and Rome, as it 
still is to the Armenians of the present 
day; but it was an ancient name for a 
portion of Armenia. In its Biblical 
sense it is descriptive generally of the 
Armenian highlands — the lofty plateau 
which overlooks the plain of the Araxes 
on the north and of Mesopotamia on the 
south. Various opinions have been put 
forth as to the spot where the ark 
rested, as described in Gen. 8:4; but 
it is probable that it rested on some of 
the lower portions of the range rather 
than on the lofty peak to which exclu- 
sively Europeans have given the name 
Ararat, the mountain which is called 
Massis by the Armenians, Agri-Dagh, 
i. e. Painful Mountain, by the Turks, 
and Kuh-i-Nuh, i. e. Noah's Mountain, 
by the Persians. It rises immediately 
out of the plain of the Araxes, and ter- 
minates in two conical peaks, named the 
Great and Less Ararat, about seven 
miles distant from each other; the form- 
er of which attains an elevation of 17,- 
260 feet above the level of the sea and 
about 14’000 above the plain of the 
Araxes, while the latter is lower by 
4000 feet. The summit of the higher 
is covered with eternal snow for about 
3000 feet. Arguri, the only village 
known to have been built on its slopes, 
was the spot where, -according to tradi- 
tion, Noah planted his vineyard. “ The 
mountains of Ararat,” are co-extensive 
with the Armenian plateau from the 
base of Ararat in the north to the range 
of Kurdistan in the south. We notice 
the following characteristics of that re- 
gion as illustrating the Bible narrative: 
(1) Its elevation. It rises to a height 
of from 6000 to 7000 feet above the 
level of the sea. (2) Its geographical 


position. Viewed with reference to the 
dispersion of the nations, Armenia is 
the true centre of the world; and at 
the present day Ararat is the great 
boundary-stone between the empires of 
Russia, Turkey and Persia. (3) Its 
physical character. The plains as well 
as the mountains supply evidence of 
volcanic agency. (4) The climate. 
Winter lasts from October to May, and 
is succeeded by a brief spring and a 
summer of intense heat. (5) The veg- 
etation. Grass grows luxuriantly on 
the plateau, and furnishes abundant pas- 
ture during the summer months to the 
flocks of the nomad Kurds. Wheat, 
barley and vines ripen at far higher 
altitudes than on the Alps and the Pyr- 
enees. 

Arau'nah (a-rau'nah), a Jebusite 
who sold his threshing-floor on Mount 
Moriah to David as a site for an altar 
to Jehovah, together with his oxen. 2 
Sam. 24 : 18-24 ; 1 Chron. 21 : 25. 

Ar'ba (ar'ba), the progenitor of the 
Anakim, or sons of Anak, from whom 
their chief city, Hebron, received its 
name of Kirjath-Arba. Josh. 14:15; 
15 : 13 ; 21 : 11. 

Ar'bah (ar'ba). Hebron, or Kirjath- 
Arba, as “ the city of Arbah ” is al- 
ways rendered elsewhere. Gen. 35 : 27. 

Ar'bathite (ar'bath-Ite). Perhaps a 
native of Beth-arabah. Abi-albon the 
Arbathite was one of David’s mighty 
men. 2 Sam. 23 : 31 ; 1 Chron. 11 : 32. 

Ar'bite (ar'bite), a native of Arab. 
Paarai the Arbite was one of David’s 
guard. 2 Sam. 23 : 35. 

Arch of Titus. A triumphal arch 
erected at Rome, and still remaining 
there, to commemorate the conquest of 
Judea and the destruction of Jerusalem 
by the emperor Titus. It was erected 
after his death, a.d. 91, by the senate 
and people of Rome. It was a magnifi- 
cent structure, decorated with bas-re- 
liefs and inscriptions, and is of especial 
interest because its historic bas-reliefs 
represent the captors carrying in tri- 
umph to Rome the golden candlestick 
and sacred utensils from the Jewish 
temple at Jerusalem. From these we 
obtain our best idea of their shape. 

Archela'us (ar-ke-la'us) {prince of 
the people ), son of Herod the Great by 
a Samaritan woman, Malthake, and, 
with his brother Antipas, brought up at 
Rome. At the death of Herod (b.c. 4) 
his kingdom was divided between his 


ARC 


44 


ARE 


three sons: Herod Antipas, Archelaus 
and Philip. Archelaus never properly 
bore the title of king, Matt. 2:22, but 



COINS OF ARCHELAUS. 


only that of ethnarch. In the tenth 
year of his reign, or the ninth accord- 
ing to Dion Cassius, i. e. a.d. 6, a com- 
plaint was preferred against him by his 
brothers and his subjects on the ground 
of his tyranny, in consequence of which 
he was banished to Vienne in Gaul, 
where he is generally said to have died. 

Archery. [Arms.] 

Ar'chevites (ar'ke-vltes), perhaps the 
inhabitants of Erech, some of whom 
had been placed as colonists in Samaria. 
Ezra 4 : 9. 

Ar'chi (ar'ki). Josh. 16:2. A clan 
in the neighborhood of Bethel, on the 
boundary between Ephraim and Benja- 
min. It designates a clan perhaps orig- 
inally from Erech in Babylonia, of 
which Hushai was one. [Archite.] 

Archip pus (ar-kip'pus) ( master of 
the horse), a Christian teacher in Colos- 
sae, Col. 4 : 17, called by St. Paul his 
“ fellow soldier,” Phil. 2. He was 
probably a member of Philemon’s 
family, (a.d. 62.) 

Ar'chite (ar'kite), The (as if from 
a place named Erech, on the frontiers 
of Ephraim), the usual designation of 
David’s friend Hushai. 2 Sam. 15 : 32 ; 
17 : 5, 14 ; 1 Chron. 27 : 33. 

Architecture. The book of Genesis, 
4 : 17, 20, 22, appears to divide man- 
kind into two great characteristic sec- 
tions, viz., the “ dwellers in tents ” and 
the “ dwellers in cities.” To the race 
of Shem is attributed, Gen. 10 : 11, 12, 
22 ; 11:2-9, the foundation of those 
cities in the plain of Shinar, Babylon, 
Nineveh and others. The Israelites 
were by occupation shepherds, and by 
habit dwellers in tents. Gen. 47 : 3. 
They had therefore originally, speaking 


properly, no architecture. From the 
time of the occupation of Canaan they 
became dwellers in towns and in houses 
of stone. Lev. 14 : 34, 45 ; 1 Kings 7 : 10. 
The peaceful reign and vast wealth 
of Solomon gave great impulse to archi- 
tecture; for besides the temple and his 
other great works, he built fortresses 
and cities in various places, among 
which Baalath and Tadmor are in all 
probability represented by Baalbec and 
Palmyra. But the reigns of Hqrod and 
his successors were especially remark- 
able for their great architectural works. 
Not only was the temple restored, but 
the fortifications and other public build- 
ings of Jerusalem were enlarged and 
embellished. Luke 21 : 5. The town of 
Caesarea was built on the site of Strato’s 
Tower; Samaria was enlarged, and re- 
ceived the name of Sebaste. Of the 
original splendor of these great works 
no doubt can be entertained; but of 
their style and appearance we can only 
conjecture that they were formed on 
Greek and Roman models. The enor- 
mous stones employed in the Assyrian, 
Persepolitan and Egyptian buildings 
find a parallel in the substructions of 
Baalbec and in the huge blocks which 
still remain at Jerusalem, relics of the 
buildings either of Solomon or of 
Herod. 

Arctu'rus (ark-tu'rus) ( bear-keep- 
er ). The Hebrew words ’ Ash and 
’Aish, rendered “ Arcturus ” in the Au- 
thorized Version of Job 9:9; 38:32, in 
conformity with the Vulgate of the 
former passage, are now generally be- 
lieved to be identical, and to represent 
the constellation Ursa Major, known 
commonly as the Great Bear or 
Charles’ Wain. 

Ard, the son of Bela and grandson 
of Benjamin. Gen. 46:21; Num. 26: 
40. In 1 Chron. 8:3 he is called Ad- 
dar. 

Ard'ites, the descendants of Ard or 
Addar, the grandson of Benjamin. 
Num. 26 : 40. 

Ar'don (ar'don), a son of Caleb, the 
son of Hezron, by his wife Azubah. 1 
Chron. 2 : 18. 

Are'li (a-re'll), a son of Gad. Gen. 
46:16; Num. 26:17. His descendants 
are called Arelites. Num. 26 : 17. 

Areop'agite (ar-e-op'a-gite), a mem- 
ber of the court of Areopagus. Acts 
17 : 34. 


ARE 


45 


ARK 


Areop'agus (ar-e-op'a-gus). [Mars’ 
Hill.] 

Ar'etas (ar'e-tas), or Are'tas 
{graver). 1. A contemporary of Anti- 
ochus Epiphanes, b.c. 170, and Jason, 
2 Macc. 5 : 8. 

2. The Aretas alluded to by St. Paul, 
2 Cor. 11:32, was father-in-law of 
Herod Antipas. 

Ar'gob (ar'gob) {stony), a tract of 
country on the east of the Jordan, in 
Bashan, the kingdom of Og, containing 
60 great and fortified cities. In later 
times it was called Trachonitis, and it is 
now apparently identified with the Le- 
jah, a very remarkable district south of 
Damascus and east of the Sea of Gali- 
lee. Deut. 3 : 4, 13, 14. 

Ar'gob (ar'gob), perhaps a Gileadite 
officer who was governor of Argob. He 
was either an accomplice of Pekah in 
the murder of Pekahiah or was slain 
by Pekah. 2 Kings 15 : 25. 

Arid'ai (a-rid'a-i), ninth son of Ha- 
man. Esther 9 : 9. 

Arid'atha (a-rid'a-tha), sixth son of 
Haman. Esther 9 : 8. 

Ari'eh (a-ri'eh) {the lion). Either 
one of the accomplices of Pekah in his 
conspiracy against Pekahiah, or one of 
the princes of Pekahiah who was put to 
death with him. 2 Kings 15 : 25. (b.c. 

737.) 

A' riel (a'ri-el) {lion of God). 1. 
One of the “ chief men ” who under 
Ezra directed the caravan which he led 
back from Babylon to Jerusalem. Ezra 
8 : 16. 

2. The word occurs also in reference 
to two Moabites slain by Benaiah. 2 
Sam. 23 : 20 ; 1 Chron. 11 : 22. Many 
regard the word as an epithet, “ lion- 
like ; ” but it seems better to look upon 
it as a proper name, and translate 
“ two [sons] of Ariel,” as in R. V. 

3. A designation given by Isaiah to 
the city of Jerusalem. Isa. 29:1, 2, 7. 
We must understand by it either “ lion 
of God,” as the chief city, or “hearth 
of God,” a synonym for the altar of 
burnt offering. On the whole, it seems 
most probable that, as a name given to 
Jerusalem, Ariel means “lion of God,” 
whilst the word used by Ezekiel, Ezek. 
43 : 15, 16, means “ hearth of God.” 

Arimathae'a (ar-i-ma-the'a) {height). 
Matt. 27:57; Luke 23:51; John 19: 
38. St. Luke calls it “a city of Ju- 
dea.” It is situated near Lydda. 

A'rioch (a'ri-ok). 1. The king of 


Larsa, probably Ellasar, one of the allies 
of Chedorlaomer in his expedition 
against his rebellious tributaries, in the 
time of Abraham. Gen. 14 : 1. 

2. The captain of Nebuchadnezzar’s 
body-guard. Dan. 2 : 14, etc. 

3. Properly Eirioch, or Enoch, men- 
tioned in Judith 1 : 6 as king of the Ely- 
maeans. 

Aris'ai (a-ris'a-i), eighth son of Ha- 
man. Esther 9 : 9. 

Aristarchus (ar-is-tar'kus) {the 
best ruling), a Thessalonian, Acts 20: 
4 ; 27 : 2, who accompanied St. Paul on 
his third missionary journey. Acts 19 : 
29. He was with the apostle on his re- 
turn to Asia, Acts 20 : 4 ; and again, 
27:2, on his voyage to Rome. We 
trace him afterwards as St. Paul’s fel- 
low prisoner in Col. 4 : 10 and Phil. 24. 
Tradition makes him bishop of Apamea. 

Aristobu'lus (ar-is-to-bu'lus) {the 
best counsellor) , a resident at Rome, 
some of whose household are greeted in 
Rom. 16:10. Tradition makes him one 
of the 70 disciples, and reports that he 
preached the gospel in Britain. 

Ark, Noah’s. [Noah.] 

Ark of the Covenant. The first 
piece of the tabernacle’s furniture, for 
which precise directions were delivered. 
Ex. 25. I. Description. — It appears to 
have been an oblong chest of shittim 
(acacia) wood, 2% cubits long by V/ 2 
broad and deep. Within and without 
gold was overlaid on the wood, and on 
the upper side or lid, which was edged 
round about with gold, the mercy-seat 
was placed. The ark was fitted with 
rings, one at each of the four corners, 
and through these were passed staves 
of the same wood similarly overlaid, by 
which it was carried by the Kohathites. 
Num. 7:9; 10:21. The ends of the 
staves were visible without the veil in 
the holy place of the temple of Solo- 
mon. 1 Kings 8 : 8. The Ark, when 
transported, was enveloped in the 
“veil” of the dismantled tabernacle, in 
the curtain of badgers’ skins, and in a 
blue cloth over all, and was therefore 
not seen. Num. 4: 5, 20. 

II. Its purpose was to contain invio- 
late the divine autograph of the two 
tables, that “ covenant ” from which it 
derived its title. It was also probably 
a reliquary for. the pot of manna and 
the rod of Aaron. 

III. History. — Before David’s time its 
abode was frequently shifted. It so- 


ARK 


46 


ARM 


journed among several, probably Leviti- 
cal, families, 1 Sam. 7 : 1 ; 2 Sam. 6 : 3, 
11 ; 1 Chron. 13 : 13 ; 15 : 24, 25, in the 
border villages of eastern Judah, and 
did not take its place in the tabernacle, 
but dwelt in curtains, i. e. in a separate 
tent pitched for it in Jerusalem by 
David. Subsequently the temple, when 
completed, received, in the installation 
of the ark in its shrine, the signal of its 
inauguration by the effulgence of divine 
glory instantly manifested. It was prob- 
ably taken captive or destroyed by Neb- 
uchadnezzar, 2 Esdr. 10 : 22, so that there 
was no ark in the second temple. 

Ark of Moses. A small boat or 
basket made of the papyrus, a reed 
which grows in the marshes of Egypt. 
It was covered with bitumen to make 
it water-tight. 

Ar'kite (ar'kite), The, from Arka, 
one of the families of the Canaanites, 
Gen. 10:17; 1 Chron. 1:15, and from 
the context evidently located in the 
north of Phoenicia. The site which 
now bears the name of ’Arka lies on 
the coast, about 12 miles north of 
Tripoli and 5 south of the Nahr el- 
Kebir. 

Armaged'don (ar-ma-ged'don) ( the 
hill or city of Megiddo). Rev. 16:16. 
The scene of the struggle of good and 
evil is suggested by that battle-field, 
the plain of Esdraelon, which was 
famous for two great victories, of 
Barak over the Canaanites and of 
Gideon over the Midianites ; and for 
two great disasters, the deaths of Saul 
and Josiah. Hence it signifies in Reve- 
lation a place of great slaughter, the 
scene of a terrible retribution upon the 
wicked. The Revised Version gives 
the name as Har-Magedon, i. e. the 
hill (as Ar is the city ) of Megiddo . 

Arme'nia (ar-me'ni-a) ( land of 
Aram ) is nowhere mentioned under 
that name in the original Hebrew, 
though it occurs in the English version, 
2 Kings 19 : 37, for Ararat. Descrip- 
tion. — Armenia is that lofty plateau 
whence the rivers Euphrates, Tigris, 
Araxes and Acampsis pour down their 
waters in different directions; the first 
two to the Persian Gulf, the last two 
respectively to the Caspian and Euxine 
seas. It may be termed the nucleus of 
the mountain system of western Asia. 
From the. centre of the plateau rise two 
lofty chains of mountains, which run 
from east to west. Divisions. — Three 


districts are mentioned in the Bible. 

(1) Ararat is mentioned as the place 
whither the sons of Sennacherib fled. 
Isa. 37 : 38. It was the central district, 
surrounding the mountain of that name. 

(2) Minni only occurs in Jer. 51 : 27. It 
is probably identical with the district 
Minyas, in the upper valley of the Mu- 
rad-su branch of the Euphrates. (3) 
Togarmah is noticed in two passages of 
Ezekiel, 27 : 14 ; 38 : 6, both of which are 
in favor of its identity with Armenia. 
Present condition. — The Armenians are 
without an independent state, their coun- 
try being divided between Russia, Tur- 
key and Persia. The traders and bank- 
ers of Turkey are chiefly Armenians. 
They have an independent church, Gre- 
gorian, numbering about 1,250,000. 

Armlet, an ornament universal in the 
East, especially among women; used by 



PERSIAN ARMLETS. 


princes as one of the insignia of royalty, 
and by distinguished persons in general. 
The word is not used in the Authorized 
Version, as even in 2 Sam. 1:10 it is 
rendered by “ the bracelet on his arm.” 

Armo'ni (ar-mo'ni), son of Saul by 
Rizpah. 2 Sam. 21 : 8. 

Arms, Armor. The subject natu- 
rally divides itself into — I. Offensive 
weapons : Arms. II. Defensive weapons ; 
Armor. 

I. Offensive weapons. — (1) Apparent- 
ly the earliest known and most widely 
used was the Chereb or Sword. Very 
little can be gathered as to its shape, 
size, material or mode of use. Per- 
haps if anything is to be inferred it is 
that the Chereb is both a lighter and a 
shorter weapon than the modern sword. 
It was carried in a sheath, 1 Sam. 17 : 
51; 2 Sam. 20:8; 1 Chron. 21:27, slung 
by a girdle, 1 Sam. 25 : 13, and resting 
upon the thigh, Ps. 45 : 3 ; Judges 3 : 16, 
or upon the hips, 2 Sam. 20 : 8. (2) 

Next we have the Spear; and of this 
weapon we meet with at least three dis- 
tinct kinds, a. The Chanith, a “ spear,” 
and that of the largest kind. It was 


ARM 


47 


ARM 


the weapon of Goliath, 1 Sam. 17 : 7, 
45; 2 Sam. 21:19; 1 Chron. 20:5, and 
also of other giants, 2 Sam. 23 : 21 ; 1 
Chron. 11 : 23, and mighty warriors, 2 
Sam. 2:23; 23:18; 1 Chron. 11:11, 20. 


Chron. 12:8 (“ buckler ”) ; 2 Chron. 

11 : 12. It varied much in length, 
weight and size. d. The Shelach was 
probably a lighter missile or “ dart.” 
See 2 Chron. 23:10; 32:5 (“darts”); 



ROMAN SOLDIER IN FULL ARMOR. 



EGYPTIAN BATTLE-AXES. 


Neh. 4:17, 23 (see margin); Job 33: 
18; 36:12; Joel 2:8. e. Shebet, a rod 
or staff, is used once only to denote 
a weapon. 2 Sam. 18:14. (3) Of 

missile weapons of offence the chief 
was undoubtedly the Bow, Kesheth. 
The Arrows were carried in a quiver. 
Gen. 27 : 3 ; Isa. 22 : 6 ; 49 : 2 ; Ps. 127 : 5. 


b. Apparently lighter than the preced- 
ing was the Cidon or “javelin.” When 
not in action the Cidon was carried on 
the back of the warrior, 1 Sam. 17 : 6, 



Authorized Version “ target.” c. An- 
other kind of spear was the Romach. 
In the historical books it occurs in 
Num. 25 : 7 and 1 Kings 18 : 28, and 
frequently in the later books, as in 1 



A LEATHER CUIRASS. 


From an allusion in Job 6:4 they 
would seem to hav^ been sometimes 
poisoned ; and Ps. 120 : 4 may point to 
a practice of using arrows with some 
burning material attached to them. (4) 
The Sling is first mentioned in Judges 


ARM 


48 


ARM 


20 : 16. This simple weapon, with 
which David killed the giant Philistine, 
was the natural attendant of a shepherd. 
Later in the monarchy, slingers formed 
part of the regular army. 2 Kings 
3 : 25. (5) The Battle-axe, Jer. 51 : 20, 

a powerful weapon, of whose exact 
form we have no knowledge. 

II. Armor. — (1) The Breastplate, 
enumerated in the description of the 
arms of Goliath, a “ coat of mail,” lit- 
erally a “ breastplate of scales.” 1 Sam. 
17 : 5. This word has furnished one of 
the names of Mount Hermon. See 
Deut. 3:9. (2) The Habergeon was a 


ASSYRIAN HELMETS. 

coat of mail for the breast, 2 Chron. 26 : 
14. As to the high priest’s gown, Ex. 
28:32, it was probably a quilted jacket. 
(3) The Helmet is referred to in 1 
Sam. 17 : 5 ; 2 Chron. 26 : 14 ; Ezek. 27 : 
10. (4) Greaves or defences for the 

legs made of brass, are named in 1 Sam. 
17:6 only. (5) Two kinds of Shield 
are distinguishable, a. The large shield, 
encompassing, Ps. 5 : 1°, the whole per- 
son. When not in actual conflict it was 
carried before the warrior. 1 Sam. 17: 
7, 41. b. Of smaller dimensions was the 
buckler or target, probably for use in 
hand-to-hand fight. 1 Kings 10 : 16 ; 2 
Chron. 9 : 15, 16. 

Army. I. Jewish Army. — Every man 
above 20 years of age was a soldier, 
Num. 1:3; each tribe formed a regi- 
ment, with its own banner and its 
own leader, Num. 2:2; 10:14; their 
positions in the camp or on the march 
were accurately fixed, Num. 2; the 
whole army started and stopped at a 
given signal, Num. 10 : 5, 6 ; thus they 
came up out of Egypt ready for the 
fight. Ex. 13 : 18. On the approach of 
an enemy a conscription was made 
from the general body, under the direc- 
tion of a muster-master, Deut. 20 : 5 ; 2 
Kings 25 : 19, by whom also the officers 
were appointed, Deut. 20 : 9. The army 


was then divided into thousands and 
hundreds under their respective cap- 
tains, Num. 31 : 14, and still further 
into families, Num. 2:34; 2 Chron. 
25 : 5 ; 26 : 12. With the kings arose the 
custom of maintaining a body-guard, 
which formed the nucleus of a standing 
army, and David’s band of 600, 1 Sam. 
23 : 13 ; 25 : 13, he retained after he be- 
came king, and added the Cherethites 
and Pelethites. 2 Sam. 15 : 18 ; 20 : 7. 
David further organized a national 
militia, divided into twelve regiments 
under their respective officers, each of 
which was called out for one month in 



ARCHERS IN LINE OF BATTLE. 

the year. 1 Chron. 27. It does not ap- 
pear that the system established by 
David was maintained by the kings of 
Judah; but in Israel the proximity of 
the hostile kingdom of Syria necessi- 
tated the maintenance of a standing 
army. The maintenance and equipment 
of the soldiers at the public expense 
dates from the establishment of a 
standing army. It is doubtful whether 
the soldier ever received pay even under 
the kings. The numbers of soldiers at 
various times as given in the Biblical 
accounts seem almost incredible. It 
may be that they signify the numbers of 
“ thousands,” as in our day the numbers 
of “ regiments,” without any indication 
that the nominal number is actually full. 

II. Roman Army. — T he Roman Army 
was divided into legions, the number of 





ARN 


49 


ARV 


which varied considerably (from 3000 
to 6000), each under six tribuni (“chief 
captains,” Acts 21: 31), who commanded 
by turns. The legion was subdivided 
into ten cohorts (“band,” Acts 10:1), 
the cohort into three maniples, and the 
maniple into two centuries, containing 
originally 100 men, as the name implies, 
but subsequently from 50 to 100 men, 
according to the strength of the legion. 
There were thus 60 centuries in a 
legion, each under the command of a 
centurion. Acts 10 : 1, 22 ; Matt. 8:5; 
27 : 54. In addition to the legionary 
cohprts, independent cohorts of volun- 
teers served under the Roman stand- 
ards. One of these cohorts was named 
the Italian, Acts 10 : 1, as consisting of 
volunteers from Italy. The headquar- 
ters of the Roman forces in Judea 
were at Caesarea. 

Ar'nan (ar'nan). In the received 
Hebrew text “ the sons of Arnan ” are 
mentioned in the genealogy of Zerub- 
babel. 1 Chron. 3 : 21. 

Ar'ni. Used in the Revised Version 
for Aram in Luke 3 : 33, and is prob- 
ably another name or form of the name 
of Aram. [Aram, 4.] 

Ar'non (ar'non) (noisy), the river 
or torrent which formed the boundary 
between Moab and the Amorites, on the 
north of Moab, Num. 21 : 13, 14, 24, 26 ; 
Judges 11 : 22 ; and afterwards between 
Moab and Israel (Reuben). Deut. 2:24, 
36; 3:8, 12, 16; 4:48; Josh. 12:1, 2; 
13 : 9, 16; Judges 11 : 13, 26. There can 
be no doubt that the Wady el-Mojib of 
the present day is the Arnon. Its prin- 
cipal source is near Katrane, on the 
Haj route. 

A' rod (a'rod), a son of Gad, Num. 
26 : 17, called Arodi in Gen. 46 : 16. 

Ar'odi. [Arod.] 

Ar'odites. [Arod.] 

Ar'oer (ar'6-er) ( juniper thicket). 

1. A city on the Arnon, the southern 
point of the territory of Sihon king of 
the Amorites, and afterwards of the 
tribe of Reuben, Deut. 2:36; 3 : 12 ; 
4:48; Josh. 12:2; 13:9, 16; Judges 
11 : 26 ; 2 Kings 10 : 33 ; 1 Chron. 5 : 8, 
but later again in possession of Moab. 
Jer. 48 : 19. It is the modern Ara’ir, 
upon the very edge of the precipitous 
north bank of the Wady el-Mojib. 

2. Aroer, “ that is ‘ facing ’ Rabbah ” 
(Rabbah of Ammon), a town built by 
and belonging to Gad. Num. 32:34; 
Josh. 13 : 25 ; 2 Sam. 24 : 5. This is 


probably the place mentioned in Judges 
11 : 33, which was shown in Jerome’s 
time. 

3. Aroer, in Isa. 17 : 2, if a place at 
all, must be still farther north than 
either of the two already named. 

4. A town in Judah, named only in 
1 Sam. 30 : 28, perhaps Wady Ar’arah, 
on the road from Petra to Gaza. 

Ar'oerite (ar'6-er-ite). Hothan the 
Aroerite was the father of two of 
David’s captains. 1 Chron. 11 : 44. 

Ar'pad (ar'pad), or Ar'phad, Isa. 
36 : 19 ; 37 : 13, a city or district in Syria, 
apparently dependent on Damascus. Jer. 
49:23. Arpad is now Tell-Erfud, 13 
miles from Aleppo to N. W. 2 Kings 
18 : 34 ; 19 : 13 ; Isa. 10 : 9. 

Arphax'ad (ar-fax'ad). R. V. bet- 
ter Arpachshad. 1. The son of Shem 
and ancestor of Eber. Gen. 10:22, 24; 
11 : 10. 

2. Arphaxad, a king “ who reigned 
over the Medes in Ecbatana,” Judith 1 : 
1-4 ; perhaps the same as Phraortes, who 
fell in a battle with the Assyrians 
633 b. c. 

Arrows. [Arms.] 

Artaxerx'es (ar-tax-erx'es). Ar- 
taxerxes is first mentioned in Ezra 
4 : 7, and was supposed identical with 
Smerdis, the Magian imposter and pre- 
tended brother of Cambyses, who 
usurped the throne b.c. 522, and reigned 
eight months. It is now proved, how- 
ever, that he is identical with the king 
of Neh. 2 : 1. 

We may safely identify him with Ar- 
taxerxes Macrocheir or Longimanus, 
the son of Xerxes, who reigned b.c. 
464-425. 

Ar'temas (ar'te-mas) (gift of Ar- 
temis), a companion of St. Paul. Titus 
3 : 12. According to tradition he was 
bishop of Lystra. 

Ar'uboth (windows), the third of 
Solomon’s commissariat districts. 1 
Kings 4 : 10. It included Sochoh, and 
was therefore probably a name for the 
rich corn-growing lowland country. 

Aru'rnah (a-ru'mah) . (height), a 
place apparently in the neighborhood of 
Shechem, at which Abimelech resided. 
Judges 9 : 41. 

Ar'vad (ar'vad) (wandering). Ezek. 
27 : 8, 11. The island of Ruad, which 
lies off Tortosa (Tartus), two or three 
miles from the Phoenician coast. In 
agreement with this is the mention of 
“ the Arvadite/’ in Gen. 10 : 18 and 1 


ARV 


50 


ASA 


Chron. 1 : 16, as a son of Canaan, with 
Zidon, Hamath and other northern lo- 
calities. 

Ar'vadite (ar'vad-Ites). [Arvad.] 

Ar'za (ar'za), prefect of the palace 
at Tirzah to Elah king of Israel, who 
was assassinated at a banquet in his 
house by Zimri. 1 Kings 16 : 9. 

A'sa (a'sa) ( physician , healer). 1. 
Son of Abijah and third king of Judah. 
(b.c. 917-875.) His long reign of 40 
years was peaceful in its earlier portion, 
and he undertook the reformation of all 
abuses, especially of idolatry. He burnt 
the symbol of his grandmother Maachah’s 
religion and deposed her from the dig- 
nity of “ king’s mother,” and renewed 
the great altar which the idolatrous 
priests apparently had desecrated. 2 
Chron. 15:8. Besides this he fortified 
cities on his frontiers, and raised an 
army, amounting, according to 2 Chron. 
14 : 8, to 580,000 men, a number perhaps 
exaggerated by an error of the copyist, 
but see under Army. During Asa’s 
reign, Zerah, at the head of an enor- 
mous host, 2 Chron. 14 : 9, attacked 
Mareshah. There he was utterly de- 
feated, and driven back with immense 
loss to Gerar. The peace which fol- 
lowed this victory was broken by the at- 
tempt of Baasha of Israel to fortify 
Ramah. To stop this Asa purchased 
the help of Ben-hadad I. king of Da- 
mascus, by a large payment of treasure, 
forced Baasha to abandon his purpose, 
and destroyed the works which he had 
begun at Ramah. In his old age Asa 
suffered from gout. He died, greatly 
loved and honored, in the 41st year 
of his reign. 

2. Ancestor of Berechiah, a Levite 
who resided in one of the villages of 
the Netophathites after the return from 
Babylon. 1 Chron. 9 : 16. 

As'ahel (as'-a-hel) ( made by God). 

1. Nephew of David, being the youngest 
son of his sister Zeruiah. He was 
celebrated for his swiftness of foot. 
When fighting under his brother Joab 
at Gibeon, he pursued Abner, who was 
obliged to kill him in self-defence. 2 
Sam. 2:18 ff. (b.c. 1050.) 

2. One of the Levites in the reign of 

Jehoshaphat, who went throughout the 
cities of Judah to instruct the people in 
the knowledge of the law. 2 Chron. 
17:8. (b.c. 873.) 

3. A Levite in the reign of Hezekiah, 
who had charge of the tithes and ded- 


icated things in the temple. 2 Chron. 
31:13. (b.c. 726.) 

4. A priest, father of Jonathan, in 
the time of Ezra, Ezra 10 : 15. He is 
called Azael in 1 Esdr. 9 : 14. 

Asahi'ah (a-sa-hi'ah) {Jehovah hath 
made), a servant of King Josiah, sent 
by him to seek information of Jehovah 
respecting the book of the law which 
Hilkiah found in the temple, 2 Kings 
22 : 12, 14 ; also called Asaiah. 2 Chron. 
34:20. (b.c. 623.) 

Asa'iah (a-sa'ya) {Jehovah hath 
made). 1. A prince of one of the fam- 
ilies of the Simeonites in the reign of 
Hezekiah. 1 Chron. 4 : 36. 

2. A Levite in the reign of David, 
chief of the family of Merari. 1. Chron. 
6 : 30. With 120 of his brethren he took 
part in bringing the ark from the house 
of Obed-edom to the city of David. 1 
Chron. 15 : 6, 11. 

3. The first-born of “the Shilonite,” 
from Shiloni, 1 Chron. 9 : 5, who with 
his family dwelt in Jerusalem after the 
return from Babylon, (b.c. 536.) In 
Neh. 11:5 he is called Maaseiah. 

4. 2 Chron. 34:20. [Asahiah.] 

A'saph (a'saf) {collector, or gath- 
erer). 1. A Levite, son of Berechiah, 
one of the leaders of David’s choir. 1 
Chron. 6 : 39. Psalms 50 and 73-83 are 
attributed to him; and he was in after 
times celebrated as a seer as well as a 
musical composer, 2 Chron. 29 : 30 ; 
Neh. 12: 46. 

2. The father or ancestor of Joah, the 
chronicler to the kingdom of Judah in 
the reign of Hezekiah, 2 Kings 18 : 18, 
37 ; Isa. 36 : 3, 22 ; possibly the same as 
the preceding. 

3. The keeper of the royal forest or 
“ paradise ” of Artaxerxes, Neh. 2:8; a 
Jew, in high office of the court of 
Persia, (b.c. 536.) 

4. Ancestor of Mattaniah, the con- 
ductor of the temple-choir after the re- 
turn from Babylon. 1 Chron. 9:15; 
Neh. 11:17. Most probably the same 
as 1. 

A'saph (a'saf), Sons of. A guild of 
poets and musical composers founded 
by Asaph. 

Asa'reel (a-sa're-el) God hath 
bound), a son of Jehaleleel, in the gen- 
ealogies of Judah. 1 Chron. 4:16. 

Asare'lah (as-a-re'lah) {upright to- 
ward God), one of the sons of Asaph, a 
musician, 1 Chron. 25:2; called Jesh- 
arelah in ver. 14. 


ASC 


51 


ASH 


As'calon. [Ashkelon.] 

As'enath (as'e-nath) ( belonging to 
N eith) , daughter of Potipherah, priest, 
or possibly prince, of .On [Potipherah], 
wife of Joseph, Gen. 41 : 45, and mother 
of Manasseh and Ephraim. Gen. 41 : 50 ; 
46:20. (b.c. 1715.) 

A'ser (a'ser). Luke 2:36; Rev. 7: 
6. [Asher.] 

Ash (Heb. dren ), only in Isa. 44: 14. 
As the true ash is not a native of Pales- 
tine, some understand this to be a spe- 
cies of pine tree. Cheyne thinks that 
the cedar or fir is intended. 

A'shan (a'shan) ( smoke ), a city in 
the low country of Judah. Josh. 15:42. 
In Josh. 19:7 and 1 Chron. 4:32 it is 
mentioned again as belonging to Sime- 
on. It has not yet been identified, 
though it must have been on the slopes 
east of Gaza. 

Ash'bea (ash'be-a) (/ adjure), a 
proper name, but whether of a person 
or place is uncertain. 1 Chron. 4 : 21. 

Ash'bel (ash'bel), second ■ son of 
Benjamin and ancestor of the Ashbel- 
ites. Gen. 46:21; Num. 26:38; 1 Chron. 
8: 1. 

Ash'chenaz (ash'ke-naz). 1 Chron. 
1:6; Jer. 51:27. [Ashkenaz.] 

Ash'dod (ash'dod), or Azo'tus (a 
stronghold), Acts 8:40; one of the five 
confederate cities of the Philistines, 
situated about 30 miles from the south- 
ern frontier of Palestine, three from 
the Mediterranean Sea, and nearly mid- 
way between Gaza and Joppa. It was 
assigned to the tribe of Judah, Josh. 
15 : 47, but was never subdued by the 
Israelites. Its chief importance arose 
from its position on the high road from 
Palestine to Egypt. It is now an insig- 
nificant village, with no memorials of 
its ancient importance, but is still called 
Esdud. 

Ash'dodites, the inhabitants of Ash- 
dod, Neh. 4:7; called Ashdothites in 
Josh. 13 : 3. 

Ash'doth=pis'gah (ash'doth-pis'gah) , 
Deut. 3:17; Josh. 12:3; 13:20; and in 
Deut. 4:49, Authorized Version, trans- 
lated springs of Pisgah, i. e., a valley or 
fountain near Mount Pisgah. 

Ash'er (ash'er), Apocrypha and 
New Testament, A'ser {happy), the 
eighth son of Jacob, by Zilpah, Leah’s 
handmaid. Gen. 30 : 13. The general 
position of his tribe was on the seashore 
from Carmel northward, with Manasseh 
on the south, Zebulun and Issacher on 


the southeast, and Naphtali on the 
northeast. Josh. 19:24-31; 17:10, 11 
and Judges 1:31, 32. They possessed 
the maritime portion of the rich plain 
of Esdraelon, probably for a distance 
of 8 or 10 miles from the shore. This 
territory contained some of the richest 
soil in all Palestine. 

Ash'er (ash'er), a place which 
formed one boundary of- the tribe of 
Manasseh on the south. Josh. 17 : 7. 
Mr. Porter suggests that Teyasir may 
be the Asher of Manasseh. Handbook , 
p. 348. 

Ashe'rah (ash.-e'rah) {upright), the 
name of a Phoenician goddess, or rather 
of the idol itself (Authorized Version 
“grove”). Asherah is closely connect- 
ed with Ashtoreth and her worship, 
Judges 3:7, comp. 2:3; Judges 6:25; 
1 Kings 18 : 19 ; Ashtoreth being, per- 
haps, the proper name of the goddess, 
whilst Asherah is the name of her image 
or symbol, which was of wood. See 
Judges 6 : 25-30 ; 2 Kings 23 : 14. 

Ash'erites (ash'er-ites), descendants 
of Asher, and members of his tribe. 
Judges 1:32. 

Ashes. The ashes on the altar of 
burnt offering were gathered into a cav- 
ity in its surface. The ashes of a red 
heifer burnt entire, according to regula- 
tions prescribed in Num. 19, had the 
ceremonial efficacy of purifying the un- 
clean, Heb. 9 : 13, but of polluting the 
clean. [Uncleanness.] Ashes about 
the person, especially on the head, were 
used as a sign of sorrow. [Mourning.] 

Ash'ima (ash'i-ma), a god of the 
Hamathite colonists in Samaria. 2 
Kings 17 : 30. It has been regarded as 
identical with the Pan of the Greeks. 
Cheyne says Ishtar. 

Ash'kelon (ash'ke-lon), As'kelon, 
Apocrypha As'calon {migration), one 
of the five cities of the Philistines, Josh. 
13:3; 1 Sam. 6 : 17 ; a seaport on the 
Mediterranean, 10 miles north of Gaza. 
Samson went down from Timnath to 
Ashkelon. Judges 14:19. In the post- 
Biblical times Ashkelou rose to con- 
siderable importance. Near the town 
were the temple and sacred lake of 
Derceto, the fish-goddess. The soil 
around was remarkable for its fertility. 
Ashkelon played a memorable part in 
the struggles of the Crusades. 

Ash'kenaz (ash'ke-naz) {spreading 
tire), one of the three sons of Gomer, 
son of Japheth. Gen. 10 : 3. Cheyne 


ASH 


52 


ASP 


says that Ashkenaz must have been one 
of the migratory peoples which in the 
time of Esar-haddon burst upon the 
northern provinces of Asia Minor and 
upon Armenia. A horde from the 
north, perhaps of Indo-Germanic origin. 

Ash'nah (ash'nah), the name of two 
cities, both in the lowlands of Judah : 
(1) named between Zoreah and Zanoah, 
and therefore probably northwest of 
Jerusalem, Josh. 15:33; and (2) be- 
tween Jiptah and Nezib, and therefore 
to the southwest of Jerusalem. Josh. 
15 : 43. Their site is unknown, though 
tradition places them about 16 miles 
from Jerusalem. 

Ash'penaz (ash'pe-naz), the master 
of the eunuchs of Nebuchadnezzar. 
Dan. 1 : 3. 

Ash'riel, properly As'riel (as'ri-el) 
( vow of God). 1 Chron. 7:14. 

Ash'taroth (ash'ta-roth), and once 
As'taroth (the plural of the word 
Ashtoreth) , a city on the east of Jor- 
dan, in Bashan, in the kingdom of Og, 
doubtless so called from being a seat of 
the worship of the goddess of the same 
name. Deut. 1:4; Josh. 9:10; 12:4; 
13 : 12. 

Ash'terathite (ash'te-rath-ite), a na- 
tive or inhabitant of Ashtaroth, 1 
Chron. 11 : 44, beyond Jordan. 

Ash'teroth Karna'im (ash'te-roth 
kar-na'im) ( Ashteroth of the two 
horns or peaks), a place of very great 
antiquity, the abode of the Rephaim. 
Gen. 14 : 5. The name reappears but 
once, as Carnaim or Carnion, 1 Macc. 
5 : 26, 43, 44 ; 2 Macc. 12 : 21, 26, in “ the 
land of Galaad.” Ewing in Hastings’ 
Bible Dictionary says the common iden- 
tification with the modern Es-Sanamein, 
on the Haj route, about 25 miles south 
of Damascus, is palpably impossible ; but 
no other is more decisive. 

Ash'toreth (ash'to-reth), the prin- 
cipal female divinity of the Phoenicians, 
called Ishtar by the Assyrians and As- 
tarte by the Greeks and Romans. She 
was by some ancient writers identified 
with the moon. But on the other hand 
the Assyrian Ishtar was not the moon- 
goddess, but the planet Venus; and As- 
tarte was by many identified with the 
goddess Venus (or Aphrodite), as well 
as with the planet of that name. It is 
certain that the worship of Astarte be- 
came identified with that of Venus, 
and that this worship was connected 
with the most impure rites is apparent 


from the close connection of this god- 
dess with Asherah. 1 Kings 11 : 5, 33 ; 
2 Kings 23 : 13. 

Ash'ur (ash'ur) {black), the post- 
humous son of Hezron by his wife 
Abiah. 1 Chron. 2 : 24 ; 4:5. He be- 
came “ father ” or founder of the town 
of Tekoa. 

Ash'urites (ash'ur-ites), The. Only 
in 2 Sam. 2:9. By some of the old 
interpreters the name is taken as mean- 
ing the Geshurites; but if we follow 
the Targum of Jonathan, “ the Asher- 
ites ” will denote the inhabitants of 
the whole of the country west of, the 
Jordan above Jezreel. 

Ash'vath (ash'vath), one of the 
sons of Japhlet, of the tribe of Asher. 

1 Chron. 7 : 33. 

A'sia (a'§ia). The passages in the 
New Testament where this word occurs 
are the following : Acts 2:9; 6:9; 16 : 
6 ; 19 : 10, 22, 26, 27, 31 ; 20 : 4, 16, 18 ; 
21:27; 24:18; 27:2; 1 Cor. 16:19; 2 
Cor. 1:8; 2 Tim. 1 : 15 ; 1 Pet. 1:1; 
Rev. 1 : 4, 11. In all these it may be 
confidently stated that the word is used 
for a Roman province which embraced 
the western part of the peninsula of 
Asia Minor, and of which Ephesus was 
the capital. 

Asiar'chae (a-shi-ar'ke) {chief of 
Asia: Authorized Version; Acts 19: 
31), officers chosen annually by the 
cities of that part of the province of 
Asia of which Ephesus was, under 
Roman government, the metropolis. 
They had charge of the public games 
and religious theatrical spectacles, the 
expenses of which they bore. 

A'siel (a'si-el) {God hath made). 1. 
A Simeonite whose descendant Jehu 
lived in the reign of Hezekiah. 1 
Chron. 4 : 35. 

2. One- of the five swift writers whom 
Esdras was commanded to take to write 
the law and the history of the world. 

2 Esdr. 14 : 24. 

As'nah (as'nah) {thorn-bush). The 
children of Asnah were among the 
Nethinim who returned with Zerubbabel. 
Ezra 2 : 50. 

Asnap'per (as-nap'per), mentioned 
in Ezra 4 : 10 as the person who set- 
tled the Cuthseans in the cities of Sa- 
maria. The identification of Asnapper 
R. V. Osnapper, with Assurbanipal is 
conceded by most authorities. 

Asp (Heb. pethen), translated adder 
in Ps. 58 : 4 ; 91 : 13. Probably the Egyp- 


ASP 


53 


ASS 


tian cobra, a small and very poisonous 
serpent, a dweller in the holes of walls, 
Isa. 11 : 8, and a snake upon which the 
serpent-charmers of the East practiced 
their art. 

Asparathus (as-pal'a-thus), the 
name of some sweet perfume mentioned 
in Ecclus. 24 : 15. The Lignum rho- 
dianum is by some supposed to be the 
substance indicated by the aspalathus; 
the plant which yields it is the Con- 
volvulus scoparius of Linnaeus. 

As'patha (as'pa-tha), third son of 
Haman. Esth. 9 : 7. 

As'phar, the pool in the “ wilderness 
of Thecoe.” 1 Macc. 9 : 38. Is it possi- 
ble that the name is a corruption of 
lacus Asphaltites ? 

As' riel (as'ri-el), the son of Gilead 
and great-grandson of Manasseh. Num. 
26:31; Josh. 17 : 2. He was the founder 
of the family of the Asrielites. 

Ass. Five Hebrew names of the 
genus Asinus occur in the Old Testa- 
ment. (1) Chamdr denotes the male 
domestic ass. (2) Athon, the common 
domestic she-ass. (3) Air, the young 
ass or colt, which occurs Gen. 32 : 15 ; 
49 : 11. (4) Pere, a species of wild ass 

mentioned Gen. 12:16. (5) Arod oc- 

curs Dan. 5:21; Job 39:5; but in what 
respect it differs from the Pere is un- 
certain. The ass in eastern countries is 
a very different animal from what he is 
in western Europe. The most noble 
and honorable amongst the Jews were 
wont to be mounted on asses. “ With 
us the ass is a symbol of stubbornness 
and stupidity, while in the East it is 



EASTERN ASS, 

especially remarkable for its patience, 
gentleness, intelligence, meek submis- 
sion and great power of endurance.” 
— L. Abbott. The color is usually a 
reddish brown, but there are white 
asses, which are much prized. The ass 


was the animal of peace, as the horse 
was the animal of war; hence the ap- 
propriateness of Christ in his triumphal 
entry riding on an ass. The wild ass is 
a beautiful animal. Mr. Layard re- 
marks that in fleetness the wild ass 
( Asinus hemippus) equals the gazelle, 
and to overtake it is a feat which only 
one or two of the most celebrated mares 
have been known to accomplish. 

Assh'ur (ash'ur), second son of 
Shem, Gen. 10 : 22 ; also the Hebrew 
form for Assyria. [Assyria.] 

Asshu'rim, a tribe descended from 
Dedan, the grandson of Abraham. 
Gen. 25 : 3. Knobel considers them the 
same with the Asshur of Ezek. 27: 23, 
and connected with southern Arabia. 

As'sir (as'sir) ( captive ). 1. Son of 

Korah. Ex. 6:24; 1 Chron. 6 : 22. 

2. Son of Ebiasaph, and a forefather 
of Samuel. 1 Chron. 6 : 23, 37. 

3. Son of Jeconiah, 1 Chron. 3:17, 
unless “Jeconiah the captive” be the 
true rendering. 

As'sos (as'sos), or As'sus, a seaport 
of the Roman province of Asia, in the 
district anciently called Mysia, on the 
northern shore of the Gulf of Adra- 
myttium, and about seven miles from 
Lesbos. Acts 20 : 13, 14. 

As'sur (as'sur). Ezra 4:2; Ps. 83: 
8. [Asshur; Assyria.] 

Assyr'ia (as-syr'i-a), Assh'ur, was 
a great and powerful country lying on 



AN ASSYRIAN PALACE GENIUS. 

the Tigris, Gen. 2 : 14, the capital of 
which was Nineveh. Gen. 10:11, etc. 
It derived its name apparently from 
Asshur, the son of Shem, Gen. 10 : 22, 


ASS 


54 


ASS 


who in later times was worshiped by 
the Assyrians as their chief god. 

1. Extent . — The boundaries of Assyria 
differed greatly at different periods. 
Probably in the earliest times it was 
confined to a small tract of low coun- 
try lying chiefly on the left bank of the 
Tigris. Gradually its limits were ex- 
tended, until it came to be regarded as 
comprising the whole region between 
the Armenian mountains (lat. 37° 30') 
upon the north, and upon the south the 
country about Baghdad (lat. 33° 30'). 
Eastward its boundary was the high 
range of Zagros, or mountains of Kurd- 
istan; westward it was, according to the 
views of some, bounded by the Mesopo- 
tamian desert, while according to others 
it reached the Euphrates. 

2. General character of the country . — 
On the north and east the high moun- 
tain-chains of Armenia and Kurdistan 
are succeeded by low ranges of lime- 
stone hills of a somewhat arid aspect. 
To these ridges there succeeds at first 
an undulating zone of country, well 
watered and fairly productive, which ex- 



AN ASSYRIAN SIEGE. 

Siege of a city by Tiglath-pileser III., king 
of Assyria, about b.c. 745-727. (From a bas- 
relief on the walls of the palace of Tiglath- 
pileser III., discovered at Calah (Nimrud), 
now in the British Museum.) 

A battering-ram is making a breach in the 
wall, under protection of archers, who are 
shooting from behind screens. In the back- 
ground are impaled captives. 

tends in length for 250 miles, and is in- 
terrupted only by a single limestone 
range. Above and below this barrier is 
an immense level tract, now for the 


most part a wilderness, which bears 
marks of having been in early times 
well cultivated and thickly peopled 
throughout. 

3. Original peopling. — Scripture in- 
forms us that Assyria was peopled from 
Babylon, Gen. 10 : 11, and both classical 
tradition and the monuments of the 
country agree in this representation. 

4. Date of the foundation of the king- 
dom. — As a country, Assyria was evi- 
dently known to Moses. Gen. 2 : 14 ; 
25:18; Num. 24:22, 24. The earliest 
beginnings of Assyria are veiled in 
darkness, but there are stone records 
from about b.c. 2000. 

5. History. — The excavations, referred 
to later, have brought to light the story 
of Assyria, written with great detail 
and exactness on clay tablets, cylinders 
and slabs. The most remarkable mon- 
arch of the earlier kings was called 
Tiglath-pileser. He appears to have 
been king towards the close of the 
twelfth century, and thus to have been 
contemporary with Samuel. Afterwards 
followed Pul, who invaded Israel in 
the reign of Mfenahem, 2 Kings 15 : 19, 
about b.c. 738, and Shalmaneser, who be- 
sieged Samaria three years, and de- 
stroyed the kingdom of Israel b.c. 721, 
himself or by his successor Sargon, who 
usurped the throne at that time. Under 
Sargon the empire was as great as at 
any former era, and Nineveh became a 
most beautiful city. Sargon’s son Sen- 
nacherib became the most famous of 
the Assyrian kings. He began to reign 
704 b.c. He invaded the kingdom of 
Judea in the reign of Hezekiah. He 
was followed by Esarhaddon, and he by 
a noted warrior and builder, Sardanapa- 
lus. In Scripture it is remarkable that 
we hear nothing of Assyria after the 
reign of Esarhaddon, and profane his- 
tory is equally silent until the attacks 
began which brought about her down- 
fall. The fall of Assyria, long pre- 
viously prophesied by Isaiah, Isa. 10 : 5- 
19, was effected by the growing strength 
and boldness of the Medes, about 607 
b.c. The prophecies of Nahum and 
Zephaniah (2:13-15) against Assyria 
were probably delivered shortly before 
the catastrophe. 

6. General character of the empire. — 
The Assyrian monarchs bore sway over 
a number of petty kings through the 
entire extent of their dominions. These 
native princes were feudatories of the 


AST 


55 


ATH 


great monarch, of whom they held their 
crown by the double tenure of homage 
and tribute. It is not quite certain how 
far Assyria required a religious con- 
formity from the subject people. Her 
religion was a gross and complex poly- 
theism, comprising the worship of thir- 
teen principal and numerous minor di- 
vinities, at the head of all of whom 
stood the chief god, Asshur, who seems 
to be the deified patriarch of the na- 
tion. Gen. 10 : 22. 

7. Civilization of the Assyrians. — The 
civilization of the Assyrians was derived 
originally from the Babylonians. They 
were a Shemitic race, originally resident 
in Babylonia (which at that time was 
Cushite), and thus acquainted with the 
Babylonian inventions and discoveries, 
who ascended the valley of the Tigris 
and established in the tract immediately 
below the Armenian mountains a sepa- 
rate and distinct nationality. Still, as 
their civilization developed it became in 
many respects peculiar. Their art is of 
home growth. But they were still in the 
most important points barbarians. Their 
government was rude and inartificial, 
their religion coarse and sensual, and 
their conduct of war cruel. 

8. Modern discoveries in Assyria . — 
When Napoleon fought a battle near 
the site of ancient Nineveh, no one 
knew of its existence. But in 1843 ex- 
cavations were begun by a Frenchman in 
that vicinity, which have continued to 
the present time by various learned 
men. They found great numbers of in- 
scriptions, and an immense library of 
stone tablets and slabs written in cunei- 
form or wedge-shaped letters. On one 
cylinder was recorded Sennacherib’s own 
account of his war with Hezekiah. On 
tablets were written the Babylonian 
stories of creation and the Deluge. 

Great light has been thrown upon the 
Bible history, in various directions. 

As'taroth. Deut. 1 : 4 . [Ashta- 

ROTH.] 

Astar'te. [Ashtoreth.] 

Asup'pim (a-sup'pim), and House 
of, 1 Chron. 26 : 15, 17, literally house 
of the gatherings. Some understand it 
as the proper name of chambers on the 
south of the temple; others of certain 
store-rooms, or of the council chambers 
in the outer court of the temple in 
which the elders held their delibera- 
tions. The Revised Version renders it 
by “ storehouse.” 


Asyn'critus (a-syn'kri-tus) ( incom- 
parable ), a Christian at Rome, saluted 
by St. Paul. Rom. 16 : 14. 

A' tad (a/tad) ( thorn ), The thresh= 
ing=floor of, called also Abel-mizraim, 
Gen. 50 : 10, 11, afterwards called Beth- 
hogla, and known to have lain between 
the Jordan and Jericho, therefore on 
the west side of Jordan. 

At'arah (at'a-rah) (a crown), a 
wife of Jerahmeel, and mother of 
Onam. 1 Chron. 2 : 26. 

At'aroth (at'a-roth) {crowns). 1. 
One of the towns in the “ land of Jazer 
and land of Gilead,” Num. 32 : 3, east 
of the Jordan, taken and built by the 
tribe of Gad. Num. 32 : 34. Probably 
Attarus , 3 or 4 miles from Macherus. 

2. A place on the boundary of Eph- 
raim and Benjamin. Josh. 16:2. Con- 
der identifies it with the modern Ed- 
Darich just south of the nether Beth- 
horon. Apparently the same place as 

3. Ataroth-adar, or -addar, on the 
west border of Benjamin, “near the 
‘ mountain ’ that is on the south side of 
the nether Beth-horon.” Josh. 16:5; 
18 : 13. 

4. A town on the same boundary of 
Ephraim and Manasseh, but towards the 
east. Josh. 16 : 7. Several identifica- 
tions are given, but none with certainty. 

5. “Ataroth, the house of Joab,” 
a place (?) occurring in the list of the 
descendants of Judah. 1 Chron. 2 : 54. 

A'ter (a'ter). 1. The children of 
Ater were among the porters or gate- 
keepers of the temple who returned with 
Zerubbabel. Ezra 2:42; Neh. 7:45. 

2. The children of Ater of Heze- 
kiah to the number of 98 returned with 
Zerubbabel, Ezra 2:16; Neh. 7 : 21, and 
were among the heads of the people who 
signed the covenant with Nehemiah. 
Neh. 10:17. 

A'thach (a'thak) {lodging place). 
1 Sam. 30 : 30. As the name does not 
occur elsewhere, it has been suggested 
that it is an error of the transcriber 
for Ether, a town in the low country 
of Judah. Josh. 15 : 42. 

Athai'ah (ath-a-i'ah), a descendant 
of Pharez, the son of Judah, who dwelt 
at Jerusalem after the return from 
Babylon, Neh. 11 : 4. 

Athali'ah (ath-a-li'ah), daughter of 
Ahab and Jezebel, married Jehoram, 
the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, 
and introduced into that kingdom the 
worship of Baal. (b.c. 891.) After the 


great revolution by which Jehu seated 
himself on the throne of Samaria, she 
killed all the members of the royal fam- 
ily of Judah who had escaped his sword. 
2 Kings 11 : 1. From the slaughter one 
infant, named Joash, the youngest son 
of Ahaziah, was rescued by his aunt 
Jehosheba, wife of Jehoiada, 2 Chron. 
23 : 11, the high priest. 2 Chron. 24 : 6. 
The child was brought up under Je- 
hoiada’s care, and concealed in the tem- 
ple for six years, during which period 
Athaliah reigned over Judah. At length 
Jehoiada thought it time to produce the 
lawful king to the people, trusting to 
their zeal for the worship of God and 
their loyalty to the house of David. 
His plan was successful, and Athaliah 
was put to death. 

Athe'nians (a-the'm-ans), natives of 
Athens. Acts 17 : 21. 

Ath'ens (ath'ens) ( city of Athene ), 
the capital of Attica, and the chief seat 
of Grecian learning and civilization dur- 
ing the golden period of the history 
of Greece. 

Description. — Athens is situated about 
five miles from the seacoast, in the cen- 
tral plain of Attica. In this plain rise 
several eminences. Of these the most 
prominent is a lofty insulated mountain, 
with a conical peaked summit, now 
called the Hill of St. George, and which 
bore in ancient times the name of Ly- 
cabettus. This mountain, which was 
not included within the ancient walls, 
lies to the northeast of Athens, and 
forms the most striking feature in the 
environs of the city. It is to Athens 
what Vesuvius is to Naples or Arthur’s 
Seat to Edinburgh. Southwest of Lyca- 
bettus there are four hills of moderate 
height, all of which formed part of the 
city. Of these the nearest to Lycabet- 
tus, and at the distance of a mile from 
the latter, was the Acropolis, or citadel 
of Athens, a square, craggy rock rising 
abruptly about 156 meters, with a flat 
summit of about 1000 feet long from 
east to west, by 500 feet broad from 
north to south. Immediately west of 
the Acropolis is a second hill of irreg- 
ular form, the Areopagus (Mars’ Hill). 
To the southwest there rises a third 
hill, the Pnyx, on which the assemblies 
of the citizens were held. South of the 
city was seen the Saronic Gulf, with 
the harbors of Athens. 

History. — Athens is said to have de- 
rived its name from the prominence 


given to the worship of the goddess 
Athena (Minerva) by its king, Erech- 
theus. The inhabitants were previously 
called Cecropidse, from Cecrops, who, 
according to tradition, was the original 
founder of the city. This at first occu- 
pied only the hill or rock which after- 
wards became the Acropolis; but grad- 
ually the buildings spread over the 
ground at the southern foot of this hill. 
It was not till the time of Pisistratus 
and his sons (b.c. 560-514) that the 
city began to assume any degree of 
splendor. The most remarkable build- 
ing of these despots was the gigantic 
temple of the Olympian Zeus or Jupiter. 
Under Themistocles the Acropolis began 
to form the centre of the city, round 
which the new walls described an irreg- 
ular circle of about 60 stadia or 7^ 
miles in circumference. Themistocles 
transferred the naval station of the 
Athenians to the peninsula of Piraeus, 
which is distant about 4j£ miles from 
Athens, and contains three natural har- 
bors. It was not till the administration 
of Pericles that the walls were built 
which connected Athens with her ports. 

Buildings . — Under the administration 
of Pericles, Athens was adorned with 
numerous public buildings, which ex- 
isted in all their glory when St. Paul 
visited the city. The Acropolis was the 
centre of the architectural splendor of 
Athens. It was covered with the tem- 
ples of gods and heroes; and thus its 
platform presented not only a sanctuary, 
but a museum containing the finest pro- 
ductions of the architect and the sculp- 
tor, in which the whiteness of the mar- 
ble was relieved by brilliant colors, and 
rendered still more dazzling by the 
transparent clearness of the Athenian 
atmosphere. The chief building was 
the Parthenon (i. e. House of the Vir- 
gin), the most perfect production of 
Grecian architecture. It derived its 
name from its being the temple of 
Ajhena Parthenos, or Athena the Vir- 
gin, the invincible goddess of war. It 
stood on the highest part of the Acrop- 
olis, near its centre. It was entirely 
of Pentelic marble, on a rustic base- 
ment of ordinary limestone, and its ar- 
chitecture, which was of the Doric or- 
der, was of the purest kind. It was 
adorned with the most exquisite sculp- 
tures, executed by various artists under 
the direction of Phidias. But the chief 
wonder of the Parthenon was the colos- 



Temple of Victory. The Parthenon. 

Erectheum. Odeon of Herodes Atticus 








ATH 


•58 


ATH 


sal statue of the virgin goddess exe- 
cuted by Phidias himself. The Acropo- 
lis was adorned with another colossal 
figure of Athena, in bronze, also the 
work of Phidias. It stood in the open 
air, nearly opposite the Propylaea. 
With its pedestal it must have been 
about 70 feet high, and consequently 
towered above the roof of the Parthe- 


the road to the gymnasium and gar- 
dens of the Academy, which were sit- 
uated about a mile from the walls. 
The Academy was the place where 
Plato and his disciples taught. East of 
the city, and outside the walls, was the 
Lyceum, a gymnasium dedicated to 
Apollo Lyceus, and celebrated as the 
place in which Aristotle taught. 



NORTH COLONNADE OF THE PARTHENON. 


non, so that the point of its spear and 
the crest of its helmet were visible off 
the promontory of Sunium to ships ap- 
proaching Athens. The Areopagus, or 
Hill of Ares (Mars), is described else- 
where. [Mars’ Hill.] The Pnyx, or 
place for holding the public assemblies 
of the Athenians, stood on the side of 
a low, rocky hill, at the distance of 
about a quarter of a mile from the 
Areopagus. Between the Pnyx on the 
west, the Areopagus on the north and 
the Acropolis on the east, and closely 
adjoining the base of these hills, stood 
the Agora or “Market,” where St. 
Paul disputed daily. Through it ran 


Character . — The remark of the sacred 
historian respecting the inquisitive char- 
acter of the Athenians, Acts 17 : 21, is 
attested by the unanimous voice of an- 
tiquity. Athens “ became the centre of 
enlightenment in science, literature and 
art for the ancient world.” Its influ- 
ence in literature and art has continued 
down the ages, and has made it one of 
the three most influential cities in all 
history. “ In its prime it sent forth 
more great men in one hundred years 
than all the rest of the world could 
show in five hundred.” 

Present condition. — The population of 
Athens in 1900 was 180,000 ( Cram’s At- 



ATH 


59 


ATO 


las). Its university has 106 professors 
and 2500 students. Educational insti- 
tutions are very numerous. A railway 
connects the Piraeus or port with the 
city, and its terminus stands in the 
midst of what was once the Agora. 

Ath'lai (ath'lai), one of the sons 
of Bebai, who put away his foreign 
wife at the exhortation of Ezra. Ezra 
10 : 28 . 

Atonement, The day of. I. The 

great day of national humiliation, and 


the only one commanded in the Mosaic 
law. [Fasts.] The mode of its observ- 
ance is described in Lev. 16 , and the 
conduct of the people is emphatically 
enjoined in Lev. 23 : 26 - 32 . 

II. Time . — It was kept on the tenth 
day of Tisri, that is, from the evening 
of the ninth to the evening of the tenth 
of that month, five days before the 
feast of tabernacles. Tisri corresponds 
to our September-October, so that the 
10th of Tisri would be about the first 
of October. See table of months in 
Appendix. 

III. How observed . — It was kept by 
the people as a high solemn sabbath. 


On this occasion only the high priest 
was permitted to enter into the holy of 
holies. Having bathed his person and 
dressed himself entirely in the holy 
white linen garments, he brought for- 
ward a young bullock for a sin offering, 
purchased at his own cost, on account 
of himself and his family, and two 
young goats for a sin offering, with a 
ram for a burnt offering, which were 
paid for out of the public treasury, on 
account of the people. He then pre- 
sented the two goats before 
the Lord at the door of the 
tabernacle and cast lots upon 
them. On one lot “ For Je- 
hovah ” was inscribed, and 
on the other “ For Azazel,” 
— a phrase of unusual diffi- 
culty. Many modern scholars 
agree that it designates the 
personal being to whom the 
goat was sent, probably Satan. 
This goat was called the 
scapegoat. After various sac- 
rifices and ceremonies the 
goat upon which the lot " For 
Jehovah ” had fallen was 
slain and the high priest 
sprinkled its blood before the 
mercy-seat in the same man- 
ner as he had done that of 
the bullock. Going out from 
the holy of holies he purified 
the holy place, sprinkling 
some of the blood of both the 
victims on the altar of in- 
cense. At this time no one 
besides the high priest was 
suffered to be present in the 
holy place. The purification 
of the holy of holies and of 
the holy place being thus 
completed, the high priest 
laid his hands upon the head of the 
goat on which the lot “For Azazel ” 
had fallen, and confessed over it all 
the sins of the people. The goat -was 
then led, by a man chosen for the pur- 
pose, into, the wilderness, into “ a land 
not inhabited,” and was there let loose. 
The high priest after this returned into 
the holy place, bathed himself again, 
put on his usual garments of office, and 
offered the two rams as burnt offerings, 
one for himself and one for the people. 

IV. Significance . — In considering the 
meaning of the particular rites of the 
day, three points appear to be of a very 
distinctive character. (1) The white 



THE WILDERNESS OF THE SCAPEGOAT, EAST OF JERUSALEM. 

(According to Jewish tradition, the scapegoat was led out 
to a precipice and hurled down.) 



AZA 


62 


AZG 


3. Tenth king of Judah, more fre- 
quently called Uzziah. 2 Kings 14 : 21 ; 
15 : 1, 6, 7, 8, 17, 23, 27 ; 1 Chron. 3 : 12. 
(b.C. 767.) 

4. Son of Ethan, of the sons of 
Zerah, where, perhaps, Zerahiah is the 
more probable reading. 1 Chron. 2 : 8. 

5. Son of Jehu of the family of the 

Jerahmeelites, and descended from Jarha 
the Egyptian slave of Sheshan. 1 Chron. 
2 : 38, 39. He was probably one of the 
captains of hundreds in the time of Ath- 
aliah mentioned in 2 Chron. 23 : 1. (b.c. 

840.) 

6. The son of Johanan. 1 Chron. 6: 10. 
He must have been high priest in the 
reigns of Abijah and Asa. (b.c. 920.) 

7. Another Azariah is inserted be- 
tween Hilkiah, in Josiah’s reign, and Se- 
raiah, who was put to death by Nebu- 
chadnezzar, in 1 Chron. 6 : 13, 14. 

8. Son of Zephaniah, a Kohathite, and 
ancestor of Samuel the prophet. 1 
Chron. 6 : 36. Apparently the same as 
Uzziah in ver. 24. 

9. Azariah, the son of Oded, 2 Chron. 
15 : 1, called simply Oded in ver. 8, was 
a remarkable prophet in the days of 
King Asa, and a contemporary of Azari- 
ah the son of Johanan the high priest, 
and of Hanani the seer. (b.c. 920.) 

10. Son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah. 

2 Chron. 21:2. (b.c. 880.) 

11. Another son of Jehoshaphat, and 
brother of the preceding. 2 Chron. 21 : 2. 

12. In 2 Chron. 22 : 6 Azariah is a cler- 
ical error for Ahaziah. 

13. Son of Jeroham, one of the cap- 
tains of Judah in the time of Athaliah. 
2 Chron. 23 : 1. 

14. The high priest in the reign of 
Uzziah king of Judah. The most 
memorable event of his life is that 
which is recorded in 2 Chron. 26 : 17-20. 
(b.c. 789.) Azariah was contemporary 
with Isaiah the prophet and with Amos 
and Joel. 

15. Son of Johanan, one of the cap- 
tains of Ephraim in the reign of Ahaz. 
2 Chron. 28 : 12. 

16. A Kohathite, father, of Joel, in 
the reign of Hezekiah. 2 Chron. 29 : 12. 

17. A Merarite, son of Jehalelel, in 
the time of Hezekiah. 2 Chron. 29 : 12. 

18. The high priest in the days of 
Hezekiah. 2 Chron. 31 : 10, 13. He ap- 
pears to have co-operated zealously 
with the king in that thorough puri- 
fication of the temple and restoration 
of the temple services which was so 


conspicuous a feature in his reign. He 
succeeded Urijah, who was high priest 
in the reign of Ahaz. 

19. Son of Maaseiah, who repaired 
part of the wall of Jerusalem in the 
time of Nehemiah. Neh. 3:23, 24. 

20. One of the leaders of the children 
of the province who went up from 
Babylon with Zerubbabel. Neh. 7:7. 

21. One of the Levites who assisted 
Ezra in instructing the people in the 
knowledge of the law. Neh. 8 : 7. 

22. One of the priests who sealed the 
covenant with Nehemiah, Neh. 10:2, 
and probably the same with the Azariah 
who assisted in the dedication of the 
city wall. Neh. 12:33. 

23. Jer. 43:2 (Jezaniah). 

24. The original name of Abed-nego. 
Dan. 1:6, 7, 11, 19. He appears to 
have been of the seed-royal of Judah. 

A'zaz (a'zaz) ( strong ), a Reubenite, 
father of Bela. 1 Chron. 5 : 8. 

Azazi'ah (az-a-zl'ah) ( Jehovah 
strengthens, or is strong ). 1. A Levite 

musician in the reign of David, ap- 
pointed to play the harp in the service 
which attended the procession by which 
the ark was brought up from the house 
of Obed-edom. 1 Chron. 15 : 21. (b.c. 

1042.) 

2. The father of Hoshea, prince of 
the tribe of Ephraim when David num- 
bered the people. 1 Chron. 27 : 20. 

3. One of the Levites in the reign of 
Hezekiah, who had charge of the tithes 
and dedicated things in the temple. 2 
Chron. 31 : 13. 

Az'buk (az'buk), father or ancestor 
of Nehemiah, the prince of part of 
Bethzur. Neh. 3 : 16. 

Aze'kah (a-ze'kah) ( dug over), a 
town of Judah, with dependent villages, 
lying in the Shefelah or rich agricul- 
tural plain. It is most clearly defined 
as being near Shochoh, 1 Sam. 17 : 1 ; 
but its position has not yet been recog- 
nized. 

A'zel (a'zel) (noble), a descendant 
of Saul. 1 Chron. 8:37, 38 ; 9 : 43, 44. 

A'zem (a'zem) (bone), a city in the 
extreme south of Judah, Josh. 15:29, 
afterwards allotted to Simeon. Josh. 
19: 3. Elsewhere it is Ezem, as in R. V. 
here. 

Az'gad (az'gad) (strength of for- 
tune). The children of Azgad, to the 
number of i222 (2322 according to Neh. 
7:17), were among the laymen who 
returned with Zerubbabel. Ezra 2 : 12 ; 


AZI 


63 


AZZ 


8:12. With the other heads of the 
people they joined in the covenant with 
Nehemiah. Neh. 10:15. 

A'ziel (a'zi-el) ( God comforts), a 
Levite. 1 Chron. 15 : 20. The name is a 
shortened form of Jaaziel in ver. 18. 

Azi'za (a-zi'za) {strong), a layman 
of the family of Zattu, who had mar- 
ried a foreign wife after the return 
from Babylon. Ezra 10:27. 

Az'maveth (az'ma-veth) {strong 
unto death). 1. One of David’s mighty 
men, a native of Bahurim, 2 Sam. 23 : 
31 ; 1 Chron. 11 : 33, and therefore 

probably a Benjamite. 

2. A descendant of Mephibosheth, or 
Merib-baal. 1 Chron. 8 : 36 ; 9 : 42. 

3. The father of Jeziel and Pelet, two 
of the skilled Benjamite slingers and 
archers who joined David at Ziklag, 1 
Chron. 12 : 3 ; perhaps identical with 
No. 1. 

4. Overseer of the royal treasures in 
the reign of David. 1 Chron. 27 : 25. 

Az'maveth (az'ma-veth), a place to 
all appearance in Benjamin, being 
named with other towns belonging to 
that tribe. Ezra 2 : 24. The name else- 
where occurs as Beth-azmaveth. Now 
Hizmeh near Gibeah. 

Az'mon (az'mon) {strong), a place 
named as being on the southern bound- 
ary of the Holy Land, apparently near 
the torrent of Egypt {Wadi el-Arish). 
Num. 34:4, 5 ; Josh. 15:4. It has not 
yet been identified. 

Az'noth=ta'bor (az'noth-ta'bor) {the 
ears [i. e. the slopes or summits] of 
Tabor), one of the landmarks of the 
boundary of Naphtali. Josh. 19 : 34. The 
town, if town it be, has hitherto es- 
caped recognition. 

A'zor (a'zor) {a helper), son of 
Eliakim, in the line of our Lord. Matt. 
1 : 13, 14. 

Azo'tus (a-zo'tus). [Ashdod.] 

Az'riel (az'ri-el) {help of God). 1. 
The head of a house of the half-tribe 
of Manasseh beyond Jordan, a man of 
renown. 1 Chron. 5 : 24. 


2. A Naphtalite, ancestor of Jeri- 
moth, the head of the tribe at the time 
of David’s census. 1 Chron. 27 : 19. 

3. The father of Seraiah, an officer 
of Jehoiakim. Jer. 36 : 26. 

Az'rikam (az'ri-kam) {help against 
the enemy). 1. A descendant of Ze- 
rubbabel, and son of Neariah of the 
royal line of Judah. 1 Chron. 3 : 23. 

2. Eldest son of Azel, and descendant 
of Saul, 1 Chron. 8 : 38 ; 9 : 44. 

3. A Levite, ancestor of Shemaiah, 
who lived in the time of Nehemiah. 1 
Chron. 9:14; Neh. 11 : 15. 

4. Governor of the house, or prefect 

of the palace, to King Ahaz, who was 
slain by Zichri, an Ephraimite hero, in 
the successful invasion of the southern 
kingdom by Pekah king of Israel. 2 
Chron. 28:7. (b.c. 735.) 

Azu'bah (a-zu'bah) {forsaken). 1. 
Wife of Caleb, son of Hezron. 1 Chron. 
2:18; 19. . 

2. Mother of King Jehoshaphat. 1 
Kings 22:42; 2 Chron. 20:31. (b.c. 

910.) 

A'zur (a'zur), properly Az'zur 
{helper). 1. A Benjamite of Gibeon, 
and father of Hananiah the false proph- 
et. Jer. 28 : 1. 

2. Father of Jaazaniah, one of the 
princes of the people against whom 
Ezekiel was commanded to prophesy. 
Ezek. 11 : 1. 

Az'zah (az'zah) {strong). Another 
rendering of the name of the well- 
known Philistine city Gaza. Deut. 2 : 23 ; 
1 Kings 4 : 24 ; Jer. 25 : 20. 

Az'zan (az'zan) {strong), the father 
of Paltiel, prince of the tribe of Issa- 
char, who represented his tribe in the 
division of the promised land. Num. 
34 : 26. 

Az'zur (az'zur) {one who helps), one 
of the heads of the people who signed 
the covenant with Nehemiah. Neh. 10: 
17. The name is probably that of a 
family, and in Hebrew is the same as 
is elsewhere represented by Azur. 


Ba'al (ba'al). 
owner or lord and is used of both men 
and gods. When used of men it im- 
plies possession, and comes to mean 
husband. As applied to gods it means 
rather possessor of lands than ruler of 
men. In its original meaning it is a 
part of the names of many true wor- 
shipers of Jehovah. It is commonly 
held that there was a supreme deity 
known as Baal who was the supreme 
male divinity of the Phoenician and Ca- 
naanitish nations, as Ashtoreth was their 
supreme female divinity. Some suppose 
Baal to correspond to the sun and Ash- 
toreth to the moon ; others that Baal was 
Jupiter and Ashtoreth Venus. But evi- 
dence seems to warrant the statement 
that there was no supreme Baal, but 
many Baals, the gods of particular 
places. The word Baalim , the plural 
of Baal, occurs frequently. There can 
be no doubt of the very high antiquity 
of the worship of Baalim. It prevailed 
in the time of Moses among the Moa- 
bites and Midianites, Num. 22 : 41, and 
through them spread to the Israelites. 
Num. 25 : 3-18 ; Deut. 4:3. In the times 
of the kings it became the religion of 
the court and people of the ten tribes, 
1 Kings 16 : 31-33 ; 18 : 19, 22, and ap- 
pears never to have been permanently 
abolished among them. 2 Kings 17 : 16. 
Temples were erected to Baal in Sam- 
aria, 1 Kings 16 : 32, and he was wor- 
shiped with much ceremony. 1 Kings 
18 : 19, 26-28 ; 2 Kings 10 : 22. This 
Baal was Melkart the chief deity of 
Tyre. The attractiveness of this wor- 
ship to the Jews undoubtedly grew out 
of its licentious character. We find this 
worship also in Phoenician colonies. 
The religion of the ancient British 
islands much resembled this ancient 
worship of Baal, and may have been 
derived from it. Nor need we hestitate 
to regard the Babylonian Bel, Isa. 46: 
1, or Belus, as essentially identical with 
Baal, though perhaps under some modi- 
fied form. The Baals of different 
places were sometimes worshiped un- 


der different compounds, among which 
appear — 

1. Baal-berith (ba'al-be'rith) (the 
covenant Baal), Judges 8:33; 9:4, the 
god who comes into covenant with the 
worshipers. 

2. Baal-zebub (ba'al-ze'bub) (lord of 
the dy), and worshiped at Ekron. 2 
Kings 1:2, 3, 16. 

3. Baal-peor (ba'al-pe'or) (lord of 
Peor). The narrative (Num. 25) seems 
clearly to show that this form of Baal 
worship was connected with licentious 
rites. 

Ba'al (ba'al) (lord). 1. A Reuben- 
ite. 1 Chron. 5 : 5. 

2. The son of Jehiel, and grandfather 
of Saul. 1 Chron. 8:30; 9:36. 

Ba'al (ba'al), geographical. This 
word occurs as the prefix or suffix to the 
names of several places in Palestine, 
some of which are as follows : 

1. Baal (ba'al), a town of Simeon, 
named only in 1 Chron. 4 : 33, which 
from the parallel list in Josh. 19 : 8 
seems to have been identical with Baal- 

ATH-BEER. 

2. Baalah (ba'al-ah) (mistress), a. 
Another name for Kirjath-jearim, or 
Kirjath-baal, the well-known town, al- 
so called Baale- Judah. Josh. 15 : 9, 10 ; 1 
Chron. 13 : 6. b. A town in the south of 
Judah, Josh. 15 : 29, which in 19 : 3 is 
called Balah, in the parallel list, 1 
Chron. 4 : 29, Bilhah. 

3. Baalath (ba'al-ath) (mistress), a 
town of Dan named with Gibbethon, 
Gath-rimmon and other Philistine 
places. Josh. 19 : 44. 

4. Baalath -beer (ba'al-ath-be'er) 

(lord of the well). Baal 1, a town 
among those in the south part of Judah, 
given to Simeon, which also bore the 
name of Ramath-negeb, or “ the height 
of the south.” Josh. 19:8. 

5. Baal-gad (ba-al-gad) (lord of for- 
tune), used to denote the most northern. 
Josh. 11:17; 12:7, or perhaps north- 
western, 13 : 5, point to which Joshua’s 
victories extended. It was in all prob- 
ability a sanctuary where Gad, or For- 

64 


B 

The word means 


65 



RUINS OF THE TEMPLE OF BAAL. BAALBEC 


SYRIA. 


5 


BAA 


66 


BAA 


tune, was worshiped. Probably its site 
is Ain Jedeideh on the northwest slopes 
of Hermon. 

6. Baal-hamon (ba'al-ha'mon) ( lord 
of a multitude) , a place at which Solo- 
mon had a vineyard, evidently of great 
extent. Cant 8:11. 

7. Baal-hazor (ba'al-ha'zor) ( lord 
of a village), a place where Absalom 
appears to have had a sheep-farm, and 
where Amnon was murdered. 2 Sam. 
13:23. It is probably Tell Asur, near 
Ephraim. 

8. Mount Baal-hermon (ba'al-her'- 
mon) ( lord of Hermon), Judges 3:3, 
and simply Baal-hermon. 1 Chron. 5 : 23. 
This is usually considered as a distinct 
place from Mount Hermon; but we 
know that this mountain had at least 
three names (Deut. 3:9) and Baal- 
hermon may have been a fourth. 

9. Baal-meon (ba'al-me'on) ( lord of 
the house), one of the towns which were 
rebuilt by the Reubenites. Num. 32: 
38. It also occurs in 1 Chron. 5 : 8, 
and on each occasion with Nebo. In 
the time of Ezekiel it was Moabite, one 
of the cities which were the “ glory of 
the country.” Ezek. 25 : 9. It is named 
on the Moabite Stone as built by Mesha. 
The present ruin, Ma’in* is four miles 
from Medeba, but the ruins are largely 
Roman. 

10. Baal-perazim (ba'al-per'a-zim) 

( lord of breaking forth), the scene of 
a victory of David over the Philistines, 
and of a great destruction of their 
images, 2 Sam. 5:20; 1 Chron. 14:11. 
See Isa. 28 : 21, where it is called Mount 
Perazim. 

11. Baal-shalisha (ba'al-shal'i-sha) 
(lord -of Shalisha), a place named only 
in 2 Kings 4:42; apparently not far 
from Gilgal ; comp. 4 : 38. Conder lo- 
cates it at Kefr Thilth, 16 miles north- 
east of Lydda and 13 miles north- 
west of Gilgal, 

12. Baal-tamar (ba'al-ta'mar) (lord 
of the palm tree) t a place named only 
in Judges 20:33, as near Gibeah of 
Benjamin. The palm tree { tdmdr ) of 
Deborah, Judges 4:5, was situated 
somewhere in the locality, and is possi- 
bly alluded to. 

13. Baal-zephon (ba'al-ze'fon) (lord 
of the north), a place in Egypt near 
where the Israelites crossed the Red 
Sea. Num. 33:7; Exod. 14:2, 9. Both 
the meaning and situation are extremely 


uncertain. It may have been a little 
below the head of the Gulf of Suez. 

Ba'alah (ba'al-ah). [Baal, No. 2.] 

Ba'alath (ba'al-ath). [Baal, 3, 4.] 

Baal'bec. See Aven. 

Ba'ale of Judah. [Baal, No. 2, a .] 

Ba'al=ha'nan (ba'al-ha'nan). 1. The 
name of one of the early kings of 
Edom. Gen. 36 : 38, 39 ; 1 Chron. 1 : 49, 
50. 

2. The name of one of David’s offi- 
cers, who had the superintendence of his 
olive and sycomore plantations. 1 
Chron. 27 : 28. 

Ba'ali. Hos. 2: J6. [Baal.] 

Ba'alim. [Baal.] 

Ba'alis (ba'al-is), king of the Am- 
monites at the time of the destruction 
of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar. Jer. 
40:14. (b.c. 586.) 

Ba ana (ba'a-na). 1. The son of 
Ahilud, Solomon’s commissariat officer in 
Jezreel and the north of the Jordan 
valley. 1 Kings 4 : 12. 

2. Father of Zadok, who assisted in 
rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem under 
Nehemiah. Neh. 3 : 4. 

Ba'anah (ba'a-na). 1. Son of Rim- 
mon, a Benjamite, who with his brother 
Rechab murdered Ish-bosheth. For this 
they were killed by David, and their 
mutilated bodies hung up over the pool 
at Hebron. 2 Sam. 4:2, 5, 6, 9. (b.c. 

1048.) 

2. A Netophathite, father of Heleb or 
Heled, one of David’s mighty men. 2 
Sam. 23 : 29 ; 1 Chron. 11 : 30. 

3. Accurately Baana, son of Hushai, 
Solomon’s commissariat officer in Asher. 
1 Kings 4 : 16. 

4. A man who accompanied Zerub- 

babel on his return from the captivity. 
Ezra 2:2; Neh. 7:7. Possibly the same 
person is intended in Neh. 10:27. (b.c. 

536.) 

Ba'ara, one of the wives of Shaha- 
raim, a descendant of Benjamin. 1 
Chron. 8 : 8. 

Baase'iah (ba'a-se'iah), or Bassei'= 
ah (work of Jehovah), a Gershonite 
Levite, one of the forefathers of Asaph 
the singer. 1 Chron. 6 : 40. 

Ba'asha (ba'a-sha), b.c. 914-891, 
third sovereign of the separate king- 
dom of Israel, and the founder of its 
second dynasty. He was son of Ahijah 
of the tribe of Issachar, and conspired 
against King Nadab, 1 Kings 15 : 27, 
and killed him with his whole family. 


BAB 


67 


BAB 


He appears to have been of humble 
origin. 1 Kings 16 : 2. It was probably 
in the 13th year of his reign that he 
made war on Asa, and began to fortify 
Ramah. He was defeated by the unex- 
pected alliance of Asa with Ben-hadad 
I, of Damascus. Baasha died in the 
24th year of his reign, and was buried 
in Tirzah, Cant. 6:4, which he had 
made his capital. 1 Kings 16 : 6 ; 2 
Chron. 16 : 1-6. 

Ba'bel (ba'bel) (confusion) , Bab'- 
ylon (Greek form of Babel), is prop- 
erly the capital city of the country 
which is called in Genesis Shinar, and 
in the later books Chaldea , or the land 
of the Chaldeans. The first rise of the 
Chaldean power was in the region close 
upon the Persian Gulf ; thence the na- 
tion spread northward up the course of 
the rivers, and the seat of government 
moved in the same direction, being 
finally fixed at Babylon, perhaps not 
earlier than b.c. 1700. 

I. Topography of Babylon — Ancient 


descriptions of the city. — All the ancient 
writers appear to agree in the fact of a 
district of vast size, more or less inhab- 



THE SO-CALLED BABYLONIAN SCENE 
OF THE FALL OF MAN. 

An impression of a seal cylinder, with Sacred 
Tree, Fruit and Serpent 

ited, having been enclosed within lofty 
walls, and included under the name of 
Babylon. With respect to the exact ex- 
tent of the circuit they differ. The esti- 
mate of Herodotus and of Pliny is 480 
stades (60 Roman miles, 53 of our 



EXCAVATED TEMPLE AT NIPPUR OF THIRD MILLENNIUM B. C. 


68 


< 



EXCAVATIONS IN THE TEMPLE AT NIPPUR, BABYLONIA. 

(Showing the structure of an ancient Babylonian temple such as that de 

scribed as the Tower of Babel.) 


BAB 


69 


BAB 


miles), of Strabo 385, of Q. Curtius 368, 
of Clitarchus 365 and of Ctesias 360 
stades (40 miles). George Smith, in his 
“ Assyrian Discoveries,” differs entirely 
from all these estimates, making the cir- 
cuit of the city but eight miles. Per- 
haps Herodotus spoke of the outer wall, 
which could be traced in his time. Tak- 
ing the lowest estimate of the extent of 
the circuit, we shall have for the space 
within the rampart an area of above 100 
square miles — nearly the present size of 
London. This area was not entirely 
covered with houses, but large spaces 
were reserved for gardens and fields, 
which enabled it to endure a siege. 
Around all four sides between the two 
walls was a space where houses were 
not allowed to be built. The city was 
situated on both sides of the river 
Euphrates, and the two parts were con- 
nected together by a stone bridge five 
stades (above 1000 yards) long and 30 
feet broad. At either extremity of the 
bridge was a royal palace, that in the 
eastern city being the more magnificent 
of the two. The two palaces were 
joined not only by the bridge, but by a 
tunnel under the river. The houses, 
which were frequently three or four 
stories high, were laid out in straight 
streets crossing each other at right 
angles. 

II. Present state of the ruins. — A 
portion of the ruins is occupied by the 
modern town of Hillah. About five 
miles above Hillah, on the opposite or 
left bank of the Euphrates, occurs a 
series of artificial mounds of enormous 
size. Scattered over the country on 
both sides of the Euphrates are a num- 
ber of remarkable mounds, usually 
standing single, which are plainly of 
the same date with the great mass of 
ruins upon the river bank. Of these 
by far the most striking is the vast 
ruin called the Birs-Nimrud, about six 
miles to the southwest of Hillah. 

For many years these mounds have 
been excavated by learned men from 
Germany, France, England and Amer- 
ica, who have found ancient cylinders, 
bricks, seals used by kings and busi- 
ness men, and inscriptions, which have 
thrown a great deal of light upon the 
ancient Babylonians, and the Scripture 
references to them.. 

III. Identification of sites. — The 
great mound of Babil is probably the 
ancient temple of Belus. The mound 


of the Kasr marks the site of the great 
palace of Nebuchadnezzar. The mound 
of Amrdm is thought to represent the 
“ hanging gardens ” of Nebuchadnez- 
zar; but most probably it represents the 
ancient palace, coeval with Babylon it- 
self, of which Nebuchadnezzar speaks 
in his inscriptions as adjoining his own 
more magnificent residence. 

IV. History of Babylon. — Scripture 
represents the “ beginning of the king- 
dom ” as belonging to the time of Nim- 
rod. Gen. 10 : 6-10. The early annals 
of Babylon are filled by Berosus, the 
native historian, with three dynasties: 
one of 49 Chaldean kings, who reigned 
458 years; another of 9 Arab kings, 
who reigned 245 years ; and a third of 
49 Assyrian monarchs, who held domin- 
ion for 526 years. The line of Baby- 
lonian kings becomes exactly known to 
us from b.c. 747. The “ Canon of 
Ptolemy ” gives us the succession of 
Babylonian monarchs from b.c. 747 to 
b.c. 331, when the last Persian king was 
dethroned by Alexander. On the fall 
of Nineveh, b.c. 607, Babylon became 
not only an independent kingdom, but 
an empire. The city was taken by sur- 
prise b.c. 539, as Jeremiah had prophe- 
sied, Jer. 51:31, 39, — and as intimated 
170 years earlier by Isaiah, Isa. 21 : 1-9, — 
by Cyrus and his general Gobryas, 
who is probably the Darius of Dan. 5. 
With the conquest of Cyrus commenced 
the decay of Babylon, which has since 
been a quarry from which all the 
tribes in the vicinity have derived 
the bricks with which they have built 
their cities. The “ great city ” has 
thus emphatically “ become heaps.” 
Jer. 51:37. 

Ba'bel (ba'bel), Tower of. The 
“tower of Babel” is only mentioned 
once in Scripture, Gen. 11 : 4, 5, 9, and 
then as incomplete. It was built of 
bricks, and the “ slime ” used for mor- 
tar was probably bitumen. Such au- 
thorities as we possess represent the 
building as destroyed soon after its 
erection. When the Jews, however, 
were carried captive into Babylonia, 
they thought they recognized it in the 
famous temple of Belus, the modern 
Birs-Nimrud. But the Birs-Nimrud, 
though it cannot be the tower of Babel 
itself, may well be taken to show the 
probable shape and character of the ed- 
ifice. This building appears to have 
been a sort of oblique pyramid built in 


BAB 


70 


BAD 



seven receding stages, each successive 
one being nearer to the southwestern 
end, which constituted the back of the 
building. The first, second and third 
stories were each 26 feet high, the re- 
maining four being 15 feet high. On 
the seventh stage there was probably- 
placed the ark or tabernacle, which 
seems to have been again 15 feet high, 
and must have nearly, if not entirely, 
covered the top of the seventh story. 
The entire original height, allowing 
three feet for the platform, would thus 
have been 156 feet, or without the plat- 
form 153 feet. 

Bab'ylon (bab'y-lon), in the Apoca- 
lypse, is the symbolical name by which 
Rome is denoted. Rev. 14 : 8 ; 17 : 18. 
The power of Rome was regarded by 
the later Jews as was that of Babylon 


PLAN OF ANCIENT BABYLON. 

by their forefathers. Comp. Jer. 51 : 7 
with Rev. 14:8. The occurrence of 
this name in 1 Pet. 5 : 13 has given rise 


to a variety of conjectures, many giv- 
ing it the same meaning as in the Apoc- 
alypse; others refer it to Babylon in 
Asia, and others still to Babylon in 
Egypt. The most natural supposition 
of all is that by Babylon is intended 
the old Babylon of Assyria, which was 
largely inhabited by Jews at the time 
in question. 

Babylo'nians, the inhabitants of 
Babylon, a race of Shemitic origin, who 
were among the colonists planted in the 
cities of Samaria by the conquering As- 
syrians. Ezra 4 : 9. 

Babylonish (bab-y-lo'nish) garment, 
literally “robe of Shinar,” Josh. 7:21; 
an ample robe, naturally coveted by 
Achan, for it was such as kings wore, 
and was ornamented with embroidery, 
or perhaps a variegated garment with 
figures inwoven in the fash- 
ion for which the Babylon- 
ians were celebrated. 

Ba'ca (ba'ka) ( weeping ), 
The Valley of, a valley in 
Palestine., through which the 
exiled Psalmist sees in vision 
the pilgrims passing in their 
march towards the sanctuary 
of Jehovah at Zion. Ps. 84: 
6. That it was a real lo- 
cality is most probable from 
the use of the definite article 
before the name. But the 
expression “ passing through 
the valley of Baca (i. e. of 
weeping) make it a well,” 
R. V. a place of springs, is 
used metaphorically of re- 
ligion transforming sorrow 
into joy. 

Bach'rites, The, the fam- 
ily of Becher, son of Eph- 
raim. Num. 26 : 35. 

Badger Skins. There is 
much obscurity as to the 
meaning of the word taeh- 
ash, rendered “ badger ” in 
the Authorized Version, Ex. 
25:5; 35:7, etc. The an- 
cient versions seem nearly all 
agreed that it denotes not 
an animal but a color. But 
modern scholars favor the 
view that it is an animal. 
The Arabic due hash or 
tuchash denotes a dolphin, 
including seals and cetaceans. The 
skins referred to are probably those of 
these marine animals, some of which 



BAG 


71 


BAL 


are found in the Red Sea. The skin 
of the Halicore, one of these, from its 
hardness would be well suited for mak- 
ing soles for shoes. Ezek. 16 : 10. 

Bag is the rendering of several words 
in the Old and New Testaments, (l) 
Chdritim, the “ bags ” in which Naaman 
bound up the two talents of silver for 
Gehazi. 2 Kings 5 : 23. In Isa. 3 : 22 
it is mentioned in the list of women’s 
adornments, and is probably some kind 
of ornamentally woven pouch or satchel. 
(See R. V.) (2) Kis, a bag for carry- 

ing weights, Deut. 25 : 13 ; also used as a 
purse. Prov. 1 : 14. (3) Kelt, in Gen. 

42:25, is the “sack” in which Jacob’s 
sons carried the corn which they 
brought from Egypt. (4) The shep- 
herd’s “bag” used by David was for 
the purpose of carrying the lambs un- 
able to walk. Zech. 11 : 15, 16. (5) 

Tseror, properly a “bundle,” Gen. 42: 
35, appears to have been used by travel- 
ers for carrying money during a long 
journey. Prov. 7:20. (6) The “bag” 

which Judas carried was probably a 
small box or chest. John 12:6; 13:29. 

BahaTumite, The. [Bahurim.] 

Bahu'rim (ba-hu'rim) ( young men), 
a village, 2 Sam. 16 : 5, apparently on 
or close to the road leading up from 
the Jordan valley to Jerusalem., and 
near the south boundary of Benjamin. 

Ba'jith (ba'jith) ( the house), refer- 
ring to the “ temple ” of the false gods 
of Moab, as opposed to the “high 
places ” in the same sentence. Isa. 15 : 
2, and comp. 16 : 12. 

Bakbak'kar, a Levite, apparently a 
descendant of Asaph. 1 Chron. 9 : 15. 

Bak'buk {pitcher). “Children of 
Bakbuk ” were among the Nethinim who 
returned from captivity with Zerub- 
babel. Ezra 2:51; Neh. 7:53. 

Bakbuki'ah (bak-bu-ki'ah) {pitcher 
of Jehovah), a Levite in the time of 
Nehemiah. Neh. 12:9. 

Bake. Reference to baking is found 
in Lev. 26 : 26 ; 1 Sam. 8 : 13 ; 2 Sam. 13 : 
8; Jer. 7:18; 37:21; Hos. 7:4-7. 

Ba'laam (ba'lam) (b.c. 1452), the son 
of Beor, a man endowed with the gift 
of prophecy. Num. 22 : 5. He is men- 
tioned in conjunction with the five kings 
of Midian, apparently as a person of the 
same rank. Num. 31 : 8 ; cf. 31 : 16. He 
seems to have lived at Pethor, Deut. 
23:4; Num. 22:5, on the river Euphra- 


tes, in Mesopotamia. Such was his rep- 
utation that when the Israelites were 
encamped in the plains of Moab, Balak, 
the king of Moab, sent for Balaam to 
curse them. Balaam at first was pro- 
hibited by God from going. He was 
again sent for by the king and again 
refused, but was at length allowed to 
go. He yielded to the temptations of 
riches and honor which Balak set be- 
fore him ; hut God’s anger was kindled 
at this manifestation of determined self- 
will, and the angel of the Lord stood in 
the way for an adversary against him. 
See 2 Pet. 2 : 15, 16. Balaam predicted 
a magnificent career for the people whom 
he was called to curse, but he never- 
theless suggested to the Moabites the 
expedient of seducing them to commit 
fornication. The effect of this is re- 
corded in Num. 25. A battle was after- 
wards fought against the Midianites, in 
which Balaam sided with them, and was 
slain by the sword of the people whom 
he had endeavored to curse. Num. 31 : 8. 

Ba'lac. Rev. 2 : 14. [Balak.] 

Bal'adan (bal'a-dan). [Merodach- 

BALADAN.] 

Ba'Iah. Josh. 19 : 3. [Baal, Geogr. 
No. 2, b .] 

Ba'lak (ba'lak) {making waste), son 
of Zippor, king of the Moabites, who 
hired Balaam to curse the Israelites ; 
but his designs were frustrated in the 
manner recorded in Num. 22-24. (b.c. 

1452.) 

Balances. Reference to balances is 
found in Lev. 19 : 36. They were in 



EGYPTIAN BALANCER WEIGHING RINGS OF GOLD. 

common use, gold and silver being paid 
out and received by weight. Reference 
is also made in Micah 6:11; Hosea 12 : 
7, to the dishonest practice of buying 
by heavier and selling by lighter weights. 
Bal'amo. A town near Dothan, 


BAB 


70 


BAD 



seven receding stages, each successive 
one being nearer to the southwestern 
end, which constituted the back of the 
building. The first, second and third 
stories were each 26 feet high, the re- 
maining four being 15 feet high. On 
the seventh stage there was probably- 
placed the ark or tabernacle, which 
seems to have been again 15 feet high, 
and must have nearly, if not entirely, 
covered the top of the seventh story. 
The entire original height, allowing 
three feet for the platform, would thus 
have been 156 feet, or without the plat- 
form 153 feet. 

Babylon (bab'y-lon), in the Apoca- 
lypse, is the symbolical name by which 
Rome is denoted. Rev. 14 : 8 ; 17 : 18. 
The power of Rome was regarded by 
the later Jews as was that of Babylon 


PLAN OF ANCIENT BABYLON. 

by their forefathers. Comp. Jer. 51:7 
with Rev. 14:8. The occurrence of 
this name in 1 Pet. 5 : 13 has given rise 


to a variety of conjectures, many giv- 
ing it the same meaning as in the Apoc- 
alypse; others refer it to Babylon in 
Asia, and others still to Babylon in 
Egypt. The most natural supposition 
of all is that by Babylon is intended 
the old Babylon of Assyria, which was 
largely inhabited by Jews at the time 
in question. 

Babylo'nians, the inhabitants of 
Babylon, a race of Shemitic origin, who 
were among the colonists planted in the 
cities of Samaria by the conquering As- 
syrians. Ezra 4 : 9. 

Babylonish (bab-y-lo'nish) garment, 
literally “ robe of Shinar,” Josh. 7 : 21 ; 
an ample robe, naturally coveted by 
Achan, for it was such as kings wore, 
and was ornamented with embroidery, 
or perhaps a variegated garment with 
figures inwoven in the fash- 
ion for which the Babylon- 
ians were celebrated. 

Ba'ca (ba'ka) (weeping), 
The Valley of, a valley in 
Palestine., through which the 
exiled Psalmist sees in vision 
the pilgrims passing in their 
march towards the sanctuary 
of Jehovah at Zion. Ps. 84: 
6. That it was a real lo- 
cality is most probable from 
the use of the definite article 
before the name. But the 
expression “ passing through 
the valley of Baca (i. e. of 
weeping) make it a well,” 
R. V. a place of springs, is 
used metaphorically of re- 
ligion transforming sorrow 
into joy. 

Bach'rites, The, the fam- 
ily of Becher, son of Eph- 
raim. Num. 26 : 35. 

Badger Skins. There is 
much obscurity as to the 
meaning of the word tach- 
ash, rendered “ badger ” in 
the Authorized Version, Ex. 
25 : 5 ; 35 : 7, etc. The an- 
cient versions seem nearly all 
agreed that it denotes not 
an animal but a color. But 
modern scholars favor the 
view that it is an animal. 
The Arabic du c h a s h or 
tuchash denotes a dolphin, 
including seals and cetaceans. The 
skins referred to are probably those of 
these marine animals, some of which 



BAG 


71 


BAL 


are found in the Red Sea. The skin 
of the Halicore, one of these, from its 
hardness would be well suited for mak- 
ing soles for shoes. Ezek. 16 : 10. 

Bag is the rendering of several words 
in the Old and New Testaments. (1) 
Charitim, the “ bags ” in which Naaman 
bound up the two talents of silver for 
Gehazi. 2 Kings 5 : 23. In Isa. 3 : 22 
it is mentioned in the list of women’s 
adornments, and is probably some kind 
of ornamentally woven pouch or satchel. 
(See R. V.) (2) Kis, a bag for carry- 

ing weights, Deut. 25 : 13 ; also used as a 
purse. Prov. 1:14. (3) Kelt, in Gen. 

42:25, is the “sack” in which Jacob’s 
sons carried the corn which they 
brought from Egypt. (4) The shep- 
herd’s “bag” used by David was for 
the purpose of carrying the lambs un- 
able to walk. Zech. 11:15, 16. (5) 

Tseror, properly a “bundle,” Gen. 42: 
35, appears to have been used by travel- 
ers for carrying money during a long 
journey. Prov. 7:20. (6) The “bag” 

which Judas carried was probably a 
small box or chest. John 12:6; 13:29. 

Baha'rumite, The. [Bahurim.] 

Bahu'rim (ba-hu'rim) (young men), 
a village, 2 Sam. 16 : 5, apparently on 
or close to the road leading up from 
the Jordan valley to Jerusalem,, and 
near the south boundary of Benjamin. 

Ba'jith (ba'jith) (the house), refer- 
ring to the “temple” of the false gods 
of Moab, as opposed to the “ high 
places ” in the same sentence. Isa. 15 : 
2, and comp. 16 : 12. 

Bakbak'kar, a Levite, apparently a 
descendant of Asaph. 1 Chron. 9 : 15. 

Bak'buk (pitcher). “Children of 
Bakbuk ” were among the Nethinim. who 
returned from captivity with Zerub- 
babel. Ezra 2:51; Neh. 7:53. 

Bakbuki'ah (bak-bu-ki'ah) (pitcher 
of Jehovah), a Levite in the time of 
Nehemiah. Neh. 12:9. 

Bake. Reference to baking is found 
in Lev. 26 : 26 ; 1 Sam. 8 : 13 ; 2 Sam. 13 : 
8 ; Jer. 7 : 18 ; 37 : 21 ; Hos. 7 : 4-7. 

Balaam (ba'lam) (b.c. 1452), the son 
of Beor, a man endowed with the gift 
of prophecy. Num. 22:5. Lie is men- 
tioned in conjunction with the five kings 
of Midian, apparently as a person of the 
same rank. Num. 31:8; cf. 31 : 16. He 
seems to have lived at Pethor, Deut. 
23:4; Num. 22: 5, on the river Euphra- 


tes, in Mesopotamia. Such was his rep- 
utation that when the Israelites were 
encamped in the plains of Moab, Balak, 
the king of Moab, sent for Balaam to 
curse them. Balaam at first was pro- 
hibited by God from going. He was 
again sent for by the king and again 
refused, but was at length allowed to 
go. He yielded to the temptations of 
riches and honor which Balak set be- 
fore him ; hut God’s anger was kindled 
at this manifestation of determined self- 
will, and the angel of the Lord stood in 
the way for an adversary against him. 
See 2 Pet. 2 : 15, 16. Balaam predicted 
a magnificent career for the people whom 
he was called to curse, but he never- 
theless suggested to the Moabites the 
expedient of seducing them to commit 
fornication. The effect of this is re- 
corded in Num. 25. A battle was after- 
wards fought against the Midianites, in 
which Balaam sided with them, and was 
slain by the sword of the people whom 
he had endeavored to curse. Num. 31 : 8. 

Ba'Iac. Rev. 2 : 14. [Balak.] 

Bal'adan (bal'a-dan). [Merodach- 
BALADAN.] 

Ba'lah. Josh. 19 : 3. [Baal, Geogr. 
No. 2, b .] 

Ba lak (ba'lak) (making waste), son 
of Zippor, king of the Moabites, who 
hired Balaam to curse the Israelites ; 
but his designs were frustrated in the 
manner recorded in Num. 22-24. (b.c. 

1452.) 

Balances. Reference to balances is 
found in Lev. 19 : 36. They were in 



EGYPTIAN BALANCER WEIGHING RINGS OF GOLD. 

common use, gold and silver being paid 
out and received by weight. Reference 
is also made in Micah 6:11; Hosea 12 : 
7, to the dishonest practice of buying 
by heavier and selling by lighter weights. 
Bal'amo. A town near Dothan, 


3AL 


72 


BAN 


Judith 8 : 3. Supposed by some to be 
identical with Baal-Hamon. 

Baldness. Natural baldness seems 
to have been uncommon, since it exposed 
people to public derision. Lev. 13 : 29 ; 
2 Kings 2 : 23 ; Isa. 3 : 24 ; 15 : 2 ; Jer. 47 : 
5; Ezek. 7:18. Artificial baldness 
marked the conclusion of a Nazirite’s 
vow, and was a sign of mourning. 
Num. 6:9; Acts 18 : 18. 

Balm (from balsam, Heb. tzorx, tseri) 
occurs in Gen. 37 : 25 ; 43 : 11 ; Jer. 8:22; 
46:11; 51:8; Ezek. 27:17. It is an 



BALM OF GILEAD. 


aromatic plant, or the resinous odorifer- 
ous sap or gum which exudes from such 
plants. It is impossible to identify it 
with any certainty. It may represent 
the gum of the Pistacia lentiscus, or 
more probably that of the Balsamoden- 
dron opobalsamum, allied to the balm of 
Gilead, which abounded in Gilead east 
of the Jordan. The trees resembled fig 
trees (or grape vines), but were lower, 
being but 12 to 15 feet high. It is now 
called the balm of Gilead, or Mecca- 
balsam, the tree or shrub being indig- 
enous in the mountains around Mecca. 
[Incense; Spices.] Hasselquist says 
that the exudation from the plant “ is 
of a yellow color, and pellucid. It has 
a most fragrant smell, which is resinous, 
balsamic and very agreeable. It is very 
tenacious or glutinous, sticking to the 
fingers, and may be drawn into long 


threads/’ It was supposed to have heal- 
ing as well as aromatic qualities. 

Ba'mah (ba'mah) {high place). 
Found only in Ezek. 20 : 29, applied to 
places of idolatrous worship. 

Ba'moth=ba'al (ba'moth-ba'al) {high 
places of Baal), a sanctuary of Baal in 
the country of Moab, Josh. 13 : 17, which 
is probably mentioned in Num. 21 : 19 
under the shorter form of Bamoth, or 
Bamoth-in-the-ravine (20), and possibly 
again in Isa. 15 : 2. 

Band. The “band of Roman sol- 
diers ” referred to in Matt. 27 : 27 and 
elsewhere was the tenth part of a legion. 

It was called a “ cohort,” and numbered 
400 to 600 men. [See Army.] 

Ba'ni (ba'ni) {built). 1. A Gadite, 
one of David’s mighty men. 2 Sam. 23 : 
36. 

2. A Levite of the line of Merari, and 
forefather to Ethan. 1 Chron. 6:46. 

3. A man of Judah of the line of Pha- 
rez. 1 Chron. 9 : 4. 

4. “ Children of Bani ” returned from 
captivity with Zerubbabel. Ezra 2 : 10 ; 
10:29, 34; Neh. 10:14; 1 Esd. 5:12. 
[Binnui.] 

5. An Israelite “of the sons of Bani.” 
Ezra 10 : 38. 

6. A Levite. Neh. 3 : 17. 

7. A Levite. Neh. 8:7; 9:4, 5; 10: 
13. 

8. Another Levite, of the sons of 
Asaph. Neh. 11 : 22. 

Banner. [See Ensign.] 

Banquets, among the Hebrews, were 
not only a means of social enjoyment, 
but were a part of the observance of re- , 
ligious festivity. At the three solemn 
festivals the family also had its domestic 
feast. Deut. 16 : 11. Sacrifices, both or- 
dinary and extraordinary, Ex. 34 : 15 ; 
Judges 16:23, included a banquet. 
Birthday banquets are only mentioned 
Gen. 40 : 20 ; Matt. 14 : 6. The usual 
time of the banquet was the evening, 
and to begin early was a mark of excess. 
Eccles. 10:16; Isa. 5 : 11. The most es- 
sential materials of the banqueting- 
room, next to the viands and wine, 
which last was often drugged with 
spices, Prov. 9 : 2, were perfumed un- 
guents, garlands or loose flowers, white 
or brilliant robes ; after these, exhibi- 
tions of music, singers and dancers, 
riddles, jesting and merriment. Judges 
14:12; 2 Sam. 19:35; Neh. 8:10; Ec- 
cles. 10:19; Isa. 5:12; 25:6; 28:1; 


BAP 


73 


BAR 


Matt. 22 : 11 ; Luke 15 : 25. The posture 
at table in early times was sitting, 1 
Sam. 16 : 11 ; 20 : 5, 18, and the guests 
were ranged in order of dignity. Gen. 
43 : 33 ; 1 Sam. 9 : 22. Words which im- 
ply the recumbent posture belong to the 
New Testament. 

Baptism. It is well known that ab- 
lution or bathing was common in most 
ancient nations as a preparation for 
prayers and sacrifice or as expiatory of 
sin. In warm countries this connection 
is probably even closer than in colder 
climates; and hence the frequency of 
ablution in the religious rites through- 
out the East. Baptism in the name of 
the Father, Son and Holy Ghost is the 
rite or ordinance by which persons are 
admitted into the Church of Christ. It 
is the public profession of faith and dis- 
cipleship. Baptism signifies— (1) A con- 
fession of faith in Christ; (2) A cleans- 
ing or washing of the soul from sin; 
(3) A death to sin and a new life in 
righteousness. The mode and subjects 
of baptism being much-controverted sub- 
jects, each one can best study them in 
the works devoted to those questions. 
The command to baptize was co-exten- 
sive with the command to preach the 
gospel. All nations were to be evange- 
lized ; and they were to be made disci- 
ples, admitted into the fellowship of 
Christ’s religion, by baptism. Matt. 28 : 
19. It appears to have been a kind of 
transition from the Jewish baptism to 
the Christian. The distinction between 
John’s baptism and Christian baptism 
appears in the case of Apollos, Acts 18 : 
25, 27, and of the disciples at Ephesus 
mentioned Acts 19 : 1-6. We cannot but 
draw from this history the inference 
that in Christian baptism there was a 
deeper spiritual significance. 

Barab'bas (ba-rab'bas) ( son of 
Abba), a robber, John 18:40, who had 
committed murder in an insurrection, 
Mark 15 : 7 ; Luke 23 : 18, in Jerusalem, 
and was lying in prison at the time 
of the trial of Jesus before Pilate. 

Bar'achel (bar'a-kel) ( God has 
blessed), father of Elihu. Job 32:2, 6. 
[Buz.] 

BarachVas (bar-a-ki'as). Matt. 23: 
35. [Zacharias.] 

Ba'rak (ba'rak) ( lightning ), son of 
Abinoam of Kedesh, a refuge city in 
Mount Naphtali, was incited by Deb- 
orah, a prophetess of Ephraim, to de- 
liver Israel from the yoke of Jabin. 


Judges 4. He utterly routed the Ca- 
naanites in the plain of Jezreel (Es- 
draelon). 

Barbarian. “ Every one not a Greek 
is a barbarian ” is the common Greek 
definition, and in this strict sense the 
word is used- in Rom. 1:14. It often 
retains this primitive meaning, as in 1 
Cor. 14 : 11 ; Acts 28 : 4. 

Barhu'mite (bar-hu'mite), The. 
[Bahurim.] 

Bari'ah (ba-rl'ah) (fugitive), a de- 
scendant of the royal family of Judah. 

1 Chron. 3:22. 

Bar=je'sus (son of Jesus). [Ely- 

MAS.] 

Bar=jo'na (son of Jonah). [Peter.] 

Bar'kos (bar'kos) (painter). “Chil- 
dren of Barkos ” were among the Nethi- 
nim who returned from the captivity 
with Zerubbabel. Ezra 2:53; Neh. 7: 
55. 

Barley is one of the most important 
of the cereal grains, and the most hardy 
of them all. It was grown by the He- 
brews, Lev. 27 : 16 ; Deut. 8:8; Ruth 2 : 
17, etc., who used it for baking into 
bread, chiefly aihong the poor, Judges 
7 : 13 ; 2 Kings 4 : 42 ; John 6 : 9, 13, and 
as fodder for horses. 1 Kings 4:28. 
The barley harvest, Ruth 1 : 22 ; 2 : 23 ; 

2 Sam. 21 : 9, 10, takes place in Pales- 
tine in March and April, and in the 
hilly districts as late as June. It al- 
ways precedes the wheat harvest, in 
some places by a week, in others by 
fully three weeks. In Egypt the barley 
is about a month earlier than the wheat ; 
whence its total destruction by the hail 
storm. Ex. 9 : 31. 

Bar'nabas (bar'na-bas) (son of con- 
solation or exhortation) , name given 
by the apostles, Acts 4:36, to Joseph 
(or Joses), a Levite of the island of 
Cyprus, who was early a disciple of 
Christ. In, Acts 9 : 27 we find him in- 
troducing the newly-converted Saul to 
the apostles at Jerusalem. Barnabas 
was sent to Antioch, Acts 11 : 19-26, and 
went to Tarsus to seek Saul, as one 
specially raised up to preach to the Gen- 
tiles. Acts 26 : 17. He brought him to 
Antioch, and was senf with him to Jeru- 
salem. Acts 11:30. On their return, 
they were ordained by the church for 
the missionary work, Acts 13 : 2, and 
sent forth (a.d. 45). From this time 
Barnabas and Paul enjoy the title and 
dignity of apostles. Their, first mis- 
sionary journey is related in Acts 13, 


BAR 


74 


BAS 


14. Returning to Antioch (a.d. 48 or 
49), they were sent (a.d. 50), with some 
others, to Jerusalem. Acts 15 : 1, 36. 
Afterwards they parted, and Barnabas 
took Mark and sailed to Cyprus, his na- 
tive island. Here the Scripture notices 
of him cease. The epistle attributed to 
Barnabas is believed to have been writ- 
ten early in the second century. 

Bar'sabas (bar'sa-bas) ( son of Sabas 
or rest). [Joseph Barsabas; Judas 
Bars abas.] 

Barsab'bas (bar-sab'bas). R. V. of 
Acts 1 : 23 for Bar'sabas. 

Bartholomew (bar-thol'o-mew) ( son 
of Tolmai), one of the twelve apostles 
of Christ. Matt. 10:3; Mark 3:18; 
Luke 6:14; Acts 1:13. It has been 
not improperly conjectured that he is 
identical with Nathanael. John 1:45 
ff. He is said to have preached the 
gospel in India, that is, probably, Arabia 
Felix, and according to some in Ar- 
menia. 

Bartimae'us (bar-ti-me'us) ( son of 
Timceus), a blind beggar of Jericho who, 
Mark 10 : 46 ft'., sat by the wayside beg- 
ging as our. Lord passed out of Jericho 
on his last journey to Jerusalem. 

Ba'ruch (ba'ruk) {blessed). 1. Son 
of Neriah, the friend, Jer. 32: 12, aman- 
uensis, Jer. 36:4-32, and faithful at- 
tendant of Jeremiah. Jer. 36:10 ff. 
(b.c. 603.) He was of a noble family, 
comp. Jer. 51:59; Bar. 1:1, and of dis- 
tinguished acquirements. After the cap- 
ture of Jerusalem, b.c. 586, his enemies 
accused him of influencing Jeremiah in 
favor of the Chaldseans, Jer. 43:3; 
compare 27:13; and although by the 
permission of Nebuchadnezzar he re- 
mained with Jeremiah at Mizpeh, Jos. 
Ant. x. 9, § 1, he was afterwards forced 
to go down to Egypt. Jer. 43 : 6. Noth- 
ing is known certainly of the close of 
his life. 

2. The. son of Zabbai, who assisted Ne- 

hemiah in rebuilding the walls of Jeru- 
salem. Neh. 3:20. (b.c. 446.) 

3. A priest, or family of priests, who 
signed the covenant with JSTehemiah. 
Neh. 10: 6. 

4. The son of Col-hozeli, a descendant 

of Perez or Pharez, the son of Judah. 
Neh. 11:5. (b.c. 536.) 

Ba'ruch (ba'ruk), Book of. One of 
the apocryphal books of the Old Testa- 
ment. The book was held in little es- 
teem by the Jews, and both its date and 
authorship are very uncertain. 


Barzil'lai (bar-zil'la-I) {made of 
iron). 1. A wealthy Gileadite who 
showed hospitality to David when he 
fled from Absalom. 2 Sam. 17 : 27. 
(b.c. 1023.) He declined the king’s of- 
fer of ending his days at court. 2 Sam. 
19 : 32-39. 

2. A Meholathite, whose son Adriel 
married Michal, Saul’s daughter. 2 
Sam. 21 : 8. 

3. Son-in-law to Barzillai the Gilead- 
ite. Ezra 2:61; Neh. 7:63, 64, who 
took his father-in-law’s name, and 
founded a family. 

Ba'shan (ba'shan) {soft, rich soil), 
a district on the east of Jordan. It is 
sometimes spoken of as the “land of 
Bashan,” 1 Chron. 5 : 11, and comp. 
Num. 21 : 33 ; 32 : 33, and sometimes as 
“all Bashan.” Deut. 3:10, 13; Josh. 
12:5; 13 : 12, 30. It was taken by the 
children of Israel after their conquest 
of the land of Sihon from Arnon to 
Jabbok. The limits of Bashan are very 
strictly defined. It extended from the 
“border of Gilead” on the south to 
Mount Hermon on the north, Deut. 3 : 3, 
10, 14; Josh. 12:5; 1 Chron. 5:23, and 
from the Arabah or Jordan valley on 
the west to Salchah {Sulkhad) and the 
border of the Geshurites and the Maach- 
athites on the east. Josh. 12 : 3-5; Deut. 
3 : 10. This important district was be- 
stowed on the half-tribe of Manasseh, 
Josh. 13:29-31, together with “half 
Gilead.” This country is now full of 
interesting ruins, which have lately been 
explored and from which much light has 
been thrown upon Bible times. 

Ba'shan=ha'voth=ja'ir (ba'shan-ha'- 
voth-ja'ir), according to the Authorized 
Version, a name given to Argob after 
its conquest by Jair. Deut. 3 : 14. In 
R. V. it is rightly separated — “ he called 
them, even Bashan, after his own name, 
Havvoth-Jair.” 

Bash'emath (bash'e-math) {fra- 
grant), daughter of Ishmael, the last 
married of the three wives of Esau. Gen. 
36 : 3, 4, 13. In Gen. 28 : 9 she is called 
Mahalath. In Gen. 26 : 34 the name is 
evidently given to the Hittite Adah. 

Basin. Among the smaller -vessels 
for the tabernacle or temple service, 
many must have been required to re- 
ceive from the sacrificial victims the 
blood to be sprinkled for purification. 
The “ basin ” from which our Lord 
washed the disciples’ feet was probably 


BAS 


BAT 


deeper and larger than the hand-basin 
for sprinkling. 



ORIENTAL BASIN, EWER, ETC. 


Basket. The Hebrew terms used in 
the description of this article are as fol- 



EGYPTIAN BASKETS. 


lows: (l) Sal , so called from the twigs 
of which it was originally made, spe- 
cially used for holding bread. Gen. 40 : 
16 ff.; Ex. 29:3, 23; Lev. 8:2, 26, 31; 
Num. 6:15, 17, 19. (2) Salsilloth , a 

word of kindred origin, applied to the 
basket used in gathering grapes. Jer. 
6:9. (3) Tene, in which the first-fruits 

of the harvest were presented. Deut. 



BASKET FOR BOTTLES. 


26:2, 4. (4) Celub, so called from its 

similarity to a bird-cage. (5) Dud, 
used for carrying fruit, Jer. 24: 1, 2, as 
well as on a larger scale for carrying 
clay to. the brick-yard, Ps. 81:6 (pots. 
Authorized Version), or for holding 
bulky articles. 2 Kings 10 : 7. In the 
New Testament baskets are described 
under three different terms. 

Bas'math (fragrant), a daughter of 
Solomon, .married to Ahimaaz, one of 
his commissariat officers. 1 Kings 4 : 
15. R. V. Basemath. 

Bastard. Among those who were ex- 
cluded from entering the congregation, 
even to the tenth generation, was the 
bastard. Deut. 23 : 2. The term is not, 
however, applied to any illegitimate off- 
spring, born out of wedlock, but is re- 
stricted by the rabbins to the issue of 
any connection within the degrees pro- 
hibited by the law. 

Bat. Lev. 11 : 19 ; Deut. 14 : 18. Many 
travelers have noticed the immense 
numbers of bats that are found in cav- 
erns in the East, and Mr. Layard says 
that on the occasion of a visit to a cav- 
ern these noisome beasts compelled him 
to retreat. 

Bath, Bathing. This was a pre- 
scribed part of the Jewish ritual of puri- 
fication in cases of accident, or of lep- 
rous or ordinary uncleanness. Lev. 15; 
16:28; 22:6; Num. 19:7, 19; 2 Sam. 
11:2, 4; 2 Kings 5:10; as also after 
mourning, which always implied defile- 
ment. Ruth 3:3; 2 Sam. 12 : 20. The 
eastern climate made bathing essential 
alike to health and pleasure, to which 
luxury added the use of perfumes. 
Esther 2:12; Judith 10:3; Susan. 17. 
The “pools,” such as that of Siloam 
and Hezekiah, 2 Kings 20:20; Neh. 3: 
15, 16; Isa. 22:11; John 9:7, often 
sheltered by porticos, John 5 : 2, are the 
first indications we have of public bath- 
ing accommodation. 

Bath. [Weights and Measures.] 

Bath=rab'bim (bath-rab'bim) (daugh- 
ter of many), The gate of, one of the 
gates of the ancient city of Heshbon. 
Cant. 7 : 4. 

Bath'=sheba (bath'she-ba), or Bath- 
rhe'ba (daughter of the oath), 2 Sam. 
11:3, etc., also called Bath-shua in 1 
Chron. 3 : 5, the daughter of Eliam, 2 
Sam. 11 : 3, or Ammiel, 1 Chron. 3 : 5, 
the son of Ahithophel, 2 Sam. 23 : 34, 
and wife of Uriah the Hittite. The 
child which was the fruit of her adul- 


BAT 


76 


BEA 


terous intercourse with David died; but 
after marriage she became the mother 
of _ four sons, Solomon, Matt. 1:6; 
Shimea, Shobab and Nathan. When 
Adonijah attempted to set aside the 
succession promised to Solomon, Bath- 
sheba informed the king of the con- 
spiracy. 1 ICings 1 : 11, 15, 23. After 
the accession of Solomon, she, as queen- 
mother, requested permission of her 
son for Adonijah to take in marriage 
Abishag the Shunammite. 1 Kings 2; 
21-25. 

Bath'=shua. [Bath-sheba.] 

Battering=ram, Ezek. 4:2; 21:22, a 
large beam with a head of iron which 
was sometimes made to resemble the 
head of a ram. It was suspended by 
ropes to a beam supported by posts, and 
balanced so as to swing backward and 
forward, and was impelled by men 
against the wall. In attacking the walls 
of a fort or city, the first step appears 
to have been to form an inclined plane 
or bank of earth, comp. Ezek. 4 : 2, 
“ cast a mount against it,” by which the 
besiegers could bring their battering- 
rams and other engines to the foot of 
the walls. “The battering-rams,” says 
Mr. Layard, “were of. several kinds. 
Some were joined to movable towers 
which held warriors and armed men. 
The whole then formed one great tem- 
porary building, the top of which is 
represented in sculptures as on a level 
with the walls, and even turrets, of the 
besieged city. In some bas-reliefs the 
battering-ram is without wheels; it was 
then perhaps constructed upon the spot 
and was not intended to be moved.” 

Battle=axe. Jer. 51:20. [Maul.] 

Battlement. Among the Jews a bat- 
tlement was required by law to be built 
upon every house. It consisted of a low 
wall built around the roofs of the houses 
to prevent persons from falling off, and 
sometimes serving as a partition from 
another building. Deut. 22:8; Jer. 5: 
10 . 

Bav'a=i, son of Hena,dad, ruler of a 
district of Keilah in the time of Nehe- 
miah. Neh. 3:18. (b.c. 446.) 

Bay tree. A species of laurel, Lan- 
rus nobilis. An evergreen, with leaves 
like our mountain laurel. In the only 
passage where this word occurs, Ps. 37 : 
35, the R. V. renders it a “tree in its 
native soil,” a much more natural trans- 
lation. 

Baz'lith (baz'lith) {stripping ) . 


“ Children of Bazlith ” were among the 
Nethinim who returned with Zerubba- 
bel. Neh. 7 : 54. In Ezra 2 : 52 the 
name is given as Bazluth. 

Baz'luth. [Bazlith.] 

Bdellium ( beddlach ). Gen. 2:12; 
Num. 11 : 7. It is quite impossible to 
say whether beddlach denotes a mineral 
or an animal production or a vegetable 
exudation. Bdellium is an odoriferous 
exudation from a tree which is perhaps 
the Borassns flabelliformis, Lin., of 
Arabia Felix. Hastings’ Bible Diction- 
ary argues for the pearl. 

Beacon. A signal or conspicuous 
mark erected on an eminence for direc- 
tion. Isa. 30 : 17. 

Beali'ah (be'a-li'ah) {Jehovah is 
lord), a Benjamite who went over to 
David at Ziklag. 1 Chron. 12 : 5. (b.c. 

1057.) 

Be'aloth (be'a-loth) {mistresses), a 
town in the extreme south of Judah. 
Josh. 15:24. 

Beans. 2 Sam. 17:28; Ezek. 4 : 9. 
Beans are cultivated in Palestine, which 
produces many of the leguminous order 
of plants, such as lentils, kidney-beans, 
vetches, etc. 

Bear. 1 Sam. 17:34; 2 Sam. 17:8 
The Syrian bear, Ursus syriacus, which 
is without doubt the animal mentioned 
in the Bible, is still found on the higher 
mountains of Palestine. During the 
summer months these bears keep to the 



SYRIAN BEAR. 


snowy parts of Lebanon, but descend in 
winter to the villages and gardens. It 
is probable also that at this period in 


BEA 


77 


BEE 


former days they extended their visits to 
other parts of Palestine. 

Beard. Western Asiatics have always 
cherished the beard as the badge of the 
dignity of manhood, and attached to it 
the importance of a feature. The Egyp- 
tians, on the contrary, for the most part 
shaved the hair of the face and head, 
though we find some instances to the 
contrary. The beard is the object of an 
oath, and that on which blessing or 
shame is spoken of as resting. The cus- 
tom was and is to shave or pluck it 
and the hair out in mourning, Ezra 9 : 
3; Isa. 15:2; 50:6; Jer. 41:5; 48:37; 
Bar. 6:31; to neglect it in seasons of 
permanent affliction, 2 Sam. 19 : 24, and 
to regard any insult to it as the last 
outrage which enmity can inflict. 2 
Sam. 10 : 4. The beard was the object 
of salutation. 2 Sam. 20 : 9. The dress- 
ing, trimming, anointing, etc., of the 
beard was performed with much cere- 
mony by persons of wealth and rank. 
Ps. 133 : 2. The removal of the beard 
was a part of the ceremonial treatment 
proper to a leper. Lev. 14 : 9. 

Beb'a=i. 1. “ Sons of Bebai,” 623 
(Neh. 628) iq number, returned from 
Babylon with Zerubbabel, Ezra 2:11; 
Neh. 7 : 16. Four of this family had 
taken foreign wives. Ezra 10 : 28. The 
name occurs also among those who 
sealed the covenant. Neh. 10 : 15. 

2. Father of Zechariah, who was the 
leader of the twenty-eight men of the 
tribe who returned with Ezra. Ezra 8 : 
11 . 

Be'cher (be'ker) ( young camel). 1. 
The second son of Benjamin, according 
to the list in both Gen. 46 : 21 and 1 
Chron. 7 : 6, but omitted in 1 Chron. 8 : 1. 

2. Son of Ephraim, Num. 26 : 35, called 
Bered in 1 Chron. 7 : 20. Same as the 
preceding. 

Becho'rath (be-ko'rath) ( first-born ), 
son of Aphiah, an ancestor of Saul. 1 
Sam. 9:1. It is the name of Saul’s clan. 

Bed. The Jewish bed consisted of 
the mattress, a mere mat, or one or 
more quilts; the covering, a finer quilt, 
1 Sam. 19 : 13, or sometimes the outer 
garment worn by day, which the law 
provided should not be kept in pledge 
after sunset, that the poor man might 
not lack his needful covering, Deut. 24: 
13; the pillow, 1 Sam. 19:13, probably 
formed of sheep’s fleece or goat’s skin, 
with a stuffing of cotton, etc. ; the bed- 
stead, a divan or bench along the side 


or end of the room, sufficing as a sup- 
port for the bedding. Besides we have 
bedsteads made of ivory, wood, etc., re- 




EGYPTIAN BEDS, OR COUCHES. — SEE BED. 


ferred to in Deut. 3:11; Amos 6:4. 
The ornamental portions were pillars 
and a canopy, Judith 13 : 9, ivory carv- 
ings, gold and silver, and probably 
mosaic work, purple and fine linen. 
Esth. 1:6; Cant. 3 : 9, 10. The ordinary 
furniture of a bed-chamber in private 
life is given in 2 Kings 4: 10. 

Be'dad (be'dad) {separation) , the 
father of Hadad king of Edom. Gen. 
36:35; 1 Chron. 1 : 46. 

Be'dan (be'dan). 1. Mentioned in 1 
Sam. 12:11 as a judge of - Israel be- 
tween Jerubbaal (Gideon) and Jeph- 
thah. The Chaldee Paraphrast reads 
Samson for Bedan ; the LXX., Syriac 
and Arabic all have Barak. Ewald sug- 
gests that it may be a false reading for 
Abdon. 

2. The son of Gilead. 1 Chron. 7 : 17. 

Bede'iah (be-de'iah), one of the sons 
of Bani, in the time of Ezra, who had 
taken a foreign wife. Ezra 10 : 35. 
(b.c. 458.) 

Bee ( deborah ). Deut. 1:44; Judges 
14:8; Ps. 118:12; Isa. 7 : 18. Bees 
abounded in Palestine, honey being a 
common article of food, Ps. 81 : 16, and 
was often found in the clefts of rocks 
and in hollow trees. 1 Sam. 14 : 25, 27. 
English naturalists know little of the 


BEE 


78 


BEE 



species of bees that are found in Pales- 
tine, but are inclined to believe that the 
honey-bee of Palestine is distinct from 
the honey-bee {Apis mellifica ) of this 
country. The passage in Isa. 7 : 18 re- 
fers “ to the custom of the people in 
the East of calling attention to any one 
by a significant hiss or rather hist** 

We read, Judges 14:8, that “after a 
time,” probably many days, Samson re- 
turned to the carcass of the lion he had 
slain, and saw bees and honey therein. 
“ If any one here represents to himself 
a corrupt and putrid carcass, the occur- 
rence ceases to have any true similitude, 
for it is well known that in these coun- 
tries, at certain seasons of the year, the 
heat will in the course of twenty-four 
hours completely dry up the moisture 
of dead camels, and that, without their 
undergoing decomposition, their bodies 
long remain like mummies, unaltered 
and entirely free from offensive 
odor.” 

Beeli'ada (be-el-i'a-da) {Baal knows 
i. e. the master), one of David’s sons, 
born in Jerusalem. 1 Chron. 14:7. In 
the lists in Samuel the name is Eliada. 

Beel'zebub (be-el'ze-bub). [See 
Baal-zebub; Baal, 2.] 

Beel'zebul {lord of ' the house), the 
title of a heathen deity, to whom the 
Jews ascribed the sovereignty of the 
evil spirits; Satan, 
the prince of the 
devils. Matt. 10: 

25 ; 12 : 24 ; Mark 3 : 

22 ; Luke 11 : 15 ff. 

The Greek form is 
Beelzebul but R. V 
as well as A. V. 
translate Beelzebub. 

Be'er (be'er) {a 
well). 1. One of 
the latest halting- 
places of the Israel- 
ites, lying beyond 
the Arnon. N u m. 

21 : 16-18. This is 
possibly the Beer- 
elim of Isa. 15 : 8. 

2. A place to 
which Jotham, the 
son of Gideon, fled 
for fear of his 
brother Abimelech. 

Judges 9 : 21. 

Bee'ra {a wbll), 
son of Zophah, of 
the tribe of Asher. 

1 Chron. 7 : 37. 


Bee'rah, prince of the Reubenites, 
carried away by Tiglath-pileser. 1 
Chron. 5:6. (b.c. 738.) 

Beer=e'lim (be'er-e'lim) {well of 
heroes), a spot named in Isa. 15 : 8 as on 
the “border of Moab.” Num. 21:16; 
comp. 13. 

Bee'ri (be-e'ri). 1. The father of 
Judith, one of the wives of Esau. Gen. 
26 : 34. 

2. Father of the prophet Hosea. Hos. 
1 : 1 . 

Beer=Iahai'roi (be'er-la-lia'roi) {a 
well of the living one who sees me), 
so named because here the angel ap- 
peared to Hagar (Gen. 16: 7-14), in the 
wilderness of Shur, between Kadesh 
and Bered. 

Bee'roth (be-e'roth) {wells), one of 
the four cities of the Hivites who de- 
luded Joshua into a treaty of peace with 
them. Josh. 9 : 17. It is now el-Bireh, 
which stands about 8 miles north of 
Jerusalem. 

Bee'roth of the children of Jaakan, 

the wells of the tribe of Bene-Jaakan, 
which formed one of the halting-places 
of the Israelites in the desert. Deut. 
10:26. In Num. 33:31 the name is 
given as Bene-jaaican only. 

Beer'=sheba, or Be=er=she'ba (be'er- 
she'ba) {well of the oath), the name 
of one of the old places in Palestine 


beersheba. (The Main Street.) 



BEE 


79 


BEG 


which formed the southern limit of the 
country. There are two accounts of the 
origin of the name. According to the 
first, the well was dug by Abraham, 
and the name given, Gen. 21:31; the 
other narrative ascribes the origin of 
the name to Isaac instead of Abraham. 
Gen. 26 : 31-33. 


become a populous and important cen- 
ter. 

The photograph shows one of these 
wells operated by a sdkiyeh, an Egyp- 
tian device consisting of buckets or 
earthen jars attached to ropes and 
made to revolve over a wheel ; the 
entire machinery being usually worked 



To-day, 1907, there are eleven wells, 
eight of which are open and furnish a 
copious supply of good sweet water. 
They vary in depth to the surface of 
the water from 38 to 126 feet, the deep- 
est of which is to be sunk 30 feet deeper. 
In diameter they vary from 6 feet 9 
inches to 12 feet 6 inches. In 1900 Beer- 
sheba, Bir es-Seba, was a mere watering 
place in the desert. Now it is become a 
large village of several hundred inhabit- 
ants, and is becoming the chief watering 
place of the Negeb (the south land). 
Many shops and flour mills have been 
built. During the rainy season from 
December to April the country all about 
is carpeted with herbage and flowers. 
From May till November it has the ap- 
pearance of a desert. With more wells 
and modern modes of irrigation there 
is reason to believe that Beersheba will 


at Beersheba by a blinded camel. — 
From The Biblical World, May, 1908, 
article by Professor George L. Robin- 
son, D.D. 

Beesh'terah (be-esh'te-rah) ( house 
of Ashterah ), one of the two cities al- 
lotted to the sons of Gershon out of 
the tribe of Manasseh beyond Jordan. 
Josh. 21 : 27. Probably identical with 
Ashtaroth. 1 Chron. 6 : 71. 

Beetle. [Locust.] 

Beeves. Same as cattle. Lev. 22 : 19. 
[See Bull.] 

Beggar, Begging. The poor among 
the Hebrews were much favored. They 
were allowed to glean in the fields, and 
to gather whatever the land produced 
in the year in which it was not tilled. 
Lev. 19 : 10 ; 25 : 5, 6 ; Deut. 24 : 19. They 
were also invited to feasts. Deut. 14 : 



BEH 


80 


BEL 


29. In O. T. times the Israelite could 
not be an absolute pauper. His land 
was inalienable, except for a certain 
term, when it reverted to him or his 
posterity. And if this resource were in- 
sufficient, he could pledge the services 
of himself and family for a valuable 
sum. Those who were indigent through 
bodily infirmities were usually taken 
care of by their kindred. A beggar 
was sometimes seen, however, and was 
regarded and abhorred as a vagabond. 
Ps. 109 : 10. In later times beggars 
were accustomed, it would seem, to have 
a fixed place at the corners of the 
streets, Mark 10 : 46, or at the gates of 
the temple, Acts 3:2, or of private 
houses. Luke 16 : 20. 

Behemoth (be'he-moth) ( great 

beast). There can be little or no doubt 
that by this word, Job 40 : 15-24, the 
hippopotamus is intended, since all the 
details descriptive of the behemoth ac- 
cord entirely with the ascertained 
habits of that animal. The hippopota- 
mus is an immense creature having a 
thick and square head, a large mouth 
often two feet broad, small eyes and 
ears, thick and heavy body, short legs 
terminated by four toes, a short tail, 
skin without hair except at the ex- 
tremity of the tail. It inhabits nearly 
the whole of Africa, and has been 
found of the length of 14 feet. It de- 
lights in the water, but feeds on herbage 
on land. It is not found in Palestine, 
but may at one time have been a native 
of western Asia. 

Be'kah (be'kah). [Weights and 
Measures.] 

Bel (bel). The chief god of Babylon, 
Isa. 46:1; Jer. 50:2; 51:44. [Baal.] 

Be'la (be'la) ( destruction ). 1. One 
of the five cities of the plain which was 
spared at the intercession of Lot, and 
received the name of Zoar. Gen. 14:2; 
19 : 22. [Zoar.] 

2. Son of Beor, who reigned over 
Edom in the city of Dinhabah, eight 
generations before Shaul. Gen. 36 : 31- 
33; 1 Chron. 1:43, 44. 

3. Eldest son of Benjamin, according 
to Gen. 46 : 21 (Authorized Version 
“ Belah ”) ; Num. 26:38, 40; 1 Chron. 
7:6; 8:1, and head of the family of the 
Belaites. 

4. Son of Azaz, a Reubenite. 1 Chron. 
5:8. 

Be'lah. [Bela, 3.] 


Be'la=ites (be'la-ites), The. Num. 
26:38. [Bela, 3.] 

Belial (be'li-al). The meaning of 
this word as found in the Scriptures is 
worthlessness, and hence recklessness, 
lawlessness. The expression son or 
man of Belial must be understood as 
meaning simply a worthless, lawless fel- 
low. The term as used in 2 Cor. 6 : 15 
is generally understood as an appella- 
tive of Satan, as the personification of 
all that was bad. 

Bellows. The word occurs only in 
Jer. 6:29, where it denotes an instru- 
ment to heat a smelting furnace. Wil- 
kinson in “ Ancient Egypt,” ii, 312, says, 
“ They consisted of a leather bag se- 
cured and fitted into a frame, from 
which a long pipe extended for carry- 
ing the wind to the fire. They were 
worked by the feet, the operator stand- 
ing upon them, with one under each 
foot, and pressing them alternately, 
while he pulled up each exhausted skin 
with a string he held in his hand.” 

Bells. In Ex. 28 : 33 the bells al- 
luded to were the golden ones, 72 in 
number, round the hem of the high 
priest’s ephod. The object of them was 
“ that his sound might be heard.” Ex. 
28:34; Ecclus. 45:9. To this day bells 
are. frequently attached, for the sake of 
their pleasant sound, to the anklets of 
women. The little girls of Cairo wear 
strings of them around their feet. In 
Zech. 14:20 “ bells of the horses” were 
concave or flat pieces of brass, which 
were sometimes attached to hprses for 
the sake of ornament. 

Belshaz'zar (Bel-shaz'zar.) (May Bel 
protect the king), the last king of Baby- 
lon. According to Dan. 5:2 Nebuchad- 
nezzar is called the father of Belshazzar. 
This, of course, need only mean grand- 
father or ancestor. According to the 
well-known narrative, Belshazzar gave a 
splendid feast in his palace during the 
siege of Babylon (b.c. 538), using the 
sacred vessels of the temple, which 
Nebuchadnezzar had brought from Je- 
rusalem. The miraculous appearance of 
the handwriting on the wall, the call- 
ing in of Daniel to interpret its mean- 
ing, the prophecy of the overthrow of the 
kingdom, and Belshazzar’s death, are. re- 
corded in Dan. 5. By the cuneiform in- 
scriptions we find that Nabonidus was 
the last king of Babylon, but that his 
eldest son, Belshazzar, was regent dur- 
ing his absence. 


BEL 


81 


BEN 


Belteshaz'zar (bel-te-shaz'zar) ( Bel 
protect his life). [Daniel.] 

Ben (son), a Levite, one of the por- 
ters appointed by David for the ark. 1 
Chron. 15 : 18. 

Bena'iah (Be-na'iah) (Jehovah hath 
built up). 1. The son of Jehoiada the 
chief priest, 1 Chron. 27 : 5, of the 
tribe of Levi, though a native of Kab- 
zeel, 2 Sam. 23 : 20 ; set by David, 1 
Chron. 11 : 25, over his body-guard, 2 
Sam. 8 : 18 ; 20:23; 1 Kings 1:38; 1 
Chron. 18: 17. One of the mighty men. 
2 Sam. 23: 22, 23 ; 1 Chron. 11: 25; 27 : 6. 
The exploits which gave him this rank 
are narrated in 2 Sam. 23 : 20, 21 ; 1 
Chron. 11 : 22. He was captain of the 
host for the third month. 1 Chron. 
27 : 5. Benaiah remained faithful to Sol- 
omon during Adonijah’£ attempt on the 
crown, 1 Kings 1 : 8, 10, 32, 38, 44, and 
was raised into the place of Joab as 
commander-in-chief of the whole army. 
1 Kings 2:35; 4:4. 

2. Benaiah the Pirathonite, an Eph- 
raimite, one of David’s thirty mighty 
men, 2 Sam. 23 : 30 ; 1 Chron. 11 : 31, 
and the captain of the eleventh monthly 
course. 1 Chron. 27 : 14. 

3. A Levite in the time of David, who 
“ played with a psaltery on Alamoth.” 

1 Chron. 15 : 18, 20 ; 16 : 5. 

4. A priest in the time of David, ap- 
pointed to blow the trumpet before the 
ark. 1 Chron. 15 : 24 ; 16 : 6. 

5. A Levite of the sons of Asaph. 2 
Chron. 20 : 14. 

6. A Levite in the time of Hezekiah. 

2 Chron. 31 : 13. 

7. One of the “ princes ” of the fami- 
lies of Simeon. 1 Chron. 4 : 36. 

8. Four laymen in the time of Ezra 
who had taken strange wives. Ezra 10 : 

25 9. 3 The 5 father of Pelatiah. Ezek. 11: 
1, 13. 

Ben=am'mi (ben-am'mi) (son of my 
people), the son of the younger daugh- 
ter of Lot, and progenitor of the Am- 
monites. Gen. 19 : 38. 

Ben'e=be'rak (ben-e-be'rak) (sons of 
Berak), one of the cities of the tribe 
of Dan, mentioned only in Josh. 19 : 45. 

Bene=ja'akan (ben-e-ja'a-kan) (sons 
of Jaakan) , a tribe who gave their name 
to certain wells in the desert which 
formed one of the halting-places of the 
Israelites on their journey to Canaan. 
[Beeroth Bene-Jaakan.] Also given 
in Gen. 36 : 27 as Akan. 

6 


Ben=ha'dad (ben-ha'dad) (son of 
Hadad), the name of three kings of 
Damascus. Benhadad I., king of Da- 
mascus, which in his time was supreme 
in Syria. He made an alliance with 
Asa, and conquered a great part of the 
north of Israel. 1 Kings 15:18. 

Ben-hadad II., son of the preceding, 
and also king of Damascus. Long wars 
with Israel characterized his reign. 
Some time after the death of Ahab, 
Benhadad renewed the war with Israel, 
attacked Samaria a second time, and 
pressed the siege so closely that there 
was a terrible famine in the city. But 
the Syrians broke up in the night in 
consequence of a sudden panic. Soon 
after Ben-hadad fell sick, and sent 
Hazael to consult Elisha as to the issue 
of his malady. On the day after Ha- 
zael’s return Ben-hadad was murdered, 
probably by some of his own servants. 
2 Kings 8 : 7-15. Ben-hadad’s death was 
about b.c. 842, and he must have reigned 
some 30 years. 

Ben-hadad III., son of Hazael, and 
his successor on the throne of Syria. 
When he succeeded to the throne, Je- 
hoash recovered the cities which Jeho- 
ahaz had lost to the Syrians, and beat 
him in Aphek. 2 Kings 13 : 17, 25. The 
date of Ben-hadad III. is about b.c. 
792. 

Ben=ha'il (ben-ha'il) (son of might), 
one of the princes whom King Jehosha- 
phat sent to teach in the cities of Judah. 
2 Chron. 17 : 7. 

Ben=ha'nan (ben-ha'nan) (son of the 
gracious), son of Shimon, in the line of 
Judah. 1 Chron. 4:20. 

Beni'nu (ben-I'-nu) (our son), a 
Levite; one of those who sealed the 
covenant with Nehemiah. Neh. 10:13. 

Ben'jamin (son of the right hand, 
fortunate) . 1 . The youngest of the 

children of Jacob. His birth took place 
on the road between Bethel and Beth- 
lehem, near the latter, b.c. 1729. His 
mother, Rachel, died in the act of giv- 
ing him birth, naming him with her last 
breath Ben-oni (son of my sorrow). 
This was by Jacob changed into Ben- 
jamin. Gen. 35 : 16, 18. Until the jour- 
neys of Jacob’s sons and of Jacob him- 
self into Egypt we hear nothing of 
Benjamin. Nothing personal is known 
of him. Henceforward the history of 
Benjamin is the history of the tribe. 

2. A man of the tribe of Benjamin, 
son of Bilhan, and the head of a family 
of warriors. 1 Chron. 7:10. 


BEN 


82 


BEE 


3. One of the “ sons of Harim,” an 
Israelite in the time of Ezra who had 
married a foreign wife. Ezra 10: 32. 

Ben'jamin, The tribe of. The con- 
trast between the warlike character of 
the tribe and the peaceful image of its 
progenitor comes out in many scattered 
notices. Benjamin was the only tribe 
which seems to have pursued archery to 
any purpose, and their skill in the bow, 
1 Sam. 20 : 20, 36 ; 2 Sam. 1 : 22 ; 1 Chron. 
8:40; 12:2; 2 Chron. 17:17, and the 
sling, Judges 20: 16, is celebrated. The 
dreadful deed recorded in Judges 19 
was defended by Benjamin. Later the 
tribe seems, however, to assume another 
position, as Ramah, 1 Sam. 9 : 12, etc., 
Mizpeh, 1 Sam. 7 : 5, Bethel and Gibeon, 
1 Kings 3 : 4, were all in the land of 
Benjamin. After the struggles and con- 
tests which followed the death of Saul, 
the history of Benjamin becomes merged 
in that of the southern kingdom. 

Ben'jamin, The land of. The prox- 
imity of Benjamin to Ephraim during 
the march to the promised land was 
maintained in the territory allotted to 
each. That given to Benjamin formed 
almost a parallelogram, of about 26 
miles in length by 12 in breadth, lying 
between Ephraim, the Jordan, Judah and 
Dan. The general level of this part of 
Palestine is not less than 2000 feet above 
the Mediterranean or than 3000 feet 
above the valley of the Jordan, the sur- 
rounding country including a large num- 
ber of eminences — almost every one of 
which has borne some part in the his- 
tory of the tribe — and many torrent beds 
and deep ravines. 

Ben'jamin, High gate or gate of. 

Jer. 20:2; 37:13; 38:7; Zech. 14:10. 
[Jerusalem.] 

Be'no (be'no) (his son), a Levite of 
the sons of Merari. 1 Chron. 24 : 26, 27. 

Ben=o'ni (ben-6'ni) (son of my sor- 
row). Gen. 35:18. [Benjamin.] 

Ben=zo'heth (ben-zo'heth) (son of 
Zoheth), a descendant of Judah. 1 
Chron. 4 : 20. 

Be'on (be'on). Num. 32:3. [Beth- 
baal-meon.] Comp. ver. 38. 

Be'or (be'or) (burning). 1. The 
father of Bela, one of the early Edo- 
mite kings. Gen. 36 : 32 ; 1 Chron. 1 : 43. 

2. Father of Balaam. Num. 22:5; 
24:3, 15; 31:8; Deut. 23:4; Josh. 13: 
22; 24:9; Micah 6:5. He is called 
Bosor in the New Testament. 

Be'ra (be'ra) (excellence) , king of 
Sodom. Gen. 14:2; also 17, 21. 


Ber'achah (ber'a-kah) (blessing), a 
Benjamite who attached himself to 
David at Ziklag. 1 Chron. 12 : 3. (b.c. 

1057.) 

Ber'achah, Valley of, a valley in 
which Jehoshaphat and his people as- 
sembled to “bless” Jehovah after the 
overthrow of the hosts of Moabites. 2 
Chron. 20 : 26. It is now called Berei- 
kut, and lies between Tekoa and the 
main road from Bethlehem to Hebron. 

Berachi'ah (ber-a-kl'ah) (blessed of 
Jehovah), a Gershonite Levite, father 
of Asaph. 1 Chron. 6:39. [Bere- 
CHIAH.] 

Berai'ah (ber-a-i'ah) (created by 
Jehovah), son of Shimhi, a chief man 
of Benjamin. 1 Chron. 8:21. 

Bere'a (be-re'a) (well watered). 1. 
A city of Macedonia, mentioned in Acts 
17:10, 13. It is now called V erria or 
Kara-V erria, and is situated on the east- 
ern slope of the Olympian mountain 
range. 

2. The modern Aleppo , mentioned in 2 
Macc. 13 : 4. 

3. A place in Judea, apparently not 
very far from Jerusalem. 1 Macc. 9:4. 

Berechi'ah (ber-e-ki'ah) (blessed of 
Jehovah). 1. A descendant of the royal 
family of Judah. 1 Chron. 3 : 20. 

2. A man mentioned as the father of 
Meshullam, who assisted in rebuilding 
the walls of Jerusalem. Neh. 3:4, 30; 
6: 18. 

3. A Levite. 1 Chron. 9 : 16. 

4. A doorkeeper for the ark. 1 Chron. 
15 : 23. 

5. One of the tribe of Ephraim in the 
time of Ahaz. 2 Chron. 28 : 12. 

6. Father of Asaph the singer. 1 
Chron. 15: 17. [Berachiah.] 

7. Father of Zechariah. Zech. 1:1, 7. 

Be'red (be'red) (hail). 1. A place in 

the south of Palestine, near the well 
Lahairoi. Gen. 16 : 14. 

2. A son or descendant of Ephraim, 
1 Chron. 7 : 20, possibly identical with 
Becher in Num. 26:35. 

Bereni'ce (ber-e-ni'ce). [Bernice.] 

Be'ri (be'ri), son of Zophah, of the 
tribe of Asher. 1 Chron. 7 : 36. 

Beri'ah (be-ri'ah). 1. A son of 
Asher. Gen. 46:17; Num. 26:44, 45. 

2. A son of Ephraim. 1 Chron. 7 : 
20, 23. 

3. A Benjamite. 1 Chron. 8 : 13, 16. 

4. A Levite. 1 Chron. 23:10, 11. 

Beri'ites (be-ri'ites). [Beriah, 1.] 

Be'rites, The, a tribe of people who 

are named with Abel and Beth-maachah, 


BER 


83 


BET 


and who were therefore doubtless situ- 
ated in the north of Palestine. 2 Sam. 
20 : 14. 

Be'rith (be'rith). Judges 9:46. 
[Baal-berith ; Baal, 1.] 

Berni'ce (ber-ni'ce), or Bereni'ce 
( bringing victory), the eldest daughter 
of Herod Agrippa I. Acts 12 : 1, etc. 
She was first married to her uncle 
Herod, king of Chalcis, and after his 
death (a.d. 48) she lived under circum- 
stances of great suspicion with her own 
brother, Agrippa II., in connection with 
whom she is mentioned, Acts 25 : 13, 
23 ; 26 : 30, as having visited Festus on 
his appointment as procurator of Judea. 

Ber'odach=bal'adan (ber'd-dak-bal'a- 
dan). 2 Kings 20:12. [Merodach- 

BALADAN.] 

Bero'thah (be-ro'thah) ( toward the 
wells), Bero'=thai (ber-o'-thai) (my 
wells). The first of these two names is 
given by Ezekiel,- 47 : 16, in connection 
with Hamath and Damascus as forming 
part of the northern boundary of the 
promised land. The second is men- 
tioned, 2 Sam. 8:8, in the same connec- 
tion. The well-known, city Beirut 
(Berytus) naturally suggests itself as 
identical with one at least of the names ; 
but in each instance the circumstances 
of the case seem to require a position 
farther east. 

Bero'thite, The. 1 Chron. 11 : 39. 
[Beeroth.] 

Beryl ( tarshish ) occurs in Ex. 28:20. 
It is generally supposed that the tarshish 
derives its name from the place so 
called, in Spain. Beryl is a mineral of 
great hardness, and, when transparent, 
of much beauty. By tarshish the mod- 
ern yellow topaz is probably intended, 
while in Rev. 21 : 20 a different stone 
is perhaps referred to, probably the min- 
eral now called beryl, which is identical 
with the emerald except in color, being 
a light green or bluish green. 

Be'sai (be'sai). “Children of Be- 
sai” were among the Nethinim who re- 
turned to Judea with Zerubbabel. Ezra 
2 : 49 ; Neh. 7 : 52. 

Besode'iah (bes-o-de'iah) (in the se- 
cret of Jehovah ), father of one. of the 
repairers of the wall of Jerusalem. Neh. 
3:6. 

Be'som, a brush or broom of twigs 
for sweeping. Isa. 14 : 23. 

Be'sor (be'sor), The brook (cool), 
a torrent-bed or wady in the extreme 
south of Judah, 1 Sam. 30 : 9, 10, 21. 


Be'tah (be'tah) (confidence), a city 
belonging to Hadadezer king of Zobah, 
mentioned with Berothai. 2 Sam. 8 : 8. 
In the parallel account, 1 Chron. 18 : 8, 
the name is called Tibhath. 

Be' ten (be'ten) (valley), one of the 
cities on the border of the tribe of 
Asher. Josh. 19 : 25. 

Beth, the most general word for a 
house or habitation. It has the special 
meaning of a temple or house of wor- 
ship. Beth is more frequently employed 
in compound names of places than any 
other word. 

Bethab'ara (beth-ab'a-ra) (house of 
the ' ford), a place beyond Jordan, in 
which, according to the Authorized Ver- 
sion of the New Testament, John was 
baptizing. John 1 : 28. If this reading 
be correct, Bethabara may be identical 
with Beth-barah (fords of Abarah), the 
ancient ford of Jordan on the road to 
Gilead ; or, as some think, with Beth- 
nimrah, on the east of the river, nearly 
opposite Jericho. The Revised Version 
reads Bethany, which see below. 

Beth=a'nath (beth-a'nath) (house of 
goddess Anath), one of the “fenced 
cities ” of Naphtali, named with Beth- 
shemesh, Josh. 19:38; from neither of 
them were the Canaanites expelled. 
Judges 1 : 33. 

Beth=a'noth (beth-a'noth) (house of 
Anath), a town in the mountainous dis- 
trict of Judah, named with Halhul, Beth- 
zur and others in Josh. 15 : 59 only. 

Beth'any (beth'a-ny) (house of 
dates, or house of misery),, a village 
which, scanty as are the notices of it 
contained in Scripture, is more inti- 
mately associated in our minds than 
perhaps any other place with the most 
familiar acts and scenes of the last days 
of the life of Christ. It was situated 
“ at ” the Mount of Olives, Mark 11 : 1 ; 
Luke 19:29, about fifteen stadia (fur- 
longs, i. e. iVz or 2 miles) from Jeru- 
salem, John 11 : 18, on or near the usual 
road from Jericho to the city, Luke 19 : 
29, comp. 1 ; Mark 11 : 1, comp. 10 : 46, 
and close by the west (?) of another 
village called Bethphage, the two being 
several times mentioned together. Beth- 
any was the home of Mary and Martha 
and Lazarus, and is now known by a 
name derived from Lazarus — el- Az- 
ariyeh or Lazarieh. It lies on the east- 
ern slope of the Mount of Olives, fully 
a mile beyond the summit, and not very 
far from the point at which the road to 


84 






BETHANY 


Copyright 1905 , &y William 






BET 


85 


BET 


Jericho begins its more sudden descent 
towards the Jordan valley. El- Azari- 
yeh is, a ruinous and wretched village, 
a wild mountain hamlet of some twenty 
families. Bethany has been commonly 
explained “ house of dates,” but it more 
probably signifies “house of misery.” 
H. Dixon, “ Holy Land,” ii. 214, foil. 

Beth'any. In the Revised Version 


VIEW OF' 

for Bethabara, John 1: 28, where Jesus 
was baptized by John. It was probably 
an obscure village near Bethabara, and 
in time its name faded out and was re- 
placed by the larger and more important 
Bethabara. 

Beth=ar'abah (beth-ar'a-bah) {house 
of the desert), one of the six cities' of 
Judah which were situated down in the 
Arabah, the sunken valley of the Jordan 
and Dead Sea, Josh. 15 : 61, on the north 
border of the tribe. It is also included 
in the list of the towns of Benjamin. 
Josh. 18 : 22. 

Beth=a'ram (beth-a'ram) {house of 
the height), accurately Beth-haram, 
one of the towns of Gad on the east of 
Jordan, described as in “ the valley,” 
Josh. 13:27, and no doubt the same 
place as that named , Beth-haran in 
Num. 32 : 36. 

Beth=ar'bel (beth-ar'bel) {house of 


God’s Court), named only in Hosea 10: 
14, as the scene of a sack and massacre 
by Shalman. 

Beth=a'ven (beth-a'ven) {house of 
idolatry), a place on the mountains of 
Benjamin, east of Bethel, Josh. 7:2; 
18 : 12, and lying between that place and 
Michmash. 1 Sam. 13 : 5 ; 14 : 23. In 
Hosea 4 : 15 ; 5:8; 10 : 5, the name is 


BETHANY. 

transferred to the neighboring Bethel, — 
once the “ house of God,” but then the 
house of idols, of “naught.” 

Beth=az'maveth (beth-az'ma-veth 
{house of Azmaveth) . Under this name 
is mentioned, in Neh. 7 : 28 only, the 
town of Benjamin which is elsewhere 
called Azmaveth and Beth-samos. 

Beth=baaI=me'on {house of Baal- 
meon), a place in the possessions of 
Reuben, on the downs (Authorized Ver- 
sion “plain”) east of Jordan. Josh. 13: 
17. At the Israelites’ first approach its 
name was Baal-meon, Num. 32:38, or, 
in its contracted form, Beon, 32 : 3, to 
which the Beth was possibly a Hebrew 
addition. Later it would seem to have 
come into possession of Moab, and to be 
known either as Beth-meon, Jer. 48:23, 
or Baal-meon. Ezek. 25 : 9. The name 
is still attached to a ruined place of 
considerable size a short distance to the 




9 


86 





THE SITE OF ANCIENT BETHEL 





BET 


87 


BET 


southwest of Hesban, and bearing the 
name of “ the fortress of Mi’un” or 
Ma’in. 

Beth=ba'rah (beth-ba'rah) {house of 
the ford), named only in Judges 7:24. 
It derives its chief interest from the 
possibility that its more modern repre- 
sentative may have been Beth-abara, 
where John baptized. It was probably 
the chief ford of the district. 

Beth=bir'=ei (beth-bir'e-i) {house of 
my creation ), a town of Simeon, 1 
Chron. 4:31, which by comparison with 
the parallel list in Josh. 19 : 6 appears to 
have had also the name of Beth-leb- 
aoth. It lay to the extreme south. 

Beth'=car (beth'kar) {house of the 
lamb), a place named as the point to 
which the Israelites pursued the Philis- 
tines, 1 Sam. 7 : 11, and therefore west 
of Mizpeh. 

Beth=da'gon (beth-da'gon) {house of 
Dag on). 1. A city in the low country 
of Judah, Josh. 15:41, and therefore 
not far from the Philistine territory. 

2. A town apparently near the coast, 
named as one of the landmarks of the 
boundary of Asher. Josh. 19 : 27. 

Beth=diblatha'im (beth-dib-la-tha'im) 
{house of two fig-cakes), a town of 
'Moab, Jer. 48:22, apparently the place 
elsewhere called Almon-diblathaim. 

Bethel (beth'el) {the house of God). 
1. A well-known city and holy place of 
central Palestine, about 12 miles north 
of Jerusalem. If we are to accept the 
precise definition of Gen. 12 : 8, the name 
of Bethel would appear to have existed 
at this spot even before the arrival of 
Abram in Canaan. Gen. 12 : 8 ; 13 : 3, 4. 
Bethel was the scene of Jacob’s vision. 
Gen. 28 : 11-19 ; 31 : 13. Jacob lived 

there. Gen. 35 : 1-8. The original name 
was Luz. Judges 1 : 22, 23. After the 
conquest Bethel is frequently heard of. 
In the troubled times when there was 
no king in Israel, it was to Bethel that 
the people went up in their distress to 
ask counsel of God. Judges 20:18, 26, 
31; 21:2; Authorized Version, “house 
of God.” Here was the ark of the cove- 
nant. Judges 20 : 26-28 ; 21 : 4. Later 
it is named as one of the holy cities 
to which Samuel went in circuit. 1 
Sam. 7 : 16. Here Jeroboam placed one 
of the two calves of gold. Toward the 
end of Jeroboam’s life Bethel fell into 
the hands of Judah. 2 Chron. 13:19. 
Hiel the Bethelite is recorded as the 
rebuilder of Jericho. 1 Kings 16:34. 


Elijah visited Bethel, and we hear of 
“ sons of the prophets ” as resident 
there. 2 Kings 2:2, 3. But after the 
destruction of the Baal worship by Jehu, 
Bethel comes once more into view. 2 
Kings 10 : 29. After the desolation of 
the northern kingdom by the king of 
Assyria, Bethel still remained an abode 
of priests. 2 Kings 17 : 27, 28. In later 
times Bethel is named only once under 
the scarcely-altered name of Beitin. 
Its ruins still lie on the right-hand side 
of the road from Jerusalem to Nablus. 

2. A town in the south part of Judah, 
site unknown, named in 1 Sam. 30 : 27. 
In Josh. 15:30; 19:4; 1 Chron. 4:29, 
30, the place appears under the names 
of Chesil, Bethul and Bethuel. 

3. In Josh. 16:1 and 1 Sam. 13:2 
Mount Bethel, a hilly section near Beth- 
el, is referred to. 

Beth=e'mek (beth-e'mek) {house of 
the valley), a place on or near the bor- 
der of Asher, on the north side of which 
was the ravine of Jiphthah-el. Josh. 19 : 
27. 

Be'ther (be'ther) {cutting), The 
mountains of. Cant. 2 : 17. There is 
no clue to guide us as to what moun- 
tains are intended here, it not being 
certain that any particular mountains 
are meant. 

Bethes'da (be-thes'da) {house of 
mercy , or the -flowing water), the He- 
brew name of a reservoir or tank, with 
five “porches,” close upon the sheep- 
gate or “market” in Jerusalem. John 
5:2. It is probably either “ in the N. E. 
angle of Jerusalem, just inside the east 
wall ” near the church of St. Anne 
(favored by the “Palestine Exploration 
Fund ”) or at the Virgin’s Pool — the 
Enrogel of 2 Sam. 17 : 17 — the only 
natural spring of Jerusalem, which still 
has an intermittent “troubling of the 
water,” and is still used by Jews for the 
cure of rheumatism, etc. Birket Israil, 
the traditional site, was built long after 
Christ. 

Bethe'zel (beth-e'zel), a place named 
only in Micah 1:11. From the context 
it was doubtless situated in the plain of 
Philistia. 

Beth=ga'der (beth-ga'der) {house of 
the wall), doubtless a place, though it 
occurs in the genealogies of Judah as 
if a person. 1 Chron. 2 ; 51. 

Beth=ga'mul (beth-ga'mul), a town 
of Moab, in the downs east of Jordan. 
Jer. 48:23; comp. 21. 


88 



POOL OF BETITESDA FROM 


ABOVE. 






BET 


89 


BET 


Beth=gil'gal (beth-gil'gal). Same as 
Gilgal. Neh. 12 : 29. 

Beth=hac'cerem (beth-hak'ge-rem) 
( house of the vineyard), Neh. 3:14; 
Jer. 6:1. A beacon station near Tekoa, 
supposed to be the Frank Mountain , a 
few miles southeast of Bethlehem. 
Cheyne and Conder consider it as ’Ain 
Karim, west of Jerusalem, where there 
are vineyards. 

Beth=ha'ran (beth-ha'ran). Num. 32: 
36. It ds no doubt the same, place as 
Beth-aram. Josh. 13 : 27. 

Beth=hog'Ia (beth-hog'la) ( partridge- 
house ), and Hog'lah, a place on the 
border of Judah, Josh. 15 : 6 , and of 
Benjamin. Josh. 18 : 19, 21. A magnifi- 
cent spring and a ruin between Jericho 
and the Jordan still bear the names of 
Ainhajala. 

Beth=ho'ron (beth-ho'ron) ( house of 
caverns ), the name of two towns or 
villages, an “ upper ” and a “ nether,” 
Josh. 16: 3, 5; 1 Chron. 7:24, on the 
road from Gibeon to Azekah, Josh. 10: 
10, 11, and the Philistine plain. 1 Macc. 
3 : 24. Beth-horon lay on the boundary 
line between Benjamin and Ephraim, 
Josh. 16:3, 5, and, Josh. 18:13, 14, was 


counted to Ephraim, Josh. 21:22; 1 
Chron. 7 : 24, and given to the Koha- 
thites. Josh. 21:22; 1 Chron. 6:66- 
68. The two Beth-horons still sur- 
vive in the modern villages of Beit-’ur , 
et-tahta and el-foka. 

Beth=j eshi moth ( beth-j esh'i-moth ) 
( house of deserts ), or Jes'imoth, a 
town or place east of Jordan, on the 
lower level at the south end of the Jor- 
dan valley, Num. 33 : 49, and named with 
Ashdod-pisgah. and Beth-peor. It was 
one of the limits of the encampment of 
Isfael before crossing the Jordan. Later 
it was allotted to Reuben, Josh. 12:3; 
13 : 20, but came at last into the hands of 
Moab, and formed one of the cities 
which were “ the glory of the country.” 
Ezek. 25 : 9. 

Beth=Ieb'aoth (beth-leb'a-oth) ( house 
of lionesses), a town in the lot of 
Simeon, Josh. 19 : 6, in the extreme 
south of Judah. [Josh. 15 : 32, Leb- 
aoth.] In 1 Chron. 4 : 31 the name is 
given Beth-birei. 

Beth'Iehem (beth'le-hem) ( house of 
bread). 1. One of the oldest towns in 
Palestine, already in existence at the 
time of Jacob’s return to the country. 



CHURCH OF THE NATIVITY, BETHLEHEM. 

Enclosing, according to legend, the birthplace of the Saviour. 



90 



VIEW OF BETHLEHEM 









BET 


91 


BET 


Its earliest name was Ephrath or 
Ephratah. See Gen. 35 : 16, 19 ; 48 : 7. 
After the conquest Bethlehem appears 
under its own name, Bethlehem-judah. 
Judges 17:7; 1 Sam. 17:12; Ruth 1:1, 
2. The book of Ruth is a page from 
the domestic history of Bethlehem. It 
was the home of Ruth, Ruth 1 : 19, and 
of David. 1 Sam. 17 : 12. It was for- 
tified by Rehoboam. 2 Chron. 11 : 6. 
It was .here that our Lord was born, 
Matt. 2 : 1, and here that he was visited 
by the shepherds, Luke 2 : 15-17, and the 
Magi. Matt. 2. The modern town of 
Beit-lahm lies to the east of the main 
road from Jerusalem to Hebron, six 
miles from the former. It covers the 
east and northeast parts of the ridge of 
a long gray hill of Jura limestone, which 
stands nearly due east and west, and 
is about a mile in length. The hill has 
a deep valley on the north and another 
on the south. On the top lies the vil- 
lage in a kind, of irregular triangle. 
The population is 4000 to 8000, entirely 
Christians. The Church of the Nativity, 
built by the empress Helena a.d. 330, 
is the oldest Christian church in ex- 
istence. It is built over the grotto 
where Christ is supposed to have been 
born. 

2. A town in the portion of Zebulun, 
named only in Josh. 19 : 15. Now 
known as Beit-lahm, near Nazareth. 

Bethlo'mon. 1 Esd. 5:17. [Beth- 
lehem, 1.] 

Beth=ma'achah (beth-ma'a-kah) 

( house of Maachah), a place named 
only in 2 Sam. 20 : 14, 15. Used also 
in composition with Abel, a town in 
Dan. Others identify it with Maachah 
or Aram-maachah, one of the petty 
Syrian kingdoms in the north of Pales- 
tine. Comp. 2 Kings 15 : 29. 

Beth=mar'caboth (beth-mar'ka-both) 
( house of the chariots), one of the 
towns of Simeon, situated to the ex- 
treme south of Judah. Josh. 19:5; 1 
Chron. 4:31. In the parallel list, Josh. 
15 : 31, Madmannah occurs in place of 
Beth-marcaboth. 

Beth=me'on (beth-me'on). Jer. 48: 
23. A contracted form of Beth-baal- 
meon. 

Beth=nim'rah (beth-mm'rah) ( house 
of leopards), one of the fenced cities 
on the east of Jordan, taken and built 
by the tribe of Gad, Num. 32 : 36, and 
described as lying in the valley beside 
Beth-haran. Josh. 13:27. In Num. 32: 
3 it is called simply Nimrah. The 


name still survives in the modern Nahr 
Nimrim, above Jericho on the Jordan. 

Beth=pa / let ( house of flight), a town 
among those in the extreme south of 
Judah, named in Josh. 15 : 27. 

Beth=paz'zez ( house of the disper- 
sion), a town of Issachar named with 
En-haddah, Josh. 19 : 21, and of which 
nothing is known. 

Beth=pe'or (beth-pe'or) ( house of 
Peor), a place on the east of Jordan, 
opposite Jericho, and six miles above 
Libias or Beth-haran. Josh. 13:20; 
Deut. 3 : 29 ; 4:46. 

Beth'=phage (beth'fa-ge) (g hard) 

( house of figs), the name of a place on 
the Mount of Olives, on the road be- 
tween Jericho and Jerusalem. It was 
apparently close to Bethany. Matt. 21 : 
1 ; Mark 11:1; Luke 19 : 29. ‘ 

Beth=phe'Iet. Neh. 11:26. [Beth- 
palet.] 

Beth=ra'pha (beth-ra'fa), a name 
which occurs in the genealogy of Judah 
as the son of Eshton. 1 Chron. 4 : 12. 

Beth=re'hob (beth-re'hob) ( house of 
Rehob), a place mentioned as having, 
near it the valley in which lay the town 
of Laish or Dan. Judges 18:28. It 
was one of the little kingdoms of Aram 
or Syria. 2 Sam. 10 : 6. Robinson con- 
jectures that this ancient place is repre- 
sented by the modern Hunin. Thomson 
says, Banias. 

Bethsaida (beth-sa'i-da) ( house of 
fish) of Galilee, John 12:21, a city 
which was the native place of Andrew, 
Peter and Philip, John 1:44; 12:21, in 
the land of Gennesareth, Mark 6: 45, 
comp. 53, and therefore on the west side 
of the lake. By comparing the narra- 
tives in Mark 6 : 31-53 and Luke 9 : 10- 
17 it appears certain that the Bethsaida 
at which the five thousand were fed 
must have been a second place of the 
same name on the east of the lake. But 
in reality — as not unfrequently occurs 
in adjoining states or countries, Beth- 
saida of Galilee and Bethsaida Julias, 
although in two provinces, were sepa- 
rated by only a narrow stream and were 
practically one town, situated on both 
sides of the Jordan as it enters the Sea 
of Galilee on the north, so that the 
western part of the village was in Gal- 
ilee and the eastern portion in Gaulon- 
itis, part of the tetrarchy oi Philip. 
This eastern portion was built up into 
a beautiful city by Herod Philip, and 
named by him Bethsaida Julias, afte< 
Julia the daughter of the Roman em. 


BET 


92 


BET 



THE TRADITIONAL BETH PHAGE. 


peror Tiberius Caesar. On the plain of 
Butaiha, a mile or two to the east, the 
five thousand were fed. The western 
part of the town remained a small vil- 
lage. 


Beth=she'an (beth-she'an) ( house of 
rest), or in Samuel, Bethshan, a city 
which belonged to ManasSeh, 1 Chron. 
7 : 29, though within the limits of Issa- 
char, Josh. 17 : 11, and therefore on the 



THE CITADEL OF ANCIENT BETHSHEAN. 




BET 


93 


BIB 


west of Jordan. Comp. 1 Macc. 5 : 52. 
In later times it was called Scythopolis. 
2 Macc. 12 : 29. The place is still known 
as Beisdn. It lies in the Ghor or Jor- 
dan valley, about twelve miles south of 
the Sea of Galilee and four miles west 
of the Jordan. 

Beth=she'mesh (beth-she'mesh) 

( house of the sun). 1. One of the 
towns which marked the north boundary 
of Judah. Josh. 15:10. It is now Ain 
Shems , about two miles from the great 
Philistine plain, and seven from Ekron. 

2. A city on the border of Issachar. 
Josh. 19 : 22. 

3. One of the u fenced cities ” of 
Naphtali. Josh. 19:38; Judges 1 : 33. 

4. An idolatrous temple or place in 
Egypt. Jer. 43:13. In the middle ages 
Heliopolis was still called by the Arabs 
Ain Shems. 

Beth=shit'tah (beth-shit'tah) ( home 
of the acacia ), one of the spots to 
which the flight of the host of the 
Midianites extended after their discom- 
fiture by Gideon. Judges 7 : 22. 

Beth=tap'puah (beth-tap'pu-ah) 

{home of apples ), one of the towns of 
Judah, in the mountainous district, and 
near Hebron. Josh. 15 : 53 ; comp. 1 
Chron. 2 : 43. Here it has actually been 
discovered by Robinson under the mod- 
ern name of Teffuh , five miles west of 
Hebron, on a ridge of high table-land. 

Bethu'el (beth-u'el) {abode of God), 
the son of Nahor by .Milcah; nephew 
of Abraham, and father of Rebekah, 
Gen. 22:22, 23; 24:15, 24, 47; 28:2. 
In Gen. 25 : 20 and 28 : 5 he is called 
“ Bethuel the Syrian.” 

Be'thul {abode of God), a town of 
Simeon in the south, named with Elto- 
lad and Hormah, Josh. 19:4; called 
also Chesil and Bethuel. Josh. 15:30; 

1 Chron. 4 : 30. 

Beth'=zur (beth'zur) {house of 
rock), a town in the mountains of 
Judah, built*by Rehoboam, Josh. 15:58; 

2 Chron. 11 : 7, now Beit-zur. It com- 
mands the road from Beersheba and 
Hebron, which has always been the main 
approach to Jerusalem from the south. 

Bet'onim (bet'o-nim), a town of 
Gad, apparently on the northern boun- 
dary. Josh. 13 : 26. 

Betrothing. [Marriage.] 

Beu'lah (bu'lah) {married), the name 
which the land of Israel is to bear when 
“ the land shall be married.” Isa. 62 : 4. 

Be'zai (be'zai), Be'za. “Children of 


Bezai,” to the number of 323, returned 
from captivity with Zerubbabel. Ezra 
2: 17; Neh. 7 : 23 ; 10: 18. 

Bezareel (be-zal'e-el) {in the shadow 
of God). 1 . The son of Uri, the son 
of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and one 
of the architects of the tabernacle. Ex. 
31 : 1-6. His charge was chiefly in all 
works of metal, wood and stone, (b.c. 
1490.) 

2. One of the sons of Pahath-moab 
who had taken a foreign wife. Ezra 
10:30. (b.c. 458.) 

Be'zek (be'zek) {plantation). 1. 
The residence of Adonibezek, Judges 1 : 
5, in the lot of Judah, ver. 3. 

2. Where Saul numbered the forces 
of Israel and Judah before going to the 
relief of Jabesh-gilead. 1 Sam. 11 : 8. 
This was doubtless somewhere in the 
centre of the country. Condor places 
it at Ibzik, 17 miles northeast of She- 
chem, on the road to Scythopolis. 

Be'zer (be'zer) {fortress), son of 
Zophah, one of the heads of the houses 
of Asher. 1 Chron. 7 : 37. 

Be'zer in the wilderness, a city of 
refuge in the downs on the east of the 
Jordan. Deut. 4:43; Josh. 20:8; 21: 
36; 1 Chron. 6:78. 

Bible. The Bible is the name given 
to the revelation of God to man con- 
tained in sixty-six books or pamphlets, 
bound together and forming one book 
and only one, for it has in reality one 
author and one purpose and plan, and 
is the development of one scheme of the 
redemption of man. 

I. Its Names. — (1) The Bible, i. e. 
The Book, from the Greek “ta biblia,” 
the books. The word is derived from a 
root designating the inner bark of the 
linden tree, on which the ancients wrote 
their books. It is the book, as being su- 
perior to all other books. But the appli- 
cation of the word Bible to the col- 
lected books of the Old and New Testa- 
ments is not to be traced farther back 
than the fifth century of our era. (2) 
The Scriptures, i. e. the writings, as re- 
cording what was spoken by God. (3) 
The Oracles, i. e. the things spoken, be- 
cause the Bible is what God spoke to 
man, and hence also called (4) The 
Word. (5) The Testaments or Cove- 
nants, because it is the testimony of 
God to man, the truths to which God 
bears witness; and is also the covenant 
or agreement of God with man for his 
salvation. (6) The Law, to express 


BIB 


94 


BIB 


that it contains God’s commands to 
men. 

II. Composition. — The Bible consists 
of two great parts, called the Old and 
New Testaments, separated by an in- 
terval of nearly four hundred years. 
These Testaments are further divided 
into sixty-six books, thirty-nine in the 
Old Testament and twenty-seven in the 
New. These books are a library in 
themselves, being written in every 
known form of literature. Twenty-two 
of them are historical, five are poetical, 
eighteen are prophetical, twenty-one are 
epistolary. They contain logical argu- 
ments, poetry, songs and hymns, history, 
biography, stories, parables, fables, elo- 
quence, law, letters and philosophy. 

There are at least thirty-six different 
authors, who wrote in three continents, 
in many countries, in three languages, 
and from every possible human stand- 
point. Among these authors were kings, 
farmers, mechanics, scientific men, law- 
yers, generals, fishermen, ministers and 
priests, a tax-collector, a doctor, some 
rich, some poor, some city bred, some 
country born — thus touching all the ex- 
periences of men — extending over 1500 
years. 

III. Development. — There is a law of 
progress or evolution running through 
the Bible from beginning to end, from 
Eden to the city of God. It describes 
the progress of man under God’s train- 
ing through a perfect moral law as the 
ideal. But its special applications are 
adapted to the circumstances of un- 
trained and imperfect men, as a wise 
father deals with his children differently 
as they grow in understanding and 
character. This explains most of the 
moral difficulties in the O. T. 

IV. Original Languages. — The Old 
Testament was written in Hebrew, a 
Shemitic language, except that parts of 
the books of Ezra (5:8; 6:12; 7:12- 
26) and of Daniel (2:4-7:28), and 
one verse in Jeremiah (Jer. 10:11), 
were written in the Chaldee language. 
The New Testament is written wholly 
in Greek. 

V. Ancient Manuscripts of the 
Original. — There are no ancient He- 
brew manuscripts older than the tenth 
century, but we know that these are in 
the main correct, because we have a 
translation of the Hebrew into Greek, 
called the Septuagint,' made nearly three 
hundred years before Christ. Our He- 


brew Bibles are a reprint from what 
is called the Masoretic text. The an- 
cient Hebrew had only the consonants 
printed, and the vowels were vocalized 
in pronunciation, but were not written. 
Some Jewish scholars living at Tiberias, 
and at Sora by the Euphrates, from 
the sixth to the twelfth century, punc- 
tuated the Hebrew text, and wrote in 
the vowel points and other tone-marks 
to aid in the .reading of the Hebrew; 
and these, together with notes of vari- 
ous kinds, they called Masora (tradi- 
tion), hence the name Masoretic text. 

Of the Greek of the New Testament 
there are a number of ancient manu- 
scripts. They are divided into two 
kinds, the Uncials, written wholly in 
capitals, and the Cursives, written in 
a running hand. The chief of these 
are — (1) the Alexandrian ( codex Alcx- 
andrinus, marked A), so named be- 
cause it was found in Alexandria in 
Egypt, in 1628. It dates back to a.d. 
350, and is now in the British Museum. 
(2) The Vatican ( codex Vaticanus, B), 
named from the Vatican library at 
Rome, where it is kept. Its date is a.d. 
300 to 325. (3) The Sinaitic ( codex 

Sinaiticus) , so called from the convent 
of St. Catherine on Mount Sinai, where 
it was discovered by Dr. Tischendorf 
in 1844. It is now at St. Petersburg, 
Russia. This is one of the earliest and 
best of all the manuscripts. 

VI. Translations. — The Old Testa- 
ment was translated into Greek by a 
company of learned Jews at Alexandria, 
who began their labor about the year 
b.c. 286. It is called the Septuagint, 
i. e. the Seventy, from the tradition that 
it was translated by seventy (more ex- 
actly seventy-two) translators. The 
Vulgate, or translation of the Bible into 
Latin by Jerome, a.d. 385-405, is the 
authorized version of the Roman Cath- 
olic Church. 

The first complete translation of the 
whole Bible into English was made by 
John Wycliffe (1380-1382). 

The first book ever printed was the 
Bible. The first Bible was printed be- 
tween the years 1450 and 1455, at Mentz, 
by Guttenberg, the reputed inventor of 
printing. 

> First New Testament printed in Eng- 
lish was that of William Tyndale (1525- 
1526). 

First Bible printed in English was 
Miles Coverdale’s (1535). 


BIB 


05 


BIN 


As the sum and fruit of all these ap- 
peared our present Authorized Version , 
or King James Version, in 1611, made 
by forty-seven learned men. 

A Revised Version of this authorized 
edition was made by a committee con- 
sisting of eighty American and English 
scholars, of various denominations, the 
English committee having been appoint- 
ed in 1870 and the American in 1871. 
This revision was necessary because of 
the changes in the English language 
during the nearly 300 years, and because 
much light has been thrown upon the 
original Scriptures, and upon all matters 
pertaining to biblical studies. The Re- 
vised New Testament was published si- 
multaneously in this country and in 
England in May, 1881, and the Revised 
Old Testament in May, 1885. The 
American Revision of the Bible was 
published in 1901, and contained the 
changes preferred by the American Re- 
visers. 

VII. Divisions into Chapters and 
Verses.— The present division of the 
whole Bible into chapters was made by 
Cardinal Hugo de St. Cher about 1250. 
These chapters were divided into verses 
as we now have them by Rabbi Nathan, 
and adopted by Robert Stephens in his 
Greek Testament, published in 1551, in 
his edition of the Vulgate, in 1555. The 
first English Bible printed with these 
chapters and verses was the Geneva 
Bible, in 1560. 

VIII. Circulation of the Bible. — 
The first book ever printed was the 
Bible ; and more Bibles have been 
printed than any other book. It has 
been translated into 489 ancient and 
modern languages, of which. 443 are 
now in circulation. The British and 
Foreign Bible Society (founded in 
1804) had by 1905 issued 192,537,746 
Bibles and portions of the Bible; and 
the American Bible Society (founded 
in 1816) had issued 80,420,382 copies 
by 1907. This would make a total issue 
(1804-1907) by the Bible societies alone 
of more than 272,958,128. The two 
Bible Societies issued more than 10,000,- 
000 in 1906; of which almost 2,000,000 
were issued by the American Society. 
Probably as many more copies were is- 
sued by private publishers. 

Bich'ri (bik'rl) ( youthful ), 2 Sam. 
20 : 1, an ancestor of Sheba. 

Bid'kar (bid'kar), Jehu’s “captain,” 
originally his fellow officer, 2 Kings 9 : 


25, who completed the sentence on Je- 
horam, son of Ahab. 

Bier. [Burial.] 

Big'tha (big'tha) ( gift of God), one 
of the seven chamberlains or eunuchs 
of the harem of King Ahasuerus. Es- 
ther 1 : 10. (b.c. 483.) 

Big'than (big'than), or Big'thana 
( gift of fortune), a eunuch (chamber- 
lain, Authorized Version) in the court 
of Ahasuerus, one of those “who kept 
the. door,” and conspired with Teresh 
against the king’s life. Esther 2 : 21. 

Big'va=i {happy). 1. “ Childrep of 
Bigvai,” 2056 (Neh. 2067) in number, 
returned from the captivity with Zerub- 
babel, Ezra 2:14; Neh. 7:19, and 72 of 
them at a later date with Ezra. Ezra 
8: 14. 

2. Apparently one of the chiefs of Ze- 
rubbabel’s expedition, Ezra 2:2; Neh. 
7 : 7, whose family afterwards signed the 
covenant. Neh. 10 : 16. 

Bil'dad (bil'dad) {Bel hath loved), 
the second of Job’s three friends. He 
is called “ the Shuhite,” which implies 
both his family and nation. Job 2 : 11. 
There is.no clue to his date. 

Bil'eam {destruction) , a town in the 
western half of the tribe of Manasseh, 
named only in 1 Chron. 6 : 70 ; same as 
Ibleam and Gath-rimmon. Josh. 17 : 11 
and 21: 25. 

Bil'gah (bil'gah) {cheerfulness). 1. 
A priest in the time of David ; the head 
of the fifteenth course for the temple 
service. 1 Chron. 24 : 14. 

2. A priest or priestly family who re- 
turned from Babylon with Zerubbabel 
and Jeshua. Neh. 12:5, 18. (b.c 536.) 

Bil'ga=i. Neh. 10:8. [Bilgah, 2.] 

Bil'hah (bil'hah) {timid, hashful), 
handmaid of Rachel, Gen. 29 : 29, and 
concubine of Jacob, to whom she bore 
Dan and Naphtali. Gen. 30 : 3-8 ; 35 : 
25 ; 46 : 25 ; 1 Chron. 7 : 13. 

Bil'han. 1. A Horite chief dwelling 
in Mount Seir. Gen. 36 : 27 ; 1 Chron. 
1: 42. 

2. A Benjamite, son of Jediael. 1 
Chron. 7 : 10. 

Bil'shan (bil'shan) {inquirer), one of 
Zerubbabel’s companions on his expedi- 
tion from Babylon. Ezra 2:2; Neh. 7: 
7. (b.c. 536.) 

Bim'hal (bim'hal) {circumcised), one 
of the sons of Japhlet in the line of 
Asher. 1 Chron. 7 : 33. 

Bin'ea, one of the descendants of 
Saul. 1 Chron. 8 : 37 ; 9 : 43. 


> 


BIN 


96 


BIZ 


Bin'nui (bin'nu-i) ( building up). 1. 
A Levite, father of Noadiah. Ezra 8 : 33. 

2. One who had taken a foreign wife. 
Ezra 10 : 30. 

3. Another Israelite who had also 
taken a foreign wife. Ezra 10 : 38. 

4. Altered from Bani in the corre- 
sponding list in Ezra. Neh. 7:15. 

5. A Levite, son of Henadad, who as- 
sisted at the reparation of the wall of 
Jerusalem, under Nehemiah. Neh. 3: 
24; 10:9. 

Birds. [Sparrow.] 

Bir'sha (bir'sha), a king of Gomor- 
rah. Gen. 14 : 2. 

Birthdays. The custom of observing 
birthdays is very ancient, Gen. 40 : 20 ; 
Jer. 20:15; and in Job 1:4, etc., we 
read that Job’s sons “ feasted every one 
his day.” In Persia birthdays were cele- 
brated with peculiar honors and ban- 
quets, and in Egypt those of the king 
were kept with great pomp. It is very 
probable that in Matt. 14 : 6 the feast to 
commemorate Herod’s accession is in- 
tended, for we know that such feasts 
were common, and were called “ the day 
of the king.” Hos. 7 : 5. 

Birthright, the advantages accruing 
to the eldest son. These were not defi- 
nitely fixed in patriarchal times. Great 
respect was paid to him in the house- 
hold, and, as the family widened into a 
tribe, this grew into a sustained author- 
ity, undefined save by custom, in all 
matters of common interest. Thus the 
“ princes ” of the congregation had prob- 
ably rights of primogeniture. Num. 7 : 
2 ; 21 : 18 ; 25 : 14. Gradually the rights 
of the eldest son came to be more defi- 
nite: (1) The functions of the priest- 
hood in the family, with the paternal 
blessing. (2) A “double portion” of 
the paternal property was allotted by 
the Mosaic law. Deut. 21:15-17. (3) 

The eldest son succeeded to the official 
authority, of the father. The first-born 
of the king was his successor by law. 
2 Chron. 21:3. In all these Jesus was 
the first-born of the Father. 

Bir'zavith (blr'za-vith), a name oc- 
curring in the genealogies of Asher. 1 
Chron. 7:31. 

Bishop. The word originally signi- 
fied an “overseer” or spiritual superin- 
tendent. The titles bishop and elder, or 
presbyter, were essentially equivalent. 
Bishop is from the Greek, and denotes 
one who exercises the function of over- 
seeing. Presbyter was derived from the 


office in the synagogue. Presbyter is a 
transliteration of the Greek word mean- 
ing “ elder,” “ older ” ; and expresses the 
authority of age and experience. Hence 
the rulers of the Jews were called elders, 
as those of Rome were senators, i. e. old 
men. The duties of the bishop-elders 
appear to have been as follows: (1) 
General superintendence over the spir- 
itual well-being of the flock. 1 Pet. 5: 
2. (2) The work of teaching, both 

publicly and privately. 1 Thess. 5 : 12 ; 
Titus 1 : 9 ; 1 Tim. 5 : 17. (3) The work 

of visiting the sick. James 5:14. (4) 

Among other acts of charity, that of 
receiving strangers occupied a con- 
spicuous place. 1 Tim. 3:2; Titus 1:8. 
Peter calls Christ “the shepherd and 
bishop of your souls.” 1 Pet. 2 : 25. 

Bishopric, the district over which 
the jurisdiction of a bishop extended. 
Acts 1:20; 1 Tim. 3 : 1. 

Bithi'ah (bith-i'ah) ( daughter i. e. 
worshiper of Jehovah), daughter of a 
Pharaoh, and wife of Mered. 1 Chron. 
4: 18. 

Bith'ron (bith'ron), more accurately 
the Bithron ( a gorge or ravine), a 
place, doubtless a district, in the Jordan 
valley on the east side of the river. 2 
Sam. 2 : 29. 

Bithyn'ia (bi-thyn'i-a), a Roman 
province of Asia Minor. Mentioned 
only in Acts 16 : 7 and in 1 Pet. 1 : 1. 
The chief town of Bithynia was Nicsea, 
celebrated for the general Council of 
the Church held there in a.d. 325 against 
the Arian heresy. 

Bitter herbs. The Israelites were 
commanded to eat the paschal lamb 
“with unleavened bread and with bit- 
ter herbs.” 'Ex. 12:8. These “bitter 
herbs ” consisted of such plants as 
chicory, bitter cresses, hawkweeds, sow- 
thistles and wild lettuces, which grow 
abundantly in the peninsula of Sinai, 
in Palestine and in Egypt. The pur- 
pose of this observance was to recall 
to the minds of the Israelites their de- 
liverance from the bitter bondage of 
the Egyptians. 

Bittern. The word occurs in Isa. 14: 
23; 34:11; Zeph. 2:14. The Revised 
Version translates “porcupine,” but 
authorities _ vary. The bittern ( Botau - 
rus stellaris) belongs to the Ardeidce, 
the heron family of birds, and is famous 
for the peculiar nocturnal booming 
sound which it emits. 

Bizjoth'jah (biz-joth'jah) ( contempt 


Bi: 


97 


BOO 


of Jehovah ), a town in the south of 
Judah. Josh. 15 : 28. Probably a cor- 
ruption for “her villages.” 

Biz'tha {eunuch), the second of the 
seven eunuchs of King Ahasuerus’ ha- 
rem. Esther 1 : 10. (b.c. 483.) 

Blains, violent ulcerous inflamma- 
tions, the sixth plague of Egypt, Ex. 9 : 
9, 10, and hence called in Deut. 28 : 27, 
35 “ the botch of Egypt.” It seems to 
have been the bubo plague (Cheyne). 
It was Job’s disease, perhaps ulcers. 

Blasphemy, in its technical English 
sense, signifies the speaking evil of God, 
and in this sense it is found Ps. 74:18; 
Isa. 52 : 5 ; Rom. 2 : 24, etc. But accord- 
ing to its derivation it may mean any 
species of calumny and abuse: see 1 
Kings 21:10; Acts 18:6; Jude 9, etc. 
Blasphemy was punished by stoning, 
which was inflicted on the son of Shelo- 
mith. Lev. 24 : 11, 23. On this charge 
both our Lord and St. Stephen were 
condemned to death by the Jews. 

The blasphemy against the Holy 
Ghost, Matt. 12 : 32 ; Mark 3 : 28, con- 
sisted in attributing to the power of 
Satan those unquestionable miracles 
which Jesus performed by “the finger 
of God” and the power of the Holy 
Spirit. It is plainly such a state of will- 
ful, determined opposition to God and 
the Holy Spirit that no efforts will avail 
to lead to repentance. Among the Jews 
it was a sin against God answering to 
treason in our times. 

Blas'tus (blas'tus) (sprout), the 
chamberlain of Herod Agrippa I. Acts 
12 : 20 . 

Blindness is extremely common in 
the East from many causes. Blind beg- 
gars figure repeatedly in the New Testa- 
ment (Matt. 12:22), and “opening the 
eyes of the blind” is mentioned in 
prophecy as a peculiar attribute of the 
Messiaih. Isa. 29 : 18 ; 42 : 7, etc. The 
Jews were specially charged to treat the 
blind with compassion and care. Lev. 
19 : 14 ; Deut. 27 : 18. Blindness will- 
fully inflicted for political or other pur- 
poses is alluded to in Scripture. 1 Sam. 
11 : 2 ; Jer. 39 : 7. 

Blood. To blood is ascribed in Scrip- 
ture the mysterious sacredness which 
belongs to life, and God reserves it to 
himself when allowing man the do- 
minion over and the use of the lower 
animals for food. Thus reserved, it ac- 
quires a double power: (1) that of sac-, 
rificial atonement; and (2) that of be- 
coming a curse when wantonly shed, 
7 


unless duly expiated. Gen. 9:4, 5 ; Lev. 
7:26; 17:11-13. 

Blood, Avenger of. He who avenged 
the blood of one who had been killed. 
The nearest relative of the deceased be- 
came the authorized avenger of blood. 
Num. 35:19. The law of retaliation 
was not to extend beyond the immediate 
offender. Deut. 24:16; 2 Kings 14:6; 
2 Chron. 25:4; Jer. 31:29, 30. It was 
the early method of punishing murder. 

Boaner'ges (bo-a-ner'ges), a name 
signifying sons of thunder, given by 
our Lord to the two sons of Zebedee, 
James and John, probably on account 
of their fiery earnestness. Mark 3 : 17. 
See Luke 9:54; Mark 9 : 38 ; comp. 
Matt. 20:20, etc. 

Boar, [Swine.] 

Bo'az (bo'az) ( fleetness ). 1. A 

wealthy Bethlehemite, kinsman to Eli- 
melech the husband of Naomi. He 
married Ruth, and redeemed the estates 
of her deceased husband Mahlon. Ruth 
4 : 1 ff. Boaz is mentioned in the gene- 
alogy of Christ, Matt. 1 : 5. There is 
great difficulty in assigning his date. 
According to some chronologies it was 
about b.c. 1200. 

2. The name of one of Solomon’s bra- 
zen pillars erected in the temple porch. 
[Jachin.] It stood on the left, and was 
eighteen cubits high. 1 Kings 7 : 15, 21 ; 
2 Chron. 3:15; Jer. 52:21. 

Boch'eru (bok'e-ru) (first-born) , son 
of Azel, according to the present He- 
brew text of 1 Chron. 8 : 38. 

Bo'chim (bd'kim) (the weepers), a 
place on the west of Jordan, above Gil- 
gal; so named from the weeping of 
Israel. Judg. 2 : 1, 5. 

Bo han (bo'han) (thumb), a Reuben- 
ite. Josh. 15:6; 18:17. 

Bo'han, Stone of, a stone erected 
in honor of Bohan, on the boundary be- 
tween Judah and Benjamin, in the val- 
ley of Achor, a well-known landmark 
so named on account of its resemblance 
to a thumb. 

Boil. [Medicine.] 

Bondage. [Slave.] 

Book. [Writing.] 

Booths. [Succoth; Tabernacles, 
Feast of.] 

Booty consisted of captives of both 
sexes, cattle, and whatever a captured 
city might contain, especially metallic 
treasures. Within the limits of Canaan 
no captives were to be made,. Deut. 20 : 
14, 16; beyond these limits, in case of 


98 



THE SO-CALLED FIELD OF BOAZ, NEAP BETHLEHEM 


BOO 


99 


BRA 


warlike resistance, all the women and 
children were to be made captives, and 
the men put to death. The law of booty 
is given in Num. 31 : 26-47. As re- 
garded the army, David added a regula- 
tion that the baggage guard should share 
equally with the troops engaged. 1 Sam. 
30 : 24, 25. 

Bo'oz. Matt. 1:5; Luke 3 : 32. 
[Boaz.] 

Bos'cath. 2 Kings 22 : 1. [Boz- 

KATH.] 

Bo'sor (bo'sor), same as Beor. 2 Pet. 
2: 15. 

Bottle. The Arabs keep their water, 
milk and other liquids in leathern bot- 
tles. These are made of goatskins. 
When the animal is killed they cut off 
its feet and its 
head, and draw it 
in this manner out 
of the skin with- 
out opening its 
belly. The great 
leathern bottles 
are made of the 
skin of a he-goat, 
and the small 
ones, that serve 
instead of a bottle 
of water on the 
road, are made of 
a kid’s skin. The 
effect of external 
heat upon a skin 
bottle is indicated 
in Ps. 119:83, “a 
bottle in the 
smoke,” and of 
expansion pro- 
duced by fermen- 
tation in Matt. 9 : 
17, “new wine in 
, old bottles.” Ves- 

sels of metal, earthen or glassware for 
liquids were in use among the Greeks, 
Egyptians, Etruscans and Assyrians, 
and also no doubt among the Jews, 
especially in later times. Thus Jer. 19: 
1, “a potter’s earthen bottle.” Bottles 




ANCIENT GREEK GLASS 
BOTTLE. 


were made by the ancient Egyptians of 
alabaster, gold, ivory and stone. They 
were of most exquisite workmanship 
and elegant forms. Tear-bottles were 
small urns of glass or pottery, made 
to contain the tears of mourners at 
funerals, and placed in the sepulchres 
at Rome and in Palestine. In some an- 
cient tombs they are found in great 
numbers. Ps. 56 : 8 refers to this cus- 
tom. 

Bow. Gen. 37 : 10. The eastern mode 
of salutation, by kneeling upon one 
knee and bending the head forward till 
it touched the ground. 

Box tree. Isa. 41 : 19 ; 60 : 13. A 

beautiful evergreen growing in many 
parts oi Europe and Asia. Its hard 
wood is much prized by engravers. The 
reference in Isa. 60:13 is supposed by 
some to mean a species of cedar. 

Bo 'zez (bo'zez) {shining), one of the 
two sharp rocks between the passages 
by which Jonathan entered the Philis- 
tine garrison. It seems to have been 
that on the north. 1 Sam. 14 : 4, 5. 

Boz'kath (bos'kath) {rocky height ), 
a city of Judah in the lowlands. Josh. 
15 : 39 ; 2 Kings 22:1. 

Boz'rah (boz'rah) {fortification ) . 1. 
In Edom, the city of Jobab the son of 
Zerah, one of the early kings of that 
nation. Gen. 36: 33; 1 Chron. 1:44. 
Mentioned by Isaiah, 34:6; 63 : 1, in 
connection with Edom, and by Jeremiah, 
49 :13, 22; Amos, 1:12, and Micah, 2: 
12. Its modern representative is el- 
Busaireh, which lies on the mountain 
district to the southeast of the Dead 
Sea. (Cheyne.) 

2. In his catalogue of the cities of the 
land of Moab, Jeremiah, 48 : 24, mentions 
a Bozrah as in “ the plain country ” (ver. 
21), i. e. the high level downs on the 
east of the Dead Sea. 

Bracelet. [See Armlet.] Bracelets 




SKIN BOTTLES. 


BRACELETS. 


of fine twisted Venetian gold are still 
common in Egypt. In Gen. 38 : 18, 25 
the word rendered “ bracelet ” means 
probably a string by which a seal-ring 
was suspended. Men as well as women 
wore bracelets, as we see from Cant. 5 : 
14. Layard says of the Assyrian kings, 
“ The arms were encircled by armlets, 
and the wrists by bracelets.” 

Bramble. [Thorns.] 

Brass. The word nechosheth is im- 
properly translated by “ brass.” In most 
places of the Old Testament the correct 
translation would be copper, although it 
may sometimes possibly mean bronze, a 
compound of copper and tin. Indeed a 
simple metal was obviously intended, as 
we see from Deut. 8:9; 33 : 25 ; Job 28 : 
2. Copper was known at a very early 
period. Gen. 4 : 22. 

Brazen serpent. [Serpent.] 

Bread. The preparation of bread as 
an article of food dates from a very 
early period. Gen. 18 : 6. The corn or 
grain employed was of various sorts. 
The best bread was made of wheat, but 
“ barley ” and spelt were also used. 
John 6:9, 13; Isa. 28:25. The process 
of making bread was as follows : the 
flour was first mixed with water or 
milk ; it was then kneaded with the 
hands (in Egypt with the feet also) 
in a small wooden bowl or “kneading- 
trough ” until it became dough. Ex. 12 : 
34, 39; 2 Sam. 13:8; Jer. 7:18. When 
the kneading was completed, leaven was 
generally added [Leaven] ; but when 
the time for preparation was short, it 
was omitted, and unleavened cakes, has- 
tily baked, were eaten, as is still the 
prevalent custom among the Bedouins. 
Gen. 18 : 6 ; 19:3; Ex. 12 : 39 ; Judges 6 : 
19 ; 1 Sam. 28 : 24. The leavened mass 
was allowed to stand for some time, 
Matt. 13 : 33 ; Luke 13 : 21 ; the dough 
was then divided into round cakes, Ex. 
29:23; Judges 7:13; 8:5; 1 Sam. 10: 
3 ; Prov. 6 : 26, not unlike flat stones in 
shape and appearance, Matt. 7 : 9, comp. 
4 : 3, about a span in diameter and a 
finger’s breadth in thickness. In the 
towns where professional bakers re- 
sided, there were no doubt fixed ovens, 
in shape and size resembling those in use 
among ourselves ; but more usually each 
household possessed a portable oven, 
consisting of a stone or metal jar, about 
three feet high, which was heated in- 
wardly with wood, 1 Kings 17:12; Isa. 
44:15; Jer. 7:18, or dried grass and 
flower-stalks. Matt. 6 : 30. Lev. 2 
names several kinds of bread. 


Breastplate. [Arms.] 

Brethren of Jesus. [James.] 

Brick. Gen. 11:3. The bricks in 
use among the Jews were much larger 
than with us, 
being usually 
from 12 to 13 
inches square 
and 3Y 2 . inches 
thick; they 
thus possess 
more of the 
character o f 
tiles. Ezek. 4 : 

1. The Israel- t 
ites, in common 
with other cap- 
tives, were em- 
ployed by the Egyptian monarchs in 
making bricks and in building. Ex. 1 : 
14 ; 5:7. Egyptian bricks were not gen- 
erally dried in kilns, but in the sun. 
That brick-kilns were known is evident 
from 2 Sam. 12 : 31 ; Jer. 43 : 9. When 
made of the Nile mud they required 
straw to prevent cracking. [See 
Straw.] 


M « »£> 

In TMfcU a *r-< 
tw < TTTi 


ASSYRIAN BRICK FROM 
NIMROUD. 

Inscribed with Shalma- 
neser’s Name and Title. 



JEWS AND CAPTIVES MAKING BRICKS IN EGYPT. 

Bride, Bridegroom. [Marriage.] 

Brigandine. Jer. 46:4; elsewhere 
“ habergeon,” or “ coat of mail,” R. V. 

Brimstone. Brimstone, or sulphur, 
is found in considerable quantities on 
the shores of the Dead Sea. Gen. 19 : 
24. It is a well-known simple mineral 
substance, crystalline, easily melted, 
very inflammable, and when burning 
emits a peculiar suffocating odor. It is 
found in great abundance near volca- 
noes. The soil around Sodom and 
Gomorrah abounded in sulphur and 
bitumen. 

Brother. The Hebrew word is used 
in various senses in the Old Testament, 
as (1) Any kinsman, and not a mere 
brother ; e. g. nephew, Gen. 13:8; 14 : 
16; husband, Cant. 4:9. (2) One of 
















BUK 


101 


BUR 


the same tribe. 2 Sam. 19:12. (3) Of 

the same people, Ex. 2 : 11, or even of a 
cognate people. Num. 20:14. (4) An 

ally. Amos 1 : 9. (5) Any friend. Job 

6 : 15. (6) One of the same office. 1 

Kings 9 : 13. (7) A fellow man. Lev. 

19 : 17. (8) Metaphorically of any sim- 

ilarity, as in Job 30 : 29. The word 
ade\(f)6s has a similar range of meanings 
in the New Testament. 

Buk'ki (buk'ki). 1. Son of Abishua 
and father of Uzzi, fifth from Aaron in 
the line of the high priests in 1 Chron. 
6:5, 51 (Authorized Version), and in 
the genealogy of Ezra. Ezra 7 : 4. 

2. Son of Jogli, prince of the tribe of 
Dan, one of the ten men chosen to ap- 
portion the land of Canaan between the 
tribes. Num. 34 : 22. 

Bukki'ah (buk-ki'ah), a Kohathite 
Levite, of the sons of Heman, one of 
the musicians in the temple. 1 Chron. 
25 : 4, 13. 

Bui. [Month.] 

Bull, Bullock, terms used synony- 
mously with ox, oxen, and properly a 
generic name for horned cattle when 
of full age and fit for the plough. It is 
variously rendered “bullock,” Isa. 65: 
25, “ cow,” Ezek. 4 : 15, “ oxen,” Gen. 
12 : 16. Kine is used in the Bible as 
the plural of cow. In 
.gjLg yjgS' / Isaiah 51:20, the “wild 
bull ” (“ wild ox ” in Deut. 

L*. 14:5) was possibly one of 
the larger species of ante- 
^ • lope, and took its name 
from its swiftness. Dr. 
Robinson mentions large 
herds of black and almost 
hairless buffaloes a s still 
existing in Palestine, and 
these may be the animal in- 
dicated. 

Bulrush (or papyrus), a 
reed growing in the shal- 

J water on the banks of 
Nile. It grows to the 
it of 12 or 15 feet, 
a stalk two or three 
js i n diameter. The 
s are very pliable and 
b e very closely inter- 
in, as is evident from 
having been used i n 
the construction o f 
arks. Ex. 2:3, 5. 
Paper was made 
bulrush. from this plant, from 

which it derives its name. 


Bu'nah (bu'nah) ( understanding ), a 
son of Jerahmeel, of the family of 
Pharez in Judah. 1 Chron. 2:25. 

Bun'ni (bun'ni) {built). 1 . One of 
the Levites in the time of Nehemiah. 
Neh. 9 : 4. 

2. Another Levite, but of earlier date 
than the preceding. Neh. 11 : 15. 

Burial, Sepulchres. fToMBS.] On 
this subject we have to notice — 1. The 
place of burial, its site and shape; 2. 
The mode of burial; 3. The prevalent 
notions regarding this duty. 

1. A natural cave enlarged and adapt- 
ed by excavation, or an artificial imita- 
tion of one, was the standard type of 
sepulchre. Sepulchres, when the owner’s 
means permitted it, were commonly pre- 
pared beforehand, and stood often in 
gardens, by roadsides, or even adjoin- 
ing houses. Kings and prophets alone 
were probably buried within towns. 1 
Kings 2:10; 16:6, 28. Cities soon be- 
came populous and demanded cemeteries, 
Ezek. 39 : 15, which were placed with- 
out the walls. Sepulchres were marked 
sometimes by pillars or by pyramids. 
Such as were not otherwise noticeable 
were scrupulously “ whited,” Matt. 23 : 
27, once a year, after the rains before 
the passover, to warn passers-by of 
defilement. 



JAR-BURIAL, WITH SKELETON OF A CHILD. 

(from Megiddo.) 


2. “ The manner of the Jews ” in- 
cluded the use of spices, where they 
could command the means. 2 Chron. 
16 : 14. A portion of these was burnt 
in honor of the deceased, and to this 
use was probably destined part of the 


BUR 


102 


BUZ 


one hundred pounds weight of “ myrrh 
and aloes ” in our Lord’s case. In no 
instance, save that of Saul and his sons, 
were the bodies burned ; and even then 
the bones were interred, and re-exhumed 
for solemn entombment. It was the 
office of the next of kin to perform and 
preside over the whole funeral office; 
though public buriers were not unknown 
in New Testament times. Acts 5: 6, 10. 
The body was borne by the nearest 


relatives. The grave-clothes were prob- 
ably of the fashion worn in life, but 
swathed and fastened with bandages, 
and the head covered separately. 

3. The precedent of Jacob’s and Jo- 
seph’s remains being returned to the 
land of Canaan was followed, in wish 
at least, by every pious Jew. 

Burnt offering. The word is applied 
to the offering which was wholly con- 
sumed by fire on the altar, and the whole 
of which, except the refuse ashes, “ as- 
cended ” in the smoke to God. The 


meaning of the whole burnt offering 
was that which is the original idea of 
all sacrifice, the offering by the sacrificer 
of himself, soul and body, to God — the 
submission of his will to the will of the 
Lord. The ceremonies of the burnt of- 
fering are given in detail in the book of 
Leviticus. [Sacrifice.] 

Bush. The Hebrew word seneh oc- 
curs only in those passages which refer 
to Jehovah’s appearance to Moses “ in 
the flame of fire in the 
bush.” Ex. 3 : 2, 3, 4 ; Deut. 
33 : 16. It is quite impossi- 
ble to say what kind o f 
thorn bush is intended ; but 
it was possibly the acacia, 
a small variety of the shit- 
tim tree found in the Sinai 
region. 

Bushel. ^Weights and 
Measures.] 

Butler. One of the offi- 
cers of the king’s house- 
hold, Neh. 1 : 11, who had 
charge of the wine a n d 
poured it out for the king. 
The chief butler, as the title 
signifies, was in charge of 
the butlers. Gen. 40 : 1-13. 

Butter. Curdled milk. 
Gen. 18 : 8 ; Deut. 32 : 14 ; 
Judges 5:25; Job 20:17. 
Milk is generally offered to 
travelers in Palestine i n a 
curdled or sour state, leb- 
ben, thick, almost like but- 
ter. Hasselquist describes 
the method of making but- 
ter employed by the Arab 
women as follows : 

“ They made butter in a leather bag, 
hung on three poles erected for the pur- 
pose, in the form of a cone, and drawn 
to and fro by two women.” 

Buz (buz) {contempt). 1. The sec- 
ond son of Milcah and Nahor. Gen. 
22 : 21. Elihu “ the Buzite ” was prob- 
ably a descendant of Buz. 

2. A name occurring in the genealo- 
gies of the tribe of Gad. 1 Chron. 5 : 14. 

Bu 'zi (bu'zi) {contempt) , father of 
Ezekiel the prophet. Ezek. 1 : 3. 



POTTERY COFFINS, FOUND AT NIPPUR, BABYLONIA. 




c 


Cab. [Weights and Measures.] 

Cab'bon (kab'bon), a town in the 
low country of Judah. Josh. 15 : 40. 

Ca'bul (ka'bul). 1. One of the land- 
marks on the boundary of Asher, Josh. 
19 : 27 ; now Kabul, 9 or 10 miles east 
of Accho. 

2. Name of the land given to Hiram 
by Solomon. 1 Kings 9 : 10-13. 

Cae'sar, always in the New Testament 
the Roman emperor, the sovereign of 
Judea. John 19:12, 15; Acts 17:7, etc. 

Caesare'a (Acts 8:40; 9:30; 10:1, 
24; 11:11; 12:19; 18:22; 21:8, 16; 
23 : 23, 33 ; 25 : 1, 4, 6, 13) was situated 
on the coast of Palestine, on the line of 
the great road from Tyre to Egypt, and 
about halfway between Joppa and Dora. 
The distance from Jerusalem was about 
70 miles; Josephus states it in round 
numbers as 600 stadia. In Strabo’s time 
there was on this point of the coast 
merely a town called “ Strato’s Tower,” 
with a landing-place, whereas in the 
time of Tacitus Caesarea is spoken of as 
being the head of Judea. It was in this 
interval that the city was built by Herod 
the Great. It was the official residence 
of the Herodian kings, and of Festus, 
Felix and the other Roman procurators 
of Judea. Here also lived Philip the 
deacon and his four prophesying daugh- 
ters. Caesarea continued to be a city of 
some importance even in the time of the 
Crusades, and the name still lingers on 
the site (Kaisariyeh) , which is a com- 
plete desolation, many of the building- 
stones having been carried to other 
towns. 

Caesare'a Philip'pi is mentioned only 
in the first two Gospels, Matt. 16 : 13 ; 
Mark 8 : 27, and in accounts of the same 
transactions. It was at the easternmost 
and most important of the two recog- 
nized sources of the Jordan, the other 
being at Tel-el-Kadi. The spring rises 
from and the city was built on a lime- 
stone terrace in a valley at the base of 
Mount Hermon, 20 miles north of the 


Sea of Galilee. It was enlarged by 
Herod. Philip, and named after Caesar, 
with his own name added to distinguish 
it from Caesarea. Its present name is 
Banias, a village of some 50 houses, 
with many interesting ruins. Caesarea 
Philippi has no Old Testament history, 
though it has been not unreasonably 
identified with Baal-gad. It was visited 
by Christ shortly before his transfigura- 
tion, Matt. 16 : 13-28, and was the north- 
ern limit of his journeys. Mark 8 : 27. 

Cage. The term so rendered in Jer. 
5:27 is more properly a trap, in which 
decoy birds were placed. In Rev. 18 : 2 
the Greek term means a prison. 

Ca'iaphas (ka'ia-fas) (depression ) , 
in full Joseph Caiaphas, high priest of 
the Jews under Tiberius. Matt. 26:3, 
57 ; John 11 : 49 ; 18 : 13, 14, 24, 28 ; Acts 
4:6. The procurator Valerius Gratus 
appointed him to the dignity. He was 
son-in-law of Annas. [Annas.] 

Cain (kan) (possession). Gen. 4. 
He was the eldest son of Adam and 
Eve; he followed the business of agri- 
culture. In a fit of jealousy, roused by 
the rejection of his own sacrifice . and 
the acceptance of Abel’s, he committed 
the crime of murder, for which he was 
expelled from Eden, and led the life of 
an exile. He settled in the land of Nod, 
and built a city, which he named after 
his son Enoch. His descendants are 
enumerated, together with the inven- 
tions for which they were remarkable. 

Cain (kan), one of the cities in the 
low country of Judah, named with 
Zanoah and Gibeah. Josh. 15:57. 

Cai'nan (ka'-nan). 1. Son of Enos, 
aged 70 years when he begat Mahalaleel 
his son. He lived 840 years afterwards, 
and died aged 910. Gen. 5 : 9-14. 

2. Son of Arphaxad, and father of 
Sala, according to Luke 3 : 36, 37, and 
usually called the second Cainan. He 
is nowhere named in the Hebrew. MSS. 
The name, however, is found in the 
LXX from which Luke quotes, both in 


103 


104 



EXCAVATIONS IN THE TEMPLE AT NIPPUR, PERHAPS THE BIBLICAL CALNEH. 

Excavations made by the University of Pennsylvania. 




CAL 


105 


CAM 


Gen. 10 : 24 and 11 : 12, and for this 
reason is found in the genealogy of 
Christ in St. Luke’s Gospel. 

Calah (ka'lah) (completion, old age) , 
one of the most ancient cities of As- 
syria. Gen. 10 : 11. The site of Calah 
is probably marked by the Nimrud 
ruins. It was built and made the cap- 
ital by Shalmaneser I. ab. 1300 b.c. 
Rebuilt and adorned during 885-735 B.c. 
It was a part of Nineveh and fell with 
it. It was in Calah that the Black Obe- 
lisk was found. 

Calamus. [Reed.] 

Carcol (kal'kol) (sustenance) , a man 
of Judah, son or descendant of Zerah. 
1 Chron. 2 : 6. Probably identical with 
Chalcol. 

Caldron, a vessel for boiling flesh, 
for either ceremonial or domestic use. 
1 Sam. 2:14; 2 Chron. 35:13; Job 41: 
20; Micah 3:3. 

Ca'leb (ka'leb) (capable). 1. Ac- 
cording to 1 Chron. 2 : 9, 18, 19, 42, 50, 
the son of Hezron the son of Pharez 
the son of Judah, and the father of 
Hur and consequently an ancestor of 
the skilled artificer Bezaleel. 

2. Son of Jephunneh, one of the 
twelve spies sent by Moses to Canaan. 
Num. 13 : 6. (b.c. 1490.) He and Oshea 

or Joshua the son of Nun were the only 
two of the whole number who en- 
couraged the people to enter in boldly 
to the land and take possession of it. 
Forty-five years afterwards Caleb came 
to Joshua and claimed possession of 
the land of the Anakim, Kirjath-arba 
or Hebron, and the neighboring hill 
country. Josh. 14. This was imme- 
diately granted to him, and the follow- 
ing chapter relates how he took posses- 
sion of Hebron, driving out the three 
sons of Analc; and how he offered 
Achsah his daughter . in marriage . to 
whoever would take Kirjath-sepher, i. e. 
Debir ; and how when Othniel, his 
younger brother, had performed the 
feat, he not only gave him his daughter 
to wife, but with her the upper and 
nether springs of water which she asked 
for. It is probable that Caleb was a 
foreigner by birth, — a proselyte, incor- 
porated into the tribe of Judah. 

Calf. The calf was held in high es- 
teem by the Jews as food. 1 Sam. 28: 
24; Luke 15:23. The molten calf pre- 
pared by Aaron for the people to wor- 
ship, Ex. 32 : 4, was probably a wooden 
figure overlaid with gold, a process 


which is known to have existed in Egypt. 
[Aaron.] 

Cal'neh (kal'neh), or Cal'no, appears 
in Gen. 10 : 10 among the cities of 
Nimrod. There is no way to identify 
its site. In the eighth century b.c. Cal- 
neh was taken by one of the Assyrian 
kings, and never recovered its pros- 
perity. Isa. 10 : 9 ; Amos 6 : 2. 

Cal' vary. [See Golgotha.] 

Camel. The species of camel which 
was in common use among the Jews 
and the heathen nations of Palestine 
was the Arabian or one-humped camel, 



A SADDLED CAMEL. 


Camelus arabicus. The dromedary is a 
swifter animal than the baggage-camel, 
and is used chiefly for riding purposes; 
it is merely a finer breed than the other. 
The Arabs call it the heirie. The speed 
of the dromedary has been greatly ^ex- 
aggerated, the Arabs asserting that it is 
swifter than the horse. Eight or nine 
miles an hour is the utmost it is able to 
perform; this pace, however, it is able 
to keep up for hours together. The 
Arabian camel carries about 500 pounds. 
“ The hump on the camel’s back is 
chiefly a store of fat, from which the 
animal draws as the wants of his system 
require; and the Arab is careful, to see 
that the hump . is in good condition be- 
fore a long journey. Another inter- 
esting adaptation is the thick sole which 
protects the foot of the camel from 
the burning sand. The nostrils may be 
closed by valves against blasts of sand. 
Most interesting is the. provision for 
drought made by providing the second 



CAM 


106 


CAN 


stomach with great cells in which water 
is long retained. Sight and smell are 
exceedingly acute in the camel.” — John- 
son’s Encyc. • It is clear from Gen. 12 : 
16 that camels were early known to the 
Egyptians. The importance of the 
camel is shown by Gen. 24:64; 37 : 25 ; 
Judges 7:12; 1 Sam. 27:9; 1 Kings 
10:2; 2 Chron. 14:15; Job 1:3; Ter. 
49 : 29, 32, and many other texts. John 
the Baptist wore a garment made of 
camel’s hair, Matt. 3:4; Mark 1 : 6, the 
coarser hairs of the camel; and some 
have supposed that Elijah was clad in 
a dress of the same stuff. 

Ca'mon (ka'mon), the place in which 
Jair the judge was buried. Judges 10 : 5. 

Camp. [Encampment.] 

Camphire. There can be no doubt 
that “camphire” is the Lawsonia alba 
of botanists, the henna of Arabian natu- 



ralists. The henna plant grows in 
Egypt, Syria, Arabia and northern In- 
dia. The flowers are white and grow 
in clusters, and are very fragrant. The 
whole shrub is from four to six feet 
high. S. of Sol. 4 : 13. 

Ca'na (ka'na) ( place of reeds) of 
Galilee, once Cana in Galilee, a vil- 
lage or town not far from Capernaum, 
memorable as the scene of Christ’s first 
miracle, John 2:1, 11 ; 4:46, as well as 
of a subsequent, one, John 4:46, 54, ar.d 
also as the native place of the apostle 
Nathanael. John 21 : 2. The traditional 
site is at Kefr-Kenna, a small village 
about 3 miles northwest of Nazareth. 


The rival site is a village situated far- 
ther north, called Kana-el-Jelil, or more 
often, Khirbet Kana, 8 miles north of 
Nazareth. 

Ca'naan (ka'nan) (low, Hat). 1. 
The fourth son of Ham, Gen. 10 : 6 ; 1 
Chron. 1 : 8, the progenitor of the Phoe- 
nicians [Zidon], and of the various na- 
tions who before the Israelite conquest 
peopled the seacoast of Palestine, and 
generally the whole of the country 
westward of the Jordan. Gen. 10 : 15 ; 
1 Chron. 1:13. The. name is on the 
Tel-el-Amarna tablets. 

2. The name “ Canaan ” is sometimes 
employed for the country itself. 

Ca’naan, The land of (lit. lowland ), 
a name denoting the country west of 
the Jordan and the Dead Sea, and be- 
tween those waters and the Mediterra- 
nean ; given by God to Abraham’s pos- 
terity, the children of Israel. Ex. 6:4; 
Lev. 25:38. [Palestine.] 

Cananae'an (ka-nan-e'an). Matt. 10: 
4. Used in the Revised Version in place 
of “Canaanite.” [See Canaanite.] 

Ca'naanite, The (ka'nan-ite) , the 
designation of the apostle Simon, other- 
wise known as “ Simon Zelotes.” It 
occurs in Matt. 10:4; Mark 3:18, and 
is derived from a Chaldee or Syriac 
word by which the Jewish sect or fac- 
tion of the “Zealots ’’ was designated — 
a turbulent and seditious sect, espe- 
cially conspicuous at the siege of Jeru- 
salem. They taught that all foreign 
rule over Jews was unscriptural, and 
opposed that rule in every way. 

Ca'naanites, The, a word used in 
two senses : 1. A. tribe which inhabited 
a particular locality of the land west 
of the Jordan before, the conquest; and 
2. The people who inhabited generally 
the whole of that country. (1) In Gen. 
10 : 18-20 the seats of the Canaanite 
tribe are given as on the seashore and 
in the Jordan valley; comp. Josh. 11:3. 
(2) Applied as a general name to the 
non-Israelite inhabitants of the land, 
as. we have already seen was the case 
with “ Canaan.” Instances of this are, 
Gen. 12:6; Num. 21:3. The Canaan- 
ites were descendants of Canaan. 
Their language was very similar to the 
Hebrew. The Canaanites were probably 
given to commerce; and thus the name 
became probably in later times an occa- 
sional synonym for a merchant. 

Can'da=ce (kan'da-qe) or Canda'ce, 
a queen of Ethiopia (Meroe), mentioned 


CAN 


107 


CAN 


Acts 8 : 27. (a.d. 36.) The name was 

not a proper name of an individual, 
but that of a dynasty of Ethiopian 
queens. 

Candlestick, which Moses was com- 
manded to make for the tabernacle, is 
described Ex. 25 : 31-37 ; 37 : 17-24. It 
was not strictly a “candlestick,” as it 
held seven richly-adorned lamps. With 
its various appurtenances it required a 
talent of “ pure gold ; ” and it was not 
moulded, but “of beaten work,” and has 
been estimated to have been worth in 
our money over $25,000. From the Arch 
of Titus, where are sculptured the 
spoils taken from Jerusalem, we learn 
that it consisted of a central stem, with 
six branches, three on each side. It 
was several feet high. [See Arch of 
Titus.] The candlestick was placed on 
the south side of the first apartment of 
the tabernacle, opposite the table of 
shewbread,. Ex. 40:24, and was lighted 
every evening and dressed every morn- 
ing. Ex. 27:20, 21; 30:8; comp, l 
Sam. 3 : 3. Each lamp was supplied 
with cotton and about two wineglasses 
of the purest olive oil, which was suffi- 
cient to keep it burning during a long 
night. In. Solomon’s temple, instead of 
or in addition to this candlestick there 
were ten golden candlesticks similarly 
embossed, five on the right and five on 
the left. 1 Kings 7:49; 2 Chron. 4 : 7. 



GOLDEN CANDLESTICK. 

(From the Arch of Titus.) 


They were taken to Babylon. Jer. 
52 : 19. In the temple of Zerubbabel 
there was again a single candlestick. 1 
Macc. 1 : 21 ; 4:49. 


Candlestick, in Matt. 5 : 15 ; Mark 4 : 
21, is merely a lamp-stand, made in 
various forms, to hold up the simple 
Oriental hand-lamps. 

Cane. [Reed.] 

Cankerworm. [Locust.] 

Can'neh (kan'neh). Ezek. 27:23. 
[See Calneh.] 

Canon of Scripture, The, may be 

generally described as the “collection 
of books which form the original and 
authoritative written rule of the faith 
and practice of the Christian Church,” 
i. e. the Old and New Testaments. The 
word canon , in classical Greek, is prop- 
erly a straight rod, “a rule” in the 
widest sense, and especially in the 
phrases “the rule of the Church,” “the 
rule of faith,” “the rule of truth.” 
The first direct application of the term 
canon to the Scriptures seems to be in 
the verses of Amphilochius (cir. 380 
a.d. ) , where the word indicates the rule 
by which the contents of the Bible must 
be determined, and thus secondarily an 
index of the constituent books. The 
uncanonical books were described sim- 
ply as “those without” or “those un- 
canonized.” The canonical books were 
also called “books of the testament,” 
and Jerome styled the whole collection 
by the striking name of “the holy li- 
brary,” which happily expresses the 
unity and variety of the Bible. After 
the Maccabean persecution the history 
of the formation of the Canon is 
merged in the history of its contents. 
The Old Testament appears from that 
time as a whole. The complete Canon 
of the New Testament, as commonly 
received at present, was ratified at the 
third Council of Carthage (a.d. 397), 
and from that time was accepted 
throughout the Latin Church. Re- 
specting the books of which the Canon 
is composed, see the article Bible. 
The books of Scripture were not made 
canonical by act of any council, but the 
council gave its sanction to the results 
of long and careful investigations as to 
what books were really of divine au- 
thority and expressed the universally- 
accepted decisions of the church. The 
Old Testament Canon is ratified by the 
fact that the present Old Testament 
books were those accepted in the time 
of Christ and endorsed by him, and that 
of the 275 quotations of the Old Testa- 
ment in the New, no book out of the 
Canon is quoted from except perhaps 
the words of Enoch in Jude. 


CAN 


108 


CAP 


Canopy. Judith 10 : 21 ; 13 : 9 ; 16 : 19. 
The canopy of Holofernes is the only 
one mentioned. 

Canticles or The Song of Songs. 

This poem is a wedding song, and is 
more probably a song about Solomon, 
than by Solomon. It is a poem, and 
should be so printed, as it is in the Re- 
vised Versions. It has been called a 
drama, or melodrama, because various 
persons speak, in varied situations, and 
dialogue and songs are frequent, with 
monologues as in a Greek chorus. But 
the most accurate characterization is 
that by Professor Moulton, in the Mod- 
ern Reader’s Bible, who calls it a 
lyric idyl, “ sufficiently elaborate in 
its structure to exhibit dramatic, epic 
and lyric in combination.” The idyl 
treats not of wars and heroism, but of 
pure and simple domestic life, while 
the lyric has a wide range of forms. 

There are three leading schools of 
interpretation : — 1. The Literal, which 
regards the poem as a historical tale, 
founded on fact. As a song of the 
home, of pure family love, of marriage 
the highest manifestation of sweet un- 


2. The allegorical interpretation which 
makes the poem an allegory, like Pil- 
grim’s Progress, setting forth the love 
of Christ for his people who are his 
bride, who also love him with the most 
unselfish love. 

3. The third interpretation is the 
typical, uniting the other two, a real 
human love, typifying union of God 
with his people. This is doubtless the 
true interpretation. 

Caper'naum (ka-per'na-um) ( village 
of Nahum ) was on the western shore 
of the Sea of Galilee. Matt. 4:13; 
comp. John 6:24. It was in the ‘‘land 
of Gennesaret,” Matt. 14 : 34 ; comp. 
John 6:17, 21, 24. It was of sufficient 
size to be always called a “ city,” Matt. 
9:1; Mark 1 : 33 ; had its own syna- 
gogue, in which our Lord frequently 
taught, Mark 1 : 21 ; Luke 4 : 33, 38 ; 
John 6:59; and there was also a cus- 
toms station, where the dues were gath- 
ered both by stationary and by itinerant 
officers. Matt. 9:9; 17:24; Mark 2: 
14 ; Luke 5 : 27. The only interest at- 
taching to Capernaum is as the resi- 
dence of our Lord and his apostles, the 



SITE OF CAPERNAUM (TELL HUM). 


selfish love and devotion, honored in the 
Bible, this song is worthy of a place 
in the Canon of Scripture. The sym- 
bols have been called too material, but 
they are given as supreme types of ex- 
cellence, “ symbols hallowed by asso- 
ciations of holy writ, and they seem 
material only to those who read with 
a defective sense of the symbolic.” 


scene of so many miracles and “ gra- 
cious words.” It was when he returned 
thither that he is said to have been “ in 
the. house.” Mark 2 : 1. The spots 
which lay claim to its site, are (1) 
Khan Minyeh, a mound of ruins which 
takes its name from an old khan hard 
by. This mound is situated close upon 
the seashore at the northwestern ex- 



CAP 


109 


CAP 


tremity of the plain (now El Ghuweir). 
(2) Three miles north of Khan M-inyeh 
is the other claimant, Tell Hum — ruins 
of walls and foundations covering a 
space of half a mile long by a quarter 
wide, on a point of the shore projecting 
into the lake and backed by a very gen- 
tly-rising ground. It is impossible to lo- 
cate it with certainty, but the probabil- 
ity is in favor of Tell Hum. 

Caphar, one of the numerous words 
employed in the Bible to denote a vil- 
lage or collection of dwellings smaller 
than a city ( Ir ). Mr. Stanley proposes 
to render it by “ hamlet/’ In names of 
places it occurs in Chephar-ha-Ammo- 
nai, Chephirah, Caphar-salama. To us 
its chief interest arises from its form- 
ing a part of the name of Capernaum, 
i. e. Capharnahum. 

Caph'tor (kaf'tor), Caph'torim (kaf'- 
to-rim), thrice mentioned as the prim- 
itive seat of the Philistines, Deut. 2 : 23 ; 
Jer. 47:4; Amos 9:7, who are once 
called Caphtorim. Deut. 2 : 23. Now 
generally identified with Crete. 

Cappadocia (kap'pa-do'shi-a), Cap= 
pado'cians, Acts 2:9; 1 Pet. 1 : 1, the 
largest province in ancient Asia Minor. 
Cappadocia is an elevated table-land in- 
tersected by mountain chains. It seems 
always to have been deficient in wood; 
but it was a good grain country, and 
particularly famous for grazing. Its 
Roman metropolis was Caesarea. The 
native Cappadocians seem to have orig- 
inally belonged to the Syrian stock. 

Captain. (1) As a purely military 
title, “ captain ” answers to sar in the 
Hebrew army and tribune in the Roman. 
The “ captain of the guard ” in Acts 28 : 
16 was probably the prcefectus prcetorio. 
(2) Katsin, occasionally rendered cap- 
tain, applies sometimes to a military, 
Josh. 10:24; Judges 11:6, 11; Isa. 22 : 
3 ; Dan. 11 : 18, sometimes to a civil 
command, e. g. Isa. 1:10; 3:6. . (3) 
The “ captain of the temple,” mentioned 
Luke 22:4; Acts 4:1; 5:24, superin- 
tended the guard of priests and Levites 
who kept watch by night in the temple. 

Captive. A prisoner of war. Such 
were usually treated with great cruelty 
by the heathen nations. They were kept 
for slaves, and often sold; but this was 
a modification of the ancient cruelty, 
and a substitute for putting them to 
death. Although the treatment pf cap- 
tives by the Jews seems sometimes to 
fie cruel, it was very much milder than 


that of the heathen, and was mitigated, 
as far as possible in the circumstances, 
by their civil code. 

Captivities of the Jews. The pres- 
ent article is confined to the forcible 
deportation of the Jews from their na- 
tive land, and their forcible detention, 
under the Assyrian or Babylonian kings. 

Captivities of Israel. — The kingdom 
of Israel was invaded by three or four 
successive kings of Assyria. Pul or 
Sardanapalus, according to Rawlinson, 
imposed a tribute (b.c. 738 Assyr. 

Canon) upon Menahem. 2 Kings 15: 
19 and 1 Chron. 5:26. Tiglath-pileser 
carried away (b.c. 735) the trans-Jor- 
danic tribes, 1 Chron. 5 : 26, and the in- 
habitants of Galilee, 2 Kings 15 : 29, 
comp. Isa. 9:1, to Assyria. Shalma- 
neser twice invaded, 2 Kings 17 : 3, 5, 
the kingdom which remained to Hoshea, 
took Samaria (b.c. 721) after a siege 
of three years, and carried Israel away 
into Assyria. This was the end of the 
kingdom of the ten tribes of Israel. 

Captivities of Judah. — Sennacherib 
(b.c. 701) is stated to have carried into 
Assyria 200,000 captives from the Jew- 
ish cities which he took. 2 Kings 18 : 
13. Nebuchadnezzar, in the first half 
of his reign (b.c. 605-562), repeatedly 
invaded Judea, besieged Jerusalem, car- 
ried away the inhabitants to Babylon, 
and destroyed the temple. The 70 years 
of captivity predicted by Jeremiah, Jer. 
25 : 12, are dated by Prideaux from b.c. 
606. The captivity of Ezekiel dates 
from b.c. 597, when that prophet, like 
Mordecai the uncle of Esther, Esther 
2 : 6, accompanied Jehoiachin. The cap- 
tives were treated not as slaves but as 
colonists. The Babylonian captivity was 
brought to a close by the decree, Ezra 
1:2, of Cyrus (b.c. 537), and the re- 
turn of a portion of the nation under 
Sheshbazzar or Zerubbabel (b.c. 536), 
Ezra (b.c. 458) and Nehemiah (b.c. 
446). Those who were left in Assyria, 
Esther 8 : 9, 11, and kept up their na- 
tional distinctions, were known as The 
Dispersion. John 7:35; 1 Pet. 1:1; 
James 1 : 1. 

The lost tribes. — Many attempts have 
been made to discover the ten tribes ex- 
isting as a distinct community; but 
though history bears no witness of their 
present distinct existence, it enables us 
to track the footsteps of the departing 
race in four directions after the time of 
the Captivity, (l) Some returned and 


CAR 


110 


CAR 


mixed with the Jews. Luke 2:36; 
Philip. 3:5, etc. (2) Some were left in 
Samaria, mingled with the Samaritans, 
Ezra 6:21; John 4:12, and became bit- 
ter enemies of the Jews. (3) Many re- 
mained in Assyria, and were recognized 
as an integral part of the Dispersion; 
see Acts 2:9; 26:7. (4) Most, prob- 

ably, apostatized in Assyria, adopted the 
usages and idolatry of the nations 
among whom they were planted, and be- 
came wholly swallowed up in them. 

Carbuncle. This word represents 
two Hebrew words. The. first may be 
a general term to denote crystal or any 
sparkling gem, Isa. 54:12; the second. 
Ex. 28 : 17 ; 39 : 10 ; Ezek. 28 : 13, is sup- 
posed to be the garnet. 

Car'cas (kar'kas) ( possibly vulture ), 
the seventh of the seven “ chamber- 
lains,” i. e. eunuchs, of King Ahasuerus. 
Esther 1:10. (b.c. 483.) 

Car'chemish (kar'ke-mish), the east- 
ern capital of the Hittites, at a ford of 
the Euphrates. Its probable site is 
Jerabis on the west bank between Bire- 
jik and the river Sajur. Carchemish 
appears to have been taken by Pharaoh 
Necho shortly after the battle of Megid- 
do (cir. b.c. 608), and retaken by Ne- 
buchadnezzar after a battle three years 
later, b.c. 605. Jer. 46:2. 

Care'ah (ka-re'ah) {bald), father of 
Johanan, 2 Kings 25 : 23 ; elsewhere spelt 
Kareah. 

Ca'ria (ka'ri-a), the southern part of 
the region which in the 
New Testament is called 
Asia, and the south- 
western part of the pen- 
insula o f Asia Minor. 

Acts 20 : 15 ; 27 : 7. 

Car'mel (kar'mel) 

{garden or park). 1. 

A mountain which 
forms one of the most 
striking and character- 
istic features of the 
country of Palestine. It 
is a noble ridge, the 
only headland o f lower 
and centra) Palestine, 
and forms its southern 
boundary, running out 
with a bold bluff prom- 
ontory, nearly 600 feet 
high, almost into the 
very waves of the 
Mediterranean, then extending south- 
east for a little more than twelve miles, 
when it terminates suddenly in a bluff 


somewhat corresponding to its western 
end. In form Carmel is a tolerably 
continuous ridge, its highest point, 
about four miles from the eastern end, 
being 1740 feet above the sea. That 
which has made the name of Carmel 
most familiar to the modern world is 
its intimate connection with the history 
of the two great prophets of Israel, 
Elijah and Elisha. 2 Kings 2:25; 4: 
25 ; 1 Kings 18 : 20-42. It is now com- 
monly called Mar Elyas; Kurmel being 
occasionally, but only seldom, heard. 

2. A town in the mountainous coun- 
try of Judah, Josh. 15:55, familiar to 
us as the residence of Nabal. 1 Sam. 
25:2, 5, 7, 40. 

Car'mi (kar'ml) {vine dresser). 1. 
The fourth son of Reuben, the progeni- 
tor of the family of the Carmites. Gen. 
46:9; Ex. 6:14; Num. 26:6; 1 Chron. 
5:3. 

2. A man of the tribe of Judah, father 
of Achan, the “troubler of Israel.” 
Josh. 7:1, 18; 1 Chron. 2:7. 

Carpenter. [Handicraft.] 

Car'pus (kar'pus), a Christian at 
Troas. . 2 Tim. 4 : 13. 

Carriage. This word signifies what 
we now call “baggage.” In the margin 
of 1 Sam. 17 : 20 and 26 : 5-7, “ carriage ” 
is employed in the sense of a wagon or 
cart. 

Carshe'na (kar-she'na), one of the 
seven princes of Persia and Media. 
Esther 1 : 14. 



Cart, Gen. 45:19, 27; Num. 7:3, 7, 
8, a vehicle drawn by cattle, 2 Sam. 6:6; 
to be distinguished from the chariot 


CAR 


111 


CEI 


drawn by horses. Carts and wagons 
were either open or covered, Num. 7 : 3, 
and were used for conveyance of per- 
sons, Gen. 45 : 19, burdens, 1 Sam. 6 : 7, 
8, or produce. Amos 2 : 13. The only 
cart used in western Asia has two 
wheels of solid wood. 

Carving. The arts of carving and en- 
graving were much in request, in the 
construction of both the tabernacle and 
the temple, Ex. 31:5; 35 : 33 ; 1 Kings 
6 : 18, 35 ; Ps. 74 : 6, as well as in the or- 
namentation of the priestly dresses. Ex. 
28:9-36; 2 Chron. 2:7, 14; Zech. 3:9. 

Casiph'ia (ka-sif'i-a), a place of un- 
certain site on the road between Baby- 
lon and Jerusalem. Ezra 8:17. 

Cas'luhim (kas'lu-him), a Mizraite 
people or tribe. Gen. 10:14; 1 Chron. 
1 : 12 . 

Cassia. Ex. 30 : 24 ; Ezek. 27 : 19. 
The cassia bark of commerce is yielded 
by various kinds of Cinnamomum , 
which grow in different parts of India. 
The Hebrew word in Ps. 45 : 8 is gen- 
erally supposed to be another term for 
cassia. 

Castle. [Fenced cities.] 

Cas'tor and Pol'Iux, Acts 2S : 11, the 
twin sons of Jupiter and Leda, were 
regarded as the tutelary divinities of 
sailors; hence their image was often 
used as a figure-head for ships. They 
appeared in heaven as the constellation 
Gemini. In art they were sometimes 
represented simply as stars hovering 
over a ship. 

Caterpillar. The representative in 
the Authorized Version of the Hebrew 
word chasil and yelek. (1) Chdsil oc- 
curs in 1 Kings 8:37; 2 Chron. 6:28; 
Ps. 78:46; Isa. 33:4; Joel 1:4, and 
seems to be applied to a locust, perhaps 
in its larva- state. (2) Yelek. [Lo- 
cust.] 

Cattle* [Bull.] 

Cau'da. Acts 27 : 16. The form 
given in the Revised Version to Clauda, 
an island south of Crete. It bears a 
closer relation to the modern name 
Gaudonesi of the Greek, the Gaudus of 
P. Mela. [Clauda.] 

Caul, a sort of ornamental head-dress, 
Isa. 3 : 18, with a net for its base. The 
name is derived from the caul, the 
fatty envelope around the liver, always 
burnt in the sacrifices. It is in popular 
use often applied to the membrane that 
surrounds the heart, the pericardium. 

Cave. The most remarkable caves 


noticed in Scripture are, that in which 
Lot dwelt after the destruction of 
Sodom, Gen. 19:30; the cave of Mach- 
pelah, Gen. 23 : 17 ; cave of Makkedah, 
Josh. 10:10; cave of Adullam, 1 Sam. 
22 : 1 ; cave of Engedi, 1 Sam. 24:3; 
Obadiah’s cave, 1 Kings 18:4; Elijah’s 
cave in Horeb, 1 Kings 19:9; the rock 
sepulchres of Lazarus and of our Lord. 
Matt. 27:60; John 11:38. Caves were 
used for temporary dwelling-places and 
for tombs. 

Cedar. The Hebrew word erez, in- 
variably rendered “ cedar ” by the Au- 
thorized Version, stands for that tree in 
most of the passages where the word 
occurs. While the word is sometimes 
used in a wider sense, Lev. 14 : 6, for 
evergreen cone-bearing trees, generally 
the cedar of Lebanon ( Cedrus libani ) is 
intended. 1 Kings 7:2; 10 : 27 ; Ps. 92 : 
12; S. of Sol. 5:15; Isa. 2:13; Ezek. 
31 : 3-6. The wood is of a reddish 
color, of bitter taste and aromatic odor, 
offensive to insects, and very durable. 
The cedar is a type of the Christian, be- 
ing evergreen, beautiful, aromatic, wide 
spreading, slow growing, long lived, and 
having many uses. As far as is at 
present known, the cedar of Lebanon 
is confined in Syria to one valley of the 
Lebanon range, viz., that of the Kedisha 
river, which flows from near the highest 
point of the range westward to the 
Mediterranean, and enters the sea at 
the port of Tripoli. The grove is at 
the very upper part of the valley, about 
15 miles from the sea, 6500 feet above 
that level, and its position is moreover 
above that of all other arboreous vege- 
tation. Dr. Leo Auderlind speaks of 
three groups which he visited in 1884. 
The famous B’Sherreh grove is three- 
quarters of a mile in circumference, 
and contains about 400 trees, young and 
old. Perhaps a dozen of these are very 
old. The greatest height of any of the 
trees, he says, is about 82 feet; the ma- 
jority are between 46 and 72 feet. Some 
exceed 50 feet in girth. 

Ce'dron (ce'dron). John 18:1. [See 
Kidron.] 

Ceiling. The descriptions of Scrip- 
ture, 1 Kings 6 : 9, 15 ; 7 : 3 ; 2 Chron. 3 : 
5, 9 ; Jer. 22:14; Hag. 1 : 4, and of Jo- 
sephus, show that the ceilings of the 
temple and the palaces of the Jewish 
kings were formed of cedar planks ap- 
plied to the beams or joists crossing 
from wall to wall. “ Oriental houses 


\ 


CEL 


112 


CHA 


seem to have been the reverse of ours, 
the ceiling being of wood, richly orna- 
mented, and the floor of plaster or 
tiles.” 

Celosyria. [Cgelesyria.] 

Cen'chrea or Cenchre'a (cen-kre'a) 
(accurately Cenchre'ae) (millet), the 
eastern harbor of Corinth (i. e. its har- 
bor on the Saronic Gulf) and the em- 
porium of its trade with the Asiatic 
shores of the Mediterranean, as Le- 
chseum on the Corinthian Gulf con- 
nected it with Italy and the west. St. 
Paul sailed from Cenchreae, Acts 18 : 18, 
on his return to Syria from his second 
missionary journey. An organized 
church seems to have been formed here. 
Rom. 16 : 1. 

Censer, a small portable vessel of 
metal fitted to receive burning coals 
from the altar, and on which the in- 
cense for burning was sprinkled. 2 
Chron. 26 : 19 ; Luke 1 : 9. The only dis- 
tinct precepts regarding the use of the 
censer are found in Lev. 16 : 12 and in 
Num. 4 : 14. Solomon prepared “ cen- 
sers of pure gold ” as part of the temple 
furniture. 1 Kings 7 : 50 ; 2 Chron. 4 : 
22. The word rendered “ censer ” in 
Heb. 9 : 4 probably means the “ altar of 
incense.” 






EGYPTIAN CENSERS. 


Census. [Taxing.] 

Centurion. [Army.] 

Ce'phas (ce'fas). [Peter.] 

Chaff, the husk of corn or wheat 
which was separated from the grain by 


being thrown into the air, the wind 
blowing away the chaff, while the grain 
was saved. The carrying away of chaff 
by the wind is an ordinary scriptural 
image of the destruction of the wicked 
and of their powerlessness to resist 
God’s judgments. Ps. 1:4; Isa. 17:13; 
Hos. 13 : 3 ; Zeph. 2 : 2. 

Chain. Chains were used, 1. As 
badges of office ; 2. For ornament ; 3. 
For confining prisoners. (1) The gold 
chain placed about Joseph’s neck, Gen 
41 : 42, and that promised to Daniel, 
Dan. 5 : 7, are instances of the first use. 
In Ezek. 16 : 11 the chain is mentioned 
as the symbol of sovereignty. (2) 
Chains for ornamental purposes were 
worn by men as well as women. Prov. 
1:9; Judith 10 : 4. The Midianites 
adorned the necks of their camels with 
chains. Judges 8 : 21, 26. Step-chains 
were attached to the ankle-rings. Isa. 
3:16, 18. (3) The means adopted for 

confining prisoners among the Jews 
were fetters similar to our handcuffs. 
Judges 16:21; 2 Sam. 3:34; 2 Kings 
25:7; Jer. 39 : 7. Among the Romans 
the prisoner was handcuffed to his 
guard, and occasionally to two guards. 
Acts 12:6, 7; 21 : 33. 

Chalcedony, only in Rev. 21 : 19. 
The name is applied in modern miner- 
alogy to one of the varieties of agate. 
It is generally translucent and exhibits 
a great, variety of colors. So named be- 
cause it was found near the ancient 
Chalcedon, near Constantinople. 

Ghal'col (kal'kol). 1 Kings 4:31. 
[Calcol.] 

Chaldea (kal-de'a), more correctly 
Chaldae'a, the ancient name of a coun- 
try of Asia bordering on the Persian 
Gulf. Chaldea proper was the southern 
part of Babylonia, and is used in Scrip- 
ture to signify that vast alluvial plain 
which has been formed by the deposits 
of the Euphrates and the Tigris. This 
extraordinary flat, unbroken except by 
the works of man, extends a distance of 
400 miles along the course of the rivers, 
and is on an average about 100 miles in 
width. In addition to natural advan- 
tages these plains were nourished by a 
complicated system of canals, and vege- 
tation flourished bountifully. It is said 
to be the only country in the world 
where wheat grows wild. Herodotus 
declared (i. 193) that grain commonly 
returned two hundred fold to the sower, 
and occasionally three hundred fold. 


CHA 


113 


CHA 


Cities. — Babylonia has long been cel- 
ebrated for the number and antiquity 
of its cities. The most important of 
those which have been identified are 
Borsippa (Birs-N imrud) , Sippara or 
Sepharvaim (Mosaib), Cutha (Ibrahim) , 
Calneh (Nippur?) , Erech (Warka), Ur 
(Mugheir), Chilmad (Kalzmdha), Lar- 
ancha (Scnkereh), Is (Hit), Duraba 
(Akkerkuf) ; but besides these there 
were a multitude of others, the sites of 
which have not been determined. 

Present condition. — This land, once 
so rich in corn and wine, is to-day but 
a mass of mounds, “ an arid waste ; the 
dense population of former times is van- 
ished, and no man dwells there.” 

Chalde ans, or Chaldees'. The He- 
brew prophets applied the term “ land 
of the Chaldeans ” to all Babylonia and 
“Chaldeans” to all the subjects of the 
Babylonian empire. The Ancient Chal- 
deans (Kaldai or Kaldi) were in the 
earliest times merely one out of the 
many Cushite tribes inhabiting the 
great alluvial plain known afterwards 
as Chaldea or Babylonia. Their special 
seat was probably that southern portion 
of the country which is found to have 
so late retained the name of Chaldea. 
In process of time, as the Kaldi grew 
in power, their name gradually pre- 
vailed over those of the other tribes 
inhabiting the country ; and by the era 
of the Jewish captivity it had begun 
to be used generally for all the inhab- 
itants of Babylonia. The language of 
the Chaldeans was almost identical with 
the Assyrian. The term “ Chaldee,” to 
denote the language in which certain 
chapters of Daniel and Ezra were writ- 
ten, is incorrect. It was the Aramaic. 

We find the term Chaldeans, used as 
the name for a caste of wise men, 
learned in literature and science, a mem- 
ber of which Daniel became. . Daniel 
1 : 4. They were priests, magicians or 
astronomers, and in the last of the. three 
capacities they probably effected discov- 
eries of great importance. In later 
times they seem to have degenerated 
into mere fortune-tellers. 

Chaldees', or Chal'dees. [Chal- 
deans.] 

Chalk stones. [Lime.] 

Chamber. Gen. 43 : 30 ; 2 Sam. 18 : 
33 ; Ps. 19 : 5 ; Dan. 6 : 10. The word 
chamber in these passages has much the 
same significance as with us, meaning 
the private rooms of the house — the 
8 


guest chamber, as with us, meaning a 
room set apart for the accommodation 
of the visiting friend. Mark 14: 14, 15; 
Luke 22 : 12. The upper chamber was 
used more particularly for the lodg- 
ment of strangers. Acts 9 : 37. 

Chamberlain, an officer attached to 
the court of a king, who formerly had 
charge of the private apartments or 
chambers of the palace. He kept the 
accounts of the public revenues. Blas- 
tus, in Acts 12 : 20, was a court officer 
in charge of Herod’s bed-chamber. It 
was in all times a post of honor which 
involved great . intimacy and influence 
with the king. For chamberlain as used 
in the Old Testament, see Eunuch. 

Chameleon, a species of lizard. The 
reference in Lev. 11 : 30 is to some kind 
of an unclean animal, supposed to be 
the lizard, known by the name of the 
“monitor of the Nile,” a large, strong 
reptile common in Egypt and other 
parts of Africa. 

Chamois (pronounced often sham'e), 
the translation of the Hebrew zemer in 
Deut. 14 : 5. But the translation is in- 
correct; for there is no evidence that 
the chamois has ever been seen in 
Palestine or the Lebanon. It is prob- 
able that some mountain sheep is in- 
tended. 

Cha'naan. [Canaan.] 

Chapiter, the capital of a pillar ; 
i. e. the upper part, as the term is used 
in modern architecture. 1 Kings 7 : 17. 

Chapman (i.e. trade man), merchant. 
2 Chron. 9 : 14. Used also in R. V. of 
1 Kings 10 : 15, where the A. V. gives 
“merchantmen.” It comes from an 
Anglo-Saxon word meaning trade. 

Char'ashim (kar'a-shim), The valley 
of ( ravine of craftsmen) , a place near 
Lydda, a few miles east of Joppa. 1 
Chron. 4 : 14. 

Char'cliemish. 2 Chron. 35 : 20. 

[Carchemish.] 

Charger, a shallow vessel for receiv- 
ing water or blood, also for presenting 
offerings of fine flour with oil. Num. 
7 : 79. The daughter of Herodias 
brought the head of St. John the Bap- 
tist in a charger, Matt. 14 : 8 ; probably 
a trencher or platter. [Basin.] 

Chariot, a vehicle used either for 
warlike or peaceful purposes, but most 
commonly the former. The Jewish 
chariots were patterned after the Egyp- 
tian, and consisted of a single pair of 
wheels on an axle, upon which was a 


CHA 


114 


CHE 


car with high front and sides, but open 
at the back. The earliest mention of 
chariots in Scripture is in Egypt, where 
Joseph, as a mark of distinction, was 
placed in Pharaoh’s second chariot. 
Gen. 41 : 43. Later on we find mention 
of Egyptian chariots for a warlike pur- 
pose. Ex. 14 : 7. In this point of view 


chariots were regarded as among the 
most important arms of war. 1 Kings 
22 : 34 ; 2 Kings 9 : 16, 21 ; 13 : 7, 14 ; 18 : 
24 ; 23 : 30 ; Isa. 31 : 1. Most commonly 
two persons, and sometimes three, rode 
in the chariot, of whom the third was 
employed to carry the state umbrella. 1 
Kings 22 : 34 ; 2 Kings 9 : 20, 24 ; Acts 8 : 



BAS-RELIEF OF A ROMAN CHARIOTEER. 


chariots among some nations of antiq- 
uity, as elephants among others, may 
be regarded as filling the place of heavy 
artillery in modern times, so that the 
military power of a nation might be es- 
timated by the number of its chariots. 
Thus Pharaoh in pursuing Israel took 
with him 600 chariots. The Philistines 
in Saul’s time had 30,000. 1 Sam. 13 : 

5. David took from Hadadezer, king 
of Zobah, 1000 chariots, 2 Sam. 8 : 4, 
and from the Syrians a little later 700, 
2 Sam. 10 : 18, who, in order to recover 
their ground, collected 32,000 chariots. 
1 Chron. 19 : 7. Up to this time the 
Israelites possessed few or no chariots. 
They were first introduced by David, 2 
Sam. 8:4; and Solomon maintained a 
force of . 1400 chariots, i Kings 10 : 26, 
by taxation on certain cities agreeably 
to eastern custom in such matters. 1 
Kings 9 : 19 ; 10 : 25. From this time 


38. The prophets allude frequently to 
chariots as typical of power. Ps. 20 : 7 ; 
104:3; Jer. 51:21; Zech. 6:1. 

Char' ran. Acts 7:2, 4. [Haran.] 
Chase. [Hunting.] 

Che'bar (ke'bar), a river in the “land 
of the Chaldeans.” Ezek. 1 : 3 ; 3 : 15, 23, 
etc. It was commonly regarded as iden- 
tical with the Habor, 2 Kings 17 : 6 ; but 
Hilprecht has finally proved it to be “ a 
large, navigable canal a little to the east 
of Nippur ‘ in the land of the Chal- 
deans.’ ” 

Chedorlao'mer or Chedorla'omer 

(ked-or-la'o-mer) ( servant of Laga- 
mar, one of the principal Elamite 
gods), a king of Elam, beyond Baby- 
lonia, in the time of Abraham. He 
with Amraphel (Hammurabi) and other 
chiefs, in war with Sodom, took Lot 
captive. Abraham by a night attack 
rescued Lot. Gen. 14. 


CHE 


115 


CHE 


Cheese is mentioned only three times 
in the Bible, and on each occasion under 
a different name in the Hebrew. 1 Sam. 
17 : 18 ; 2 Sam. 17 : 29 ; Job 10 : 10. It is 
difficult to decide how far these terms 
correspond with our notion of cheese, 
for they simply express various degrees 
of coagulation. Cheese is not at the 
present day common among the Bedouin 
Arabs, butter being decidedly preferred; 
but there is a substance closely corre- 
sponding to those mentioned in 1 Sam. 
17, 2 Sam. 17, consisting of coagulated 
buttermilk, which is dried until it be-» 
comes quite hard, and is then ground ; 
the Arabs eat it mixed with butter. 

Che'lal (ke'lal) {perfection), Ezra 10: 
30, one who had a strange wife. 

Chel'Iuh (kel'luh), Ezra 10 : 35, an- 
other like the above. 

Che'lub (ke'lub). 1. A man among 
the descendants of Judah. 1 Chr. 4: 11. 

2. Ezri the son of Chelub, one of Da- 
vid’s officers. 1 Chron. 27 : 26. 

Chelu'bai (ke-lu'bai) {capable), the 
son of Hezron. Same as Caleb 1. 
1 Chron. 2 : 9, 18, 42. 


the worship of false gods. 2 Kings 23 : 

5 ; Hos. 10 : 5, in margin ; Zeph. 1 : 4. 

Che'mosh (ke'mosh) {Subduer), the 
national deity of the Moabites. Num. 
21 : 29 ; Jer. 48 : 7, 13, 46. In Judges 11 : 
24 he also appears as the god of the 
Ammonites. Solomon introduced, and 
Jotfiah abolished, the worship of Che- 
mosh at Jerusalem. 1 Kings 11:7; 2 
Kings 23 : 13. Also identified with 
Baal-peor, Baal-zebub, Mars and Saturn. 

Chena'anah (ke-na'a-nah) (feminine 
of Canaan). 1. Son of Bilhan, son of 
Jediael, son of Benjamin, head of a 
Benjamite house, 1 Chron. 7:10, prob- 
ably of the family of the Belaites. 
[Bela.] 

2. Father or ancestor of Zedekiah the 
false prophet. 1 Kings 22 : 11, 24 ; 2 
Chron. 18 : 10, 23. 

Chen'ani (a contraction of Chenani- 
ah), one of the Levites who assisted at 
the solemn purification of the people 
under Ezra. Neh. 9 : 4. 

Chenani'ah (ken-a-ni'ah) {Jehovah 
is firm), chief of the Levites when 
David carried the ark to Jerusalem. 1 
Chron. 15; 22; 26:29. 

Che'phar=H a a m m o n a i 
(ke'far-ha-am'mo-nai {ham- 
let of the Ammonites), a 
place mentioned among the 
towns of Benjamin. Josh. 
18 : 24. 

Chephi'rah (ke-fi'rah) 
{the hamlet), one of the 
four cities of the Gibeonites, 
Josh. 9:17, named after- 
wards among the towns of 
Benjamin. Ezra 2:25; Neh. 
7:29. 

Che'ran (ke'ran), one of 
the sons o f Dishon the 
Horite “duke.” Gen. 36:26; 
1 Chron. 1 : 41. 

Cher'ethim (ker'e-thim) 
{axe men), Ezek. 25:16, 
same as Cherethites. 

Cher'ethites (ker'ith-ites) 
(Carians or Cretans), and 
Pel'ethites, the foreign life- 
guards o f King David. 2 
Sam. 8: 18; 15: 18; 20: 7, 23; 
1 Kings 1:38, 44 ; 1 Chron. 
18 : 17. It is plain that these 
royal guards were employed 
as executioners, 2 Kings 11 : 
4, and as couriers, 1 Kings 14 : 27. 
These with the Gittites, 2 Sam. 15 : 18, 
were doubtless foreign mercenaries, 



THE TRADITIONAL BROOK CHERITH. 

Chem'arim (kem'a-rim), The {those 
•who go about in black, i. e. ascetics). 
In the Hebrew applied to the priests of 


CHE 


116 


CHI 


and therefore probably Philistines, of 
which name Pelethites may be only an- 
other form. 

Che'rith (ke'rith), The brook ( cut- 
ting , ravine), the torrent-bed or wady 
in which Elijah hid himself during the 
early part of the three-years’ drought. 
1 Kings 17 : 3, 5. The position of the 
Cherith has been much disputed. The 
argument from probability is in favor 
of the Cherith being on the east of 
Jordan, and the name may possibly be 
discovered there. 

Che'rub (ke'rub), apparently a place 
in Babylonia from which some persons 
of doubtful extraction returned to 
Judea with Zerubbabel. Ezra 2:59; 
Neh. 7 : 61. 

Cher'ub, Cher'ubim. The symbol- 
ical figure so called was a. composite 
creature-form which finds a parallel in 
the religious insignia of Assyria, Egypt 
and Persia, e. g. the sphinx, the winged 
bulls and lions of Nineveh, etc. A cher- 
ub guarded paradise. Gen. 3 : 24. Fig- 
ures of cherubim were placed on the 
mercy-seat of the ark. Ex. 25 : 18. A 
pair of colossal size overshadowed it in 
Solomon’s temple with the canopy of 
their contiguously extended wings. 1 
Kings 6 : 27. Those on the ark were to 
be placed with wings stretched forth, 
one at each end of the mercy-seat, and 
to be made “of the mercy-seat.” Their 
wings were to be stretched upwards, and 
their faces “towards each other and to- 
wards the mercy-seat.” It is remark- 
able that with such precise directions as 
to their position, attitude and material, 
nothing, save that they were winged, is 
said concerning their shape. On the 
whole it seems likely that the word 
“ cherub ” meant not only the composite 
creature- form, of which the man, lion, 
ox and eagle were the elements, but, 
further, some peculiar and mystical 
form. Eze. 1 : 6. Some suppose that 
they represented God’s providence 
among men, the four faces expressing 
the characters of that providence: its 
wisdom and intelligence (man), its 
strength (ox), its kingly authority 
(lion), its swiftness, farsighted (eagle). 
Others, combining all the other refer- 
ences with the description of the living 
creatures in Revelation, making the 
cherubim to represent God’s redeemed 
people. The qualities of the four faces 
are those which belong to God’s peo- 
ple. Their facing four ways, towards 


all quarters of the globe, represents 
their duty of extending the truth. The 
wings show swiftness of obedience; and 
only the redeemed can sing the song 
put in their mouths in Rev. 5 : 8-14. 

Ches'alon (kes'a-lon) {hopes), a 
place named as one of the landmarks 
on the west part of the north boundary 
of Judah, Josh. 15 : 10, probably Kesla, 
about ten miles west of Jerusalem. - 

Che'sed (ke'sed) (perhaps the word 
from which the name Chaldeans is de- 
rived) , fourth son of Nahor. Gen. 22 : 22. 

Che'sil (ke'sil) {a fool), a town in 
the extreme south of Palestine, Josh. 
15 : 30, 15 miles southwest of Beersheba. 
In Josh. 19 : 4 the name is Bethul. 

Chest. By this word are translated 
in the Authorized Version two distinct 
Hebrew terms: (1) Aron; this is inva- 
riably used for the ark of the covenant, 
and, with two exceptions, for that only. 
The two exceptions alluded to are (a) 
the “ coffin ” in which the bones of 
Joseph were carried from Egypt, Gen. 
50 : 26, and ( b ) the “ chest ” in which 
Jehoiada the priest collected the alms 
for the repairs of the temple. 2 Kings 
12:9, 10; 2 Chron. 24:8-11. (2) 
Genazim, “ chests.” Ezek. 27 : 24 only. 
According to Hastings’ Bible Dictionary 
this probably means garments, and the 
passage should be translated “ cloths of 
cords twined and durable.” 

Chestnut tree (Heb. * armon . Gen. 
30:37; Ezek. 31:8). Probably the 
“plane tree” {Platanus orientalis) is 
intended. This tree thrives best in low 
and rather moist situations in the north 
of Palestine, and resembles our syca- 
more or buttonwood {Platanus occiden- 
tal is). 

Chesul'loth (ke-sul'loth) {the loins), 
one of the towns of Issachar. Josh. 19 : 
18. From its position in the lists it ap- 
pears to be between Jezreel and Shunem 
{Salam). Now the ruin of Iksal at the 
foot of the Nazareth hills. 

Che'zib (ke'zib) {lying), a name 
which occurs but once, Gen. 38:5; prob- 
ably the -same as Achzib. 

Chidon (ki'don) {a javelin), the 
name which in 1 Chron. 13 : 9 is given 
to the threshing-floor at which the ac- 
cident to the ark took place. In the 
parallel account in 2 Sam. 6 the name is 
given as Nachon. 

Children. The blessing of offspring, 
but especially of the male sex, is highly 
valued among all eastern nations, while 


CHI 


117 


CHO 




the absence is regarded as one of the 
severest punishments. Gen. 1G : 2 ; Deut. 
7:14; 1 Sam. 1:6; 2 Sam. 6:23; 2 
Kings 4:14; Isa. 47:9; Jer. 20:15; Ps. 
127 : 3, 5. As soon as the child was 
born it was washed in a bath, rubbed 
with salt and wrapped in swaddling 
clothes. Ezek. 16:4; Job 38:9; Luke 
2 : 7. On the 8th day the rite of circum- 
cision, in the case of a boy, was per- 
formed and a name given. At the end 
of a certain time (forty days if a son 
and twice as long if a daughter) the 
mother offered sacrifice for her cleans- 
ing. Lev. 12 : 1-8 ; Luke 2 : 22. The pe- 
riod of nursing appears to have been 
sometimes prolonged to three years. 
Isa. 49 : 15 ; 2 Macc. 7 : 27. The time 
of weaning was an occasion of rejoic- 
ing. Gen. 21 : 8. Both boys and girls 
in their early years were under the care 
of the women. Prov. 31:1. After- 
wards the boys were taken by the father 
under his charge. Daughters usually 
remained in the women’s apartments 
till marriage. Lev. 21:9; Num. 12:14; 
1 Sam. 9 : 11. The authority of parents, 
especially of the father, over children 
was very great, as was also the rever- 
ence enjoined by the law to be paid to 
parents. The inheritance was divided 
equally between all the sons except the 
eldest, who received a double portion. 
Gen. 25:31; 49 : 3 ; Deut. 21 : 17 ; Judges 
11:2, 7 ; 1 Chron. 5 : 1, 2. Daughters 
had by right no portion in the inherit- 
ance; but if a man had no son, his in- 
heritance passed to his daughters, who 
were forbidden to marry out of the 
father’s tribe. Num. 27:1, 8 ; 36 : 2, 8. 

Chil'eab (kil'e-ab), a son of David 
by Abigail. 2 Sam. 2:3. [Abigail.] 

Chirion (kil'i-on) ( wasting away), 
the son of Naomi and husband of Or- 
pah. Ruth 1:2-5; 4:9. 

Chil'mad (kil'mad), a place or coun- 
try mentioned in conjunction with 
Sheba and Asshur. Ezek. 27 : 23. 

Chim'ham (kim'ham) {longing), a 
follower, and probably a son, of Bar- 
zillai the Gileadite, who returned from 
beyond Jordan with David. 2 Sam. 19 : 
37, 38, 40. (b.c. 1023.) . David appears 

to have bestowed on him a possession 
at Bethlehem, on which, in later times, 
an inn or khan was standing. Jer. 41: 
17. 

Chin'nereth (km'ne-reth) {lute, 
harp), sometimes Chinneroth, a forti- 
fied city in the tribe of Naphtali, Josh. 


19:35 only, of which no trace is found 
in later writers, and no remains by 
travelers. 

Chin'nereth, Sea of. Num. 34 : 11 ; 
Josh. 13:27, the inland sea, which is 
most familiarly known to us as the 
“Lake of Gennesareth” or “Sea of 
Galilee.” 

Chin'neroth. [Chinnereth.] 

Chi'os (ki'os), an island of the 
.TLgean Sea, 12 miles from Smyrna. It 
is separated from the mainland by a 
strait of only 5 miles. Its length is 
about 32 miles, and in breadth it varies 
from 8 to 18. Paul passed it on his re- 
turn voyage from Troas to Gesarea. 
Acts 20 : 15. It is now called' Scio. 

Chislea (kis'leu). [Month.] 

Chis'lon (kis'lon) {strength), father 
of Elidad, the prince of the tribe of 
Benjamin, chosen to assist in the di- 
vision of the land of Canaan among 
the tribes. Num. 34 : 21. 

Chi.s'loth=ta'bor (kis'loth-ta'bor) 
{loins of Tabor), a place to the border 
of which reached the border of Zebu- 
lun. Josh. 19-: 12. It is now the village 
Jksdl, which is now standing about 2 l / 2 
miles to the west of Mount Tabor. 

Chit'tim, Kit'tim (kit'tim), a fam- 
ily or race descended from Javan. Gen. 
10 : 4 ; 1 Chron. 1 : 7. Authorized Ver- 
sion Kittim. Chittim is frequently no- 
ticed in Scripture. Num. 24 : 24 ; Isa. 
23:1, 12; Jer. 2:10; Ezek. 27:6; Dan. 
11 : 30. In the above passages, the 
“ isles of Chittim,” the “ ships of Chit- 
tim,” the “coasts of Chittim,” are sup- 
posed to refer to the island of Cyprus. 
Josephus considered Cyprus the original 
seat of the Chittim. The name Chittim 
is variously regarded as applying to 
Phoenicians, to the Greeks in the island 
of Cyprus, or to the western power 
which for the time being held the front 
place. It may be derived from Kition. 

Chi'un (ki'un) {apparently) , an idol 
made by the Israelites in the wilderness. 
Am. 5 : 26. It is generally supposed to 
represent the planet Saturn. [Rem- 
phan.] 

Chlo'e (klo'e) {green herb), a 
woman mentioned in 1 Cor. 1 : 11. 

Chora'shan (kor-a'shan). 1 Sam. 
30 : 30. It may, perhaps, be identified 
with Ashan of Simeon. 

Chora'zin (ko-ra'zin), one of the 
cities in which our Lord’s mighty works 
were done, but named only in his de- 
nunciation. Matt. 11:21; Luke 10:13. 


CHO 


118 


CHR 


St. Jerome describes it as on the shore 
of the lake, two miles from Capernaum, 
but its modern site is uncertain. 

Choze'ba (ko-ze'ba). 1 Chron. 4: 
22 . Perhaps the same as Achzib. 

Christ. [Jesus] 

Chris'tian. The disciples, we are 
told, Acts 11 : 26, were first called Chris- 
tians at Antioch on the Orontes, some- 
where about a.d. 43. They were known 
to each other as, and were among them- 
selves called, brethren , Acts 15 : 1, 23 ; 1 
Cor. 7 : 12 ; disciples, Acts 9:26; 11 : 29 ; 
believers, Acts 5:14; saints, Rom. 8 : 27 ; 
15 : 25. The name “ Christian,” which, 
in the only other cases where it appears 
in the Ne\y Testament, Acts 26:28, 1 
Pet. 4 : 16, is used contemptuously, could 
not have been applied by the early dis- 
ciples to themselves, but was imposed 
upon them by the Gentile world. There 
is no reason to suppose that the name 
“Christian” of itself was intended as a 
term of scurrility or abuse, though it 
would naturally be used with contempt. 

Chron'icles, First and Second 
Books of. These books cover nearly 
the same period as Kings, from David 
to the exile, but written from a different 
point of view, the author selecting those 
facts which could best produce spiritual 
and moral education. The constant 
tradition of the Jews is that they were 
for the most part compiled by Ezra. 
But most modern scholars place them 
later. The first nine chapters are ge- 
nealogical ; for one of the greatest diffi- 
culties connected with the captivity and 
return must have been the maintenance 
of that genealogical distribution of the 
lands which yet was a vital point of the 
Jewish economy. To supply this want 
and that each tribe might secure the in- 
heritance of its fathers on its return 
was one object of the author of these 
books. Another difficulty intimately 
connected with the former was the 
maintenance of the temple services at 
Jerusalem. Zerubbabel, and after him 
Ezra and Nehemiah, labored most ear- 
nestly to restore the worship of God 
among the people, and to reinfuse some- 
thing of national life and spirit into 
their hearts. Nothing could more ef- 
fectually aid these designs than setting 
before the people a compendious history 
of the kingdom of David, its prosperity 
under God ; the sins that led to its over- 
throw; the captivity and return. These 
considerations explain the plan and 


scope of that historical work which 
consists of the two books of Chronicles. 
The first book contains the sacred his- 
tory by genealogies from the Creation 
to David, including an account of 
David’s reign. In the second book he 
continues the story, giving, the history 
of the kings of Judah, without those 
of Israel, down to the return from the 
captivity. As regards the materials 
used by Ezra, they are not difficult to 
discover. The genealogies are obviously 
transcribed from some register, in 
which were preserved the genealogies 
of the tribes and families drawn up at 
different times ; while the history is 
mainly drawn from the same documents 
as those used in the books of Kings. 
[Kings, Books of.] 

CSironoIogy. The details of the 
Chronology of the Bible, according to 
the latest authorities, are given in Ap- 
pendix. But some general remarks 
may help us to understand better the 
different eras of the history. 

There is more or less uncertainty 
about all dates earlier than David and 
Solomon. 

Ussher’s dates in the margins of most 
of our Bible, are not authoritative, but 
are convenient for keeping the order 
and succession of events. 

He finds the date of Adam, the first 
man by a computation from the list of 
ages of the patriarchs given in Gen. 5, 
and they would be correct, if he has 
interpreted the record rightly. 

But it may be, as even conservative 
scholars, think, that many links have 
been omitted, and only the more marked 
ones enumerated, as for instance a de- 
scendant of even the third or fourth 
generation is called a son. In Matt. 
1:8, R. V., Joram is said to have be- 
gotten Uzziah his great-great-grand- 
son. So it may be that when it is said 
that Seth at the age of 105 begat Enos, 
Enos was his descendant, the famous 
man worth noting in his line. 

Or, again, Adam, Seth, Enos and the 
others represent families, and that 
Adam’s family directed affairs for 930 
years, when Seth and his family held 
the headship for 912 years. 

By either of these interpretations the 
first man may have lived many cen- 
turies or thousands of years before 
Ussher’s date for Adam. 

The chronology of the United King- 
dom has been tested and modified by 


CHR 


119 


CIN 


the Assyrian Eponym canon found on 
slabs discovered in the ruins of Nineveh. 

The peculiarity . of the date of the 
birth of Christ being four years earlier 
than his actual birth, Dec. b.c. 5, is 
puzzling to some. The reason is that 
the dating of events from his birth be- 
gan centuries later; and the monk 
Dionys'ius Exig'uus, who first published 
the calculations in a.d. 526, made a mis- 
take of about four years. 

Chrysolite, one of the precious stones 
in the foundation of the heavenly Jeru- 
salem. Rev. 21 : 20. This may have 
been, not improbably, a particular shade 
of Beryl , or perhaps identical with the 
modern Oriental topaz, the tarshish of 
the Hebrew Bible. 

Chrysoprase occurs only in Rev. 21 : 
20. The true chrysoprase is sometimes 
found in antique Egyptian jewelry set 
alternately with bits of lapis-lazuli. It 
may be that the green chalcedony is 
the stone named as the tenth in the 
walls of the heavenly Jerusalem. 

Chrysoprasus, Latin form of Chry- 
soprase. 

Chub (kub), the name of a people 
in alliance with Egypt in the time of 
Nebuchadnezzar, Ezek. 30:5, and prob- 
ably of northern Africa. 

Chun (kun), 1 Chron. 18:8, called 
Berothai in 2 Sam. 8:8. 

Church, (l) The derivation of the 
word is generally said to be from the 
Greek kuriakon (tcvpiaicSv), “belonging 
to the Lord.” But the derivation has 
been too hastily assumed. It is prob- 
ably connected with kirk, the Latin 
circus, circulus, the Greek kuklos 
(kvkXos) , because the congregations 
were gathered in circles. (2) Ecclesia 
(iKKXrjaia) } the Greek word for church, 
originally meant an assembly called out 
by the magistrate, or by legitimate au- 
thority. It was in this last sense that 
the word was adopted and applied by 
the writers of the New Testament to 
the Christian congregation. In the one 
Gospel of St. Matthew the church is 
spoken of no less than thirty-six times 
as “the kingdom.” Other descriptions 
or titles are hardly found in the evan- 
gelists. It is Christ’s household. Matt. 
10:25; the salt and light of the world. 
Matt. 5 : 13, 14 ; Christ’s flock, Matt. 26 : 
31; John 10:1; its members are the 
branches growing on Christ the Vine, 
John 15 ; but the general description of 
it, not metaphorical but direct, is that 


it is a kingdom. Matt. 16:19. From 
the Gospel then we learn that Christ 
was about to establish his heavenly 
kingdom on earth, which was to be the 
substitute for the Jewish Church and 
kingdom, now doomed to destruction. 
Matt. 21:43. 

The day of Pentecost is the birthday 
of the Christian Church. Before they 
had been individual followers of Jesus; 
now they became his mystical body, ani- 
mated by his spirit. On the evening of 
the day of Pentecost, the 3140 members 
of which the Church consisted were — 
(l) Apostles; (2) previous Disciples; 
(3) Converts. In Acts 2:41 we have 
indirectly exhibited the essential condi- 
tions of church communion.^ They are 
(1) Baptism; baptism implying on the 
part of the’ recipient repentance and 
faith; (2) Apostolic Doctrine; (3) 
Fellowship with the Apostles; (4) the 
Lord’s Supper; (5) Public Worship. 
The real Church consists of all who 
belong to the Lord Jesus Christ as his 
disciples, and are one in love, in char- 
acter, in hope, in Christ as the head of 
all, though as the body of Christ it con- 
sists of many parts. 

Chu , shan=rishatha'im (ku'shan-rish'- 
a-tha'-im) ( Cushan of double wicked- 
ness ), king of Mesopotamia who op- 
pressed Israel during eight years in the 
generation immediately following 
Joshua. Judges 3 : 8. His yoke was 
broken from the neck of the people of 
Israel by Othniel, Caleb’s younger 
brother. Judges 3 : 10. 

Chu'za (chu'za), properly Chu'zas, 
the house- steward of Herod Antipas. 
Luke 8: 3. His wife Joanna was one of 
the “ ministering women.” 

Cilic'ia (ci-lish'ia) {the land of 
Celix), a maritime province in the 
southeast of Asia Minor, bordering on 
Pamphylia in the west, Lycaonia and 
Cappadocia in the north, and Syria in 
the east. Acts 6:9. Cilicia was from 
its geographical position the high road 
between Syria and the west; it was also 
the native country of St. Paul, hence 
it was visited by him, firstly, soon after 
his. conversion, Acts 9:30; Gal! 1 : 21, 
and again in his second apostolical jour- 
ney. Acts 15 : 41. 

Cinnamon, a well-known aromatic 
substance, the inner bark of the Cinna - 
momum zeylanicum, a native of Ceylon. 
It is mentioned in Ex. 30 : 23 as one 
of the component parts of the holy 


120 


CIT 


CIN 

anointing oil. In Rev. 18 : 13 it is enu- 
merated among the merchandise of the 
great Babylon. 



CINNAMON. 


Cin neroth. 1 Kings 15 : 20. This 
was possibly the small enclosed district 
north of Tiberias, and by the side of the 
lake, afterwards known as “ the plain 
of Gennesareth.” 

Circumcision was peculiarly, though 
not exclusively, a Jewish rite. It was 
enjoined upon Abraham, the father of 
the nation, by God, at the institution 
and as the token of the covenant, which 
assured to him and his descendants the 
promise of the Messiah. Gen. 17. It 
was thus made a necessary condition of 
Jewish nationality. Every male child 
was to be circumcised when eight days 
old, Lev. 12 : 3, on pain of death. The 
biblical notice of the rite describes it as 
distinctively Jewish; so that in the New 
Testament “ the circumcision ”* and “ the 
uncircumcision ” are frequently used as 
synonyms for the Jews and the Gentiles, 
because most of the “ nationalities 
with whom the Jews were in contact 
were uncircumcised; so the term ‘uncir- 
cumcised ’ as a term of reproach, meant 
almost practically (not etymologically) 
the same as heathen (Gen. 34:14; Jud. 
14:3; 15 : 18 ; 1 Sam. 17 : 26, 36 ; 31:4 ; 
2 Sam. 1 : 20 ; 1 Chr. 10 : 4 ; Ezek. 28 : 


10 • 31 : 18 ; 32 : 19-32) .” “ Circumcision 

was an act of religious purification 
(Herod, ii. 37), and in its full signifi- 
cance betokened the putting away of 
carnal lust (Col. 2:11). To circumcise 
the heart is so to regenerate it that its 
irreligious obstinacy shall disappear. 
(Deut. 10:16), and it will be able and 
willing to love God with all its powers 
(30:6)/’ Dr. John D. Davis. 

Cis (cis), the father of Saul, Acts 
13 : 21, usually called Kish. 

Cistern, a receptacle for water, either 
conducted from an external spring or 
proceeding from rain-fall. The dryness 
of the summer months and the scarcity 
of springs in Judea made cisterns a ne- 
cessity, and they are frequent through- 
out the whole of Syria and Palestine. 
On the long- forgotten way from Jericho 
to Bethel, “ broken cisterns ” of high 
antiquity are found at regular intervals* 
Jerusalem depends mainly for water 
upon its cisterns, of which almost every 
private house possesses one or more, ex- 
cavated in the rock on which the city is 
built. The cisterns have usually a round 
opening at the top, sometimes built up 
with stonework above and furnished 
with a curb and a wheel for the bucket. 
Eccles. 12 : 6. Empty cisterns were 
sometimes used as prisons and places of 
confinement. Joseph was cast into a 
“ pit,” Gen. 37 : 22, as was Jeremiah. 
Jer. 38: 6. 

Cities. The earliest notice in Scrip- 
ture of city-building is of Enoch by 
Cain, in the land of his exile. Gen. 4 : 
17. After the confusion of tongues the 
descendants of Nimrod founded Babel, 
Erech, Accad and Calneh, in the land 
of Shinar, and Asshur, a branch from 
the same stock, built Nineveh, Reho- 
both-by-the-river, Calah and Resen, the 
last being “ a great city.” The earliest 
description of a city, properly so called, 
is that of Sodom. Gen. 19 : 1-22. Even 
before the time of Abraham there were 
cities in Egypt, Gen. 12:14, 15; Num. 
13 : 22, and the Israelites, during their 
sojourn there, were employed in build- 
ing or fortifying the “treasure cities” 
of Pithon and Raamses. Ex. 1 : 11. 

Fenced cities, fortified with high walls, 
Deut. 3 : 5, were occupied and perhaps 
partly rebuilt after the conquest, by the 
settled inhabitants of Syria on both 
sides of the Jordan. 

Cities of refuge, six Levitical cities 
specially chosen for refuge to the in- 


CIT 


121 


CLO 


voluntary homicide until released from 
banishment by the death of the high 
priest. Num. 35:6, 13, 15; Josh. 20:2, 
7, 9. There were three on each side 
of Jordan. (1) Kedesh, in Naphtali. 1 
Chron. 6 : 76. (2) Shechem, in Mount 

Ephraim. Josh. 21:21; 1 Chron. 6:67; 
2 Chron. 10:1. (3) Hebron, in Judah. 

Josh. 21:13; 2 Sam. 5:5; 1 Chron. 6: 
55 ; 29 : 27 ; 2 Chron. 11 : 10. (4) On the 

east side of Jordan — Bezer, in the tribe 
of Reuben, in the plains of Moab. 
Deut. 4 : 43 ; Josh. 20 : 8 ; 21 : 36 ; 1 Macc. 
5 : 26. (5) Ramoth-gilead, in the tribe 

of Gad. Deut. 4:43; Josh. 21:38; 1 
Kings 22:3. (6) Golan, in Bashan, in 

the half-tribe of Manasseh. Deut. 4: 
43 ; Josh. 21 : 27 ; 1 Chron. 6 : 71. 

Citizenship. The use of this term 
in Scripture has exclusive reference to 
the usages of the Roman empire. The 
privilege of Roman citizenship was orig- 
inally acquired in various ways, as by 
purchase, Acts 22 : 28, by military serv- 
ices, by favor or by manumission. The 
right once obtained descended to a man’s 
children. Acts 22 : 28. Among the priv- 
ileges attached to citizenship we may 
note that a man could not be bound or 
imprisoned without a formal trial, Acts 
22 : 29, still less be scourged. Acts 16 : 
37 ; Cic. in V err. v. 63, 66. Another 
privilege attaching to citizenship was 
the appeal from a provincial tribunal to 
the emperor at Rome. Acts 25 : 11. 

Citron. [Apple tree.] 

Clau'da (klau'da), Acts 27:16, a 
small island nearly due west of Cape 
Matala on the south coast of Crete, and 
nearly due south of Phcenice; now 
Gozzo. 

Claudia (klau'di-a) (lame), a Chris- 
tian woman mentioned in 2 Tim. 4:21, 
as saluting Timotheus. 

Clau'dius (klau'di-us) ( lame ), fourth 



OOm OF CLAUDIUS. 


Roman emperor, reigned from 41 to 54 
a.d. He was nominated to the supreme 
power .mainly through the influence. of 
Herod Agrippa the First. In the reign 


of Claudius there were several famines, 
arising from unfavorable harvests, and 
one such occurred in Palestine and 
Syria. Acts 11 : 28-30. Claudius was 
induced by a tumult of the Jews in 
Rome to expel them from the city. Cf. 
Acts 18 : 2. The date of this event is 
uncertain. After a weak and foolish 
reign he was poisoned by his fourth 
wife, Agrippina, the mother of Nero, 
October 13, a.d. 54. 

Clau'dius Lys'ias. [Lysias.] 

Clay. As the sediment of water re- 
maining in pits or in streets (mire), the 
word is used frequently in the Old Tes- 
tament, Ps. 18:42; Isa. 57:20; Jer. 38: 
6 ; and in the New Testament, John 9 : 6, 
a mixture of sand or dust with spittle. 
It is also found in the sense of potter’s 
clay. Isa. 41 : 25. The great seat of the 
pottery of the present day in Palestine 
is Gaza, where are made the vessels in 
dark-blue clay so frequently met with. 
Another use of clay was for sealing. 
Job 38: 14. Our Lord’s tomb may have 
been thus sealed, Matt. 27 : 66, as also 
the earthen vessel containing the evi- 
dences of Jeremiah’s purchase. Jer. 32: 
14. The seal used for public documents 
was rolled on the moist clay, and the 
tablet was then placed in the fire and 
baked. 

Clem'ent (mild, merciful), Philip. 4: 
3, a fellow laborer of St. Paul when he 
was at Philippi, (a.d. 51.) It was gen- 
erally believed in the ancient Church 
that this Clement was identical with 
the bishop of Rome who afterwards be- 
came so celebrated. 

Cle'opas (kle'o-pas), one of the two 
disciples who were going to Emmaus on 
the day of the resurrection. Luke 24: 
18. Some think the same as Cleophas 
in John 19 : 25. But they are probably 
two different persons. Cleopas is a 
Greek name, contracted from Cleopater. 

Cle'ophas (kle'o-fas), in R. V. CIo'= 
pas, a man named only in John 19 : 25 
as the husband of one of the Marys 
who stood at the cross at the time of 
the crucifixion. He should not be con- 
fused with the Cleopas of Luke 24:18. 
As to hi$ identification with Alphjeus 
see James. 

Clothing. [Dress.] 

Cloud. The shelter given, and re- 
freshment of rain promised, by clouds 
give them their peculiar prominence in 
Oriental imagery. Prov. 16:15; Isa. 18 : 
4; 25 : 5. When a cloud appears rain is 


CLO 


122 


COIi 


ordinarily apprehended, and thus the 
“ cloud without rain ” becomes a proverb 
for the man # of promise without per- 
formance. Jude 12; comp. Prov. 25: 
14. The cloud is a figure of transi- 
toriness, Job 30:15; Hos. 6:4, and of 
whatever intercepts divine favor or hu- 
man supplication. Lam. 2 : 1 ; 3 : 44. A 
bright cloud at times visited and rested 
on the mercy-seat. Ex. 29 : 42, 43 ; 40 : 
34-38 ; 1 Kings 8 : 10, 11 ; 2 Chron. 5 : 
14 ; Ezek. 43 : 4, and was by later writers 
named Shechinah. 

Cloud, Pillar of. The pillar of cloud 
by day and of fire by night that God 
caused to pass before the camp of the 
children of Israel when in the wilder- 
ness. The cloud, which became a pillar 
when the host moved, seems to have 
rested at other times on the tabernacle, 
whence God is said to have “ come 
down in the pillar.” Num. 12 : 5 ; so 
Ex. 33 : 9, 10. It preceded the host, 
apparently resting on the ark which led 
the way. Ex. 13 : 21 ; 40 : 36, etc. ; Num. 
9 : 15-23 ; 10 : 34. 

Clouted, patched. Josh. 9 : 5. 

Cni'dus (ni'dus), a city of great con- 
sequence, situated at the extreme south- 
west of the peninsula of Asia Minor, on 
a promontory now called Cape Crio, 
which projects between the islands of 
Cos and Rhodes. See Acts 21 : 1. It is 
now in ruins. Acts 27 : 7. 

Coal. The first and most frequent 
use of the word rendered coal is a live 
ember, burning fuel. Prov. 26 : 21. In 
2 Sam. 22 : 9, 13, “ coals of fire ” are put 
metaphorically for the lightnings pro- 
ceeding from God. Ps. 18 : 8, 12, 13 ; 
140 : 10. In Prov. 26 : 21, fuel not yet 
lighted is clearly signified. The fuel 
meant in the above passage is probably 
charcoal, and not coal in our sense of 
the word. 

Coast, border, with no more refer- 
ence to lands bordering on the sea than 
to any other bordering lands. 

Coat. [Dress.] 

Cock. Matt. 26 : 34 ; Mark 13 : 35 ; 14 : 
30, etc. The domestic cock and hen 
had their home in India, coming thence 
to Babylonia and Persia, and then to 
Palestine and, probably, Egypt. The 
cock is thought by some to be referred 
to in 1 Kings 4:23, and also in Prov. 
30:31, where the translation is “ grey- 
hound,” the word in the Talmud cer- 
tainly meaning some kind of bird, ac- 


cording to Cheyne. They were prized 
by both Romans and Greeks. 

Cockatrice. [Adder.] 

Cockle probably signifies bad weeds 
or fruit. Job 31 : 40. 

Ccele=Syr'ia (sel'e) ( hollow Syria), 
the remarkable valley or hollow which 
intervenes between Libanus and Anti- 
Libanus, stretching a distance of nearly 
a hundred miles. The only mention of 
the region as a separate tract of country 
which the Jewish Scriptures contain is 
probably that in Amos 1 : 5, where “ the 
inhabitants of the plain of Aven ” are 
threatened in conjunction with those of 
Damascus. The word is given in the 
Authorized Version as Celo-syria. 

Coffer ( argaz ), a movable box hang- 
ing from the side of, a cart. 1 Sam. 6 : 
8, 11, 15. The word is found nowhere 
else. 

Coffin. [Burial.] 

Col=ho'zeh (kol-ho'zeh) ( all-seeing ), 
a man of the tribe of Judah in the time 
of Nehemiah. Neh. 3:15; 11:5. (b.c. 

536.) 

Collar. For the proper sense of this 
term, as it occurs in Judges 8:26, see 
Revisions, where the word is “ pendants.” 

College, The. In 2 Kings 22 : 14, it 
is probable that the word translated 
“ college ” represents here not an institu- 
tion of learning, but that part of Jeru- 
salem known as the “ lower city ” or 
suburb, built on the hill Akra, including 
the Bezetha or new city. 

Colony, a designation of Philippi, in 
Acts 16 : 12. After the battle of Actium, 
Augustus assigned to his veterans those 
parts of Italy which had espoused the 
cause of Antony, and transported many 
of the expelled inhabitants to Philippi, 
Dyrrhachium and other cities. In this 
way Philippi was made a Roman colony 
with the “ Jus Italicum.” At first the 
colonists were all Roman citizens, and 
entitled to vote at Rome. 

Colors. The terms relative to color, 
occurring in the Bible, may be arranged 
in two classes, the first including those 
applied to the description of natural 
objects, the second those artificial mix- 
tures which were employed in dyeing or 
painting. The purple and the blue were 
derived from a small shellfish found in 
the Mediterranean, and were very costly, 
and hence they were the royal colors. 
Red, both scarlet and crimson, was de- 
rived from an insect resembling the 
cochineal. The natural colors noticed in 


COL 


123 


CON 


the Bible are white, black, red, yellow 
and green. The only fundamental color 
of which the Hebrews appear to have 
had a clear conception was red; and 
even this is not very often noticed. 

Colos'se (ko-los'se), more properly 
Colos's^e, was a city of Phrygia in Asia 
Minor, in the upper part of the basin of 
the Maeander, on the Lycus. Hierapolis 
and Laodicea were in its immediate 
neighborhood. Col. 1:2; 4 : 13, 15, 16 ; 
see Rev. 1 : 11 ; 3 : 14. A church was 
formed here probably by Christians 
from Ephesus; of which Epaphras was 
pastor (Col. 1:7), and Philemon and 
Onesimus were members (Col. 4:9; 
Phile. 2.). 

Colos'sians, The Epistle to the, was 

written by the apostle St. Paul during 
his first captivity at Rome. Acts 28 : 16. 
(a.d. 62.) The epistle was addressed 
to the Christians of the city of Colosse, 
and was delivered to them by Tychicus, 
whom the apostle had sent both to them, 
Col. 4 : 7, 8, and to the church of Ephe- 
sus, Eph. 6:21, to inquire into their 
state and to administer exhortation and 
comfort. The main object of the epis- 
tle is to warn the Colossians against 
a spirit of semi-Judaistic and semi- 
Oriental philosophy which was corrupt- 
ing the simplicity of their belief, and 
was noticeably tending to obscure the 
eternal glory and dignity of Christ. The 
similarity between this epistle and that 
to the Ephesians is striking, although 
there are equally noteworthy differences. 

Comforter. John 14 : 16. The name 
given by Christ to the Holy Spirit. The 
original word is Paraclete , and means 
first Advocate, a defender, helper, 
strengthener, as well as comforter. 

Commerce. From the time that men 
began to live in cities, trade, in some 
shape, must have been carried on to sup- 
ply the town-dwellers with necessaries 
from foreign as well as native sources, 
for we find that Abraham was rich, not 
only in cattle, but in silver, gold and 
silver plate and ornaments. Gen. 13 : 
2; 24:22, 53. Among trading nations 
mentioned in Scripture, Egypt holds in 
very early times a prominent position. 
The internal trade of the Jews, as well 
as the external, was much promoted 
by the festivals, which brought large 
numbers of persons to Jerusalem. 1 
Kings 8 : 63. The places of public mar- 
ket were chiefly the open spaces near 
the gates, to which goods were brought 


for sale by those who came from the 
outside. Neh. 13:15, 16; Zeph. 1:10. 
The traders in later times were allowed 
to intrude into the temple, in the outer 
courts of which victims were publicly 
sold for the sacrifice. Zech. 14:21; 
Matt. 21:12; John 2:14. 

Conani'ah (kon-a-nl'ah) ( Jehovah 
hath established), a chief of the Levites 
in the time of Josiah. 2 Chron. 35 : 9. 
(b.c. 628.) 

Concubine. The difference between 
wife and concubine was less marked 
among the Hebrews than among us, 
owing to the absence of moral stigma. 
The difference probably lay in the ab- 
sence of the right of the bill of divorce, 
without which the wife could not be re- 
pudiated. With regard to the children 
of wife and of concubine, there was no 
such difference as our illegitimacy im- 
plies. The latter were a supplementary 
family to the former ; their names occur 
in the patriarchal genealogies, Gen. 22: 
24 ; 1 Chron. 1 : 32, and their position 
and provision would depend on the 
father’s will. . Gen. 25 : 6. The state of 
concubinage is assumed and provided 
for by the law of Moses. A concubine 
would generally be either (1) a Hebrew 
girl bought of her father; (2) a Gentile 
captive taken in war; (3) a foreign 
slave bought; or (4) a Canaanitish 
woman, bond or free. The rights of 
the first two were protected by the law, 
Ex. 21:7; Deut. 21 : 10-14 ; but the third 
was unrecognized and the fourth pro- 
hibited. Free Hebrew women also 
might become concubines. To seize on 
royal concubines for his use was often a 
usurper’s first act. Such was probably 
the intent of Abner’s act, 2 Sam. 3: 7, 
and similarly the request on behalf of 
Adonijah was construed. 1 Kings 2: 
21-24. 

Conduit, meaning an aqueduct or 
trench through which water was car- 
ried. Tradition, both oral and as repre- 
sented by Talmudical writers, ascribes 
to Solomon the formation of the orig- 
inal aqueduct by which water was 
brought to Jerusalem. 

Coney ( shdphdn ), a gregarious ani- 
mal of the class Pachydermata, which 
is found in Palestine, living in the caves 
and clefts of the rocks, and has been 
erroneously identified with the rabbit or 
coney. Its scientific name is Hyrax 
syriacus. The hyrax satisfies exactly 
the expressions in Ps. 104 : 18 ; Prov. 


CON 


124 


CON 


30 : 26. Its color is gray or brown on 
the back, white on the belly; it is like 
the alpine marmot, scarcely of the size 
of the domestic cat, having long hair, 
a very short tail and round ears. It 
is found on Lebanon and in the Jordan 
and Dead Sea valleys. 


selection was made by Moses of 70, who 
formed a species of standing committee. 
Num. 11 : 16. Occasionally indeed the 
whole body of the people was assembled 
at the door of the tabernacle, hence 
usually called the tabernacle of the con- 
gregation. Num. 10 : 3. The people 



THE CONEY. ( Hyrax Syriacus.) 


Congregation. This describes the 
Hebrew people in its collective capacity 
under its peculiar aspect as a holy com- 
munity, held together by religious rather 
than political bonds. Sometimes it is 
used in a broad sense as inclusive of for- 
eign settlers, Ex. 12 : 19, but more prop- 
erly as exclusively appropriate to the 
Hebrew element of the population. 
Num. 15 : 15. The congregation was 
governed by the father or head of each 
family and tribe. The number of these 
representatives being inconveniently 
large for ordinary business, a further 


were strictly bound by the acts of their 
representatives, ev.en in cases where they 
disapproved of them. Josh. 9 : 18. 
Coni'ah (ko-nl'ah). [Jeconiah.] 
Cononiah ( Jehovah hath estab- 
lished), a Levite, ruler of the offerings 
and tithes in the time of Hezekiah. 2 
Chron. 31:12, 13. (b.c. 726.) 

Consecration. [Priest.] 
Convocation. This term (with one 
exception — Isa. 1 : 13) is applied invari- 
ably to meetings of a religious char- 
acter, in contradistinction to congrega- 
tion. 


coo 


125 


COR 


Cooking. As meat did not form an 
article of ordinary diet among the Jews, 
the art of cooking was not carried to any 
perfection. Few animals were slaugh- 
tered except for purposes of hospitality 
or festivity. The proceedings on such 
occasions appear to have been as fol- 
lows : — On the arrival of a guest, the 
animal, either a kid, lamb or calf, was 
killed, Gen. 18 : 7 ; Luke 15 : 23, its throat 
being cut so that the blood might be 
poured out. Lev. 7 : 2G ; it was then 
flayed, and was ready for either roasting 
or boiling. In roasting, a small animal 
was preserved entire. Ex. 12 : 46, and 
roasted either over a fire, Ex. 12 : 8, of 
wood, Isa. 44 : 16, or perhaps in an oven, 
consisting simply of a hole dug in the 
earth, well heated, and covered up. 
Boiling, however, was the more usual 
method of cooking. 

Co'os (ko'os).' Acts 21:1. [Cos.] 

Copper. Heb. nechosheth , in the 
Authorized Version always rendered 
“brass,” except in Ezra 8:27 and Jer. 
15 : 12. It was almost exclusively used 
by the ancients for common purposes, 
and for every kind of instrument, as 
chains, pillars, lavers and the other tem- 
ple vessels. We read also of copper 
mirrors. Ex. 38 : 8, and even of coppeV 
arms, as helmets, spears, etc. 1 Sam. 
17 : 5, 6. 

Cor. See Measures. 

Coral. Ezek. 27 : 16. A production 
of the sea, formed by minute animals 
called zoophytes. It is their shell or 



COMMON CORAL OF THE MEDITERRANEAN. 


house. It takes various forms, as of 
trees, shrubs, hemispheres. The princi- 
pal colors are red and white. It was 
used for beads and ornaments. With 
regard to the estimation in which coral 


was held by the Jews and other Orient- 
als, it must be remembered that coral 
varies in price with us. Pliny says that 
the Indians valued coral as the Romans 
valued pearls. Job 28:18. 

Corban, an offering to God of any 
sort, bloody or bloodless, but partic- 
ularly in fulfilment of a vow. The 
law laid down rules for vows, (1) af- 
firmative; (2) negative. Lev. 27; Num. 
30. Upon these rules the traditionists 
enlarged, and laid down that a man 
might interdict himself by vow, not only 
from using for himself, but from giving 
to another or receiving from him, some 
particular object, whether of food or 
any other kind whatsoever. The thing 
thus interdicted was considered as cor- 
ban. A person might thus exempt him- 
self from any inconvenient obligation 
under plea of corban. It was practices 
of this sort that our Lord reprehended. 
Matt. 15 : 5 ; Mark 7 : 11, as annulling 
the spirit of the law. 

Cord* The materials of which cord 
was made varied according to the 
strength required ; the strongest rope 
was probably made of strips of camel 
hide, as still used by the Bedouins. The 
finer sorts were made of flax, Isa. 19 : 9, 
and probably of reeds and rushes. In 
the New Testament the term is applied 
to the whip which our Saviour made, 
John 2: 15, and to the ropes of a ship. 
Acts 27:32. 

Co're (ko're). Jude 11. [Korah, 4.] 

Coriander. The plant called Cori- 



COR 


126 


COR 


andrum sativum is found in Egypt, Per- 
sia and India, and has a round tall stalk ; 
it bears umbelliferous white or reddish 
flowers, from which arise globular, gray- 
ish, spicy seed-corns, marked with fine 
striae. It is mentioned twice in the Bi- 
ble. Ex. 16:31; Num. 11:7. 

Cor'inth, an ancient and celebrated 
city of Greece, on the Isthmus of Cor- 
inth, and about 40 miles west of Athens. 
In consequence of its geographical posi- 
tion it formed the most direct communi- 
cation between the Ionian and ^Egean 
seas. A remarkable feature was the 
Acrocorinthus, a vast citadel of rock, 
which rises abruptly to the height of 
2000 feet above the level of the sea, 
and the summit of which is so extensive 
that it once contained a whole town. 
The situation of Corinth, and the pos- 
session of its eastern and western har- 
bors, Cenchreae and Lechaeum, are the 
secrets of its history. Corinth was a 
place of great mental activity, as well 
as of commercial and manufacturing 
enterprise. Its wealth was so celebrated 
as to be proverbial; so were the vice 
and profligacy of its inhabitants. The 
worship of Venus here was attended 
with shameful licentiousness. Corinth 
is still an episcopal see. The modern 
town 3 14 miles N. E. of the ancient 
site, on the gulf of Corinth, is a 
strongly fortified seaport of 4800 pop- 
ulation. St. Paul preached here, Acts 
18 : 11, and founded a church, to which 
his Epistles to the Corinthians are ad- 
dressed. [Epistles to the Corinth- 
ians.] 

Corinth'ians, First Epistle to the, 

was written by the apostle St. Paul to- 
ward the close of his nearly three-years 
stay at Ephesus, Acts 19 : 10 ; 20 : 31, 
which, we learn from 1 Cor. 16 : 8, prob- 
ably terminated with the Pentecost of 
a.d. 57 (or 56.) The bearers were prob- 
ably (according to the common subscrip- 
tion) Stephanas, Fortunatus and Acha- 
icus. It appears to have been called 
forth by the information the apostle 
had received of dissension in the Cor- 
inthian church, which may be thus ex- 
plained : — The Corinthian church was 
planted by the apostle himself, 1 Cor. 
3:6, in his second missionary journey. 
Acts 18 : 1, seq. He abode in the city 
a year and a half. Acts 18 : 11. A 
short time after the apostle had left 
the city the eloquent Jew of Alexandria, 
Apollos, went to Corinth, Acts 19 : 1, 


and gained many followers, dividing 
the church into two parties, the fol- 
lowers of Paul and the followers of 
Apollos. Later on Judaizing teachers 
from Jerusalem preached the gospel in 
a spirit of direct antagonism to St. 
Paul personally. To this third party 
we may perhaps add a fourth, that, un- 
der the name of “ the followers of 
Christ,” 1 Cor. 1 : 12, sought at first to 
separate themselves from the factious 
adherence to particular teachers, but 
eventually were driven by antagonism 
into positions equally sectarian and in- 
imical to the unity of the church. At 
this momentous period, before parties 
had become consolidated and had dis- 
tinctly withdrawn from communion with 
one another, the apostle writes; and in 
the outset of the epistle, 1 Cor. 1-4 : 21, 
we have his noble and impassioned pro- 
test against this fourfold rending of the 
robe of Christ. 

Corinth ians, Second Epistle to the, 

was written a few months subsequent 
to the first, in the same year — about 
the autumn of a.d. 57 (or 56) — at Mace- 
donia. The epistle was occasioned by 
the information which the apostle had 
received from Titus, and also, as it 
would certainly seem probable, from 
Timothy, of the reception of the first 
epistle. This information, as it would 
seem from our present epistle, was 
mainly favorable; the better part of 
the church were returning to their spir- 
itual allegiance to their founder, 2 Cor. 
1:13, 14; 7:9, 15, 16; but there was 
still a faction who strenuously denied 
Paul’s claim to apostleship. The con- 
tents of this epistle comprise, (1) the 
apostle’s account of the character of his 
spiritual labors, chs. 1-7; (2) directions 
about the collections, chs. 8, 9; (3) de- 
fence of his own apostolical character, 
chs. 10-13 : 10. The words in 1 Cor. 5 : 
9 seem to point to further epistles to 
this church by Paul, but we have no 
positive evidence of any. 

Cormorant, the representative in the 
Authorized Version of the Hebrew 
words kaath and shalac. As to the for- 
mer, see Pelican. Shalac occurs only 
as the name of an unclean bird in Lev. 
11 : 17 ; Deut. 14 : 17. The word has 
been variously rendered. The etymolo- 
gy points to some plunging bird. The 
common cormorant ( Phalacrocorax car- 
bo ), which many writers have identified 
with the shalac , is common along the 


COR 


127 


cov 


coast, coming up the Kishon and visiting 
the Sea of Galilee. It is likewise abun- 
dant along the Jordan. 

Corn. The most common kinds were 
wheat, barley, spelt, Authorized Ver- 
sion, Ex. 9 : 32 and Isa. 28 : 25, “ rye ;” 
Ezek. 4:9“ fitches ” and millet ; oats are 
mentioned only by rabbinical writers. 
Our Indian corn was unknown in Bible 
times. Corn-crops are still reckoned at 
twenty-fold what was sown, and were 
anciently much more. Gen. 41 : 22. The 
Jewish law permitted any one in passing 
through a field of standing corn to pluck 
and eat. Deut. 23 : 25 ; see also Matt. 
12 : 1. From Solomon’s time, 2 Chron. 
2 : 10, 15, as agriculture became de- 
veloped under a settled government, 
Palestine was a corn-exporting country, 
and her grain was largely taken by her 
commercial neighbor Tyre. Ezek. 27: 
17 ; comp. Amos 8 : 5. 

Cornelius (kor-ne'li-us), a Roman 
centurion of the Italian cohort stationed 
in Caesarea, Acts 10 : 1, etc., a man full 
of good works and alms-deeds. With 
his household he was baptized by St. 
Peter, and thus Cornelius became the 
first-fruits of the Gentile world to 
Christ. 

Corner. The “corner” of the field 
was not allowed, Lev. 19 : 9, to be wholly 
reaped. It formed a right of the poor 
to carry off what was so left, and this 
was a part of the maintenance from the 
soil to which that class were entitled. 
Under the scribes, minute legislation 
fixed one-sixtieth as the portion of a 
field which was to be left for the legal 
“ corner.” The proportion being thus 
fixed, all the grain might be reaped, 
and enough to satisfy the regulation 
subsequently separated from the whole 
crop. This “ corner ” was, like the 
gleaning, tithe-free. 

Corner=stone, a quoin or corner- 
stone, of great importance in binding 
together the sides of a building. The 
phrase “ corner-stone ” is sometimes 
used to denote any principal person, as 
the princes of Egypt, Isa. 19 : 13, and 
is thus applied to our Lord. Isa. 28: 
16 ; Matt. 21 : 42 ; 1 Pet. 2:6, 7. 

Cornet (Heb. shophar), a loud- 
sounding instrument, made of the horn 
of a ram or of a chamois (sometimes 
of an ox), and used by the ancient He- 
brews for signals, Lev. 25 : 9, and much 
used by the priests. 1 Chron. 15 : 28. 

Cos (kos), or Co'os (now Stanchio 


or Stanko). This small island of the 
Grecian Archipelago has several inter- 
esting points of connection with the 
Jews. Herod the Great conferred 
many favors on the. island. St. Paul, 
on the return from his third missionary 
journey, passed the night here, after 
sailing from Miletus. Probably re- 
ferred to in Acts 21 : 1. 

Co'sam (ko'sam), son of Elmodam, 
in the line of Joseph the husband of 
Mary. Luke 3 : 28. 

Cotton. Cotton is now both grown 
and manufactured in various parts of 
Syria and Palestine; but there is no 
proof that, till they came in contact with 
Persia, the Hebrews generally knew of 
it as a distinct fabric from linen. 
[Linen.] 

Couch. [Bed.] 

Council. 1. The great council of the 
Sanhedrin, which sat at Jerusalem. 
[Sanhedrin.] 

2. The lesser courts, Matt. 10 : 17 ; 
Mark 13 : 9, of which there were two at 
Jerusalem and one in each town of Pal- 
estine. The constitution of these courts 
is a doubtful point. The existence of 
local courts, however constituted, is 
clearly implied in the passages quoted 
from the New Testament; and perhaps 
the “ judgment,” Matt. 5 : 21, applies to 
them. 

3. A kind of jury or privy council, 
Acts 25 : 12, consisting of a certain num- 
ber of assessors, who assisted Roman 
governors in the administration of jus- 
tice and in other public matters. 

Court (Heb. chatser), an open en- 
closure surrounded by buildings, ap- 
plied in the Authorized Version most 
commonly to the enclosures of the tab- 
ernacle and the temple. Ex. 27 : 9 ; 40 : 
33; Lev. 6:16; 1 Kings 6:36; 7:8; 2 
Kings 23 : 12 ; 2 Chron. 33 : 5, etc. 

Covenant. The Heb. benth is by 
modern scholars derived from the 
Babylonian biritu, “binding.” It was 
formerly explained as “ cutting,” refer- 
ring to the custom of cutting or divid- 
ing animals in two and passing between 
the parts in ratifying a covenant. Gen. 
15; Jer. 34:18, 19. In the New Testa- 
ment the corresponding word is dia- 
thece (SiadrjKT]) , which is frequently 
translated testament in the Authorized 
Version. In its biblical meaning of a 
compact or agreement between two 
parties the word is used — 1. Of a cove- 
nant between God and man ; e. g. God 


cow 


128 


CHE 


covenanted with Noah, after the flood, 
that a like judgment should not be re- 
peated. It is not precisely like a cov- 
enant between men, but was a promise 
or agreement by God. The principal 
covenants are the covenant of works — 
God promising to save and bless men 
on condition of perfect obedience — and 
the covenant of grace, or God’s promise 
to save men on condition of their be- 
lieving in Christ and receiving him as 
their Master and Saviour. The first is 
called the Old Covenant, from which 
we name the first part of the Bible the 
Old Testament, the Latin rendering of 
the word covenant. The second is 
called the New Covenant, or New Tes- 
tament. 2. Covenant between man and 
man, i. e. a solemn compact or agree- 
ment, either between tribes or nations, 
Josh. 9:6, 15; 1 Sam. 11: 1, or between 
individuals, Gen. 31 : 44, by which each 
party bound himself to fulfill certain 
conditions and was assured of receiving 
certain advantages. In making such a 
covenant God was solemnly invoked as 
witness, Gen. 31 : 50, and an oath was 
sworn. Gen. 21 : 31. A sign or wit- 
ness of the covenant was sometimes 
framed, such as a gift, Gen. 21:30, or 
a pillar or heap of stones erected. Gen. 
31 : 52. 

Cow. [Bull.] 

Coz (koz) ( thorn ), a man among the 
descendants of Judah. 1 Chron. 4 : 8. 

Coz'bi (koz'bi) ( deceitful ), daughter 
of Zur, a chief of the Midianites. Num. 
25: 15, 18. 

Crane. The crane ( Grus cinerea ) is 
a native of Europe and Asia. It stands 
about four feet high. Its color is ashen 
gray, with face and neck nearly black. 
It feeds on seeds, roots, insects and 
small quadrupeds. It retires in winter 
to the warmer climates. Jer. 8: 7. 

Create. To create is to cause some- 
thing to exist which did not exist be- 
fore, as distinguished from make, to re- 
form something already in existence. 

Creation. The creation of all things 
is ascribed in the Bible to God, and is 
the . only reasonable account of the 
origin of the world. The method of 
creation is not stated and may have 
been largely by evolution. The word 
create (bara) is used but three times 
in the first chapter of Genesis — (1) as 
to the origin of matter; (2) as to the 
origin of life; (3) as to the origin of 
man’s soul ; and science has always 



THE CRANE. 


failed here. All other things are said 
to be made. The order of creation as 
given in Genesis expresses in the sim- 
plest possible form the actual facts of 
the great eras of the world’s history 
as revealed by geology in this twentieth 
century. One of the chief difficulties 
has been removed very recently by Pro- 
fessor Lowell who has shown the true 
connection between the third and the 
fourth days. Plants grew on the earth 
in the third day by its internal heat, 
before the thick clouds allowed the sun 
to mark day from night or summer 
from winter. The sun was made to do 
this on the fourth day. 

Cres'cens (kres'qens) {growing), 2 
Tim. 4 : 10, an assistant of St. Paul, 
said to have been one of the seventy 
disciples. 

Crete (krete), the modern Candia. 



COIN OF CRETE. 


This large island, which closes in the 
Greek Archipelago on the south, ex- 
tends through a distance of 140 miles 


CRE 


129 


CRO 


between its extreme points. Though ex- 
ceedingly bold and mountainous, this 
island has very fruitful valleys, and in 
early times it was celebrated for its 
hundred cities. It seems likely that a 
very early acquaintance existed between 
the Cretans and the Jews. Cretans, 
Acts 2 : 11, were among those who were 
at Jerusalem at the great Pentecost. In 
Acts 27 : 7-12 we have an account of 
Paul’s shipwreck near this island; and 
it is evident from Titus 1 : 5 that the 
apostle himself was here at no long in- 
terval of time before he wrote the let- 
ter. The Cretans were proverbial liars. 
Titus 1 : 12. 

Cretes. Acts 2 : 11. Cretans, inhab- 
itants of Crete. 

Crisping pins. Isa. 3 : 22. The orig- 
inal word means some kind of female 
ornament, probably a reticule or richly- 
ornamented purse, often made of silk 
inwrought with gold or silver. 

Cris'pus (kris'pus) {curled), ruler of 
the Jewish synagogue at Corinth, Acts 
IS : 8 ; baptized with his family by St. 
Paul. 1 Cor. 1 : 14. (a.d. 50.) 

Cross. As the emblem of a slave’s 



1. Latin Cross. 2. Patriarchal Cross. 3. 
Papal Cross. 4. St. Andrew’s Cross. 5. 
Maltese Cross. 6. St. Anthony’s Cross. 7. 
Eastern Cross, “ Susa.” 8. Cross Patte. 
9. Pectoral Cross, or Cross Fleury. 10. Al- 
tar-cloth Cross. 11. Double Greek Cross. 

death and a murderer’s punishment, the 
cross was naturally looked upon with 
the profoundest horror. But after the 
celebrated vision of Constantine, he or- 
dered his friends to make a cross of 
9 


gold and gems, such as he had seen, and 
“ the towering eagles resigned the flags 
unto the cross,” and “ the tree of cursing 
and shame ” “ sat upon the sceptres and 
was engraved and signed on the fore- 
heads of kings.” (Jer. Taylor, “ Life of 
Christ,” iii., xv. 1.) The new standards 
were called by the name Labarum, and 
may be seen on the coins of Constantine 
the Great and his nearer successors. 
The Latin cross, on which our Lord suf- 
fered, was in the form of the letter T, 
and had an upright above the cross-bar, 
on which the “ title ” was placed. There 
was a projection from the central stem, 
on which the body of the sufferer rested. 
This was to prevent the weight of the 
body from tearing away the hands. 
Whether there was also a support to the 
feet (as we see in pictures) is doubtful. 
An inscription . was generally placed 
above the criminal’s head, briefly ex- 
pressing his guilt, and generally was 
carried before him. It was covered 
with white gypsum, and the letters were 
black. 



Crown. This ornament, which i>s 
both ancient and universal, probably 
originated from the fillets used to pre- 
vent the hair from being dishevelled by 
the wind. Such fillets are still com- 
mon ; they gradually developed into tur- 
bans, which by the addition of orna- 
mental or precious materials assumed 
the dignity of mitres or crowns. Both 
the ordinary priests and the high priest 
wore them. The crown was a symbol 
of royalty, and was worn by kings, 2 
Chron. 23 : 11, and also by queens. Es- 
ther 2:17. The head-dress of bride- 
grooms, Ezek. 24 : 17 ; Isa. 61 : 10 ; Bar. 
5:2, and of women, Isa. 3:20; a head- 
dress of great splendor, Isa. 28:5; a 
wreath of flowers, Prov. 1:9; 4:9, de- 
note crowns. In general we must at- 
tach to it the notion of a costly turban 
irradiated with pearls and gems of 


CRO 


130 


CRU 


priceless value, which often form 
aigrettes for feathers, as in the crowns 
of modern Asiatic sovereigns. Such 
was probably the crown which weighed 
(or rather “ was worth ”) a talent, 
mentioned in 2 Sam. 12 : 30, taken by 



CROWNS. 

1. Crown of Upper Egypt. 2. Crown of 
Upper and Lower Egypt United. 3. As- 
syrian Crown, from Nineveh Marbles. 4. 
Laurel Crown. 5. Crown of Herod the Great. 
6. Crown of Aretas, King of Arabia. 

David from the king of Ammon at 
Rabbah, and used as the state crown of 
Judah. In Rev. 12: 3; 19: 12, allusion is 
made to “ many crowns ” worn in token 
of extended dominion. The laurel, pine 
or parsley crowns given to victbrs in 
the great games of Greece are finely 
alluded to by St. Paul. 1 Cor. 9:25; 
2 Tim. 2 : 5, etc. 

Crown of thorns, Matt. 27 : 29. Our 
Lord was crowned with thorns in mock- 
ery by the Roman soldiers. Obviously 
some small flexile thorny shrub is 
meant ; perhaps Capparis spinosa. 
“ Hasselquist, a Swedish naturalist, sup- 
poses a very common plant, naba or 
nubka of the Arabs, with many small 
and sharp spines; soft, round and pliant 
branches ; leaves much resembling ivy, 
of a very deep green, as if in designed 
mockery of a victor’s wreath.” — Alford . 

Crucifixion was in use among the 
Egyptians, Gen. 40 : 19, the Carthagin- 
ians, the Persians, Esther 7 : 10, the As- 
syrians, Scythians, Indians, Germans, 
and from the earliest times among the 
Greeks and Romans. Whether this 
mode of execution was known to the 
ancient Jews is a matter of dispute. 
Probably the Jews borrowed it from 
the Romans. It was unanimously con- 


sidered the most horrible form of death. 
Among the Romans the degradation 
was also a part of the infliction, and the 
punishment if applied to freemen was 
only used in the case of the vilest crim- 
inals. The one to be crucified was 
stripped naked of all his clothes, and 
then followed the most awful moment 
of all. He was laid down upon the 
implement of torture. His arms were 
stretched along the cross-beams, and at 
the centre of the open palms the point 
of a huge iron nail was placed, which, 
by the blow of a mallet, was driven 
home into the wood. Then through 
either foot separately, or possibly 
through both together, as they were 
placed one over the other, another huge 
nail tore its way through the quivering 
flesh. Whether the sufferer was ( also 
bound to the cross we do not know ; 
but, to prevent the hands and feet be- 
ing torn away by the weight of the 
body, which could not “ rest upon noth- 
ing but four great wounds,” there was, 
about the centre of the cross, a wooden 
projection strong enough to support, at 
least in part, a human body, which 
soon became a weight of agony. Then 
the “ accursed tree ” with its living 
human burden was slowly heaved up 
and the end fixed firmly in a hole in 
the ground. The feet were but a little 
raised above the earth. The victim was 
in full reach of every hand that might 
choose to strike. A death by cruci- 
fixion seems to include all that pain 
and death can have of the horrible and 
ghastly, — dizziness, cramp, thirst, star- 
vation, sleeplessness, traumatic fever, 
tetanus, publicity of shame, long con- 
tinuance of torment, horror of antici- 
pation, mortification of untended 
wounds, all intensified just up to the 
point at which they can be endured at 
all, but all stopping just short of the 
point which would give to the sufferer 
the relief of unconsciousness. The un- 
natural position made every movement 
painful; the lacerated veins and crushed 
tendons throbbed with incessant an- 
guish ; the wounds, inflamed by ex- 
posure, gradually gangrened; the ar- 
teries, especially of the head and stom- 
ach, became swollen and oppressed with 
surcharged blood; and, while each va- 
riety of misery went on gradually in- 
creasing, there was added to them the 
intolerable pang of a burning and rag- 
ing thirst. Such was the death to 


CRU 


131 


CUP 


which Christ was doomed. — Farrar's 
“ Life of Christ ” The crucified was 
watched, according to custom, by a 
party of four soldiers, John 19:23, 
with their centurion, Matt. 27 : 54, whose 
express office was to prevent the steal- 
ing of the body. This was necessary 
from the. lingering character of' the 
death, which sometimes did not super- 
vene even for three days, and was. at 
last the result of gradual benumbing 
and starvation. But for this guard, the 
persons might have been taken down 
and recovered, as was actually done in 
the case of a friend of Josephus. Frac- 
ture of the legs was especially adopted 
by the Jews to hasten death. John 19 : 
31. In most cases the body was suf- 
fered to rot on the cross by the action 
of sun and rain, or to be devoured 
by birds and beasts. Sepulture was 
generally therefore forbidden; but in 
consequence of Deut. 21 : 22, 23, an ex- 
press national exception was made in 
favor of the Jews. Matt. 27 : 58. This j 
accursed and awful mode of punishment ' 
was happily abolished by Constantine. 

Cruse, a small vessel for holding 
water, such as was carried by Saul 
when on his night expedition after 
David, 1 Sam. 26 : 11, 12, 16, and by 
Elijah* 1 Kings 19:6. 

Crystal!, the representative in the 
Authorized Version of two Hebrew 
words* 1. Zecucith occurs only in Job 
28 : 1?, where “ glass ” probably is in- 
tended 1 . 2. Kerach occurs in numerous 
passages in the Old Testament to denote 
“ ice, ’ ■ 6 frost,” etc. ; but once only, 
Ezek, 1:22, as is generally understood, 
to signify ^ crystal.” The ancients sup- 
posed rock-crystal to be merely ice con- 
gealed by intense cold. The similarity 
of appearance between ice and crystal 
caused no doubt the identity of the 
terms to express these substances. The 
Greek word occurs in Rev. 4:6; 21:1. 
It may mean either “ ice ” or “ crystal.” 

Cubit* [Weights and Measures.] 

Cuckoo, Lev. 11:16; Deut. 14 : 15, 
the name of some unclean bird, and 
probably of some of the larger petrels 
which abound in the east of the Med- 
iterranean. 

Cucumbers (Heb. kishshuitn). This 
word occurs in Num. 11 : 5 as one 
of the good things of Egypt for which 
the Israelites longed. Egypt produces 
excellent cucumbers, melons, etc., the 
Cucumis chate being the best of its 



THE CUCKOO OF PALESTINE. 


tribe yet known. Besides the Cucumk 
chate , the common cucumber (C. sati - 
vus), of which the Arabs distinguish 
a number of varieties, is common in 
Egypt. “ Both Cucumis chate and C • 
sativus ,” says Mr. Tristram, “are now 
grown in great quantities in Palestine* 
On visiting the Arab school in Jerusa** 
lem (1858) I . observed that the dinne? 
which the children brought with them 
to school consisted, without exception, 
of a piece of barley-cake and a raw 
cucumber, which they ate rind and all/* 
The “ lodge in a garden of cucumbers/* 
Isa. 1 : 8, is a rude temporary shelter 
erected in the open grounds where vines, 
cucumbers, gourds, etc., are grown, in 
which some lonely man or boy is set 
to watch, either to guard the plants! 
from robbers or to scare away the foxes 
and jackals from the vines. 

Cummin, one of the cultivated plants 
of Palestine. Isa. 28:25, 27; Matt. 23: 
23. It is an umbelliferous plant some- 
thing like fennel. The seeds have ai 
bitterish warm taste and an aromatic 
flavor. The Maltese are said to grow 
it at the present day, and to thresh it io 
the manner described by Isaiah. 

Cup. The cups of the Jews, whether 
of metal or earthenware, were possibly 
borrowed, in point of shape and design,, 


CUP 


132 


CYR 


from Egypt and from the Phoenicians, 
who were celebrated in that branch of 
workmanship. Egyptian cups were of 
various shapes, either with handles or 
without them. In Solomon’s time all 
his drinking vessels were of gold, none 
of silver. 1 Kings 10 : 21. Babylon is 
compared to a golden cup. Jer. 51 : 7. 
The great laver, or “sea,” was made 
with a rim like the rim of a cup (cos), 
“ with flowers of lilies,” 1 Kings 7:26, a 
form which the Persepolitan cups re- 
semble. The cups of the New Testa- 
ment were often no doubt formed on 
Greek and Roman models. They were 
sometimes of gold. Rev. 17 : 4. 

Cupbearer, an officer of high rank 
with Egyptian, Persian and Assyrian as 
well as Jewish monarchs. 1 Kings 10 : 
5. It was his duty to fill the king’s cup 
and present it to him personally. Neh. 
1 : 11. The chief cupbearer, or butler, 
to the king of Egypt was the means of 
raising Joseph to his high position. 
Gen. 40 : 1, 21 ; 41 : 9. 

Cush (kush), a Benjamite mentioned 
only in the title to Ps. 7. He was prob- 
ably a follower of Saul, the head of his 
tribe. 

Cush, the name of a son of Ham, ap- 
parently the eldest, and of a territory or 
territories occupied by his descendants/ 
The Cushites appear to have spread 
along tracts extending from the higher 
Nile to the Euphrates and Tigris. His- 
tory affords many traces of this relation 
of Babylonia, Arabia and Ethiopia. 

Cu'shan (ku'shan), Hab. 3:7, pos- 
sibly the same as Cushan-rishathaim 
(Authorized Version Chushan-) king of 
Mesopotamia. Judges 3 : 8, 10. 

Cu'shi (ku'shi). Properly “the 
Cushite,” “the Ethiopian,” a man ap- 
parently attached to Joab’s person. 2 
Sam. 18 : 21-25, 31, 32. 

Cuth, or Cu'thah (ku'thah), one of 
the countries whence Shalmaneser in- 
troduced colonists into Samaria. 2 
Kings 17 : 24, 30. Now identified with 
T ell-1 brahim, N. E. of Babylon, but 
opinions still differ. 

Cuttings [in the flesh]. Cuttings 
in the flesh, or the laceration of one’s 
body for the “propitiation of their 
gods,” 1 Kings 18 : 28, constituted a 
prominent feature of idolatrous wor- 
ship, especially among the Syrians. The 
Israelites were prohibited from indulg- 
ing in such practices. Lev. 19 : 28 ; 21 : 
5 ; Deut. 14 : 1 ; Jer. 16 : 6. 


Cymbal, Cymbals, a percussive mu- 
sical instrument. Two kinds of cymbals 
are mentioned in Ps. 150 : 5, “ loud cym- 
bals ” perhaps castanets, and “ high- 
sounding cymbals.” The former con- 
sisted of four small plates of brass or 
of some other hard metal ; two plates 
were attached to each hand of the per- 
former, and were struck together to 
produce a great noise. The latter con- 
sisted of two larger plates, one held in 
each hand and struck together as an 
accompaniment to other instruments. 
Cymbals were used not only in the tem- 
ple but for military purposes, and also 
by Hebrew women as a musical accom- 
paniment to their national dances. Both 
kinds of cymbals are still common in 
the East. 

Cypress (Heb. tirzah). The Hebrew 
word is found only in Isa. 44 : 14. We 
are quite unable to assign any definite 
rendering to it. The true cypress is a 
native of the Taurus. The Hebrew 
word points to some tree with a hard 
grain, and this is all that can be posi- 
tively said of it. 

Cy'prus (gy'prus), an island of Asia 
in the Mediterranean. It is about 140 
miles long and 69 miles wide at the 
widest part. Its two chief cities were 
Salamis, at the east end of the island, 
and Paphos, at the west end. “ Cyprus 
occupies a distinguished place in both 
sacred and profane history. It early 
belonged, to the Phoenicians of the 
neighboring coast; was afterwards col- 
onized by Greeks; passed successively 
under the power of the Pharaohs, Per- 
sians, Ptolemies and Romans, excepting 
a short period of independence in the 
fourth century b.c. It was one of the 
chief seats of the worship of Venus, 
hence called Cypria.” It was the native 
place of Barnabas, Acts 4 : 36, and was 
visited by Paul. Acts 13 : 4-13. See 
also .Acts 15 : 39 ; 21:3; 27 : 4. Since 
1571 it has been a part of the Turkish 
empire, though since 1878 administered 
by Great Britain. 

Cyre'ne (gy-re'ne), the principal city 
of that part of northern Africa which 
was anciently called Cyrenaica, lying 
between Carthage and Egypt, and cor- 
responding with the modern Tripoli. 
Though on the African coast, it was 
a Greek city, and the Jews were set- 
tled there in large numbers. The 
Greek colonization of this part of 
Africa under Battus began as early as 


CYR 


133 


CYR 


b.c. 631. After the death of Alexander 
the Great it became a dependency of 
Egypt, and a Roman province b.c. 75. 
Simon, who bore our Saviour’s cross, 



Matt. 27 : 32, was a native of Cyrene. 
Jewish dwellers in Cyrenaica were in 
Jerusalem at Pentecost, Acts 2:10, and 
gave their name to one of the syna- 
gogues in Jerusalem. Acts 6:9. Chris-, 
tian converts from Cyrene were among 
those who contributed actively to the 
formation of the first Gentile church at 
Antioch. Acts 11 : 20. 

Cyre'nius (warrior), the Greek form 
of the Roman name of Quirinius. The 
full name is Publius Sulpicius Quirinius. 
He was consul b.c. 12, and after the 
banishment of Archelaus in a.d. 6, was 
made governor of Syria including 
Judea, and carried out an assessment or 
enrolment for taxation. 

A difficulty arises in connection with 
the statement of Luke (2 : 1-3) that the 
enrolment ordered by Augustus Caesar 
caused Mary and Joseph to go from 
Nazareth to Bethlehem so that Jesus 
was born in Bethlehem, as foretold, in 
the latter part of b.c. 5, and that this 
decree was carried out by Cyrenius 
governor of Syria ; who did not become 
governor until a.d. 6, nine or ten years 
later than the date of Jesus’ birth. 

There are two solutions of the diffi- 
culty, either one of which shows that 
Luke is correct in his statements. 

Dr. Horner shows that the first uni- 


versal enrolment by Augustus was de- 
creed b.c. 5, but was pat in effect a.d. 
6, by Cyrenius when he became gov- 
ernor. ( Gospels of Matthew and Luke, 
“ Cyrenius,” 1907.) 

On the other hand Canon E. R. 
Bernard (in an English Bib. Die. 1908), 
shows that while there was no governor- 
ship of Cyrenius in Syria previous to 

a. d. 6, yet it is probable that Cyrenius 
was in the province during the govern- 
ment of Varus (b.c. 5) with a military 
command ; and the vague word trans- 
lated governor (not the usual word) 
might well describe such a command as 
distinct from the civil governorship 
held by Varus. In this case both the 
decree and the putting it into effect 
were in b.c. 5-6, just before the death of 
Herod. 

Cy'rus (gy'rus) ( the sun), the foun- 
der of the Persian empire — see 2 Chron. 
36:22, 23; Dan. 6:28; 10:1, 13— was, 
according to the common legend, the 
son of Cambyses, a Persian of the 
royal family of the Achsemenidse. 
When he grew up to manhood his 
courage and genius placed him at the 
head of the Persians. His conquests 
were numerous and brilliant. He de- 
feated and captured the Median king 

b. c. 559. In b.c. 546 (?) he defeated 
Croesus, and the kingdom of Lydia was 
the prize of his success. Babylon fell 
before his army, and the ancient domin- 
ions of Assyria were added to his em- 
pire b.c. 538. The prophet Daniel’s 
home for a time was at his court. Dan. 
6 : 28. The edict of Cyrus for the re- 
building of the temple, 2 Chron. 36 : 22, 
23; Ezra 1:1-4; 3:7; 4:3; 5:13, 17; 
6 : 3, was in fact the beginning of Ju- 
daism ; and the great- changes by which 
the nation was transformed into a 
church are clearly marked. His tomb 
is still shown at Pasargadse, the scene 
of his first decisive victory. 


D 


Dab'areh (dab'a-reh) {pasture), 
Josh. 21 : 28, or Daberath, a town on 
the boundary of Zebulun. Josh. 19 : 12. 
Under the name of Deburieh it still lies 
at the western foot of Tabor. 

Dab'basheth (dab'ba-sheth) ( hump 
of a camel), a town on the boundary 
of Zebulun. Josh. 19 : 11. 

Dab'erath (dab'e-rath). [See Dab- 
areh.] 

Da'gon (da'gon), commonly held to 
be a diminutive or term of endearment 
from dag, “ fish,” was the national god 
of the Philistines. The most famous 


temples of Dagon were at Gaza, Judges 
16 : 21-30, and Ashdod. 1 Sam. 5:5, 6 ; 
1 Chron. 10 : 10. The latter temple was 
destroyed by Jonathan in the Macca- 
baean wars. Traces of the worship of 
Dagon likewise appear in the names 
Caphar-dagon (near Jamnia) and Beth- 
dagon in Judah, Josh. 15: 41, and Asher, 
Josh. 19:27. Dagon is represented with 
the face and hands of a man and the 
tail of a fish. There is, however, great 
uncertainty as to the correctness both 
of this representation and the deriva- 
tion of the name. Cheyne considers its 



SCENE IN DAMASCUS. 

Showing houses on the walls. 
134 


135 




DAL 


136 


DAM 


foundation very doubtful, derived from 
a confusion with the fish-goddess Der- 
ceta. 

Dalai'ah ( freed by Jehovah ), a de- 
scendant of the royal family of Judah. 
1 Chron. 3 : 24. 

Dalmanu'tha (dal-ma-nu'tha), a 
town on the west side of the Sea of 
Galilee, near Magdala. Matt. 15 : 39 
and Mark 8 : 10. [Magdala.] The site 
is very uncertain and widely differing 
identifications have been proposed. 

Dalma'tia (dal-ma'shi-a), a moun- 
tainous district on the eastern coast of 
the Adriatic Sea. St. Paul sent Titus 
there. 2 Tim. 4 : 10. 

Dal'phon (dal'fon), the second of the 
ten sons of Haman. Esther 9 : 7. (b.c. 

473.) 

Dam'aris (dam'a-ris) ( a heifer), an 


Athenian woman converted to Chris- 
tianity by St. Paul’s preaching. Acts 
17 : 34. (a.d. 51.) Chrysostom and 

others held her to have been the wife 
of Dionysius the Areopagite. 

Damas cus (da-mas'kus), one of the 
most ancient and most important of 
the cities of Syria. It is situated 145 
miles northeast of Jerusalem, in a plain 
of vast size and of extreme fertility, 
which lies east of the great chain of 
Anti-Libanus, on the edge of the desert. 
This fertile plain, which is nearly cir- 
cular and about 30 miles in diameter, 
is due to the river Barada , which is 
probably the “ Abana ” of Scripture. 
Two other streams, the Wady Helbon 
upon the north and the Awaj, which 
flows direct from Hermon, upon the 
south, increase the fertility of the Dam- 



THE GREAT MOSQUE AT DAMASCUS. 



137 



DAMASCUS — THE GRAND MOSQUE, 


DAN 


138 


DAN 


ascene plain, and contend for the 
honor of representing the “ Pharpar ” 
of Scripture. According to Josephus, 
Damascus was founded by Uz, grand- 
son of Shem. It is first mentioned in 
Scripture in connection with Abraham, 
Gen. 14: 15, whose steward was a na- 
tive of the place. Gen. 15 : 2. At one 
time David became complete master of 
the whole territory, which he garrisoned 
with Israelites. 2 Sam. 8 : 5, 6. It was 
in league with Baasha, king of Israel, 
against Asa, 1 Kings 15 : 19 ; 2 Chron. 
16 : 3, and afterwards in league with 
Asa against Baasha. 1 Kings 15 : 20. 
About 735 it was taken by Tiglath- 
pileser, 2 Kings 16 : 7, 8, 9, the kingdom 
of Damascus brought to an end, and 
the city itself destroyed, the inhabitants 
being carried captive into Assyria. 2 
Kings 16 : 9 ; comp. Isa. 7 : 8 and Amos 
1 : 5. Afterwards it passed successively 
under the dominion of the Assyrians, 
Babylonians, Persians, Macedonians, 
Romans and Saracens, and was at last 
captured by the Turks in 1516 a.d. 
Here the apostle Paul was converted 
and preached the gospel. Acts 9 : 1-25. 

Damascus has always been a great 
centre for trade. Its present popula- 
tion cannot be less than 150,000. It 
has a delightful climate. Certain lo- 
calities are. shown as the site of those 
scriptural events which specially interest 
us in its history. Queen’s Street, which 
runs straight through the city from 
east to west, may be the street called 
Straight. Acts 9 : 11. The house of 
Judas and that of Ananias are shown, 
but little confidence can be placed in 
any of these traditions. 

Dan (a judge). 1. The fifth son of 
Jacob, and the first of Bilhah, Rachel’s 
maid. Gen. 30:6 (b.c. after 1753.) 

The origin of the name is given in the 
exclamation of Rachel. The records of 
Dan are unusually meagre. Only one 
son is attributed to him, Gen. 46 : 23. 
The portion received by Dan in the 
allotment of the land of Palestine, Josh. 
19 : 48, was almost, if not quite, the 
smallest of the twelve. It might be said 
to consist of two parts: the hill country, 
a very small section, entirely surrounded 
by other and more powerful tribes, — 
Ephraim, Benjamin and Judah, and the 
country of the Philistines, — and the 
lowlands along the coast south of the 
tribe of Manasseh, Joppa being about 
midway. This last section they never 


occupied, as the Philistines were too 
strong for them, and drove them back 
to the hills. Small as their tribe had 
grown to be this was too small for 
them. An expedition went to the ex- 
treme north of Palestine, took Laish, 
and rebuilt it under the name of Dan. 
In the “ security ” and “ quiet,” Judges 
18 : 7, 10, of their rich northern posses- 
sion the Danites enjoyed the leisure and 
repose which had been denied them in 
their original seat. In the time of 
David Dan still kept its place among 
the tribes. 1 Chron. 12 : 35. Asher is 
omitted, but the “prince of the tribe of 
Dan ” i.s mentioned in the list of 1 
Chron. 27 : 22. But from this time for- 
ward the name as applied to the tribe 
vanishes; it is kept alive only by the 
northern city. In the genealogies of 1 
Chron. 2-12, Dan is omitted entirely. 
Lastly, Dan is omitted from the list of 
those who were sealed by the angel in 
the vision of St. John. Rev. 7 : 5-7. 

2. The well-known city, so familiar 
as the most northern landmark of Pales- 
tine, in the common expression “ from 
Dan even to Beersheba.” The name of 
the place was originally Laish or Le- 
shem. Josh. 19 : 47. After the estab- 
lishment of the Danites at Dan it be- 
came the acknowledged extremity of 
the country. It is now Tell el-Kadi { a 
mound, three miles from Banias, from 
the foot of which gushes out one of the 
largest fountains in the world, the main 
source of the Jordan. 

Dance. _ The dance is spoken of in 
Holy Scripture universally as symboli- 
cal of some rejoicing, and is often 
coupled for the sake of contrast with 
mourning, as in Eccles. 3:4; comp. Ps. 
30 : 11 ; Matt. 11 : 17. In the earlier pe- 
riod it is found combined with some 
song or refrain, Ex. 15:20; 32:18, 19; 
1 Sam. 21 : 11, and with the tambourine 
(Authorized Version “timbrel”), more 
especially in those . impulsive outbursts 
of popular feeling which cannot find 
sufficient vent in voice or in gesture 
singly. Dancing formed a part of the 
religious ceremonies of the Egyptians, 
and was also common in private enter- 
tainments. For the most part dancing 
was carried on by the women, the two 
sexes seldom and not customarily in- 
termingling. The one who happened to 
be near of kin to the champion of the 
hour led the dance. In the earlier pe- 
riod of the Judges the dances of the 


DAN 


139 


DAN 


virgins of Shiloh, Judges 21 : 19-23, 
were certainly part of a religious fes- 
tivity. Dancing also had its place 
among merely festive amusements, apart 
from any religious character. Jer. 31: 
4, 13 ; Mark 6 : 22. 

But the dancing of Salome before 
Herod was due to the introduction of 
Greek fashions and was not approved 
by the better classes among the Jews. 

Dan'iel (dan'iel) {God is my judge). 

1. The second son of David, by Abigail 
the Carmelitess. 1 Chron. 3 : 1. In 2 
Sam. 3:3 he is called Chileab. 

2. The fourth of “ the greater proph- 
ets.” Nothing is known of his parent- 
age or family. He appears, however, to 
have been of royal or noble descent, 
Dan. 1 : 3, and to have possessed con- 
siderable personal endowments. Dan. 
1 : 4. He was taken to Babylon in “ the 
third year of Jehoiakim” (b.c. 604), 
and trained for the king’s service. He 
was divinely supported in his resolve to 
'abstain from the “ king’s meat ” for fear 
of defilement. Dan. 1 : 8-16. At the 
close of his three-years’ discipline, Dan. 
1 : 5, 18, Daniel had an opportunity of 
exercising his peculiar gift, Dan. 1 : 17, 
of interpreting dreams, on the occasion 
of Nebuchadnezzar’s decree against the 
Magi. Dan. 2 : 14 ff. In consequence 
of his success he was made “ ruler of 
the whole province of Babylon.” Dan. 
2:48. He afterwards interpreted the 
second dream of Nebuchadnezzar, Dan. 
4 : 8-27, and the handwriting on the 
wall which disturbed the feast of Bel- 
shazzar. Dan. 5 : 10-28. At the acces- 
sion of Darius he was made first of 
the “ three presidents ” of the empire, 
Dan. 6 : 2, and was delivered from the 
lions’ den, into which he had been cast 
for his faithfulness to the rites of his 
faith. Dan. 6 : 10-23 ; cf. Bel and Dr. 
29-42. At the accession of Cyrus he 
still retained his prosperity, Dan. 6 : 28, 
cf. 1 : 21, though he does not appear to 
have remained at Babylon, cf. Dan. 1 : 
21 ; and in “ the third year of Cyrus ” 
(b.c. 534) he saw his last recorded 
vision, on the banks of the Tigris. Dan. 
10:1, 4. In the prophecies of Ezekiel 
mention is made of Daniel as a pattern 
of righteousness, Ezek. 14 : 14, 20, and 
wisdom. Ezek. 28 : 3. The narrative in 
Dan. 1:11-16 implies that Daniel was 
conspicuously distinguished for purity 
and knowledge at a very early age. 


3. A descendant of Ithamar, who re- 
turned with Ezra. Ezra 8 : 2. 

4. A priest who sealed the covenant 
drawn up by Nehemiah. Neh. 10:6. 
He is perhaps the same as No. 3. 

Dan'iel, The book of, stands at the 
head of a series of writings in which 
the deepest thoughts of the Jewish peo- 
ple found expression after the close of 
the prophetic era. Daniel is composed 
partly in the vernacular Aramaic 
(Chaldee) and partly in the sacred He- 
brew. 

The book of Daniel is divided into 
two parts. The first six chapters are 
written in the third person, and give an 
account of the wonderful deliverances 
of Daniel. The remaining chapters re- 
late the visions of Daniel told in apoca- 
lyptic, that is a peculiar form of sym- 
bolic, . language. All are intended to 
sustain the faith of the people for whom 
he wrote, by means of the great and pre- 
cious promises and truths they reveal. 

There are three views by modern 
scholars as to the interpretation of this 
book. The first treats the book as a 
real history of the captive Daniel, and 
his visions as prophetic outlooks upon 
the future giving to the exiles an as- 
sured hope of deliverance and final vic- 
tory for their nation and the religion 
for which they stood. In this case the 
book belongs to the century beginning 
about 600 b.c., but it is unknown when 
it was finally edited. The second view, 
adopted by a large number of modern 
scholars, is that the first six chapters 
are hero-tales, fictions founded on fact, 
and told to the Jews in their terrible 
sufferings and conflicts in the days of 
the Maccabees in the second century 
b.c. to encourage and strengthen them, 
while the visions are chiefly history 
rather than prophecy. The third view 
is that the book of Daniel is an apoca- 
lypse, like to the book of Revelation ; 
truths and facts told by means of sym- 
bols, as Paul’s trials in Ephesus are 
expressed as fighting with the beasts 
of Ephesus, or Bunyan’s real conflicts 
with the opposition of his times are 
pictured by means of Apollyon. While 
the visions are real prophecy, told by 
apocalyptic symbols. There are unsolved 
difficulties in each view, perhaps not 
more in one view than in the others. 
The power of the teaching and inspira- 
tion to trust in God is in proportion 
to the real truth of the narrative. 


DAN 


140 


DAR 


Dan'iel, Apocryphal additions to. 

The Greek translations of Daniel con- 
tain several pieces which are not found 
in the original text. The most import- 
ant are contained in the Apocrypha of 
the English Bible under the titles of 
The Song of the Three Holy Children , 
The History of Susannah, and The His- 
tory of . . . Bel and the Dragon. 

The first of these is supposed to be the 
triumphal song of the three confessors 
in the furnace, Dan. 3 : 23, praising God 
for their deliverance, of which a chief 
part (35-66) has been used as a hymn 
in the Christian Church since the fourth 
century. The second, called also The 
Judgment of Daniel, relates the story of 
the clearing of Susannah from a charge 
of adultery; and the third gives an 
exaggerated account of Daniel’s deliv- 
erance. 

Dan'ites (dan'ites), The. The de- 
scendants of Dan and the members of 
his tribe. Judges 13:2; 18:1, 11; 1 
Chron. 12 : 35. 

Dan=ja'an (dan-ja'an) ( Danian , i. e. 
belonging to Dan) . 2 Sam. 24 : 6. 

Probably the same as Dan. 

Dan'nah (dan'nah), a city in the 
mountains of Judah, Josh. 15 : 49, and 
probably south or southwest of Hebron. 
Conder considers that it probably is the 
modern Idnah. 

Da'ra (da'ra). 1 Chron. 2:6. [Dar- 
da.] 

Dar'da (dar'da) ( pearl of wisdom), 
a son of Mahol, one of four men of 
great fame for their wisdom, but sur- 
passed by Solomon. 1 Kings 4 : 31. 

Daric (from dara, a king), Authorized 
Version “dram,” 1 Chron. 29:7; Ezra 
2:69; 8:27; Neh. 7:70, 71, 72, a gold 
coin current in Palestine in the period 
after the return from Babylon. It 
weighed 128 grains, and was worth 
about five dollars. At these times there 
was no large issue of gold money ex- 
cept by the Persian kings. The darics 
which have been discovered are thick 
pieces of pure gold, of archaic style, 
bearing on the obverse the figure of a 
king with bow and javelin or bow and 
dagger, and on the reverse an irregular 
incuse square. The silver daric was 
worth about fifty cents. 

Darius (da-ri'us) {lord), the name of 
several kings of Media and Persia. 1. 
Darius the Mede, Dan. 6:1; 11 : 1, 
“the son of Ahasuerus,” Dan. 9 : 1, who 
succeeded to the Babylonian kingdom on 


the death of Belshazzar, being then six- 
ty-two years old. Dan. 5 : 31 ; 9:1. 

(b.c. 538.) Only one year of his reign 
is mentioned, Dan. 9:1; 11 : 1, but that 
was of great importance for the Jews. 
Daniel was advanced by the king to the 
highest dignity, Dan. 6:1 ff., and in his 
reign was cast into the lions’ den. Dan. 



THE IMPRESSION OF THE CYLINDER SEAL- 
OF DARIUS. 

The trilingual inscription, in Old Persian, Me- 
dian, and Babylonian, reads: “I am Darius, 
the Great King.” 

6. The identification of this Darius is 
a subject of dispute among modern 
scholars. Perhaps the most satisfactory 
explanation is that he was governor of 
the city of Babylon during the interim 
between the conquest and the coming 
of Cyrus, and perhaps known to secular 
history by another name. 

2. Darius, the son of Hystaspes the 
founder of the Perso-Arian dynasty. 
Upon the usurpation of the magian 
Smerdis, he conspired with six other 
Persian chiefs to overthrow the impos- 
tor, and on the success of the plot was 
placed upon the throne, b.c. 521. With 
regard to the Jews, Darius Hystaspes 
pursued the same policy as Cyrus, and 
restored to them the privileges which 
they had lost. Ezra 4:24; 6:1, etc. 

3. Darius the Persian, Neh. 12 : 22, 
may be identified with Darius II. No- 
thus (Ochus), king of Persia B.c. 424-3 
to 405-4; but it is not improbable that 
it points to Darius III. Codomannus, 
the antagonist of Alexander and the last 
king of Persia, b.c. 336-330. 

Darkness is spoken of as encompass- 
ing the actual presence of God, as that 
out of which he speaks, — the envelope, 
as it were, of divine glory. Ex. 20 : 21 ; 
1 Kings 8 : 12. The plague of darkness 
in Egypt was miraculous. The dark- 
ness “ over all the land,” Matt. 27 : 45, at- 
tending the crucifixion has been attrib- 
uted to an eclipse, but was undoubtedly 


DAR 


141 


DAV 


miraculous, as no eclipse of the sun 
could have taken place at that time, the 
moon being at the full at the time of the 
passover. Darkness is also, as in the 
expression “ land of darkness,” used for 
the state of the dead, Job 10: 21, 22; and 
frequently, figuratively, for ignorance 
and unbelief, as the privation of spiritual 
light. John 1:5; 3 : 19. 

Dar'kon (dar'kon) ( scattering ). 
Children of Darkon were among the 

servants of Solomon ” who returned 
from Babylon with Zerubbabel. Ezra 2 : 
56; Neh. 7 : 58. 

Dates. 2 Chron. 31: 5, marg. [Palm 
tree.] 

Da'than (da'than), a Reubenite chief- 
tain, son of Eliab, who joined the con- 
spiracy of Korah the Levite. Num. 16: 
1 ; 26 : 9 ; Deut. 11 : 6 ; Ps. 106 : 17. (b.c. 

about 1471.) 

Daughter. The word is used in 
Scripture not only for daughter, but for 
granddaughter or other female descend- 
ant. Gen. 24:48. It is used of the fe- 
male inhabitants of a place or country, 
Gen. 6:2; Luke 23 : 28, and of cities in 
general, Isa. 10 : 32 ; 23 : 12, but more 
specifically of dependent towns or ham- 
lets, while to the principal city the cor- 
relative “ mother ” is applied. Num. 21 : 
25. “ Daughters of music,” i. e. singing 

birds, Eccles. 12 : 4, refers to the power 
of making and enjoying music. 

Da'vid ( well-beloved ), the son of 
Jesse. His life may be divided into 
three portions : 1. His youth before his 

introduction to the court of Saul; 2. 
His relations with Saul ; 3. His reign. 

1. The early life of David contains in 
many important respects the antecedents 
of his future career. It appears that 
David was the youngest son, probably 
the youngest child, of a family of ten, 
and was born in Bethlehem b.c. 1085. 
The first time that David appears in 
history at once admits us to the whole 
family circle. The annual sacrificial 
feast is being held when Samuel ap- 
pears, sent by God to anoint one of 
Jesse’s sons as king of Israel in place 
of Saul. 1 Sam. 16:1. Rejecting the 
elder sons as they pass before him, 16 : 
6-10, Samuel sends for the youngest, 
David, who was “ keeping the sheep,” 
and anoints him. 1 Sam. 16: 11-13. As 
David stood before Samuel we are en- 
abled. to fix his appearance at once in 
our minds. He was of short stature, 
with red or auburn hair, such as is not 


unfrequently seen in his countrymen of 
the East at the present day. In later 
life he wore a beard. His bright eyes 
are specially mentioned, 1 Sam. 16 : 12, 
and generally he was remarkable for 
the grace of his figure and countenance, 
“ fair of eyes,” “ comely,” “ goodly,” 
1 Sam. 16 : 12, 18 ; 17 : 42, well made, 
and of immense strength and agility. 
His swiftness and activity made him 
like a wild gazelle, his feet like hart’s 
feet, and his arms strong enough to 
break a bow of steel. Ps. 18 : 33, 34. 
After the anointing David resumes his 
accustomed duties, and the next we 
know of him he is summoned to the 
court to chase away the king’s madness 
by music, 1 Sam. 16 : 14-19, and in the 
successful effort of David’s harp we 
have the first glimpse into that genius 
for music and poetry which was after- 
wards consecrated in the Psalms. After 
this he returned to the old shepherd 
life again. One incident alone of his 
solitary shepherd life has come down 
to us — his conflict with the lion and the 
bear in defence of his father’s flocks. 1 
Sam. 17 : 34, 35. It was some years 
after this that David suddenly appears 
before his brothers in the camp of the 
army, and hears the defiant challenge of 
the Philistine giant Goliath. With his 
shepherd’s sling and five small pebbles 
he goes forth and defeats the giant. 1 
Sam. 17:40-51. 

2. Relations with Saul . — We now en- 
ter on a new aspect of David’s life. 
The _ victory over Goliath had been a 
turning-point of his career. Saul in- 
quired his parentage, and took him fi- 
nally to his court. Jonathan was in- 
spired by the romantic friendship which 
bound the two youths together to the 
end of their lives. Unfortunately 
David’s fame proved the foundation of 
that unhappy jealousy of Saul towards 
him which, mingling with the king’s 
constitutional malady, poisoned his 
whole future relations to David. His 
position in Saul’s court seems to have 
been first armor-bearer, 1 Sam. 16 : 21 ; 
18 : 2, then captain over a thousand, 18 : 
13, and finally, on his marriage with 
Michal, the king’s second daughter, he 
was raised to the high office of captain 
of the king’s body-guard, second only, 
if not equal, to Abner, the captain of 
the host, and Jonathan, the heir appar- 
ent. David was now chiefly known for 
his successful exploits against the Philis- 


\ 


DAV 


142 


DAV 


tines, by one of which he won his wife, 
and drove back the Philistine power 
with a blow from which it only rallied 
at the disastrous close of Saul’s reign. 
He also still performed from time to 
time the office of minstrel; but the suc- 
cessive attempts of Saul upon his life 
convinced him that he was in constant 
danger. He had two faithful allies, 
however, in the court — the son of Saul, 
his friend Jonathan, and the daughter 
of Saul, his wife Michal. Warned by 
the one and assisted by the other, he es- 
caped by night, and was from thence- 
forward a fugitive. He at first found a 
home at the court of Achish, among 
the Philistines; but his stay was short. 
Discovered possibly by “ the sword of 
Goliath,” his presence revived the na- 
tional enmity of the Philistines against 
their former conqueror, and he only es- 
caped by feigning madness. 1 Sam. 21 : 
13. His first retreat was the cave of 
Adullam. In this vicinity he was joined 
by his whole family, 1 Sam. 22 : 1, and 
by a motley crowd of debtors and dis- 
contented men, 22 : 2, which formed the 
nucleus of his army. David’s life for 
the next few years was made up of a 
succession of startling incidents. He 
secures an important ally in Abiathar, 
1 Sam. 23 : 6 ; his band of 400 at Adul- 
lam soon increased to 600, 23 : 13 ; he is 
hunted by Saul from place to place like 
a partridge. 1 Sam. 23 : 14, 22, 25-29 ; 
24 : 1-22 ; 26. He marries Abigail and 
Ahinoam. 1 Sam. 25 : 42, 43. Finally 
comes the news of the battle of Gilboa 
and the death of Saul and Jonathan. 
1 Sam. 31. The reception of the tid- 
ings of the death of his rival and of 
his friend, the solemn mourning, the 
vent of his indignation against the 
bearer of the message, the pathetic lam- 
entation that followed, well close the 
second period of David’s life. 2 Sam. 
1 : 1-27. 

3. David’s reign. — 1. As king of Judah 
at Hebron, 7 y 2 years. 2 Sam. 2 : 1-5 : 5. 
Here David was first formally anointed 
king. 2 Sam. 2:4. To Judah his do- 
minion was nominally confined. Grad- 
ually his power increased, and during 
the two years which followed the eleva- 
tion of Ish-bosheth a series of skir- 
mishes took place between the two 
kingdoms. Then rapidly followed the 
successive murders of Abner and of 
Ish-bosheth. 2 Sam. 3:30; 4:5. The 
throne, so long waiting for him, was 


now vacant, and the united voice of 
the whole people at once called him to 
occupy it. For the third time David 
was anointed king, and a festival of 
three days celebrated the joyful event. 

1 Chron. 12:39. One of David’s first 
acts after becoming king was to secure 
Jerusalem, which he seized from the 
Jebusites and fixed the royal residence 
there. Fortifications were added by the 
king and by Joab, and it was known 
by the special name of the “city of 
David.” 2 Sam. 5:9; 1 Chron. 11 : 7. 
The ark was now removed from its ob- 
scurity at Kirjath-jearim with marked 
solemnity, and conveyed to Jerusalem. 

2. The erection of the new capital at 
Jerusalem introduces us to a new era 
in David’s life and in the history of 
the monarchy. He became a king on 
the scale of the great Oriental sover- 
eigns of Egypt and Persia, with a reg- 
ular administration and organization of 
court and camp ; and he also founded 
an imperial dominion which for the first 
time realized the prophetic description of 
the bounds of the chosen people. Gen. 
15 : 18-21. During the succeeding ten 
years the nations bordering on his king- 
dom caused David more or less trouble, 
but during this time he reduced to a 
state of permanent subjection the Phi- 
listines on the west, 2 Sam. 8:1; the 
Moabites on the east, 2 Sam. 8:2, by 
the exploits of Benaiah, 2 Sam. 23:20; 
the Syrians on the northeast as far as 
the Euphrates, 2 Sam. 8:3; the Edom- 
ites, 2 Sam. 8 : 14, on the south ; and 
finally the Ammonites, who had broken 
their ancient alliance, and made one 
grand resistance to the advance of his 
empire. 2 Sam. 10 : 1^19 ; 12 : 26-31. 

Three great calamities may be selected 
as marking the beginning, middle and 
close of David’s otherwise prosperous 
reign, which appear to be intimated in 
the question of Gad, 2 Sam. 24 : 13, “ a 
three-years famine, a three-months 
flight or a three-days pestilence.” a. 
Of these the first (the three-years fam- 
ine) introduces us to the last notices 
of David’s relations with the house of 
Saul, already referred to. b. The sec- 
ond group of incidents contains the 
tragedy of David’s life, which grew 
in all its parts out of the polygamy, 
with its evil consequences, into which 
he had plunged on becoming king. 
Underneath the splendor of his last 
glorious campaign against the Ammon- 


DAV 


143 


DAV 


ites was a dark story, known probably 
at that time only to a very few — the 
double crime of adultery with Bath- 
sheba and the virtual murder of Uriah. 
The 'clouds from this time gathered over 
David’s fortunes, and henceforward 
“ the sword never departed from his 
house.” 2 Sam. 12 : 10. The outrage 
on his daughter Tamar, the murder of 
his . eldest son Amnon, and then the 
revolt of his best-beloved, Absalom, 
brought on the crisis which once more 


sent him forth a wanderer, as in the 
days when he fled from Saul. 2 Sam. 
15 : 18. The final battle of Absalom’s 
rebellion was fought in the. “ forest of 
Ephraim,” and terminated in the acci- 
dent which led to the young man’s 
death; and, though nearly heart-broken 
at the loss of his son, David again 
reigned in undisturbed peace at Jerusa- 
lem. 2 Sam. 20 : 1-22. c. The closing 
period of David’s life, with the excep- 
tion of one great calamity, may be con- 
sidered as a gradual preparation for the 
reign of his successor. This calamity 
was the three-days pestilence which vis- 
ited Jerusalem at the warning of the 
prophet Gad. The occasion which led 
to this warning was the census of the 
people taken by Joab at the king’s or- 
ders, 2 Sam. 24 : 1-9 ; 1 Chron. 21 : 1-7 ; 
27 : 23, 24, which was for some reason 
sinful in God’s sight. 2 Sam. 24. A 
formidable conspiracy to interrupt the 
succession broke out in the last days of 
David’s reign ; but the plot was stifled, 
and Solomon’s inauguration took place 
under his father’s auspices. 1 Kings 1 : 
1-53. By this time David’s infirmities 
had grown upon him. His last song is 
preserved — a striking union of the ideal 
of a just ruler which he had placed be- 
fore him and of the difficulties which he 
had felt in realizing it. 2 Sam. 23 : 1-7. 
His last words to his successor are gen- 
eral exhortations to his duty.- 1 Kings 
2 : 1-9. He died, according to Josephus, 
at the age of 70, and “ was buried in the 
city of David.” After the return from 
the captivity, “ the sepulchres of David ” 
were still pointed out “ between Siloah 
and the house of the mighty men,” or 
“ the guard-house.” Neh. 3 : 16. His 
tomb, which became the general sepul- 
chre of the kings of Judah, was pointed 
out in the latest times of the Jewish 
people. The edifice shown as such from 
the Crusades to the present day is on 
the southern hill of modern Jerusalem, 


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commonly called Mount Zion, under the 
so-called “ Coenaculum but it cannot 
be identified with the tomb of David, 
which was emphatically within the 
walls. 

Da'vid, City of. [Jerusalem.] 

Day. The variable length of the nat- 
ural day at different seasons led in the 
very earliest times to the adoption of 
the civil day (or one revolution of the 
sun) as a standard of time. The He- 
brews reckoned the day from evening 
to evening, Lev. 23 : 32, deriving it from 
Gen. 1:5,“ the evening and the morning 
were the first day.” The Jews are sup- 
posed, like the modern Arabs, to have 
adopted from an early period minute 
specifications of the parts of the natural 
day. Roughly, indeed, they were con- 
tent to divide it into “ morning, evening 
and noonday,” Ps. 55 : 17 ; but when 
they wished for greater accuracy they 
pointed to six unequal parts, each of 
which was again subdivided. These are 
held to have been — 1. “ The dawn.” 2. 
“ Sunrise.” 3. “ Heat of the day,” about 
9 o’clock. 4. “The two noons,” Gen. 
43:16; Deut. 28:29. 5. “The cool (lit. 

wind) of the day,” before sunset, Gen. 
3 : 8, — so called by the Persians to this 
day. 6. “ Evening.” Before the captiv- 
ity the Jews divided the night into three 
watches, Ps. 63 : 6 ; 90 : 4, viz. the first 
watch, lasting till midnight, Lam. 2 : 19 ; 
the “ middle watch,” lasting till cock- 
crow, Judges 7 : 19 ; and the “ morning 
watch,” lasting till sunrise, Ex. 14 : 24. 
In the New Testament we have allusions 
to four watches, a division borrowed 
from the Greeks and Romans. These 
were — 1. From twilight till 9 o’clock, 
Mark 11:11; John 20:19. 2. Mid- 
night, from 9 till 12 o’clock, Mark 13 : 
35. 3. Till 3 in the morning, Mark 13: 

35; 3 Macc. 5:23. 4. Till daybreak. 
John 18:28. The word held to mean 
“hour” is first found in Dan. 3:6, 15; 
5 : 5. Perhaps the Jews, like the Greeks, 
learned from the Babylonians the divi- 
sion of the day into twelve parts. In our 
Lord’s time the division w^s common. 
John 11 : 9. 

Daysman, an old English term, mean- 
ing umpire or arbitrator. Job 9 : 33. 

Deacon. The office described by this 
title appears in the New Testament as 
the correlative of bishop. [Bishop.] 
The two are mentioned together in 
Philip. 1 : 1 ; 1 Tim. 3:2, 8. Its original 
meaning implied a helper, an assistant. 


The bishops were the “ elders,” the dea- 
cons the young active men, of the 
church. The narrative of Acts 6 is com- 
monly referred to as giving an account 
of the institution of this office. The 
apostles, in order to meet the complaints 
of the Hellenistic Jews that their widows 
were neglected in the daily ministration, 
call on the body of believers to choose 
seven men “ full of the Holy Ghost and 
of wisdom,” whom they “ may appoint 
over this business.” It may be ques- 
tioned, however, whether the seven were 
not appointed to higher functions than 
those of the deacons of the New Testa- 
ment. Qualifications and duties. — Spe- 
cial directions as to the qualifications 
for and the duties of deacons will be 
found in Acts 6 : 1-6 and 1 Tim. 3 : 8-12. 
From the analogy of the synagogue, and 
from the scanty notices in the New Tes- 
tament, we may think of the deacons 
or “young men” at Jerusalem as pre- 
paring the rooms for meetings, distri- 
buting alms, maintaining order at the 
meetings, baptizing new converts, dis- 
tributing the elements at the Lord’s Sup- 
per. 

Deaconess. The word dianovos is 
found in Rom. 16:1 (Authorized Ver- 
sion “servant”) associated with a fe- 
male name, and this has led to the con- 
clusion that there existed in the apos- 
tolic age, as there undoubtedly did a 
little later, an order of women bearing 
that title, and exercising in relation to 
their own sex functions which were 
analogous to those of the deacons. On 
this hypothesis it has been inferred that 
the women mentioned in Rom. 16 : 6, 12 
belonged to such an order. The rules 
given as to the conduct of women in 1 
Tim. 3:11, Titus 2: 3, have in like man- 
ner been referred to them, and they have 
been identified even with the “ widows ” 
of 1 Tim. 5:3-10. 

Dead Sea. This name nowhere oc- 
curs in the Bible, and appears not to 
have existed until the second century 
after Christ. [See Sea, The Salt.] 

Dearth. [Famine.] 

De'bir (de'bir) (a sanctuary ), the 
name of three places of Palestine. 1. 
A town in the mountains of Judah, 
Josh. 15 : 49, one of a group of eleven 
cities to the west of Hebron. The ear- 
lier name of Debir was Kirjath-sepher, 
“ city of book,” Josh. 15:15; Judges 1 : 
11, and Kirjath-sannah, “city of palm.” 
Josh. 15:49. It was one of the cities 


DEB 


145 


DEL 


given with their “ suburbs ” to the 
priests. Josh. 21:15; 1 Chron. 6:58. 
Debir has not been discovered with 
certainty in modern times ; but about 
three miles to the West of Hebron is 
a deep and secluded valley called the 
Wady Nunkur, enclosed on the north 
by hills, of which one bears a name 
certainly suggestive of Debir — Dewir- 
ban. 

2. A place on the north boundary of 
Judah; near the “valley of Achor.” 
Josh. 15 : 7. Some identify it with the 
present Throghret ed Debir near Aaum- 
mim on the way from Jerusalem to 
Jericho. 

3. The. “ border of Debir ” is named 
as forming part of the boundary of 
Gad, Josh. 13 : 26, and as apparently not 
far from Mahanaim. 

De'bir, king of Eglon; one of the 
five kings hanged by Joshua. Josh. 10: 
3, 23. 

Deb'orah (deb'o-rah) {a bee), (b.c. 
1857.) 1. The nurse of Rebekah. Gen. 

35 : 8. Deborah accompanied Rebekah 
from the house of Bethuel, Gen. 24 : 59, 
and is only mentioned by name on the 
occasion of her burial under the oak tree 
of Bethel, which was called in her honor 
Allon-bachuth. 

2. A prophetess who judged Israel. 
Judges 4, 5. She lived under the palm 
tree of Deborah, between Ramah and 
Bethel in Mount Ephraim, Judges 4 : 5, 
which, as palm trees were rare in Pales- 
tine, “ is mentioned as a well-known 
and solitary landmark.” She was prob- 
ably a woman of Ephraim. Lapidoth 
was probably her husband, and not 
Barak, as some say. She was not so 
much a judge as one gifted with pro- 
phetic command, Judges 4:6, 14; 5:7, 
and by virtue of her inspiration “a 
mother in Israel.” The tyranny of 
Jabin, a Canaanitish king, was pecu- 
liarly felt in the northern tribes, who 
were near his capital and under her jur- 
isdiction. Under her direction Barak 
encamped on the broad summit of Ta- 
bor. Deborah’s prophecy was fulfilled, 
Judges 4 : 9, and the enemy’s general 
perished among the “ oaks of the wan- 
derers ” (Zaanaim), in the tent of the 
Bedouin Kenite’s wife, Judges 4:21, in 
the northern mountains. 

Decap'olis (de-kap'o-lis). A district 
beginning where the plain of Esdraelon 
opens into the Jordan valley, and ex- 
panding eastward, which was dominated 
10 


by ten associated Greek cities. It in- 
cluded Gadara. 

De'dan (de'dan). 1. The name of a 
son of Raamah, son of Cush. Gen. 10: 
7 ; 1 Chron. 1 : 9. 

2. A son of Jokshan, son of Abraham 
by his second wife Keturah. Gen. 25: 
3 ; 1 Chron. 1 : 32. 

Ded'anim (ded'a-nim), descendants 
of Dedan 1. Isa. 21 : 13. [Dedan.] 

Dedication, Feast of the, the fes- 
tival instituted to commemorate the 
purging of the temple and the rebuild- 
ing of the altar after Judas Maccabseus 
had driven out the Syrians, b.c. 164. 
1 Macc. 4 : 52-59. It is named only 
once in the canonical Scriptures. John 
10: 22. It commenced on the 25th of 
Chisleu (early in December), the an- 
niversary of the pollution of the temple 
by Antiochus Epiphanes, b.c. 167. Like 
the great Mosaic feasts, it lasted eight 
days, but it did not require attendance 
at Jerusalem. It was an occasion of 
much festivity, and was celebrated in 
nearly the same manner as the feast of 
tabernacles, with the carrying of 
branches of trees and with much sing- 
ing. In the temple at Jerusalem the 
“ Hallel ” was sung every day of the 
feast. 

Deer. [Fallow-deer.] 

Degrees, Songs of, a title given to 
fifteen Psalms, from 120 to 134 inclusive. 
Four of them are attributed to David, 
one is ascribed to the pen of Solomon, 
and the other ten give no indication of 
their author. With respect to the term 
rendered in the Authorized Version 
“ degrees ” a great diversity of views 
prevails, but the most probable opinion 
is that they were pilgrim songs, sung 
by the people as they went up to Jeru- 
salem. 

Deha'vites ( de-ha' vltes), mentioned 
only once in Scripture, Ezra 4 : 9, among 
the colonists planted in Samaria after 
the completion of the captivity of Israel. 
They are possibly the Dai or Dahi, 
mentioned by Herodotus (i. 125) among 
the nomadic tribes of Persia. 

De'kar (de'kar) {perforation) . The 
son of Dekar, i. e. Ben Dekar, was 
Solomon’s commissariat officer in the 
western part of the hill-country of 
Judah and Benjamin, Shaalbim and 
Bethshemesh. 1 Kings 4:9. R. V. 
Deker. 

Delai'ah (del-a-i'ah) {freed by Je- 
hovah). 1. A priest in the time of 


DEL 


146 


DEN 


David, leader of the twenty-third course 
of priests. 1 Chron. 24 : 18. 

2. “ Children of Delaiah ” were 
among the people of uncertain pedigree 
who returned from Babylon with Zerub- 
babel. Ezra 2:60; Neh. 7:62. 

3. Son of Mehetabeel and father of 
Shemaiah. Neh. 6 : 10. 

4. Son of Shemaiah, one of the 

“ princes ” about the court of Jehoiakim. 
Jer. 36 : 12, 25. (b.c. 604.) 

Deli'lah (de T li'lah) or Delilah ( lan- 
guishing ), a woman who dwelt in the 
valley of Sorek, beloved by Samson. 
Judges 16:4-18. There seems to be 
little doubt that she was a Philistine 
courtesan. [Samson.] 

. Deluge. [Noah.] 

De'mas (ae'mas) ( governor of the 
people), most probably a contraction 
from Demetrius, or perhaps from De- 
marchus, a companion of St. Paul, Phil. 
24 ; Col. 4 : 14, during his first imprison- 
ment at Rome. (b.c. 62.) At a later 
period, 2 Tim. 4 : 10, we find him men- 
tioned as having deserted the apostle 
through love of this present world, and 
gone to Thessalonica. 

Deme'trius (de-me'tri-us) ( belong- 
ing to Demeter). 1. A maker of silver 
shrines of Artemis at Ephesus. Acts 
19:24 (about a.d. 57). These were 
small models of the great temple of 
the Ephesian Artemis, with her statue, 
which it was customary to carry on 
journeys, and place on houses as 
charms. 

2. A disciple, 3 John 12, mentioned 
with commendation (about a.d. 90). 
Possibly the first Demetrius, converted; 
but this is very doubtful. 

Demon. In the Gospels generally, 
in James 2:19 and in Rev. 16:14 the 
demons are spoken of as spiritual be- 
ings, at enmity with God, and having 
power to afflict man not only with dis- 
ease, but, as is marked by the frequent 
epithet “ unclean,” with spiritual pollu- 
tion also. They “ believe ” the power 
of God “and tremble,” James 2:19; 
they recognized the Lord as the Son of 
God, Matt. 8 : 29 ; Luke 4 : 41, and ac- 
knowledged the power of his name, 
used in exorcism, in the place of the 
name of Jehovah, by his appointed mes- 
sengers, Acts 19 : 15 ; and looked for- 
ward in terror to the judgment to come. 
Matt. 8 : 29. The description is pre- 
cisely that of a nature akin to the an- 
gelic . in knowledge and powers, but 


with the emphatic addition of the idea 
of positive and active wickedness. 

Demoniacs. This word is frequently 
used in the New Testament, and ap- 
plied to persons suffering under the 
possession of a demon or evil spirit, 
such possession generally showing itself 
visibly in bodily disease or mental de- 
rangement. It has been maintained by 
many persons that our Lord and the 
evangelists, in referring to demoniacal 
possession, spoke only in accommoda- 
tion to the general belief of the Jews, 
without any assertion as to its truth or 
its falsity. It is concluded that, since 
the symptoms of the affliction were fre- 
quently those of bodily disease (as 
dumbness, Matt. 9 : 32 ; blindness, Matt. 
12:22; epilepsy, Mark 9:17-27), or 
those seen in cases of ordinary insanity 
(as in Matt. 8:28; Mark 5:1-5), the 
demoniacs were merely persons suffer- 
ing under unusual diseases of body 
and mind. But demoniacs are frequent- 
ly distinguished from those afflicted 
with,, bodily sickness, see Mark 1:32; 
16 : 17, 18 ; Luke 6 : 17, 18 ; the same 
outward signs are sometimes referred 
to possession, sometimes merely to dis- 
ease, comp. Matt. 4 : 24 with 17 : 15 ; 
Matt. 12 : 22 with Mark 7 : 32, etc. ; the 
demons are represented as speaking in 
their own persons with superhuman 
knowledge. Matt. 8 : 29 ; Mark 1 : 24 ; 
5:7; Luke 4 : 41, etc. All these things 
speak of a personal power of evil.- 
Twice _ our Lord distinctly connects 
demoniacal possession with the power 
of the evil one. Luke 10 : 18. Lastly, 
the single fact recorded of the entrance 
of the demons at Gadara, Mark 5 : 10- 
14, into the herd of swine, and the effect 
which that entrance caused* is sufficient 
to overthrow the notion that our Lord 
and the evangelists do not assert or 
imply any objective reality of posses- 
sion. We are led, therefore, to the or- 
dinary and literal interpretation of 
these passages, that there are evil spirits;, 
subjects of the evil one, who, in the 
days of the Lord himself and his apos- 
tles especially, were permitted by God 
to exercise a direct influence over the 
souls and bodies of certain men. 

Denarius ( containing ten), Author- 
ized Version “penny,” Matt. 18:.28; 20: 
2, 9, 13, a Roman silver coin in the 
time of our Saviour and the apostles, 
worth about 16 cents. It took its name 
from its being first equal to ten “-asses,” 


DEP 


147 


DEU 


a number afterwards increased to six- 
teen. It was the principal silver coin 
of the Roman commonwealth. From 
the parable of the laborers in the vine- 
yard it would seem that a denarius was 
then the ordinary pay for a day’s labor. 
Matt. 20 : 2, 4, 7, 9, 10, 13. 

Deputy. Acts 13 : 7, 8, 12 ; 19 : 38. 
The Greek word signifies proconsul, the 
title of the Roman governors who were 
appointed by the senate. 

Der'be (der'be). Acts 14:20, 21; 16: 
1 ; 20 : 4. The exact position of this 
town has not yet been ascertained, but 
its general situation is undoubted. It 
was in the eastern part of the great 
upland plain of Lycaonia, which 
stretches from Iconium eastward along 
the north side of the chain of Taurus. 
Professor Sterrett places it at Zosta or 
Losta about 45 miles south of Konia 
(Iconium) ; but the identification is still 
uncertain, though it seems probable, and 
doubtless is in that region. 

Desert. Not a stretch of sand, an 
utterly barren waste, but a wild, unin- 
habited region. The words rendered in 
the Authorized Version by “ desert,” 
when used in the historical books de- 
note definite localities. 

1. Arabah. This word means that 
very depressed and enclosed region — the 
deepest and the hottest chasm in the 
world — the sunken valley north and 
south of the Dead Sea, but more partic- 
ularly the former. [Arabah.] Arabah 
in the sense of the Jordan valley is 
translated by the word “ desert ” only 
in Ezek. 47 : 8. 

2. Midbar. This word, which our 
translators have most frequently ren- 
dered by “ desert,” is accurately “ the 
pasture ground.” It is most frequently 
used for those tracts of waste land 
which lie beyond the cultivated ground 
in the immediate neighborhood of the 
towns and villages of Palestine, and 
which are a very familiar feature to 
the traveller in that country. Ex. 3:1; 
5:3; 19 : 2. 

3. Charbah appears to have the force 
of dryness, and thence of desolation. It 
is rendered “desert” in Ps. 102:6; Isa. 
48 : 21 ; Ezek. 13 : 4. The term com- 
monly employed for it in the Author- 
ized Version is “ waste places” or 
“ desolation.” 

4. Jeshimon, with the definite article, 
apparently denotes the waste tracts on 
both sides of the Dead Sea. In all these 


cases it is treated as a proper name in 
the Authorized Version. Without the 
article it occurs in a few passages of 
poetry, in the following of which it is 
rendered “ desert :” Ps. 78 : 40 ; 106 : 14 ; 
Isa. 43 : 19, 20. 

Deuel, or Deu'el (deu'el) ( knowl- 
edge of God), father of Eliasaph, the 
“captain” of the tribe of Gad at the 
time of the numbering of the people at 
Sinai. Num. 1 : 14 ; 7 : 42, 47 ; 10 : 20. 
(b.c. 1491.) The same man is men- 
tioned again in Num. 2 : 14, but here 
the name appears as Reuel. 

Deuteronomy — which means “ the 
repetition of the law ” — is the reformu- 
lation of the legislation of the previous 
books for a special purpose, with such 
changes and revisions as are fitting to 
a people about to leave the wilderness 
and enter upon their permanent home. 
This book is one of the chief storm 
centres around which the critical dis- 
cussions of our day are raging. In our 
brief space there is not room for any 
adequate statement of the critical posi- 
tion, for which the larger dictionaries 
must be consulted. 

“ Deuteronomy as a literary work is 
a collection of Orations and Songs of 
Moses, constituting his Farewell to the 
people of Israel.’’ 

Professor Moulton regards the ora- 
tions as masterpieces of oratory to the 
level of which even Demosthenes did not 
rise, — orations “ culminating in song 
which no other oratory has ever sur- 
passed ;” and “ no . work of literature 
has produced a greater sensation.” 

Deuteronomy or some part of it is 
generally regarded by scholars as the 
“ Book of the Law ” discovered by Hil- 
kiah in the eighteenth year of the reign 
of Josiah (b.c. 621) which produced 
“ the most sudden reformation move- 
ment in all history.” It would be an 
anomaly in literary history, if a book 
of such power and influence had been 
written by an unknown author in the 
reigns immediately preceding Josiah. 

Even if the book has had additions 
and revisions by later authors, the por- 
tions that produced this effect must 
have been old, and included the chap- 
ters which proclaimed so vividly the 
terrible denunciations against disobe- 
dience, and the one only way of making 
a prosperous nation. “We must em- 
phasize,” says George Adam Smith, in 
his latest book Jerusalem (1908), “that 


DEV 


148 


DIA 


what these reformers did, was not to 
create a body of fresh and novel laws. 
. . . Deuteronomy is a living and 

divine Book, because, like every other 
religious reformation in which God’s 
spirit may be felt, it is at once loyal 
to the essential truth revealed in the 
past . . . while receptive of the 

fresh directions of the living God.” 

There are three addresses by Moses, 
containing a recapitulation of the law; 
“the Song of Moses;” “The Blessing 
of Moses ” upon the twelve tribes ; and 
the story of the death of Moses. 

The great lessons of the spirituality 
and unity of God, the love of God and 
of man as the sum of the command- 
ments, are most impressively taught. 

But the part which had the greatest 
influence was the setting forth of the 
two ways that lay before individuals 
and the nation, on the choice of which 
their destiny depended, in terms of ma- 
terial prosperity, as a visible illustra- 
tion of moral and spiritual reality. 

Devil ( slanderer ). The name de- 
scribes Satan as slandering God to man 
and man to God. The former work is, 
of course, a part of his great work of 
temptation to evil ; and is not only ex- 
emplified but illustrated as to its general 
nature and tendency by the narrative of 
Gen. 3. The other work, the slandering 
or accusing man before God, is the im- 
putation of selfish motives, Job 1:9, 10, 
and its refutation is placed in the self- 
sacrifice of those “ who loved not their 
own lives unto death.” [Satan; De- 
mon.] 

Dew. This in the summer is so co- 
pious in Palestine that it supplies to 
some extent the absence of rain and be- 
comes important to the agriculturist. 
Thus it is coupled in the divine blessing 
with rain, or mentioned as a prime 
source of fertility, Gen. 27 : 28 ; Deut. 
33 : 13 ; Zech. 8 : 12, and its withdrawal 
is attributed to a curse. 2 Sam. 

1 : 21 ; 1 Kings 17 : 1 ; Hag. 1 : 10. 

It becomes a leading object in 
prophetic imagery by reason o f 
its penetrating moisture without 
the apparent effort of rain, Deut. 

32 : 2 ; Job 29 : 19 ; Ps. 133 : 3 ; 

Hos. 14 : 5 ; while its speedy ev- 
anescence typifies the transient 
goodness of the hypocrite. Hos. 

6:4; 13 : 3. 

Diadem. What the “ diadem ” 
of the Jews was we know not. 


That of other nations of antiquity was 
a fillet of silk, two inches broad, bound 
round the head and tied behind. Its 
invention is attributed to Liber. Its 
color was generally white ; sometimes, 
however, it was of blue, like that of 
Darius ; and it was sown with pearls 
or other gems, Zech. 9 : 16, and en- 
riched with gold. Rev. 9:7. It was 
peculiarly the mark of Oriental sover- 
eigns. In Esther 1 : 11 ; 2 : 17, we have 
cether iov the turban worn by the Per- 
sian king, queen or other eminent per- 
sons to whom it was conceded as a spe- 
cial favor. The diadem of the king 



differed from that of others in having 
an erect triangular peak. The words in 
Ezek. 23 : 15 mean long and flowing 
head-dresses or turbans of gorgeous 
colors. [Crown.] 

Dial. “ An instrument for showing 
the time of day from the shadow of a 
style or gnomon on a graduated arc or 
surface;” rendered “steps” in Author- 



ANCIENT DIALS. 


DIA 


149 


DIB 


ized Version, Ex. 20:26; 1 Kings 10: 
19, and “ degrees,’’ 2 Kings 20 : 9, 10, 11 ; 
Isa. 38 : 8, where to give a consistent 
rendering we should read with the mar- 
gin the “ degrees ” rather than the 
“ dial ” of Ahaz. It is probable that the 
dial of Ahaz was really a series of 
steps or stairs, and that the shadow 
(perhaps of some column or obelisk on 
the top) fell on a greater or smaller 
number of them according as the sun 
was low or high. The terrace of a 
palace might easily be thus ornamented. 

Diamond (Heb. yahdlom), a gem, 
crystallized carbon, the most valued and 
brilliant of precious stones, remarkable 
for its hardness, the third precious stone 
in the second row on the breastplate of 
the high priest, Ex. 28 : 18 ; 39 : 11, and 
mentioned by Ezekiel, 28 : 13, among the 
precious stones of the king of Tyre. 
Some suppose yahdlom to be the “ em- 
erald.” Respecting shamir, which is 
translated “ diamond ” in Jer. 17 : 1 , see 
under Adamant. 

Dian'a (di-an'a). This Latin word, 
properly denoting a Roman divinity, is 
the representative of the Greek Arte- 



DIANA OF THE EPHESIANS. 


mis, the tutelary goddess of the Ephe- 
sians, who plays so important a part 
in the narrative of Acts 19. The Ephe- 
sian Diana was, however, regarded as 
invested with very different attributes, 
and is rather to be identified with As- 
tarte and other female divinities of the 
East. The head wore a mural crown, 
each hand held a bar of metal, and the 


TEMPLE OF DIANA OF THE EPHESIANS. 

lower part ended in a rude block cov- 
ered with figures of animals and mystic 
inscriptions. This idol was regarded 
as an object of peculiar sanctity, and 
was believed to have fallen down from 
heaven.. Acts 19 : 35. 

Dibla'im (dib-la'im) ( double cake), 
mother or father of Hosea’s wife 
Gomer. Hos. 1 : 3. 

Dibiath (dib'lath) (accurately Dib- 
lah), a place named only in Ezek. 6: 
14. Probably another form of Riblah. 

Di'bon (di'bon) {wasting). 1. A 
town on the east side of Jordan, in the 
rich pastoral country, which was taken 
possession of and rebuilt by the chil- 
dren of Gad. Num. 32 : 3, 34. From 
this circumstance it possibly received 
the name of Dibon-gad. Num. 33 : 45, 
46. Its first mention is in Num. 21 : 30, 
and from this it appears to have be- 
longed originally to the Moabites. We 
find Dibon counted to Reuben in the 
lists of Joshua. Josh. 13 : 9, 17. In 
the time of Isaiah and Jeremiah, how- 
ever, it was again in possession of 
Moab. Isa. 15:2; Jer. 48: 18, 22, comp. 
24. In modern times the name Dhiban 
has been discovered as attached to ex- 
tensive ruins on the Roman road, about 
three miles north of the Arnon ( Wady 
Mod jib). It has acquired especial in- 
terest since the discovery there of the 
Moabite Stone in 1868. 

2. One of the towns which were re- 
inhabited by the men of Judah after 
the return from captivity, Neh. 11:25; 
identified by some with Dimonah. 

Di'bon=gad (di'bon-gad). [Dibon, 1.] 




DIB 


150 


DIS 


Dib'ri (dib'ri), a Danite, father of 
Shelomith. Lev. 24 : 11. 

Didrachmon. [Money; Shekel.] 

Did'ymus (did'y-mus) ( the twin), a 
surname of the apostle Thomas. John 
11:16; 20:24; 21:2. [Thomas.] 

Dik'lah (dik'lah) ( palm grove). 
Gen. 10 : 27 ; 1 Chron. 1 : 21, a son of 
Joktan, whose settlements, in common 
with those of the other sons of Joktan, 
must be looked for in Arabia. It is 
thought that Diklah is a part of Arabia 
containing many palm trees. 

Dil'ean (dil'e-an), or Dilan, one of 
the cities in the lowlands of Judah. 
Josh. 15 : 38. It has not been identified 
with certainty. 

Dim'nah (dim'nah) {dung), a city 
in the tribe of Zebulun, given to the 
Merarite Levites. Josh. 21:35. 

Di'mon (di'mon), The waters of, 
some streams on the east of the Dead 
Sea, in the land of Moab, against which 
Isaiah uttered denunciation. Isa. 15 : 9. 
Gesenius conjectures that the two names 
Dimon and Dibon are the same. . 

Dimo'nah (di-mo'nah), a city in the 
south of Judah, Josh. 15 : 22, perhaps 
the same as Dibon in Neh. 11:25. 

Di'nah (di'nah) ( judged , acquitted), 
the daughter of Jacob by Leah. Gen. 
30 : 21. She accompanied her father 
from Mesopotamia to Canaan, and, 
having ventured among the inhabitants, 
was violated by Shechem the son of 
Hamor, the chieftain of the territory in 
which her father had settled. Gen. 34. 
Shechem proposed to make the usual 
reparation by paying a sum to the father 
and marrying her. Gen. 34 : 12. This 
proposal was accepted, the sons of 
Jacob demanding, as a condition of the 
proposed union, the circumcision of the 
Shechemites. They therefore assented ; 
and on the third day, when the pain and 
fever resulting from the operation were 
at the highest, Simeon and Levi, own 
brothers of Dinah, attacked them unex- 
pectedly, slew all the males, and plun- 
dered their city. Both at the time and 
on his death-bed their father Jacob 
spoke with indignation and abhorrence 
of this act. 

Di'naites (di'na-ites), Ezra 4:9, the 
name of some of the Cuthaean colonists 
who were placed in the cities of Sa- 
maria after the captivity of the ten 
tribes. 

Din'habah (din'ha-bah), Gen. 36: 
32 ; 1 Chron. 1 : 43, the capital city, and 


probably the birthplace, of Bela, spn 
of Beor king of Edom. 

Dionys'ius (di-6-nis'i-us) {devoted 
to Dionysus, i. e. Bacchus) the Areop'= 
agite, Acts 17 : 34, an eminent Athen- 
ian, converted to Christianity by the 
preaching of St. Paul. (a.d. 52.) He 
is said to have been first bishop of 
Athens. The writings which were once 
attributed to him are now confessed 
to be the production of some neo-Pla- 
tonists circulated in the fifth century. 

Diot'rephes (di-ot're-fes) {nourished 
by Zeus), a Christian mentioned in 3 
John 9, but of whom nothing is known. 

Disciple. [Apostles.] 

Diseases. [Medicine.] 

Di'shan (di'shan) {antelope), the 
youngest son of Seir the Horite. Gen. 
36 : 21, 28, 30 ; 1 Chron. 1 : 38, 42. 

Di'shon (di'shon) {antelope ) . 1. 

The fifth son of Seir. Gen. 36:21, 26, 
30 ; 1 Chron. 1 : 38. 

2. The son of Anah, and grandson of 
Seir. Gen. 36 : 25 ; 1 Chron. 1 : 41. 

Dispersion, The Jews of the, or sim- 
ply The Dispersion, was the general 
title applied to those Jews who re- 
mained settled in foreign countries after 
the return from the Babylonian exile, 
and during the period of the second 
temple. At the beginning of the Chris- 
tian era the Dispersion was divided into 
three great sections, the Babylonian, the 
Syrian, the Egyptian. From Babylon 
the Jews spread throughout Persia, 
Media and Parthia. Large settlements 
of Jews were established in Cyprus, in 
the islands of the ZEgean, and on the 
western coast of Asia Minor. Jewish 
settlements were also established at 
Alexandria by Alexander and Ptolemy 
I. The Jewish settlements in Rome 
were consequent upon the occupation of 
Jerusalem by Pompey, b.c. 63. The in- 
fluence of the Dispersion on the rapid 
promulgation of Christianity can scarce- 
ly be overrated. The course of the 
apostolic preaching followed in a reg- 
ular progress the line of Jewish settle- 
ments. The mixed assembly from 
which the first converts were gathered 
on the day of Pentecost represented 
each division of the Dispersion. Acts 
2:9-11. (1) Parthians . . . Meso- 

potamia; (2) Judea {i. e. Syria) . . . 
Pamphylia; (3) Egypt . . . Greece; 

(4) Romans . . . , and these con- 

verts naturally prepared the way for 
the apostles in the interval which pre- 


DIV 


151 


DOG 


ceded the beginning of the separate 
apostolic missions. St. James and St. 
Peter wrote to the Jews of the Dis- 
persion. James 1:1; 1 Pet. 1:1. 

Divination is a “ foretelling future 
events, or discovering things secret by 
the aid of superior beings, or other than 
human means.” It is used in Scripture 
of false systems of ascertaining the di- 
vine will. It has been universal in all 
ages, and all nations alike civilized^ and 
savage. * Numerous forms of divination 
are mentioned, such as divination by 
rods, Hos. 4 : 12 ; divination by arrows, 
Ezek. 21 : 21 ; divination by cups, Gen. 
44 : 5 ; consultation of teraphim, 1 Sam. 
15 : 23 ; Ezek. 21 : 21 ; Zech. 10 : 2 [Tera- 
phim] ; divination by the liver, Ezek. 
21 : 21 ; divination by dreams, Deut. 13 : 
2, 3; Judges 7:13; Jer. 23:32; con- 
sultation of oracles, Isa. 41 : 21-24 ; 44 : 
7. Moses forbade every species of di- 
vination, because a prying into the fu- 
ture clouds the mind with superstition, 
and because it would have been an in- 
centive to idolatry. But God supplied 
his people with substitutes for divina- 
tion which would have rendered it su- 
perfluous, and left them in no doubt as 
to his will in circumstances of danger, 
had they continued faithful. It was 
only when they were unfaithful that 
the revelation was withdrawn. 1 Sam. 
•28 : 6 ; 2 Sam. 2:1; 5 : 23, etc. Super- 
stition not un frequently goes hand in 
hand with skepticism, and hence, amid 
the general infidelity prevalent through- 
out the Roman empire at our Lord’s 
coming, imposture was rampant. Hence 
the lucrative trade of such men as Si- 
mon Magus, Acts 8:9, Bar-jesus, Acts 
13 : 6, the slave with the spirit of Py- 
thon, Acts 16 : 16, the vagabond Jews, 
exorcists, Luke 11 : 19 ; Acts 19 : 13, and 
others, 2 Tim. 3:13; Rev. 19 : 20, etc., 
as well as the notorious dealers in magi- 
cal books at Ephesus. Acts 19 : 19. 

Divorce, “ a legal dissolution of the 
marriage relation.” The law regulating 
this subject is found, Deut. 24:1-4, and 
the cases in which the right of a hus- 
band to divorce his wife was lost are 
stated ibid., 22:19, 29. The ground of 
divorce is a point on which the Jewish 
doctors of the period of the New Tes- 
tament differed widely; the school of 
Shammai seeming to limit it to a moral 
delinquency in the woman, whilst that 
of Hillel extended it to trifling causes, 
e.g., if the wife burnt the food she was 


cooking for her husband. The Phari- 
sees wished perhaps to embroil our 
Saviour with these rival schools by 
their question, Matt. 19 : 3 ; by his an- 
swer to which, as well as by his pre- 
vious maxim, Matt. 5:31, he declares 
that he regarded all the lesser causes 
than “ fornication ” as standing on too 
weak ground, and declined the question 
of how to interpret the words of Moses. 

Diz'ahab (diz'a-hab) ( region of 
gold), a place in the Arabian desert, 
mentioned Deut. 1 : 1. The situation is 
unknown, all proposed sites being very 
doubtful. 

Do'dai (do'da-I) ( loving , amorous), 
an Ahohite who commanded the course 
of the second month. 1 Chron. 27 : 4. 
It is probable that he is the same as 
Dodo, 2. 

Do'danim (do'da-mm) {leaders), 
Gen. 10 : 4 ; 1 Chron. 1 : 7, a family or 
race descended from Javan, the son of 
Japhet. Gen. 10:4; 1 Chron. 1:7. 

Dodanim was regarded as identical 
with the Dardani, who were found in 
historical times in Illyricum and Troy. 
Modern scholars, however, consider this 
impossible, and many are inclined to 
identify them with the Rhodians, espe- 
cially as some versions have Rodanim. 

Do'davah (dd'da-vah) {beloved of 
Jehovah), a man of Maresha in Judah, 
father of Eliezer, who denounced Je- 
hoshaphat’s alliance with Ahaziah. 2 
Chron. 20 : 37. 

Do'do (do'do) {loving). 1. A man 
of Bethlehem, father of Elhanan, who 
was one of David’s thirty captains. 2 
Sam. 23 : 24 ; 1 Chron. 11 : 26. He is a 
different person from 

2. Dodo the Ahohite, father of 
Eleazar, the second of the three mighty 
men who were over the thirty. 2 Sam. 
23:9; 1 Chron. 11:12. 

Do'eg (do'eg) {fearful), an Idumean, 
chief of Saul’s herdmen. (b.c. 1062.) 
He was at Nob when Ahimelech gave 
David the sword of Goliath, and not 
only gave information to Saul, but when 
others declined the office, himself exe- 
cuted the king’s order to destroy the 
priests of Nob, with their families, to 
the number of 85 persons, together with 
all their property. 1 Sam. 21 : 7 ; 22 : 9, 
18, 22; Ps. 52. 

Dog, an animal frequently mentioned 
in Scripture. It was used by the He- 
brews as a watch for their houses, Isa. 
56 : 10, and for guarding their flocks. 


DOO 


• 152 


DOV 


Job 30 : 1. Then also, as now, troops of 
hungry and semi-wild dogs used to wan- 
der about the fields and the streets of the 
cities, devouring dead bodies and other 
offal, 1 Kings 14 : 11 ; 21 : 19, 23 ; 22 : 38 ; 
Ps. 59 : 6, and thus became so savage and 



SYRIAN DOG. 


fierce and such objects of dislike that 
fierce and cruel enemies are poetically 
styled dogs in Ps. 22 : 16, 20. Moreover, 
the dog being an unclean animal, Isa. 
66 : 3, the epithets dog, dead dog, dog’s 
head, were used as terms of reproach 
or of humility in speaking of one’s self. 

1 Sam. 24 : 14 ; 2 Sam. 3:8; 9:8; 16 : 9 ; 

2 Kings 8 : 13. 

Doors. [Gate.] 

Doph'kah (dof'kah), a place men- 
tioned, Num. 33:12, as a station in the 
desert where the Israelites encamped. 
[Wilderness of the wandering.] 

Dor (dor) {dwelling), Josh. 17: 11; 1 
Kings 4 : 11, an ancient royal city of 
the Canaanites, Josh. 12 : 23, whose 
ruler was an ally of Jabin king of Ha- 
zor against Joshua. Josh. 11 : 1, 2. It 
appears to have been within the terri- 
tory of the tribe of Asher, though al- 
lotted to Manasseh. Josh. 17 : 11 ; 
Judges 1 : 27. Solomon stationed at 
Dor one of his twelve purveyors. 1 
Kings 4 :11. Jerome places it on the 
coast, “ in the ninth mile from Caesarea, 
on the way to Ptolemais.” Just at the 
point indicated is the small village of 
Tantura, probably an Arab corruption 
of Dora, consisting of about thirty 
houses, wholly constructed of ancient 
materials ; but Conder does not think 
that this answers the conditions. 

Dor'cas (dor'kas) {gazelle). [Ta- 

BITHA.] 

Dosith'eus, a “priest and Levite ” 
who carried the translation of Esther 
to Egypt. Esther 11:1, 2. (Apoc.) 


Do'than (do'than) {two wells), a 
place first mentioned, Gen. 37 : 17, in con- 
nection with the history of Joseph, and 
apparently as in the neighborhood of 
Shechem. It next appears as the resi- 
dence of Elisha. 2 Kings 6 : 13. It was 
known to Eusebius, who places it 12 
miles to the north of Sebaste (Sama- 
ria) ; and here it has been discovered 
in our own times, still bearing its an- 
cient name unimpaired. 

Dove. The first mention of this bird 
occurs in Gen. 8. The dove’s rapidity 
of flight is alluded to in Ps. 55: 6; the 
beauty of its plumage in Ps. 68 : 13 ; its 
dwelling in the rocks and valleys in Jer. 
48:28 and Ezek. 7:16; its mournful 
voice in Isa. 38 : 14 ; 59 : 11 ; Nah. 2:7; 
its harmlessness in Matt. 10 : 16 ; its sim- 
plicity in Hos. 7 : 11, and its amativeness 
in Cant. 1 : 15 ; 2 : 14. Doves are kept 
in a domesticated state in many parts 
of the East. In Persia pigeon-houses 
are erected at a distance from the 
dwellings, for the purpose of collect- 
ing the dung as manure. There is prob- 
ably an allusion to such a custom in Isa. 
60: 8. 

Dove’s dung. Various explanations 
have been given of the passage in 2 
Kings 6 : 25. Bochart has labored to 
show that it denotes a species of cicer, 



STAR OF BETHLEHEM. 


“ chick-pea,” which he says the Arabs 
call usndn, and sometimes improperly 
“ dove’s ” or “ sparrow’s dung.” Great 
quantities of these are sold in Cairo to 
the pilgrims going to Mecca. Later au- 
thorities incline to think it the bulbous 



DOW 


153 


DR'S 


root of the Star of Bethlehem ( orni - 
thogalum, i. e. bird-milk), a common 
root in Palestine, and sometimes eaten. 
It can scarcely be believed that even in 
the worst horrors of a siege a substance 
so vile as is implied by the literal ren- 
dering should have been used for food. 

Dowry. [Marriage.] 

Drachm, Luke 15 : 8, 9 ; 2 Macc. 4 : 
19 ; 10 : 20 ; 12 : 43, a Greek silver coin, 
varying in weight on account of the use 
of different talents. In Luke denarii 
(Authorized Version “piece of silver ”) 
seem to be intended. [Money; Sil- 
ver.] 

Dragon. The translators of the Au- 
thorized Version, apparently following 
the Vulgate, have rendered by the same 
word “ dragon ” the two Hebrew words 
tan and tannin, which appear to be quite 
distinct in meaning. (1) The former is 
used, always in the plural, in Job 30 : 
29; Ps. 44:19; Isa. 34:13 ; 43:20; Jer. 
9 : 11. It is always applied to some 
creatures inhabiting the desert, and we 
should conclude from this that it refers 
rather to some wild beast than to a ser- 
pent. The Syriac renders it by a word 
meaning “ jackal.” The R. V. so trans- 
lates it also. (2) The word tannin 
seems to refer to any great monster, 
whether of the land or the sea, being 
indeed more usually applied to some 
kind of serpent or reptile, but not ex- 
clusively restricted to that sense. Ex. 
7 : 9, 10, 12 ; Deut. 32 : 33 ; Ps. 91 : 13. In 
the New Testament it is found only in 
the Apocalypse, Rev. 12 : 3, 4, 7, 9, 16, 
17, etc., as applied metaphorically to 
“ the old serpent, called the devil, and 
Satan.” 

Dram. [Daric.] 

Dreams. The Scripture declares 
that the influence of the Spirit of God 
upon the soul extends to its sleeping as 
well as its waking thoughts. But, in 
accordance with the principle enunciated 
by St. Paul in 1 Cor. 14 : 15, dreams, in 
which the understanding is asleep, are 
placed below the visions of prophecy, in 
which the understanding plays its part. 
Under the Christian dispensation, while 
we read frequently of trances and 
visions, dreams are never referred to as 
vehicles of divine revelation. In exact 
accordance with this principle are the 
actual records of the dreams sent by 
God. The greater number of. such 
dreams were granted, for prediction or 
for warning, to those who were aliens 


to the Jewish covenant. And where 
dreams are recorded as means of God’s 
revelation to his chosen servants, they 
are almost always referred to the pe- 
riods of their earliest and most imper- 
fect knowledge of him. Among the 
Jews, “if any person dreamed a dream 
which was peculiarly striking and sig- 
nificant, he was permitted to go to the 
high priest in a peculiar way, and see if 
it had any special import. But the ob- 
servance of ordinary dreams and the 
consulting of those who pretend to skill 
in their interpretation are repeatedly 
forbidden. Deut. 13 : 1-5 ; 18 : 9-14.” — 
Schaff. 

Dress. This subject includes the fol- 
lowing particulars: 1. Materials; 2. 
Color and decoration; 3. Name, form, 
and mode of wearing the various arti- 
cles; 4. Special usages relating thereto. 

1. Materials. — After the first “ apron ” 
of fig leaves, Gen. 3: 7, the skins of ani- 
mals were used for clothing. Gen. 3 : 21. 
Such was the ' mantle” worn by Elijah. 
Pelisses of sheepskin still form an ordi- 
nary article of dress in the East. The 
art of weaving hair was known to the 
Hebrews at an early period, Ex. 25 : 4 ; 
26 : 7 ; and wool was known earlier still. 
Gen. 31 : 19. Their acquaintance with 
linen and perhaps cotton dates from the 
captivity in Egypt, 1 Chron. 4 : 21 ; silk 
was introduced much later. Rev. 18 : 12. 
The use of mixed material, such as wool 
and flax, was forbidden. Lev. 19 : 19 ; 
Deut. 22 : 11. 

2. Color and decoration. — The prevail- 
ing color of the Hebrew dress was the 
natural white of the materials employed, 
which might be brought to a high state 
of brilliancy by the art of the fuller. 
Mark 9 : 3. The notice of scarlet thread, 
Gen. 38 : 28, implies some acquaintance 
with dyeing. The elements of orna- 
mentation were — (1) weaving with 
threads previously dyed, Ex. 35 : 25 ; (2) 
the introduction of gold thread or wire, 
Ex. 28:6 ff. ; (3) the addition of fig- 
ures. Robes decorated with gold, Ps. 
45 : 13, and with silver thread, cf. Acts 
12 : 21, were worn by royal personages ; 
other kinds of embroidered robes were 
worn by the wealthy, Judges 5 : 30 ; Ps. 
45:14; Ezek. 16:13; as well as purple, 
Prov. 31 : 22 ; Luke 16 : 19, and scarlet. 
2 Sam. 1 : 24. 

3. The names, forms, and modes of 
wearing the robes. — The general charac- 
teristics of Oriental dress have pre- 


DUE 


154 


DEI 


served a remarkable uniformity in all 
ages : the modern Arab dresses much 
as the ancient Hebrew did. The cos- 
tume of the men and women was very 
similar ; there was sufficient difference, 
however, to mark the sex, and it was 
strictly forbidden to a woman to wear 
the appendages, such as the staff, signet- 
ring, and other ornaments, of a man; 
as well as to a man to wear the outer 
robe of a woman. Deut. 22:5. We 
shall first describe the robes which 
were common to the two sexes, and 
then those which were peculiar to 
women. (1) The inner garment was 
the most essential article of dress. It 
was a closely-fitting garment, resembling 
•in form and use our shirt, though un- 
fortunately translated “ coat ” in the 
Authorized Version. The material of 
which it was made was either wool, cot- 
ton or linen. It was without sleeves, 
and reached only to the knee. Another 
kind reached to the wrists and ankles. 
It was in either case kept close to the 
body by a girdle, and the fold formed 
by the overlapping of the robe served 
as an inner pocket. A person wearing 
the inner garment alone was described 
as naked. (2) There was an upper or 
second tunic, the difference being that 
it was longer than the first. (3) The 
linen cloth appears to have been a wrap- 
per of fine linen, which might be used 
in various ways, but especially as a 
night-shirt. Mark 14:51. (4) The 

outer garment consisted of a quadrangu- 
lar piece of woollen cloth, probably re- 
sembling in shape a Scotch plaid. The 
size and texture would vary with the 
means of the wearer. It might be worn 
in various ways, either wrapped round 
the body or thrown over the shoulders 
like a shawl, with the ends or “ skirts ” 
hanging down in front; or it might be 
thrown over the head, so as to conceal 
the face. 2 Sam. 15 : 30 ; Esther 6 : 12. 
The ends were skirted with a fringe and 
bound with a dark purple ribbon, Num. 
15 : 38 ; it was confined at the waist by a 
girdle. The outer garment was the poor 
man’s bed clothing. Ex. 22 : 26, 27. The 
dress of the women differed from that of 
the men in regard to the outer garment, 
the inner garment being worn equally 
bv both sexes. Cant. 5 : 3. Among their 
distinctive robes we find a kind of 
shawl, Ruth 3:15; Isa. 3:22, light sum- 
mer dresses of handsome appearance 
and ample dimensions, and gay holiday 


dresses. Isa. 3:24. The garments of 
females were terminated by an ample 
border of fringe ( skirts , Authorized 
Version), which concealed the feet. 
Isa. 47:2; Jer. 13:22. The travelling 
cloak referred to by St. Paul, 2 Tim. 
4 : 13, is generally identified with the 
Roman pcenula. It is, however, other- 
wise explained as a travelling-case for 
carrying clothes or books. The coat 
of many colors worn by Joseph, Gen. 
37 : 3, 23, is variously taken to be either 
a “ coat of divers colors ” or a tunic 
furnished with sleeves and reaching 
down to the ankles. The latter is prob- 
ably the correct sense. 

4. Special usages relating to dress . — 
The length of the dress rendered it in- 
convenient for active exercise; hence 
the outer garments were either left in 
the house by a person working close by, 
Matt. 24 : 18, or were thrown off when 
the occasion arose, Mark 10:50; or, if 
this were not possible, as in the case of 
a person traveling, they were girded 
up. 1 Kings 18 : 46 ; 1 Pet. 1 : 13. On 
entering a house the upper garment was 
probably laid aside, and resumed on go- 
ing out. Acts 12 : 8. In a sitting pos- 
ture, the garments concealed the feet; 
this was held to be an act of reverence. 
Isa. 6 : 2. The number of suits pos- 
sessed by the Hebrews was consider- 
able : a single suit consisted of an under 
and an upper garment. The presenta- 
tion of a robe in many instances 
amounted to installation or investiture, 
Gen. 41 : 42 ; Esther 8 : 15 ; Isa. 22 : 21 ; 
on the other hand, taking it away 
amounted to dismissal from office. 2 
Macc. 4 : 38. The production of the best 
robe was a mark of special honor in a 
household. Luke 15 : 22. The number 
of robes thus received or kept in store 
for presents was very large, and formed 
one of the main elements of wealth in 
the East, Job 22:6; Matt. 6:19; James 
5: 2, so. that to have clothing implied the 
possession of wealth and power. Isa. 3 : 
6, 7. On grand occasions the entertainer 
offered becoming robes to his guests. 
The business of making clothes de- 
volved upon women in a family. Prov. 
31 : 22 ; . Acts 9 : 39. Little art was re- 
quired in what we may term the tailor- 
ing department; the garments came 
forth for the most part ready made 
from the loom, so that the weaver sup- 
planted the tailor. 

Drink, Strong. The Hebrew term 


DRO 


155 


DUS 


shecar, in its etymological sense, applies 
to any beverage that had intoxicating 
qualities; With regard to the applica- 
tion of the term in later times we have 
the explicit statement of Jerome, as 
well as other sources of information, 
from which we may state that the fol- 
lowing beverages were known to the 
Jews: — 1 . Beer, which was largely con- 
sumed in Egypt under the name of 
“ hek,” and was thence introduced into 
Palestine. It was made of barley; cer- 
tain herbs, such as lupine and skirret, 
were used as substitutes for hops. 2. 
Cider, which is noticed in the Mishna 
as apple wine. 3. Honey wine, of which 
there were two sorts, one consisting of 
a mixture of wine, honey and pepper; 
the other a decoction of the juice of the 
grape, termed debash (honey) by the 
Hebrews, and dibs by the modern Sy- 
rians. 4. Date wine, which was also 
manufactured in Egypt. It was made 
by mashing the fruit in water in certain 
proportions. 5. Various other fruits 
and vegetables are enumerated by Pliny 
as supplying materials for factitious or 
home-made wine, such as figs, millet, 
the carob fruit, etc. It is not improb- 
able that the Hebrews applied raisins to 
this purpose in the simple manner fol- 
lowed by the Arabians, viz., by putting 
them in jars of water and burying them 
in the ground until fermentation took 
place. 

Dromedary. [Camel.] 

Drusil'la (dru-sil'la), daughter of 
Herod Agrippa I., Acts 24 : 24 ff., and 
Cypros. Born a.d. 38. She was at first 
betrothed to Antiochus Epiphanes, 
prince of Commagene, but was mar- 
ried to Azizus, king of Emesa. Soon 
after, Felix, procurator of Judea, 
brought about her seduction by means 
of the Cyprian sorcerer Simon, and took 
her as his wife. In Acts 24 : 24 w r e find 
her in company with Felix at Caesarea. 
Felix had by Drusilla a son named 
Agrippa, who, together with his mother, 
perished in the eruption of Vesuvius. 

Dulcimer (Heb. surnphoniah) , a mu- 
sical instrument, mentioned in Dan. 3 : 
5, 15, probably the bagpipe. The same 


instrument is still in use amongst peas- 
ants in the northwest of Asia and in 
southern Europe, where it is known by 
the similar name sampogna or zampogna. 

Du'mah (du'mah) {silence). 1 . A 
son, of Ishmael, most probably the 
founder of the Ishmaelite tribe of Ara- 
bia, and thence the name of the prin- 
cipal place or district inhabited by that 
tribe. Gen. 25 : 14 ; 1 Chron. 1:30; Isa. 
21 : 11 . 

2. A city in the mountainous district 
of Judah, near Hebron, Josh. 15:52, 
represented by the ruins of a village 
called ed-Daumeh, six miles southwest 
of Hebron. 

Dung. The uses of dung were two- 
fold — as manure and as fuel. The ma- 
nure consisted either of straw steeped in 
liquid manure, Isa. 25 : 10, or the sweep- 
ings, Isa. 5 : 25, of the streets and roads, 
which were carefully removed from 
about the houses, and collected in heaps 
outside the walls of the towns at fixed 
spots — hence the dung-gate at Jerusalem 
— and thence removed in due course to 
the fields. The difficulty of procuring 
fuel in Syria, Arabia and Egypt has 
made dung in all ages valuable as a 
substitute. It was probably used for 
heating ovens and for baking cakes, 
Ezek. 4 : 12, 15, the equable heat which 
it produced adapting it peculiarly for 
the latter operation. Cow’s and camel’s 
dung is still used for a similar purpose 
by the Bedouins. 

Dungeon. [Prison.] 

Du'ra (du'ra) {a wall), the plain 
where Nebuchadnezzar set up the gol- 
den image, Dan. 3 : 1, has been some- 
times identified with a tract a little be- 
low Tekrit, on the left bank of the 
Tigris, where the name Dur is still 
found. M. Oppert places the plain (or, 
as he calls it, the “ valley ”) of Dura 
to the southeast of Babylon, in the vi- 
cinity of the mound of Dowair or 
Duair, where was found the pedestal 
of a huge statue. This is now consid- 
ered the most probable locality. (Hast- 
ings.) 

Dust. [Mourning.] 


Eagle (Heb. nesher, i. e. a tearer 
with the beak). At least eight distinct 
kinds of eagles have been observed in 
Palestine, e.g., the golden eagle, Aquila 
chrysaetos, the spotted eagle, Aquila 



IMPERIAL EAGLE. 


clanga, the imperial eagle, Aquila helia- 
ca, and the very common Circaetos gal- 
licus. The Hebrew nesher may stand 
for any of these different species, though 


perhaps more particular reference to 
the golden and imperial eagles and the 
griffon vulture may be intended. The 
passage in Micah, 1 : 16, “ enlarge thy 
baldness as the eagle,” may refer to the 
griffon vulture, Vultur 
fulvus, in which case 
the simile is peculiarly 
appropriate, for the 
whole head and neck 
of this bird are desti- 
tute of true feathers. 
The “ eagles ” of Matt. 
24 : 28, Luke 17 : 37, 
may include the Vul- 
tur fulvus and Neo- 
p hr o n percnopterus ; 
though, as eagles fre- 
quently prey upon dead 
bodies, there is no ne- 
cessity to restrict the 
Greek word to the 
Vulturidce. The figure 
of an eagle is now and 
has long been a favor- 
ite military ensign. 
The Persians so em- 
ployed it ; a fact which 
illustrates the passage 
i n Isa. 46 : 11. The 
same bird was similar- 
ly employed by the 
Assyrians and the Ro- 
mans. 

Earing. Gen. 45 : 6 ; 
Ex. 34:21. Derived 
from the Latin arare, 
to plough ; hence i t 
means ploughing. 

Earnest. 2 Cor. 1 : 
22 ; 5:5; Eph. 1 : 14. 
The Hebrew word was 
used generally for 
pledge , Gen. 38 :17, and 
i n its cognate forms 
for surety, Prov. 17 : 18, and hostage. 
2 Kings 14 : 14. The Greek derivative, 
however, acquired a more technical 
sense as signifying the deposit paid by 


156 


EAR 


157 


EAR 



GIER EAGLES. 

the purchaser on entering into an agree- 
ment for the purchase of anything. In 
the New Testament the word is used to 
signify the 'pledge or earnest of the su- 
perior blessings of the future life. 

Earrings. The material of which 
earrings were made was generally gold, 
Ex. 32 : 2, and their form circular. They 
were worn by women and by youth of 
both sexes. These ornaments appear to 
have been regarded with superstitious 
reverence as an amulet. On this ac- 
count they were surrendered along with 
the idols by Jacob’s household. Gen. 
35 : 4. Chardin describes earrings with 
talismanic figures and characters on 
them as still existing in the East. 
Jewels were sometimes attached to the 
rings. The size of the earrings still worn 
in eastern countries far exceeds what 
has been usual among ourselves ; hence 
they formed a handsome present, Job 


42 : 11, or offering to the 
service of God. Num. 
31 : 50. 

Earth. The term is 
used in two widely-dif- 
ferent senses: (1) for 
the material of which 
the earth’s surface i s 
composed; (2) as the 
name of the planet on 
which man dwells. The 
Hebrew language d i s- 
criminates between these 
two by the use of sepa- 
rate terms, adamah for 
the former, erets for the 
latter. 1 . Adamah is the 
earth in the sense o f 
soil or ground, particu- 
larly as being suscepti- 
ble of cultivation. Gen. 
2:7. 2. Erets is applied 
in a more or less ex- 
tended sense — (1) to the 
whole world, Gen. 1:1; 
(2) to land as opposed 
to sea, Gen. 1:10; (3) 
to a country, Gen. 21 : 
32; (4) to a plot of 

ground, Gen. 23 :15 ; 
and (5) to the ground 
on which a man stands. 
Gen. 33:3. The two 
former senses alone con- 
cern us, the first involv- 
ing an inquiry into the 
opinions of the Hebrews 
on cosmogony, the sec- 
ond o n geography. 1. 
Cosmogony . — (1) The Hebrew cosmog- 
ony is based upon the leading princi- 
ple that the universe exists, not inde- 
pendently of God, nor yet co-existent 
with God, nor yet in opposition to 
him as a hostile element, but depend- 
ency upon him, subsequently to him 
and in subjection to him. (2) Creation 
was regarded as a progressive work — a 
gradual development from the inferior 
to the superior orders of things. 2. 
Geography. — There seem to be traces 
of the same ideas as prevailed among 
the Greeks, that the world was a disk, 
Isa. 40 : 22, bordered by the ocean, with 
Jerusalem as its centre, like Delphi as 
the navel, or, according to another view, 
the highest point of the world. As to 
the size of the earth, the Hebrews had 
but a very indefinite notion. 
Earthenware. [Pottery.] 
Earthquake. Earthquakes, more or 


EAS 


158 


EBR 


less violent, are of frequent occurrence 
in Palestine. The most remarkable oc- 
curred in the reign of Uzziah. Zech. 
14 : 5. From Zech. 14 : 4 we are led to 
infer that a great convulsion took place 
at this time in the Mount of Olives, the 
mountain being split so as to leave a 
valley between its summit. An earth- 
quake occurred at the time of our Sav- 
iour’s crucifixion. Matt. 27 : 51-54. 
Earthquakes are not unfrequently ac- 
companied by fissures of the earth’s sur- 
face; instances of this are recorded in 
connection with the destruction of 
Korah and his company, Num. 16 : 32, 
and at the time of our Lord’s death, 
Matt. 27 : 51 ; the former may be par- 
alleled by a similar occurrence at Op- 
pido in Calabria a.d. 1783, where the 
earth opened to the extent of five hun- 
dred and a depth of more than two 
hundred feet. 

East. The Hebrew term kedem prop- 
erly means that which is before or in 
front of a person, and was applied to 
the east from the custom of turning in 
that direction when describing the points 
of the compass, before , behind, the right 
and the left representing respectively 
east, west, south and north. Job 23 : 
8, 9. The term as generally used re- 
fers to the lands lying immediately 
eastward of Palestine, viz., Arabia, Mes- 
opotamia and Babylonia ; on the other 
hand mizrach is used of the far east 
with a less definite signification. Isa. 
41 : 2, 25 ; 43 : 5 ; 46 : 11. 

Easter. Acts 12 : 4. In the earlier 
English versions Easter has been fre- 
quently used as the translation of pas- 
cha ' (passover). In the Authorized 
Version Passover was substituted in all 
passages but this; and in the new Re- 
vision Passover is used here. [Pass- 
over.] 

E'bal ' (e'bal) (stone, bare moun- 
tain). 1. One of the sons of Shobal 
the son of Seir. Gen. 36 : 23 ; 1 Chron. 
1 : 40. 

2. Obal the son of Joktan. 1 Chron. 
1 : 22 ; comp. Gen. 10 : 28. 

E'bal, Mount, a mount in the prom- 
ised land, on which the Israelites were 
to “ put ” the curse which should fall 
upon them if they disobeyed the com- 
mandments of Jehovah. The blessing 
consequent on obedience was to be simi- 
larly localized on Mount Gerizim. 
Deut. 11 : 26-29. Ebal and Gerizim are 
the mounts which form the sides of 


the fertile valley in which lies Nablus, 
the ancient Shechem — Ebal on the 
north and Gerizim on the south. They 
are nearly in the centre of the country 
of Samaria, about eight hundred feet 
above the Nablus fn the valley; and 
they are so near that all the vast body 
of the people could hear the words 
read from either mountain. The exper- 
iment has repeatedly been tried in 
modern times. The modern name of 
Ebal is Jebel Salamiyah, from a Mo- 
hammedan female saint, whose tomb is 
standing on the eastern part of the 
ridge, a little before the highest point 
is reached. 

E'bed (e'bed) (a servant). (Many 
MSS. have Eber.) 1. Father of Gaal, 
who with his brethren assisted the men 
of Shechem in their revolt against 
Abimelech. Judges 9:26, 28, 30, 31, 35. 

2. Son of Jonathan ; one of the Bene- 
Adin who returned from Babylon with 
Ezra. Ezra 8 : 6. 

E'bed=me'Iech (e'bed-me'lek) (a 
king’s servant), an Ethiopian eunuch 
in the service of King Zedekiah, 
through whose interference Jeremiah 
was released from prison. Jer. 38:7 
ff . ; 39:15 ff. (b.c. 589.) The name 
may have been an official title. 

Eben=e'zer (eb-en-e'zer) (stone of 
help), a stonp set up by Samuel after 
a signal defeat of the Philistines, as a 
memorial of the “ help ” received on the 
occasion from Jehovah. 1 Sam. 7:12. 
Its position is carefully defined as be- 
tween Mizpeh and Shen. 

E'ber (e'ber) (the region beyond). 
1. Son of Salah, and great-grandson of 
Shem. Gen. 10; 24; 1 Chron. 1:19. 

The name is written Heber in Luke 3. 

2. Son of Elpaal and descendant of 
Sharahaim of the tribe of Benjamin. 1 
Chron. 8 : 12. 

3. A priest in the days of Joiakim the 
son of Jeshua. Neh. 12:20. 

Ebi'asaph (e-bi'a-saf). 1 Chron. 6: 
23, 37. [See Abiasaph.] 

Ebony, Ezek. 27 : 15, one of the val- 
uable commodities imported into Tyre 
by the men of Dedan ; a hard, heavy 
and durable wood, which admits of a 
fine polish- or gloss. The most usual 
color is black, but it also occurs red or 
green. The black is the heart of a tree 
called Diospyros ebenum. It was im- 
ported from India or Ceylon by Phoeni- 
cian traders. 

Ebro'nah (e-bro'nah) (passage), one 


ECB 


159 


EDE 


of the halting-places of the Israelites 
in the desert, immediately preceding 
Ezion-geber. Num. 33 : 34, 35. 

Ecbat'ana. Ezra 6 : 2, margin. In 
the apocryphal books Ecbatana is fre- 
quently mentioned. Two cities named 
Ecbatana seem to have existed in an- 
cient times, one the capital of northern 
Media — the Media Atropatene of Strabo 
—the other the metropolis of the larger 
and more important province known as 
Media Magna. The site of the former 
appears to be marked by the very curi- 
ous ruins at Takht-i-Suleiman (lat. 36° 
25', long. 47° 10') ; while that of the 
latter is occupied by Hamadan, which 
is one of the most important cities of 
modern Persia. 

Ecclesias'tes (the preacher or con- 
vener of an assembly) . It is probable 
that Solomon is not the author of the 
book, but the hero ; and that it was 
written by a post-exilic writer who uses 
Solomon’s experience to enforce great 
moral lessons, as Plato uses Socrates 
in his Dialogues — the confession of a 
man of wide experience looking back 
upon his past life and looking out upon 
the disorders and calamities which sur- 
round him. The hero is a man who has 
sinned in giving way to selfishness and 
sensuality, who has paid the penalty 
of that sin in satiety and weariness of 
life, but who has through all this been 
under the discipline of a divine educa- 
tion, and has learned from it the les- 
son which God meant to teach him. . 

Ecclesias'ticus (ek-kle-si-as'ti-kus), 
one of the books . of the Apocrypha. 
This title is given in the Latin version 
to the book which is called in the 
Septuagint The Wisdom of Jesus the 
Son of Sirach. The word designates 
the character of the writing, as publicly 
used in the services of the Church. 

Eclipse of the sun. No historical 
notice of an eclipse occurs in the Bible, 
but there are passages in the prophets 
which contain manifest allusion to this 
phenomenon. Joel 2:10, 31; 3:15; 

Amos 8:9; Micah 3:6; Zech. 14 : 6. 
The notice in Amos 8 : 9 very likely 
refers to the eclipse of June 15, b.c. 
763 ; but in the others no historical 
eclipse is possible. The language is 
conventional, and may refer to the phe- 
nomenon as a figure. A reference in 
Jer. 15 : 9 may possibly have been sug- 
gested by an eclipse occurring b.c. 585 
(Herod, i, 54). Some scholars consider 


that Job 3:5, 8, and 31 : 13 refer to 
this phenomenon. No other historical 
eclipse is referred to. The darkness 
that overspread the world at the cruci- 
fixion cannot with reason be attributed 
to an eclipse, as the moon was at the 
full at the time of the passover. 

Ed (ed) (witness), a word inserted 
in the Authorized Version of Josh. 22: 
34, apparently on the authority of a 
few MSS., and also of the Syriac and 
Arabic versions, but not existing in the 
generally-received Hebrew text. 

E'dar (e'dar), Tower of (accur. 
Eder, a dock), a place named only in 
Gen. 35 : 21. According to Jerome it was 
one thousand paces from Bethlehem. 

E'den (pleasure). 1. The first resi- 
dence of man, called in the Septuagint 
Paradise. The latter is a word of Per- 
sian origin, and describes an extensive 
tract of pleasure land, somewhat like an 
English park; and the use of it suggests 
a wider view of man’s first abode than 
a garden. The description of Eden is 
found in Gen. 2 : 8-14. In the eastern 
portion of the region of Eden was the 
garden planted. The Hiddekel, one of 
its rivers, is the modern Tigris ; the Eu- 
phrates is the same as the modern Eu- 
phrates. With regard to the Pison and 
Gihon a great variety of opinion exists. 
The location of the district of Eden 
is unknown beyond the fact that it in- 
cluded parts of the Euphrates and Ti- 
gris ; nor do we know its extent. 
Sayce finds Eden at the head of the 
Persian Gulf, which was held by the 
Babylonians to be a river. This site is 
vigorously combated. Others place it 
in Armenia, where there is still a moun- 
tain known by the name of Mt. Ararat. 

2. One of the marts which supplied 
the luxury of Tyre with richly-em- 
broidered stuffs. In 2 Kings 19 : 12 and 
Isa. 37 : 12 “ the sons of Eden ” are men- 
tioned with Gozan, Haran and Rezeph 
as victims of the Assyrian greed of con- 
quest. Probability seems to point to 
the northwest of Mesopotamia as the 
locality of Eden. 

3. Beth-eden, “house of pleasure:” 
probably the name of a country resi- 
dence of the kings of Damascus. Amos 
1: 5. 

E'den. 1. A Gershonite Levite, son 
of Joah, in the days of Hezekiah. 2 
Chron. 29:12. 

2. Also a Levite, probably identical 
with the preceding. 2 Chron. 31 : 15. 



FACAD3 OF A ROCK-HEWN TOMB AT PETRA IN EDOM 


EDE 


161 


EDO 


E'der (e'der) {a flock). 1 . One of 
the towns of Judah, in the extreme 
south, and on the borders of Edom. 
Josh. 15 : 21. It is identified by Conder 
with Kh. el-Adar, five miles south of 
Gaza. 

2. A Levite of the family of Merari, 
in the time of David. 1 Chron. 23 : 23 ; 
24 : 30. 

E'dom (e'dom), Idumaea or Idume'a 

{red). The name Edom was given to 
Esau, the first-born son of Isaac and 
twin brother of Jacob, when he sold 
his birthright to the latter for a meal 
of lentil pottage. The country which 
the Lord subsequently gave to Esau was 
hence called “ the country of Edom,” 
Gen. 32 : 3, and his descendants were 
called Edomites. Edom was called 


GORGE OF WADY SIK, IN EDOM. 

Mount Seir and Idumea also. Edom 
was wholly a mountainous country. It 
embraced the narrow mountainous tract 
(about 100 miles long by 20 broad) ex- 
tending along the eastern side of the 
11 


Arabah from the northern end of the 
Gulf of Elath to near the southern end 
of the Dead Sea. The ancient capital 
of Edom was Bozrah (Buseireh) . Sela 
(Petra) appears to have been the prin- 
cipal stronghold in the days of Am- 
aziah (b.c. 794). 2 Kings 14:7. Elath 

and Ezion-geber were the seaports. 2 
Sam. 8 : 14 ; 1 Kings 9 : 26. 

History. — Esau’s bitter hatred of his 
brother Jacob for fraudulently obtaining 
his _ blessing appears to have been in- 
herited by his latest posterity. The 
Edomites peremptorily refused to permit 
the Israelites to pass through their land. 
Num. 20:18-21. For a long period we 
hear no more of the Edomites. They 
were then attacked and defeated by 
Saul, 1 Sam. 14 : 47, and some forty 
years later b y David. 2 
Sam. 8 : 13, 14. In the 

reign of Jehoshaphat (b.c. 
872) the Edomites at- 
tempted to invade Israel, 
but failed. 2 Chron. 20 : 
22. They joined Nebu- 
chadnezzar when that king 
besieged Jerusalem. For 
their cruelty this time 
they were fearfully de- 
nounced by the later 
prophets. Isa. 34 : 5-8 ; 63 : 
1-4; Jer. 49: 17. After this 
they settled in southern 
Palestine, and for more 
than four centuries con- 
t i n u e d to prosper. But 
during the warlike rule of 
the Maccabees they were 
again completely subdued, 
and even forced t o con- 
form to Jewish laws and 
rites, and submit to the 
government of Jewish pre- 
fects. The Edomites were 
now incorporated with the 
Jewish nation. They were 
idolaters. 2 Chron. 25 : 14, 
15, 20. Their habits were 
singular. The H o r i t e s, 
their predecessors in 
Mount Seir, were supposed 
to have been troglodytes, 
or dwellers in caves, but 
they did not remain so, and 
it may ha,ve been only the tradition of 
later generations. They were conquered 
by the Edomites, but intermarried with 
them. 

E'domites (e'dom-Ttes). [Edom.] 




EDR 


162 


EGY 


Ed'rei (ed're-i) {strong). 1 . One of 
the two capital cities of Bashan, in the 
territory of Manasseh east of the Jor- 
dan. Num. 21:33; Deut. 1:4; 3:10; 
Josh. 12 : 4. In Scripture it is only men- 
tioned in connection with the victory 
gained by the Israelites over the Amo- 
rites under Og their king, and the ter- 
ritory thus acquired. The ruins of this 
ancient city, still bearing the name 
Edr’a, stand on a rocky promontory 
which projects from the southwest cor- 
ner of the Lejah. The ruins are nearly 
three miles in circumference, and have 
a strange, wild look, rising up in dark, 
shattered masses from the midst of a 
wilderness of black rocks. 

2. A town of northern Palestine, al- 
lotted to the tribe of Naphtali, and sit- 
uated near Kedesh. Josh. 19 : 37. The 
site is unknown, although Conder sug- 
gests Ya’tir. There is a rocky hill about 
two miles south of Kedesh which some 
think may be the site. 

Education. There is little trace 
among the Hebrews in earlier times of 
education in any other subjects than the 
law. The wisdom therefore and in- 
struction, of which ' so much is said in 
the book of Proverbs, are to be under- 
stood chiefly of moral and religious dis- 
cipline, imparted, according to the direc- 
tion of the law, by the teaching and 
under the example of parents. But 
Solomon himself wrote treatises on 
several scientific subjects, which must 
have been studied in those days. In 
later times the prophecies and com- 
ments on them, as well as on the earlier 
Scriptures, together with other subjects, 
were studied. Parents were required 
to teach their children some trade. 
Girls also were educated, and women 
generally among the Jews were treated 
with greater equality to men than in 
any other ancient nation. Previous to 
the captivity, there were no regular 
schools, the prophetical brotherhoods in 
nearly all cases providing that succes- 
sion of public teachers who at various 
times endeavored to reform the moral 
and religious conduct of both rulers 
and people. . Adults could always ob- 
tain instruction from the Levites and 
priests in the temple and elsewhere. 
[See Schools.] 

Eg'lah (eg'lah) (a heifer), one of 
David’s wives during his reign in 
Hebron. 2 Sam. 3 : 5 ; 1 Chron. 3 : 3. 

Eg'Iaim (eg'la-im) {two ponds), a 


place named only in Isa. 15 : 8. Its tra- 
ditional site is 8 miles south of Areopo- 
lis. 

Eg'lon (eg'lon) {calf -like). 1. A 
king of the Moabites, Judges 3:12 ff., 
who, aided by the Ammonites and the 
Amalekites, crossed the Jordan and took 
“ the city of palm trees.” Here, accord- 
ing to Josephus, he built himself a 
palace, and continued for eighteen 
years to oppress the children of Israel, 
who paid him tribute. He was slain by 
Ehud. [Ehud.] 

2. A town of Judah in the low coun- 
try. Josh. "15 : 39. The name survives 
in the modern Ajlan, 15 miles from 
Gaza. Petrie, however, declares this 
site unlikely and points out Tell Neji- 
leh as probably the true site. 

E'gypt (e'gypt) {land of the Copts), 
the country occupying the northeast 
angle of Africa. It is probably the 
oldest country in the world still ex- 
isting, China alone being able to rival 
it in antiquity. Egypt proper is bounded 
on the north by the Mediterranean Sea, 
on the east by Palestine and the Red 
Sea, on the south by Nubia, and on the 
west by the Great Desert. It is divided 
into upper Egypt — the valley of the 
Nile — and lower Egypt, the plain of the 
Delta, from the Greek letter A; it is 
formed by the branching mouths of the 
Nile, and the Mediterranean Sea. The 
portion made fertile by the Nile under 
ordinary conditions is about 13,000 
square miles; very nearly the area of 
the Netherlands. The extent of land 
really under cultivation changes con- 
tinually. Egypt proper is about 660 
miles long from north to south, and 
about 250 miles broad in the widest part. 

Names. — The common name of Egypt 
in the Bible is “ Mizraim.” It is gener- 
ally considered a dual form, indicating 
the two divisions of the country. The 
Arabic name of Egypt — Mizr — signifies 
“ red mud.” Egypt is also called in 
the Bible “ the land of Ham,” Ps. 105 : 
23, 27, comp. 78 : 51 — a name most prob- 
ably referring to Ham the son of Noah 
— and “ Rahab,” the proud or insolent : 
these appear to be poetical appellations. 
The common ancient Egyptian name 
of the country is written in hiero- 
glyphics Kem, which was perhaps pro- 
nounced Chem. This name signifies, in 
the ancient language and in Coptic, 
“ black,” on account of the blackness 
of its alluvial soil. 


163 



THE GREAT PYRAMIDS 




EGY 


164 


EGY 


General Appearance, Climate, etc. 
— The general appearance of the coun- 
try cannot have greatly changed since 
the days of Moses. The whole country 
is remarkable for its extreme fertility, 
which especially strikes the beholder 
when the rich green of the fields is 
contrasted with the utterly bare, yellow 


mountains or the sand-strewn rocky 
desert on either side. The climate is 
equable and healthy. Rain is not very 
un frequent on the northern coast, but 
inland is very rare. Cultivation no- 
where depends upon it. The inundation 
of the Nile fertilizes and sustains the 
country, and makes the river its chief 
blessing. The Nile was on this account 
anciently worshiped. A slight rise is 
discernible at the first cataract early 
in June. From that time it increases 
till the end of September, and the max- 
imum level is held till the end of Octo- 
ber or into November. The rise is 50 
feet at Assouan and 25 at Cairo. The 


atmosphere, except on the seacoast, is 
remarkably dry and clear, which ac- 
counts for the so perfect preservation 
of the monuments, with their pictures 
and inscriptions. The heat is extreme 
during a large part of the year, but 
owing to the dryness there is little dis- 
comfort and the nights are cool. The 


winters average 56° in the Delta, and 
66° in upper Egypt. 

Cultivation, Agriculture, etc. — The 
ancient prosperity of Egypt is attested 
by the Bible as well as by the numerous 
monuments of the country. As early 
as the age of the great pyramid it must 
have been densely populated. Egypt 
has naturally been an agricultural coun- 
try. Vines were extensively cultivated. 
Of fruit trees, the date palm was the 
most common and valuable. The gar- 
dens resembled the fields, bejng watered 
in the same manner by irrigation. 
Egypt has neither woods nor forests. 
The commonest large trees are the syco- 



SPHINX AND PYRAMIDS. 



EGY 


165 


EGY 


more fig, the acacia and the mulberry, 
the date palm and the banana. The 
best-known fruits are dates, grapes, figs, 
pomegranates, peaches, oranges, lemons, 
bananas, melons, olives and mulberries. 
All kinds of grain are abundant. The 


of wealth often had a harem whose 
inmates had no legal claim on him. 
There were no castes, although great 
classes were very distinct. The funeral 
ceremonies were far more important 
than any events of the Egyptian life, 



PROCESS of embalming. (From an Egyptian painting.) 


gardens produce peas, beans, lentils, cel- 
ery, radishes, carrots, lettuce, tomatoes, 
cucumbers, etc. Tobacco, sugar cane, 
cotton, hemp and flax are raised. The 
ancient reed, the papyrus, is nearly ex- 
tinct. — Encyc. Brit. 

Religion. — The basis of the religion 
was Nigritian fetichism, the lowest kind 
of nature worship, differing in different 
parts of the country, and hence obvious- 
ly indigenous. Of the every-day re- 
ligion of the people, we know prac- 
tically nothing. We know the names 
of many deities, but not the way they 
were worshiped. The names too dif- 
fered in different periods. Osiris was 
one of the earliest. The great doc- 
trines of the immortality of the soul, 
man’s responsibility, and future rewards 
and punishments, were taught. Among 
the rites, circumcision is the most re- 
markable : it is as old as the time of the 
fourth dynasty. 

Domestic Life. — The sculptures and 
paintings of the tombs give us a very 
full insight into the domestic life of 
the ancient Egyptians. What most 
strikes us in their manners is the high 
position occupied by women. There 
was but one legal wife, the mother of 
his heirs, who was her husband s equal 
in every respect. Besides this the man 


as the tomb was regarded as the only 
true home. 

Industrial Arts. — The industrial 
arts held an important place in the oc- 
cupations of the Egyptians. The work- 
ers in fine flax and the weavers of 
white linen are mentioned in a manner 
that shows they were among the chief 
contributors to the riches of the coun- 
try. Isa. 19 : 9. The fine linen of 
Egypt found its way to Palestine. 
Prov. 7 : 16. Pottery was a great 
branch of the native manufactures, and 
appears to have furnished employment 
to the Hebrews during the bondage. 
Ps. 68 : 13 ; 81 : 6 ; comp. Ex. 1 : 14. 

History. — The history of Egypt is 
beset with difficulties. Chronology is 
very uncertain, there being many differ- 
ent theories. The connection . with the 
Jews while perhaps the most important 
is no less a cause of much discussion. 
[Exodus.] The ancient history of 
Egypt may be divided into four por- 
tions : the old monarchy, extending 
from the foundation of the kingdom 
till the middle of the 25th century b.c. ; 
the middle kingdom till near the close 
of the 18th century, the Hyksos period; 
and the new empire, from the re-es- 
tablishment of the native monarchy by 
Amasis to the Persian conquest. 1. The 


EGY 


166 


EGY 


old monarchy . — Memphis was the most 
ancient capital, the foundation of which 
is ascribed to Menes, the first mortal 
king of Egypt. The names of the kings, 
divided into thirty dynasties, are handed 


lords. After a period of conflict, dur- 
ing the reigns of Manetho’s 7th to 10th 
dynasties, the true Middle Kingdom 
was founded, and lasted nearly 400 
years. These were the 11th and 12th 


OBELISKS. 



down in the lists of Manetho, 1 and are 
also known from the works which they 
executed. The most memorable epoch 
in the history of the old monarchy js 
that of the Pyramid kings, placed in 
Manetho’s fourth dynasty. Their 
names are found upon these monu- 
ments : Khufu or “ Cheops ” the builder 
of the great pyramid; Khafra of the 
second, and perhaps the Sphinx; and 
Menkura of the third. 

2. The middle kingdom. — The old 
monarchy was ended about 2475 b.c. by 
the rise in power of the great feudal 

1 Manetho was an Egyptian priest who lived 
under the Ptolemies in the third century b.c., 
and wrote in Greek a history of Egypt, in 
which he divided the kings into thirty dynas- 
ties. The work itself is lost, but the l : sts of 
dynasties have been preserved by the Christian 
writers. 


dynasties of Manetho and included the 
kings known to us by the names of 
Amenemhet and Sesostris. To this sec- 
ond period is assigned the construction 
of the Lake of Moeris and the Laby- 
rinth. 

3. The Hyksos period. — The length 
of this period is variously estimated. 
Breasted thinks 200 years an ample al- 
lowance. It began by a period of con- 
fusion after which a foreign, nomadic 
power called the Hyksos, 2 controlled the 
country. Their capital was Memphis ; 
and in the Sethroite nome they con- 
structed an immense earth-camp, which 
they called Abaris. This is all that is 
known with any certainty of this period. 

2 This, their Egyptian name, is derived by 
Manetho from, hyk, a king, and sos, a shei> 
herd, but this is discredited by some. 



EGY 


167 


EGY 


Finally, the Egyptians regained their in- 
dependence and expelled the Hyksos. 
The three dynasties attributed to the 
Hyksos have no confirmation from the 
monuments, but it may be true. Mane- 
tho says they were Arabs, but he calls 
the six kings of the fifteenth dynasty 
Phoenicians. 4. The new monarchy ex- 
tends from the commencement of the 
eighteenth to the end of the thirtieth 
dynasty. The kingdom was consoli- 
dated by Amasis, who succeeded in ex- 
pelling the Hyksos, and thus prepared 
the way for the foreign expeditions 
which his successors carried on in Asia 
and Africa, extending from Mesopota- 
mia in the former to Ethiopia in the 
latter continent. The glorious era of 
Egyptian history was under the nine- 
teenth dynasty, when Sethi I., b.c. 1322, 
and his grandson, Rameses the Great, 
b.c. 1311, both of whom represent the 
Sesostris of the Greek historians, car- 
ried their arms over the whole of west- 
ern Asia and southward into Soudan, 
and amassed vast treasures, which were 
expended on public works. Under the 
later kings of the nineteenth dynasty 
the power of Egypt faded : the twentieth 
and twenty-first dynasties achieved noth- 
ing worthy of record ; but with the 
twenty-second we enter upon a period 
that is interesting from its associations 
with biblical history, the first of this 
dynasty, Sheshonk I. (Seconchis), b.c. 
937, being the Shishak who invaded 
Judea in Rehoboam’s reign and pil- 
laged the temple. 1 Kings 14 : 25. 
Egypt makes no figure in Asiatic history 
during the twenty-third and twenty- 
fourth dynasties ; under the twenty-fifth 
it regained, in part at least, its ancient 
importance. This was an Ethiopian line, 
the waflike sovereigns of which strove 
to the utmost to repel the onward stride 
of Assyria. So, whom we are disposed 
to identify with Shebek II. or Sebichus, 
the second Ethiopian, made an alliance 
with Hoshea, the last king of Israel. 
Tehrak or Tirhakah, the third of this 
house, advanced against Sennacherib in 
support of Hezekiah. After this a na- 
tive dynasty — the twenty-sixth — of Saite 
kings again occupied the throne. Psa- 
metek.I. or Psammetichus I. (b.c. 664), 
who may be regarded as the head of 
this dynasty, warred in Palestine, and 
took Ashdod (Azotus) after a siege of 
twenty-nine years. Neku or Necho, the 
son of Psammetichus, continued the 


war in the east, and marched along the 
coast of Palestine to attack the king of 
Assyria. At Megiddo Josiah encoun- 
tered him (b.c. 608), notwithstanding 
the remonstrance of the Egyptian king, 
which is very illustrative of the policy 
of the Pharaohs in the East, 2 Chron. 
35 : 21, no less than is his lenient con- 
duct after the defeat and death of the 
king of Judah. The army of Necho 
was after a short space routed at Car- 
chemish by Nebuchadnezzar, b.c. 605-4. 
Jer. 46:2. The second successor of 
Necho, Apries, or Pharaoh-hophra, sent 
his army into Palestine to the aid of 
Zedekiah, Jer. 37:5, 7, 11— so that the 
siege of Jerusalem was raised for a time 
— and kindly received the fugitives from 
the captured city. He seems to have 
been afterwards attacked by Nebuchad- 
nezzar in his own country. There is, 
however, no certain account of a com- 
plete subjugation of Egypt by the king 
of Babylon. Amasis, the successor of 
Apries, had a long and prosperous 
reign, and somewhat restored the 
weight of Egypt in the East. But the 
new power of Persia was to prove 
even more terrible to this house than 
Babylon had been to the house of 
Psammetichus, and the son of Amasis 
had reigned but six months when Cam- 
byses reduced the country to the con- 
dition of a province of his empire, b.c. 
525. 

Present Conditions — Egypt is nom- 
inally a vice-royalty under the suzerain- 
ty of Turkey. Practically, however, 
Turkey has no influence. The country 
has been controlled and administered 
by Great Britain since 1882. In 1904 
there was a definite arrangement be- 
tween England and France. The Khe- 
dive, an hereditary ruler since 1866, 
governs through ministers subject to the 
approval of England. There is an Eng- 
lish army of 3500 men, and the higher 
officers in the police and the native arm> 
are British. The population of Egypt 
proper is about 10,000,000. The Copts, 
which number about 400,000 arQ the de- 
scendants of the Egyptians of the early 
Christian era. They are nominally 
Christians. The bulk of the population 
is Mohammedan. Public Works have 
greatly increased under British control. 
There is a fine system of irrigation, be- 
ginning with a large dam at Assouan, 
finished in 1903. It dams the water dur- 
ing the floods to a height of 65 ft. and 


EHI 


168 


ELA 


regulates its flow during the rest of 
the year. Other dams at Assiout and 
Cairo, and a vast number of smaller 
dams and canals complete the system. 
The first railway was opened in 1855. 
Now the Egyptian state railways in 
Egypt proper are 1667 miles. The Suez 
canal was opened in 1869. The contract 
for a 54 foot bridge over the Nile at 
Cairo has recently (1908) been awarded 
— to be built after the very best of the 
modern type. Education is now public 
and under the control of the state 
even where it is not entirely state sup- 
ported. In 1901 there were 9 colleges 
and 40 primary and secondary schools 
supported by government. There are 
good training schools for teachers, and 
technical schools. The education of 
girls is backward. The Soudan, a tract 
of 1,006,000 square miles south of 
Egypt proper is controlled by Egypt 
under the direction of Great Britain, 
the Governor-General being a British 
officer. 

E'hi (e'hi), head of one of the Ben- 
jamite houses according to the list in 
Gen. 46 : 21. He seems to be the same 
as Ahiram in the list in Num. 26:38. 
In 1 Chron. 8 : 1 he is called Aharah. 

E'hud (e'hud) {union). 1 . Ehud son 
of Bilhan, and great-grandson of Ben- 
jamin the patriarch. 1 Chron. 7 : 10 ; 8 : 6. 

2. Ehud son of Gera, of the tribe of 
Benjamin, Judges 3:15, the second 
judge of the Israelites. In the Bible he 
is not called a judge, but a deliverer: 
so Othniel, Judges 3 : 9, and all the 
Judges. Neh. 9:27. As a Benjamite 
he was specially chosen to destroy Eg- 
lon, who had established himself in 
Jericho, which was included in the boun- 
daries of that tribe. He was very 
strong, and left-handed. [Eglon.] 

E'ker (e'ker) (a rooting up), a de- 
scendant of Judah, a son of Ram, of 
the house of Jerahmeel. 1 Chron. 2: 
27. 

Ek'ron (ek'ron) {torn up by the 
roots; emigration), one of the five 
towns belonging to the lords of the 
Philistines, and the most ‘ northerly of 
the five. Josh. 13:3. Like the other 
Philistine cities its situation was in the 
lowlands. It fell to the lot of Judah. 
Josh. 15:45, 46; Judges 1:18. After- 
wards we find it mentioned among the 
cities of Dan. Josh. 19:43. Before the 
monarchy it was again in full posses- 
sion of the Philistines. 1 Sam. 5 : 10. 
Akir, the modern representative of Ek- 


ron, lies about five miles southwest of 
Ramleh. In the Apocrypha it appears 
as Accaron. 1 Macc. 10 : 89 only. 

El'adah (el'a-dah) {God hath adorn- 
ed), a descendant of Ephraim through 
Shuthelah. 1 Chron. 7 : 20. 

E'lah (e'lah) {a terebinth). 1. The 
son and successor of Baasha king of 
Israel. 1 Kings 16:8-10. His reign 
lasted for little more than a year ; comp, 
ver. 8 with 10. (b.c. 891-89.) He was 

killed while drunk, by Zimri, in the 
house of his steward Arza, who was 
probably a confederate in the plot. 

2. Father of Hoshea, the last king of 
Israel. 2 Kings 15 : 30 ; 17 : 1. 

E'lah. 1. One of the dukes of Edom. 
Gen. 36 : 41 ; 1 Chron. 1 : 52. 

2. Shimei ben-Elah was Solomon’s 
commissariat officer in Benjamin. 1 
Kings 4 : 18. 

3. A son of Caleb the son of Jephun- 
neh. 1 Chron. 4 : 15. 

4. Son of Uzzi, a Benjamite, 1 Chron. 
9 : 8, and one of the chiefs of the tribe 
at the time of the return to Judea, (b.c. 
536.) 

E'lah, The valley of {valley of the 
terebinth), the valley in which David 
killed Goliath. 1 Sam. 17 : 2, 19. It lay 
somewhere near Socoh of Judah and 
Azekah, and was nearer Ekron than any 
other Philistine town. 1 Sam. 17. 

E'lam (e'lam) {highlands) . 1. This 

seems to have been originally the name 
of a man, the son of Shem. Gen. 10 : 
22 ; 1 Chron. 1 : 17. Commonly, how- 
ever, it is used as the appellation of a 
country. Gen. 14 : 1, 9 ; Isa. 11 : 11 ; 21 : 
2. The Elam of Scripture appears to 
be the province lying south of Assyria 
and east of Persia proper, to which 
Herodotus gives the name of Cissia 
(iii. 91, v. 49, etc.), and which is termed 
Susis or Susiana by the geographers. 
Its capital was Susa. This country was 
originally peopled by descendants of 
Shem. By the time of Abraham a very 
important power had been built up in 
the same region. It is plain that at 
this early time the predominant power 
in lower Mesopotamia was Elam, which 
for a while held the place possessed 
earlier by Babylon, Gen. 10 : 10, and 
later by either Babylon or Assyria. 

2. A Korhite Levite in the time of 
King David. 1 Chron. 26 : 3. 

3. A chief man of the tribe of Benja- 
min. 1 Chron. 8 : 24. 


EL.A 


169 


ELE 


4. “ Children of Elam,” to the number 
of 1254, returned with Zerubbabel from 
Babylon. Ezra 2:7; Neh. 7:12; 1 Esd. 
5 : 12. Elam occurs amongst the names 
of the chief of the people who signed 
the covenant with Nehemiah. Neh. 10: 
14. 

5. In the same lists is a second Elam, 
whose sons, to the same number as in 
the former case, returned with Zerub- 
babel, Ezra 2:31; Neh. 7 : 34, and which 
for the sake of distinction is called “ the 
other Elam.” 

6. One of the priests who accompanied 
Nehemiah at the dedication of the new 
wall of Jerusalem. Neh. 12:42. 

E'lamites. This word is found only 
in Ezra 4 : 9. The Elamites were the 
original inhabitants of the country 
called Elam; they were descendants of 
Shem, and perhaps drew their name 
from an actual man Elam. Gen. 10 : 22. 

El'asah (el'a-sah) {God hath made). 
1. A priest in the time of Ezra who had 
married a Gentile wife. Ezra 10 : 22. 
(b.c. 458.) 

2. Son of Shaphan, one of the two 
men who were sent on a mission by 
King Zedekiah to Nebuchadnezzar at 
Babylon. Jer. 29:3. (b.c. 594.) 

E'lath (e'lath), E'loth {a grove), 
the name of a town of the land of 
Edom, commonly mentioned with Ezion- 
geber, and situate at the head of the 
Arabian Gulf, which was thence called 
the Elanitic Gulf. It first occurs in the 
account of the wanderings, Deut. 2 : 8, 
and in later times must have come un- 
der the rule of David. 2 Sam. 8 : 14. 
We find the place named again in con- 
nection with Solomon’s navy. 1 Kings 
9:26; comp. 2 Chron. 8 : 17. In the 
Roman period it became a frontier 
town of the south and the residence of 
a Christian bishop. It is the modern 
Akabah or Ailah, which are mere heaps 
of rubbish. 

EI=beth'el (el-beth'el) (the God of 
Bethel), the name which Jacob is said 
to have bestowed on the place at which 
God appeared to him when he was flying 
from Esau. Gen. 35 : 7. Compare El- 

ELOHE-ISRAEL. 

El'daah (el'da-ah), Gen. 25:4; 1 

Chron. 1 : 33, the last in order of the 
sons of Midian. 

El'dad (el'dad) {favored of God) 
and Me'dad {love), two of the seventy 
elders to whom was communicated the 
prophetic power of Moses. Num. 11 : 


16, 26. (b.c. 1490.) Although their 

names were upon the list which Moses 
had drawn up, Num. 11 : 26, they did 
not repair with the rest of their breth- 
ren to the tabernacle, but continued to 
prophesy in the camp. Moses, being re- 
quested by Joshua to forbid this, refused 
to do so, and expressed a wish that the 
gift of prophecy might be diffused 
throughout the people. 

Elder. The term elder, or old man 
as the Hebrew literally imports, was 
one of extensive use, as an official title, 
among the Hebrews and the surrounding 
nations, because the heads of tribes 
and the leading people who had acquired 
influence were naturally the older peo- 
ple of the nation. It had reference to 
various offices. Gen. 24 : 2 ; 50:7; 2 
Sam. 12 : 17 ; Ezek. 27 : 9. As betoken- 
ing a political office, it applied not only 
to the Hebrews, but also to the Egyp- 
tians, Gen. 50 : 7, the Moabites and the 
Midianites. Num. 22 : 7. The earliest 
notice of the elders acting in concert as 
a political body is at the time of the 
Exodus. They were the representatives 
of the people, so much so that elders 
and people are occasionally used as 
equivalent terms; comp. Josh. 24:1 
with 2, 19, 21 ; 1 Sam. 8 : 4 with 7, 10, 
19. Their authority was undefined, and 
extended to all matters concerning the 
public weal. Their number and influ- 
ence may be inferred from 1 Sam. 30 : 
26 ff. They retained their position 
under' all the political changes which 
the Jews underwent. The seventy elders 
mentioned in Exodus and Numbers were 
a sort of governing body, a parliament, 
and the origin of the tribunal of sev- 
enty elders called the Sanhedrin or 
Council. In the New Testament Church 
the elders or presbyters were the same 
as the bishops. It was an office de- 
rived from the Jewish usage of elders 
or rulers of the synagogues. [Bishop.] 

Elead (e'le-ad) {God, hath testified), 
a descendant perhaps son of Ephraim 
killed by the Gathites while plundering 
that town. 1 Chron. 7 : 21. 

Elea'leh (e-le-a'leh) {the ascending 
of God), a place on the east of Jordan, 
taken possession of and rebuilt by the 
tribe of Reuben. Num. 32:3, 37. By 
Isaiah and Jeremiah it is mentioned as 
a Moabite town. Isa. 15:4; 16:9; Jer. 
48 : 34. 

Ele'asah (e-le'a-sah) {God hath 
made). 1. Son of Helez, one of the 


ELE 


170 


Elil 


descendants of Judah, of the family of 
Hezron. 1 Chron. 2 : 39. 

2. Son of Rapha or Rephaiah; a de- 
scendant of Saul through Jonathan and 
Merib-baal or Mephibosheth. 1 Chron. 
8 : 37 ; 9 : 43. 

Elea'zar (e-le-a'zar) ( God has 
helped). 1. Third son of Aaron. After 
the death of Nadab and Abihu without 
children, Lev. 10 : 6 ; Num. 3 : 4, Eleazar 
was appointed chief over, the principal 
Levites. Num. 3 : 32. With his brother 
Ithamar he ministered as a priest dur- 
ing their father’s lifetime, and imme- 
diately before his death was invested on 
Mount Hor with the sacred garments, 
as the successor of Aaron in the office 
of high priest. Num. 20:28. (b.c. 

1452.). One of his first duties was in 
conjunction with Moses to superintend 
the census of the people. Num. 26 : 3. 
After the conquest of Canaan by Joshua 
he took part in the distribution of the 
land. Josh. 14 : 1. The time of his 
death is not mentioned in Scripture. 

2. The son of Abinadab, of the Hill of 
Kirjath-jearim. 1 Sam. 7:1. 

3. One of the three principal mighty 
men of David’s army. 2 Sam. 23 : 9 ; 1 
Chron. 11 : 12. 

4. A Merarite Levite, son of Mahli 
and grandson of Merari. 1 Chron. 23 : 
21, 22 ; 24 : 28. 

5. A priest who took part in the feast 

of dedication under Nehemiah. Neh. 
12:42. (b.c. 446.) 

6. One of the sons of Parosh, an Is- 
raelite (i. e. a layman) who had mar- 
ried a foreign wife. Ezra 10 : 25. 

7. Son of Phinehas, a Levite. Ezra 
8: 33. 

8. The son of Eliud, in the genealogy 
of Jesus Christ. Matt. 1:15. 

El=EIo'he=Is'rael (el-e-ld'he-is'ra-el) 
{God, the God of Israel), the name be- 
stowed by Jacob on the altar which he 
erected facing the city of Shechem. 
Gen. 33 : 19, 20. 

E'leph (e'lef) ( the ox), one of the 
towns allotted to Benjamin, and named 
next to Jerusalem. Josh. 18 : 28. 

Elha'nan (el-ha/nan) ( the grace of 
God). 1. A distinguished warrior in 
the time of King David, who performed 
a memorable exploit against the Philis- 
tines. 2 Sam. 21:19; 1 Chron. 20:5. 

2. One of “the thirty” of David’s 
guard, and named first on the list. 2 
Sam. 23:24; 1 Chron. 11 : 26. 

Eii (e'li) ( ascension ), a descendant 


of Aaron through Ithamar, the youngest 
of his two surviving sons. Lev. 10 : 1, 
2, 12 ; comp. 1 Kings 2 : 27 with 2 Sam. 
8 : 17 ; 1 Chron. 24 : 3. He was the first 
of the line of Ithamar who held the 
office of high priest. The office re- 
mained in his family till Abiathar was 
thrust out by Solomon, 1 Kings 1:7; 
2 : 26, 27, when it passed back again to 
the family of Eleazar in the person of 
Zadok. 1 Kings 2 : 35. Its return to the 
elder branch was one part of the punish- 
ment which had been denounced against 
Eli during his lifetime, for his culpable 
negligence, 1 Sam. 2 : 22-25, when his 
sons profaned the priesthood; comp. 1 
Sam. 2 : 27-36 with 1 Kings 2 : 27. Not- 
withstanding this one great blemish, the 
character of Eli is marked by eminent 
piety, as shown by his meek submission 
to the divine judgment, 1 Sam. 3 : 18, 
and his supreme regard for the ark of 
God. 1 Sam. 4 : 18. In addition to the 
office of high priest he held that of 
judge. He died at the advanced age 
of 98 years, 1 Sam. 4 : 15, overcome by 
the disastrous intelligence that the ark 
of God had been taken in battle by the 
Philistines, who had also slain his sons 
Hophni and Phinehas. 

Eii, E li, lama sabachthani. The 
Hebrew form, as Eloi, Eloi, etc., is the 
Syro-Chaldaic (the common language in 
use by the Jews in the time of Christ) 
of the first words of the twenty-second 
Psalm; they mean "My God, my God , 
why hast thou forsaken me?” 

Eli'ab (e-ll'ab) {God is father). 1. 
Son of Helon and leader of the tribe 
of Zebulun at the time of the census in 
the wilderness of Sinai. Num. 1:9; 2: 
7; 7:24, 29; 10:16. (b.c. 1490.) 

2. A Reubenite, father of Dathan and 
Abiram. Num. 16: 1, 12; 26:8, 9; Deut. 
11 : 6 . 

3. One of David’s brothers, the eldest 
of the family. 1 Sam. 16: 6; 17: 13, 28; 
1 Chron. 2 : 13. 

4. A Levite in the time of David, who 
was both a “porter” and a musician on 
the “ psaltery.” 1 Chron. 15 : 18, 20 ; 
16: 5. 

5. One of the warlike Gadite leaders 
who came over to David when he was in 
the wilderness taking refuge from Saul. 
1 Chron. 12 : 9. 

6. An ancestor of Samuel the prophet ; 
a Kohathite Levite, son of Nahath. 1 
Chron. 6 : 27. 

7. Son of Nathanael, one of the fore- 


ELI 


171 


ELI 


fathers of Judith, and therefore belong- 
ing to the tribe of Simeon. Judith 8: 1. 

Eli'ada (e-li'a-da) ( known by God). 

1. One of David’s sons ; according to 
the lists, the youngest but one of the 
family born to him after his establish- 
ment in Jerusalem. 2 Sam. 5:16; 1 
Chron. 3 : 8. Probably the same as 
Beeliada. 

2. A mighty man of war, a Benjamite, 
who led 200,000 of his tribe to the army 
of Jehoshaphat. 2 Chron. 17 : 17. (b.c. 

875.) 

Eli'adah (e-li'a-da), father of Rezon, 
the captain of a marauding band that 
annoyed Solomon. 1 Kings 11 : 23. 

Eli'ah (e-li'ah) (my God is Jehovah). 

1. A Benjamite, a chief man of the 
tribe. 1 Chron. 8 : 27. 

2. One of the Bene-Elam, an Israelite 
( i.e . a layman) who had married a for- 
eign wife. Ezra 10 : 26. 

Eli'ahba (e-li'ah-ba) (whom God 
hides), one of the thirty of David’s 
guard. 2 Sam. 23 : 32 ; 1 Chron. 11 : 33. 

Eli'akim (e-li'a-kim) (raised up by 
God). 1. Son of Hilkiah, master of 
Hezekiah’s household (“over the 
house,” as Isa. 36:3). 2 Kings 18:18, 
26, 37. (b.c. 701.) Eliakim was a 

good man, as appears by the title em- 
phatically applied to him by God, “ my 
servant Eliakim,” Isa. 22 : 20, and also 
in the discharge of the duties of his 
high station, in which he acted as a 
“ father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, 
and to the house of Judah.” Isa. 22 : 
21 . 

2. The original name of Jehoiakim 
king of Judah. 2 Kings 23 : 34 ; 2 Chron. 
36:4. 

3. A priest in the days of Nehemiah, 
who assisted at the dedication of the 
new wall of Jerusalem. Neh. 12:41. 
(b.c. 446.) 

4. Eldest son of Abiud or Judah; 
brother of Joseph, and father of Azor. 
Matt. 1 : 13. 

5. Son of Melea, and father of Jonan. 
Luke 3 : 30, 31. 

Eli'am (e-li'am) (God is kinsman). 
1. Father of Bath-sheba, the wife of 
David. 2 Sam. 11 : 3. 

2. One of David’s “thirty” warriors. 
2 Sam. 23 : 34. 

Eli'as (e-li'as), the Greek form of 
Elijah. 

Eli'asaph (e-li'a-saf). 1. Head of 
the tribe of Dan at the time, of the 
census in the wilderness of Sinai. Num. 


1 : 14 ; 2 : 14 ; 7 : 42, 47 ; 10 : 20. (b.c. 

1490.) 

2. A Levite, and “ chief of the Ger- 
shonites ” at the same time. Num. 3 : 
24. 

Eli'ashib (e-li'a-shib) (God hath re- 
stored). 1. A priest in the time of 
King David, eleventh in the order of 
the “ governors ” of the sanctuary. 1 
Chron. 24 : 12. 

2. One of the latest descendants of 
the royal family of Judah. 1 Chron. 3 : 
24. 

3. High priest at Jerusalem at the 

time of the rebuilding of the walls un- 
der Nehemiah. Neh. 3:1, 20, 21. (b.c. 

446.) 

4. A singer in the time of Ezra who 
had married a foreign wife. Ezra 10 : 
24. 

5. A son of Zattu, Ezra 10 : 27, and 

6. A son of Bani, Ezra 10 : 36, both 
of whom had transgressed in the same 
manner, (b.c. 458.) 

Eli'athah (e-li'a-thath) (God hath 
come), a musician in the temple in the 
time of King David. 1 Chron. 25 : 4, 
27. 

Eli'dad (e-H'dad) (whom God loves), 
the man chosen to represent the tribe 
of Benjamin in the division of the land 
of Canaan. Num. 34:21. (b.c. 1452.) 

Eli'el (e-li'el) (El is God). 1. One 
of the heads of the tribe of Manas- 
seh on the east of Jordan. 1 Chron. 5 : 
24. 

2. A forefather of Samuel the prophet. 
1 Chron. 6 : 34. 

3. A chief man in the tribe of Benja- 
min. 1 Chron. 8 : 20. 

4. Also a Benjamite chief. 1 Chron. 
8 : 22 . 

5. One of the heroes of David’s 
guard. 1 Chron. 11 : 46. 

6. Another of the same guard. 1 
Chron. 11 : 47. 

7. One of the Gadite heroes who 
came across Jordan to David when he 
was in the wilderness of Judah hiding 
from Saul. 1 Chron. 12:11. 

8. A Kohathite Levite, at the time of 

transportation of the ark from the house 
of Obed-edom to Jerusalem. 1 Chron. 
15:9, 11. (b.C. 1042.) . 

9. A Levite in the time of Hezekiah; 
one of the overseers of the offerings 
made in the temple. 2 Chron. 31 : 13. 

Elie'nai (e-li-e'na-I) (my eyes are 
toward Jehovah), a descendant of Ben- 


ELI 


172 


ELI 


jamin, and a chief man in the tribe. 1 
Chron. 8 : 20. 

Elie'zer (e-li-e'zer) ( God is help). 

1. Abraham’s chief servant, called by 
him “ Eliezer of Damascus.” Gen. 15 : 

2. (b.c. 1857.) 

2. Second son of Moses and Zip- 
porah, to whom his father gave this 
name because “ the God of my father 
was mine help, and delivered me from 
the sword of Pharaoh.” Ex. 18 : 4 ; 1 
Chron. 23 : 15, 17 ; 26 : 25. 

3. One of the sons of Becher, the 
son of Benjamin. 1 Chron. 7:8. 

4. A priest in the reign of David. 1 
Chron. 15 : ^4. 

5. Son of Zichri, ruler of the Reuben- 
ites in the reign of David. 1 Chron. 
27 : 16. 

6. Son of Dodavah, of Mareshah in 
Judah, 2 Chron. 20:37, a prophet, who 
rebuked Jehoshaphat for joining him- 
self with Ahaziah king of Israel, (b.c. 
895.) 

7. A chief Israelite whom Ezra sent 

with others from Ahava to Casiphia, to 
induce some Levites and Nethinim to 
accompany him to Jerusalem. Ezra 8: 
16. (b.c. 459.) 

8. 9, 10. A priest, a Levite and an Is- 
raelite of the sons of Harim, who had 
married foreign wives. Ezra 10 : 18, 23, 
31. 

11. Son of Jorim, in the genealogy of 
Christ. Luke 3 : 29. 

Elihoe'na=i ( my eyes are toward Je- 
hovah), son of Zerahiah, who with 200 
men returned from the captivity with 
Ezra. Ezra 8: 4. (b.c. 459.) 

Eliho'reph (el-I-ho'ref), one of Sol- 
omon’s scribes. 1 Kings 4 : 3. 

Eli'hu (e-ll'hu) {my God is he). 1. 
One of the- interlocutors in the book 
of Job. [Job.] He is described as the 
“ son of Barachel the Buzite.” 

2. A forefather of Samuel the proph- 
et. 1 Sam. 1 : 1. 

3. In 1 Chron. 27:18 Elihu “of the 
brethren of David ” is mentioned as the 
chief of the tribe of Judah. 

4. One of the captains of the thou- 
sands of Manasseh, 1 Chron. 12 : 20, who 
followed David to Ziklag after he had 
left the Philistine army on the eve of 
the battle of Gilboa. 

5. A Korhite Levite in the time of 
David. 1 Chron. 26 : 7. 

Eli jah (e-li'jah) (my God is Je- 
hovah) has been well entitled “the 
grandest and the most romantic char- 


acter that Israel ever produced.” “ Eli- 
jah the Tishbite, ... of the inhab- 
itants of Gilead ” is literally all that 
is given us to know of his parentage 
and locality. Of his appearance as he 
“ stood before ” Ahab (b.c. 868) with 
the suddenness of motion to this day 
characteristic of the Bedouins from his 
native hills, we can perhaps realize 
something from the touches, few but 
strong, of the narrative. His chief 
characteristic was his hair, long and 
thick, and hanging down his back. His 
ordinary clothing consisted of a girdle 
of skin round his loins, which he tight- 
ened when about to move quickly. 1 
Kings 18 : 46. But in addition to this 
he occasionally wore the “ mantle ” or 
cape of sheepskin which has supplied us 
with one of our most familiar figures 
of speech. His introduction, in what 
we may call the first act of his life, is of 
the most startling description. He sud- 
denly appears before Ahab, prophesies 
a three-years drought in Israel, and 
proclaims the vengeance of Jehovah for 
the apostasy of the king. Obliged to 
flee from the vengeance of the king, or 
more probably of the queen (comp. 1 
Kings 19:2), he was directed to the 
brook Cherith. There in the hollow of 
the torrent bed he remained, supported 
in the miraculous manner with which 
we are all familiar, till the failing of the 
brook obliged him to forsake it. His 
next refuge was at Zarephath. Here in 
the house of the widow woman Elijah 
performed the miracles of prolonging 
the oil and the meal, and restored the 
son of the widow to life after his ap- 
parent death. 1 Kings 17. In this or 
some other retreat an interval of more 
than two years must have elapsed. The 
drought continued, and at last the full 
horrors of famine, caused by the failure 
of the crops, descended on Samaria. 
Again Elijah suddenly appears before 
Ahab. There are few more sublime 
stories in history than the account of 
the succeeding events — with the servant 
of Jehovah and his single attendant on 
the one hand, and the 850 prophets of 
Baal on the other; the altars, the de- 
scending fire of Jehovah consuming both 
sacrifice and altar ; the rising storm, 
and the ride across the plain to Jezreel. 
1 Kings 18. Jezebel vows vengeance, 
and again Elijah takes refuge in flight 
into the wilderness, where he is again 
miraculously fed, and goes forward, in 


ELI 


173 


ELI 


the strength of that food, a journey of 
forty days to the mount of God, even to 
Horeb, where he takes refuge in a cave, 
and witnesses a remarkable vision of 
Jehovah. 1 Kings 19 : 9-18. He re- 
ceives the divine communication, and 
sets forth in search of Elisha, whom 
he finds ploughing in the field, and 
anoints him prophet in his place, 19 : 
19. For a time little is heard of Eli- 
jah, and Ahab and Jezebel probably be- 
lieved they had seen the last of him. 
But after the murder of Naboth, Eli- 
jah, who had received an intimation 
from Jehovah of what was taking place, 
again suddenly appears before the king, 
and then follows Elijah’s fearful de- 
nunciation of Ahab and Jezebel, which 
may possibly be recovered by putting 
together the words recalled by Jehu, 2 
Kings 9 : 26, 36, 37, and those given in 

1 Kings 21 : 19-25. A space of three 
or four years now elapses (comp. 1 
Kings 22:1, 51; 2 Kings 1:17) before 
we again catch a glimpse of Elijah. 
Ahaziah is on his death-bed, 1 Kings 
22 : 51 ; 2 Kings 1:1, 2, and sends to an 
oracle or shrine of Baal to ascertain 
the issue of his illness; but Elijah sud- 
denly appears on the path of the mes- 
sengers, without preface or inquiry ut- 
ters his message of death, and as rap- 
idly disappears. The wrathful king 
sends two bands of soldiers to seize 
Elijah, and they are consumed with 
fire; but finally the prophet goes down 
and delivers to Ahaziah’s face the mes- 
sage of death. Not long after Elijah 
sent a message to Jehoram denouncing 
his evil doings, and predicting his death. 

2 Chron. 21 : 12-15. It was at Gilgal — 
probably on the western edge of the 
hills of Ephraim — that the prophet re- 
ceived the divine intimation that his de- 
parture was at hand. He was at the 
time with Elisha, who seems now_ to 
have become his constant companion, 
and who would not consent to leave 
him. “ And it came to pass as they still 
went on and talked, that, behold, a 
chariot of fire and horses of fire, and 
parted them both asunder; and Elijah 
went up by a whirlwind into heaven.” 
(b.c. 853.) Fifty men of the sons of 
the prophets ascended the abrupt 
heights behind the town, and witnessed 
the scene. How deep was the impres- 
sion which he made on the mind of the 
nation may be judged of from the fixed 
belief which many centuries after pre- 


vailed that Elijah would again appear 
for the relief and restoration of his 
country, as Malachi prophesied. Mai. 
4 : 5. He spoke, but left no written 
words, save the letter to Jehoram king 
of Judah. 2 Chron. 21 : 12-15. 

Eli'ka (el-I'-ka), a Harodite, one of 
David’s guard. 2 Sam. 23 : 25. 

E'lim (e'lim) ( strong trees), Ex. 15: 
27 ; Num. 33 : 9, the second station where 
the Israelites encamped after crossing 
the Red Sea. It is distinguished as 
having had “twelve wells (rather 
‘ fountains ’) of water, and three-score 
and ten palm trees.” It is generally 
identified with Wady Garundel, about 
halfway down the shore of the Gulf of 
Suez. A few palm trees still remain, 
and the water is excellent. 

Elim'elech (e-lim'e-lek) ( God is 
king), a man of the tribe of Judah and 
of the family of the Hezronites, who 
dwelt in Bethlehem-Ephratah in the 
days of the Judges, supposedly in the 
time of Gideon. In consequence of a 
great dearth in the land he went with 
his wife, Naomi, and his two sons, Mah- 
lon and Chilion, to dwell in Moab, 
where he and his sons died without 
posterity. Ruth 1:2, 3, etc. 

Elioe'nai (e-li-o-e'na-i) ( my eyes 
are toward Jehovah). 1. Eldest son of 
Neariah, the son of Shemaiah. 1 
Chron. 3: 23, 24. 

2. Head of a family of the Simeonites. 
1 Chron. 4 : 36. 

3. Head of one of the families of the 
sons of Becher, the son of Benjamin. 1 
Chron. 7 : 8. 

4. A Korhite Levite, and one of the 
doorkeepers of the “house of Jehovah.” 
1 Chron. 26 : 3. 

5. A priest in the days of Ezra, one 

of those who had married foreign wives. 
Ezra 10:22. (b.c. 458.) 

6. An Israelite of the sons of Zattu, 

who had also married a foreign wife. 
Ezra 10:27. (b.c. 458.) 

Eli'phal (el-I'fal) ( God hath judged), 
son of Ur, one of David’s guard. 1 
Chron. 11 : 35. [Eliphelet, 3.] 

Eliph'alet (e-lif'a-let) ( the God of 
deliverance) , the last of the thirteen 
sons born to David after his establish- 
ment in Jerusalem. 2 Sam. 5:16; 1 
Chron. 14:7. [Eliphelet, 2.] 

El'iphaz (el'i-faz) {God is his 
strength). 1. The son of Esau and 
Adah, and the father of Teman. Gen. 
36 : 4 ; 1 Chron. 1 : 35, 36. 


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174 


ELI 


2. The oldest and wisest of the three 
friends of Job. An Abraham-like saint, 
of a dignified and noble character, 
rather than brilliant or learned ; “ with 
a considerable likeness to Job himself 
in the general cast of his character and 
his tone of thought.” Firm in his opin- 
ions ; of plain common sense. He gives 
by far the noblest, gentlest, and most 
artistic expressions of the convictions 
and sentiments common to all. He was 
a chief from the land of Teman near 
the southern part of the Dead Sea. 

Eliph'eleh (e-lif'e-leh) ( may God 
distinguish him), a Merarite Levite, one 
of the gate-keepers appointed by David 
to play on the harp “ on the Shemi- 
nith ” on the occasion of bringing up 
the ark to the city of David. 1 Chron. 
15 : 18, 21. 

Eliph'elet (e-lif'e-let) ( the God of 
deliverance). 1. The name of a son 
of David, one of the children born to 
him after his establishment in Jeru- 
salem. 1 Chron. 3 : 6. Also given Eliph- 
alet. 1 Chron. 14 : 7. 

2. Another son of David, belonging 
also to the Jerusalem family, and ap- 
parently the last of his sons. 1 Chron. 
3:8. 

3. One of the thirty warriors of 
David’s guard. 2 Sam. 23 : 34. 

4. Son of Eshek, a descendant of 
King Saul through Jonathan. 1 Chron. 
8:39. 

5. One of the leaders of the Bene- 

Adonikam who returned from Babylon 
with Ezra. Ezra 8:13. (b.c. 459.) 

6. A man of the Bene-Hashum in the 
time of Ezra who had married a for- 
eign wife. Ezra 10 : 33. 

Elis'abeth (e-lis'a-beth) ( God is an 
oath), the wife of Zacharias and mother 
of John the Baptist. She was herself 
of the priestly' family, and a relation, 
Luke 1 : 36, of the mother of our Lord. 

Elise'us (el-i-se'us), the Greek form 
of the name Elisha. 

Eli'sha (e-li'sha) {God is salvation ) , 
son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah ; the 
attendant and disciple of Elijah, and 
subsequently his successor as prophet 
of the kingdom of Israel. The earliest 
mention of his name is in the command 
to Elijah in the cave at Horeb. 1 Kings 
19:16, 17. (b.c. about 840.) Elijah 

sets forth to obey the command, and 
comes upon his successor engaged in 
ploughing. He crosses to him and 
throws over his shoulders the rough 


mantle — a token at once of investiture 
with the prophet’s office and of adop- 
tion as a son. Elisha delayed merely 
to give the farewell kiss to hife father 
and mother and preside at a parting 
feast with his people, and then followed 
the great prophet on his northward 
road. We hear nothing more of Elisha 
for 6 or 8 years, until the translation 
of his master, when he reappears, to 
become the most prominent figure in 
the history of his country during the 
rest of his long life. 

In almost every respect Elisha pre- 
sents the most complete contrast to Eli- 
jah. Elijah was a true Bedouin child 
of the desert. If he enters a city it is 
only to deliver his message of fire and 
be gone. Elisha, on the other hand, is 
a civilized man, an inhabitant of cities. 
His dress was the ordinary garment of 
an Israelite, the beged, probably similar 
in form to the long abbey eh of the 
modern Syrians. 2 Kings 2 : 12. His 
hair was worn trimmed behind, in con- 
trast to the disordered locks of Elijah, 
and he used a walking-staff, 2 Kings 
4 : 29, of the kind ordinarily carried by 
grave or aged citizens. Zech. 8 : 4. 
After the departure of his master, Eli- 
sha returned to dwell at Jericho, 2 
Kings 2 : 18, where he miraculously pur- 
ified the springs. We next meet with 
Elisha at Bethel, in the heart of the 
country, on his way from Jericho to 
Mount Carmel. 2 Kings 2 : 23. The 
mocking children, Elisha’s curse and the 
catastrophe which followed are familiar 
to all. Later he extricates Jehoram 
king of Israel, and the kings of Judah 
and Edom, from their difficulty in the 
campaign against Moab arising from 
want of water. 2 Kings 3 : 4-27. Then 
he multiplies the widow’s oil. 2 Kings 
4 : 5-7. The next occurrence is at Shu- 
nem, where he is hospitably entertained 
by a woman of substance, whose son 
dies, and is brought to life again by 
Elisha. 2 Kings 4 : 8-37. Then at Gil- 
gal he purifies the deadly pottage, 2 
Kings 4 : 38-41, and multiplies the 
loaves. 2 Kings 4 : 42-44. 

The simple records of these domestic 
incidents amongst the sons of the proph- 
ets are now interrupted by an occur- 
rence of a more important character. 
2 Kings 5 : 1-27. The chief captain of 
the army of Syria, Naaman, is attacked 
with leprosy, and is sent by c.n Israelite 
maid to the prophet Elisha, who di- 


ELI 


175 


ELL 


rects him to clip seven times in the 
Jordan, which he does and is healed, 
2 Kings 5 : 1-14 ; while Elisha’s serv- 
ant, Gehazi, is stricken with leprosy for 
his unfaithfulness, ch. 5 : 20-27. Again 
the scene changes. It is perhaps at 
Jericho that Elisha causes the iron axe 
to swim. 2 Kings 6:1-7. A band of 
Syrian marauders are sent to seize 
him, but are struck blind, and he mis- 
leads them to Samaria, where they find 
themselves in the presence of the Is- 
raelite king and his troops. 2 Kings 
6 : 8-23. During the famine in Samaria, 
2 Kings 6 : 24-33, he prophesied in- 
credible plenty, ch. 7 : 1-2, which was 
soon fulfilled, ch. 7:3-20. We next 
find the prophet at Damascus. Ben- 
hadad the king is sick, and sends to 
Elisha by Hazael to know the result. 
Elisha prophesies the king’s death, and 
announces to Hazael that he is to suc- 
ceed to the throne. 2 Kings 8 : 7-15. 
Finally this prophet of God, after hav- 
ing filled the position for sixty years, is 
found on his death-bed in his own 
house. 2 Kings 13 : 14-19. The power 
of the prophet, however, does not termi- 
nate with his death. Even in the tomb 
he restores the dead to life, ch. 13 : 21. 

Eli'shah (e-ll'shah) ( God is salva- 
tion ), the eldest son of Javan. Gen. 
10 : 4. The residence of his descendants 
is described in Ezek. 27 : 7 as the isles 
of Elishah, whence the Phoenicians ob- 
tained their purple and blue dyes. The 
two most plausible identifications are 
that with southern Italy and Sicily, 
where were Greek colonies ; and that 
with Carthage or the north African coast. 

Elish'ama (e-lish'a-ma) ( God has 
heard). 1. The “prince” or “captain” 
of the tribe of Ephraim in the wil- 
derness of Sinai. Num. 1 : 10 ; 2 : 18 ; 
7:48; 10:22. (b.c. 1491.) From 1 

Chron. 7 : 26 we find that he was grand- 
father to the great Joshua. 

2. A son of King David. 2 Sam. 5 : 
16; 1 Chron. 3:8; 14:7. 

3. Another son of David, 1 Chron. 3 : 
6, who in the other lists is called 
Elishua, which is probably correct. 

4. A descendant of Judah. 1 Chron. 
2: 41. 

5. The father of Nethaniah ' and 
grandfather of Ishmael. 2 Kings 25 : 
25 ; Jer. 41 : 1. 

6. Scribe to King Jehoiakim. Jer. 36: 

12, 20, 21. (b.c. 605.) 

7. A priest in the time of Jehoshaphat. 

2 Chron. 17:8. (b.c. 870.) 


Elish'aphat (e-lish'a-fat) ( God hath 
judged), son of Zichri; one of the cap- 
tains of hundreds in the time of Je- 
hoiada. 2 Chron. 23 : 1. (b.c. 836.) 

Elish'eba (e-lish'e-ba) ( God is an 
oath), the wife of Aaron. Ex. 6:23. 
She was the daughter of Amminadab, 
and sister of Nahshon the captain of 
the host of Judah. Num. 2:3. 

Elish'ua (e-lish'-u-a) ( God is salva- 
tion), one of David’s, sons, born after 
his settlement in Jerusalem. 2 Sam. 5: 
15 ; 1 Chron. 14 : 5. 

Eliud (e-ll'ud) (perhaps God of 
Judah), son of Achim in the genealogy 
of Christ. Matt. 1 : 15. 

Eliz'aphan (e-liz'a-fan) {God has 
protected). 1. A Levite, son of Uzziel, 
chief of the house of the Kohathites at 
the time of the census in the wilderness 
of Sinai. Num. 3:30. (b.c. 1491.) 

2. Prince of the tribe of Zebulun. 
Num. 34: 25. 

Eli'zur (e-li'zur), prince of the tribe 
and over the host of Reuben. Num. 
1:5; 2:10; 7 : 30, 35 ; 10 : 18. 

El'kanah (el'ka-nah), or El'konah 
{God has possessed). 1. Son, or grand- 
'son (see 1 Chron. 6:22, 23), of Korah, 
according to Ex. 6 : 24. 

2. A descendant of the above in the 
line of Ahimoth, otherwise Mahath, 1 
Chron. 6 : 26, 35. 

3. Another Kohathite Levite, father 
of Samuel the illustrious judge and 
prophet. 1 Chron. 6 : 27, 34. All that 
is known of him is contained in the 
above notices and in 1 Sam. 1:1, 4, 8, 
19, 21, 23 and 2 : 11, 20. 

4. A Levite. 1 Chron. 9 : 16. 

5. A Korhite who joined David while 

he was at Ziklag. 1 Chron. 12 : 6. (b.c. 

1057.) 

6. An officer in the household of Ahaz 

king of Judah, who was slain by Zichri 
the Ephraimite when Pekah invaded 
Judah. 2 Chron. 28:7. (b.c. 735.) 

El'kosh (el'kosh) {God my how), the 
birthplace of the prophet Nahum, hence 
called “ the Elkoshite.” Nah. 1 : 1. The 
tradition placing it at Alkush on the 
Tigris is latfe. Jerome located it in 
Galilee ; and perhaps the most credible 
site is Beit Jibrin in Simeon. 

El'Iasar (el'la-sar) {oak), the city of 
Arioch, Gen. 14 : 1, seems to be the He- 
brew representative of the old Chaldean 
town called in the native dialect Larsa. 
Larsa was a town of lower Baby- 
lonia or Chaldea, situated nearly half- 
way between Ur {Mugheir) and Erech 


ELM 


176 


EMB 


( Warka ), on the left bank of the Eu- 
phrates. It is now Senkereh. 

Elm. Hos. 4:13. [See Oak.] 

Elma'dam (el-ma'dam). In the Re- 
vised Version, Luke 3 : 28. Same as 
Elmodam. 

Elmo'dam (el-mo'dam), son of Er, 
in the genealogy of Joseph. Luke 3: 
28. 

El'naam (el'na-am) ( God is pleasant- 
ness ), the father of Jeribai and Josha- 
viah, two of David’s guard, according 
to 1 Chron. 11 : 46. 

Elnathan (el'na-than), or Elnathan 
( God hath given). 1. The maternal 
grandfather of Jehoiachin, 2 Kings 24: 
8 ; the same with Elnathan the son of 
Achbor. Jer. 26 : 22 ; 36 : 12, 25. 

2. The name of three persons, appar- 
ently Levites, in the time of Ezra. Ezra 
8: 16. 

E'lon (e'lon) ( a terebinth). 1. A 
Hittite, whose daughter was one of 
Esau’s wives. Gen. 26:34; 36 : 2. (b.c. 

1797.) 

2. The second of the three sons attrib- 
uted to Zebulun, Gen. 46 : 14 ; Num. 26 : 
26, and the founder of the family of 
the Elonites. (b.c. 1706.) 

3. Elon the Zebulonite, who judged 
Israel for ten years, and was buried in 
Aijalon in Zebulun. Judges 12: 11,- 12. 

4. One of the towns in the border of 
the tribe of Dan. Josh. 19: 43. 

E'lon=beth=ha'nan ( terebinth of the 
house of grace) is named with two 
Danite towns as forming one of Sol- 
omon’s commissariat districts. 1 Kings 
4:9. 

E'lonites (e^on-ites), The. Num. 
26 : 26. [Elon, 2.] 

E'loth (e'loth). 1 Kings 9:26. 
[Elath.] 

Elpa'al {God of doing?), a Benjamite, 
son of Hushim and brother of Abitub. 
1 Chron. 8 : 11. He was the founder of 
a numerous family. 

El'palet (el'pa-let) {God his deliver- 
ance), one of David’s sons born in 
Jerusalem. 1 Chron. 14:5. Also called 
Eliphelet. 

El=pa'ran (el-pa'ran) {the tree, i. e. 
the palm-tree or “ the terebinth ” of 
Paran). Gen. 14 : 6. [Paran.] 

El'tekeh (el'te-keh) {God its fear), 
one of the cities in the border of Dan, 
Josh. 19:44, which with its suburbs 
was allotted to the Kohathite Levites. 
Josh. 21 : 23. 

Ertekon (el'te-kon) {God is firm- 


ness), one of the towns of the tribe 
of Judah in the mountains. Josh. 15 : 
59. It has not yet been identified. 

El'tolad (el'to-lad) {birth, race), 
one of the cities in the south of Judah, 
Josh. 15:30, allotted to Simeon, Josh. 
19 : 4, and in possession of that tribe 
until the time of David. 1 Chron. 4: 
29 

E'lul (e'lul). Neh. 6:15; 1 Macc. 
14:27. [Month.] 

Elu'zai (e-lu'za-i) {God is my 
strength), one of the warriors of Ben- 
jamin who joined David at Ziklag. 1 
Chron. 12:5. (b.c. 1057.) 

El'ymas (el'-y-mas) {a wise man), 
the Arabic name of the Jewish magus 
or sorcerer Bar-jesus. Acts 13 : 6 If. 
( A.D. 49.) 

El'zabad (el'za-bad) {God hath 
given). 1. One of the Gadite heroes 
who came across the Jordan to David. 
1 Chron. 12 : 12. 

2. A Korhite Levite. 1 Chron. 26 : 7. 

El'zaphan (el'za-fan) {God has pro- 
tected), second son of Uzziel, who was 
the son of Kohath son of Levi. Ex. 6 : 
22 . 

Embalming, the process by which 
dead bodies are preserved from putre- 
faction and decay. It was most gen- 
eral among the Egyptians, and it is in 
connection with this people that the 
two instances which we meet with in 
the Old Testament are mentioned. 
Gen. 50 : 2, 26. The embalmers first re- 
moved part of the brain through the 
nostrils, by means of a crooked iron, 
and destroyed the rest by injecting 
caustic drugs. An incision was then 
made along the flank with a sharp 
Ethiopian stone, and the whole of the 
intestines removed. The cavity was 
rinsed out with palm wine, and after- 
wards scoured with pounded perfumes. 
It was then filled with pure myrrh 
pounded, cassia and other aromatics, 
except frankincense. This done, the 
body was sewn up and steeped in na- 
tron (saltpeter) for seventy days. 
When the seventy days were accom- 
plished, the embalmers washed the 
corpse and. swathed it in bandages of 
linen, cut in strips and smeared with 
gum. They then gave it up to the rel- 
atives of the deceased, who provided 
for it a wooden case, made in the shape 
of a man, in which the dead was 
placed, and deposited in an erect posi- 
tion against the wall of the sepulchral 


EMB 


177 


ENC 


chamber. Sometimes no incision was 
made in the body, nor were the intes- 
tines removed, but cedar-oil was in- 
jected into the stomach by the rectum. 
At others the oil was prevented from 
escaping until the end of the steeping 
process, when it was withdrawn, and 
carried off with it the stomach and in- 
testines in a state of solution, while the 
flesh was consumed by the natron, and 
nothing was left but the skin and bones. 
The body in this state was returned 
to the relatives of the deceased. The 
third mode, which was adopted by the 
poorer classes, and cost but little, con- 
sisted in rinsing out the intestines with 
syrmaea, an infusion of senna and cas- 
sia, and steeping the body for several 
days in natron. It does not appear 
that embalming was practiced by the 
Hebrews. The cost of embalming was 
sometimes nearly $2000, varying from 
this amount down to $200 or $300. 

Embroiderer. Various explanations 
have been offered as to the distinction 
between “ needle-work ” and “ cunning 
work.” Probably neither term expresses 
just what is to-day understood by em- 
broidery, though the latter may come 
nearest to it. The art of embroidery 
by the loom was extensively practiced 
among the nations of antiquity. In ad- 
dition to the Egyptians, the Babylonians 
were celebrated for it. 

Emerald, the rendering of two differ- 
ent words, the meaning of either being 
doubtful. This gem was the first in 
the second row on the breastplate of 
the high priest. Ex. 28 : 18 ; 39 : 11. 

It was imported to Tyre from Syria. 
Ezek. 27 : lfc ; was used as a seal or 
signet, Ecclus. 32 : 6, as an ornament of 
clothing and bedding, Ezek. 28 : 13, and 
is spoken of as one of the foundations 
of Jerusalem. Rev. 21:19; Tob. 13: 
16. The rainbow around the throne 
is compared to an emerald in Rev. 
4:3. 

Emerods. Deut. 28 : 27 ; 1 Sam. 5 : 
6, 9, 12; 6:4, 5, 11. The word means 
hemorrhoids, which are very common 
in Syria at present, owing to Oriental 
habits of want of exercise and im- 
proper food. There is, however, some 
question as to what is intended in the 
Bible by the word. The R. V. margin 
in Deut., and the R. V. text in 1 Sam. 
has “tumors.” 

E'mims (e'mims) ( terrors ), a tribe 
or family of gigantic stature which orig- 

12 


inally inhabited the region along the 
eastern side of the Dead Sea. They 
were related to the Anakim. 

Emmanuel (emman'u-el). Matt 1: 
23. [Immanuel.] 

Em'ma=us Oem'ma-us), or Emma'us 
(em-ma'us) ( warm baths), the village 
to which the two disciples were going 
when our Lord appeared to them on the 
way, on the day of his resurrection. 
Luke 24 : 13. Luke makes its distance 
from Jerusalem sixty stadia (Author- 
ized Version “threescore furlongs ”), 
or about 7 54 miles ; and Josephus men- 
tions “ a village called Emmaus ” at the 
same distance. The site of Emmaus is 
uncertain. 

Em'mor (em'mor) {an ass), the 
father of Shechem. Acts 7 : 16. [Ha~ 
mor.] 

En ? at the beginning of many Hebrew 
words, signifies a spring or fountain. 

E'-iam (e'nam) {the two springs ) , 
one of the cities of Judah in the Shefe~ 
lah or lowland. Josh. 15:34. 

H'nan (e'nan) {having eyes). Ahira 
ben-Enan was “prince” of the tribe of 
Naphtali at the time of the numbering 
of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai 
Num, 1 : 15. 

Encampment primarily denoted the 
resting-place of an army or company 
of travelers at night, Gen. 32 : 21 ; Ex. 
16 : 13, and was hence applied to the 
army or caravan when on its march. 
Gen. 32 : 7, 8 ; Ex. 14 : 19 ; Josh. 10 : 5 ; 
11 : 4. The description of the camp of 
the Israelites, on their march from 
Egypt, Num. 2, 3, supplies the greatest 
amount of information on the subject. 
The tabernacle, corresponding to the 
chieftain’s tent of an ordinary encamp- 
ment, was placed in the centre, and 
around and facing it, Num. 2:2, ar- 
ranged in four grand divisions, corre- 
sponding to the four points of the 
compass, lay the host of Israel, accord- 
ing to their standards. Num. 1:52; 2: 
2. In the centre, round the tabernacle, 
and with no standard but the cloudy 
or fiery pillar which rested over it, 
were the tents of the priests and Levites. 
The former, with Moses and Aaron at 
their head, were encamped on the east- 
ern side. The order of encampment 
was preserved on the march. Num. 2: 
17. 

Enchantments. The words so trans- 
lated have several significations : the 
practice of secret arts, Ex. 7:11, 22; 


END 


178 


ENG 


8:7; “ muttered spells,” 2 Kings 9:22; 
Micah 5 : 12 ; the charming of serpents, 
Eccles. 10 : 11 ; the enchantments sought 
by Balaam, Num. 24:1; the use of 
magic, Isa. 47 : 9, 12. Any resort to 
these methods of imposture was strictly 
forbidden in Scripture, Lev. 19 : 26 ; Isa. 
47 : 9, etc. ; but to eradicate the tendency 
is almost impossible, 2 Kings 17 : 17, and 
we find it still flourishing at the Chris- 
tian era. Acts 13 : 6, 8. 

En'=dor (en'dor) ( fountain of Dor), 
a place in the territory of Issachar, and 
yet possessed by Manasseh. Josh. 17 : 
11. Endor was the scene of the great 
victory over Sisera and Jabin. It was 
here that the witch dwelt whom Saul 
consulted. 1 Sam. 28 : 7. 

It was known to Eusebius, 
who describes it as a large 
village four miles south of 
Tabor. Here to the north 
of Jebel Duhy the name 
still lingers. The distance 
from the slopes of Gilboa 
to Endor is seven or eight 
miles, over difficult ground. 

En=egiaim (en-eg'la-im) 

( fountain of two calves), a 
place named only by Eze- 
kiel, 47 : 10, apparently a s 
on the Dead Sea; but 
whether near to or far 
from Engedi, on the east 
or the west side of the sea, 
it is impossible to ascertain. 

En=gan'nim (en-gan'nim) 

(fountain of gardens). 1. 

A city in the low country 
o f Judah, named between 
Zanoah and Tappuah. 

Josh. 15:34. 

2. A city o n t h e border 
of Issachar, Josh. 19:21, al- 
lotted with its “ suburbs ” 
to the Gershonite Levites, 

Josh. 21:29; probably 
Jenin, the first village en- 
countered on the ascent 
from the great plain of Esdraelon into 
the hills of the central country. 

En=ge'di (en-ge'dl) or En'=gedi 
(fount of the kid), a town in the wil- 
derness of Judah, Josh. 15 : 62, on the 
western shore of the Dead Sea. Ezek. 
47 : 10. Its original name was Hazazon- 
tamar, on account of the palm groves 
which surrounded it. 2 Chron. 20 : 2. 
Its site is about the middle of the west- 
ern shore of the lake, at the fountain of 


Ain Jidy, from which the place gets 
its name. It was immediately after an 
assault upon the “ Amorites that dwelt 
in Hazezon-tamar,” that the five Meso- 
potamian kings were attacked by the 
rulers of the plain of Sodom. Gen. 14: 
7 ; comp. 2 Chron. 20 : 2. Saul was told 
that David was in the “ wilderness of 
Engedi ; ” and he took “ three thousand 
men, and went to seek David and his 
men upon the rocks of the wild goats ! } 
1 Sam. 24 : 1-4. The vineyards of En- 
gedi were celebrated in Palestine. Cant 
1: 14. 

Engine, a term applied exclusively 
to military affairs in the Bible. The en- 
gines to which the term is applied in 2 


Chron. 26 : 15 were designed to propel 
various missiles from the walls of a be- 
sieged town. One, with which the He- 
brews were acquainted, was the batter- 
ing ram, described in Ezek. 26 : 9, and 
still more precisely in Ezek. 4:2; 21 : 22. 

Engraver. His chief business was 
cutting names or devices on rings and 
seals; the only notices of engraving are 
in connection with the high priest’s 
dress — the two onyx stones, the twelve 



BATTERING RAM. 


ENH 


179 


ENS 


jewels and the mitreplate having in- 
scriptions on them. Ex. 28 : 11, 21, 36. 

En=had'dah (en-had'dah) ( swift 
fountain), one of the cities on the bor- 
der of Issachar named next to Engan- 
nim. Josh. 19 : 21. 

En=hak'ko=re (en-hak'ko-re) ( fount 
of the caller), the spring which burst 
out in answer to the cry of Samson 
after his exploit with the jawbone. 
Judges 15 : 19. It was long pointed 
out, but modern investigation makes its 
identification doubtful. 

En=ha'zor (en-ha'zor) ( fount of 
Hazor), one of the fenced cities in the 
inheritance of Naphtali, distinct from 
Hazor. Josh. 19:37. It has not yet 
been identified with certainty. 

En=mish'pat (en-mish'pat) ( fount 
of judgment). Gen. 14:7. [Kadesh.] 

E'noch (e'nok) ( dedicated ). 1. The 

eldest son of Cain, Gen. 4 : 17, who 
called after his name the city which 
he built. Gen. 4 : 18. 

2. The son of Jared and father of 
Methuselah. Gen. 5 : 21 ff. ; Luke 3 : 
37. (b.c. 3382-3017.) In the Epistle 

of Jude, 14, he is described as “ the 
seventh from Adam;” and the number 
is probably noticed as conveying the 
idea of divine completion and rest, while 
Enoch was himself a type of perfected 
humanity. After the birth of Methu- 
selah it is said, Gen. 5 : 22-24, that Enoch 
“ walked with God three hundred years 
. . . and he was not; for God took 

him.” The phrase “walked with God” 
is elsewhere only used of Noah, Gen. 
6:9; cf. Gen. 17 : 1, etc., and is to be 
explained of a prophetic life spent in 
immediate converse with the spiritual 
world. Like Elijah, he was translated 
without seeing death. In the Epistle 
to the Hebrews the spring and issue of 
Enoch’s life are clearly marked. Both 
the Latin and Greek fathers commonly 
coupled Enoch and Elijah as historic 
witnesses of the possibility of a resur- 
rection of the body and of a true hu- 
man existence in glory. 

E'noch, The Book of. The first trace 
of the existence of this work is found 
in the Epistle of Jude, 14, 15. An 
apocryphal book called Enoch was 
known at a very early date, but was 
lost sight of until 1773, when Bruce 
brought with him on his return from 
Egypt three MSS. containing the com- 
plete Ethiopic translation. In its pres- 
ent shape the book consists of a series 


of revelations supposed to have been 
given to Enoch and Noah, which extend 
to the most varied aspects of nature and 
life, and are designed to offer a com- 
prehensive vindication of the action of 
Providence. Notwithstanding the quo- 
tation in Jude, and the wide circulation 
of the book itself, the apocalypse of 
Enoch was uniformly and distinctly 
separated from the canonical Scriptures. 
Its authorship and date are unknown. 

E'non, see vEnon. 

E'nos (e'nos) ( mortal man), the son 
of Seth, Gen. 4:26; 5:6, 7, 9, 10, 11; 
Luke 3:38; properly Enosh, as in 1 
Chron. 1 : 1. 

E'nosh. Same as Enos. 1 Chron. 1: 

1. 

En=rim'mon (en-rim'mon) ( fount of 
the . pomegranate) , one of the places 
which the men of Judah reinhabited 
after their return from the captivity. 
Neh. 11:29. Perhaps the same as 
“ Ain and Rimmon,” Josh. 15 : 32, and 
“Ain, Remmon,” Josh. 19:7; and see 
1 Chron. 4 : 32. 

En=ro'gel (en-ro'gel) ( fount of the 
fuller), a spring which formed one of 
the landmarks on the boundary line be- 
tween Judah, Josh. 15: 7, and Benjamin. 
Josh. 18:16. It may be identified with 
the present “Fountain of the Virgin,” 
’Ain Umm ed-Daraj, the perennial 
source from which the pool of Siloam 
is supplied. 

En=she'mesh (en-she'mesh) ( foun- 
tain of the sun), a spring which formed 
one of the landmarks on the north 
boundary of Judah, Josh. 15 : 7, and 
the south boundary of Benjamin, Josh. 
18:17; perhaps Ain-Haud or Ain-Chot 
— the “ well of the apostles ” — about a 
mile below Bethany. 

Ensign (nes; in the Authorized Ver- 
sion generally “ ensign,” sometimes 
“ standard ;” degel, “ standard,” with the 
exception of Cant. 2:4, “banner;” oth, 
“ensign”). The distinction between 
these three Hebrew terms is sufficiently 
marked by their respective uses. Nes 
is a signal, and not a military standard. 
It is an occasional signal, which was 
exhibited on the top of a pole from a 
bare mountain-top, Isa. 13:2; 18:3; 
degel a military standard for a large 
division of an army; and oth the same 
for a small one. Neither of them, how- 
ever, expresses the idea which “ stand- 
ard ” conveys to our minds, viz. a flag. 
The standards in use among the He- 


ENT 


180 


EPH 


brews probably resembled those of the 
Egyptians and Assyrians — a figure or 
device of some kind elevated on a pole; 
usually a sacred emblem, such as an 
animal, a boat, or the king’s name. 

En=tap'puah. Josh. 17 : 7. [See Tap- 

PUAH.] 

Epaen'etus (e-pen'e-tus) ( praise- 
worthy' ), a Christian at Rome, greeted 
by St. Paul in Rom. 16 : 5, and desig- 
nated as his beloved and the first-fruit 
of Achaia unto Christ. 

Ep'aphras (ep'a-fras) {lovely), a 
fellow laborer with the apostle Paul, 
mentioned Col. 1 : 7 as having taught the 
Colossian church the grace of God in 
truth, and designated a faithful min- 
ister of Christ on their behalf. He was 
at that time with St. Paul at Rome. 
(a.d. 62.) For Paul’s estimate of him 
see Col. 1:7, 8; 4: 12. 

Epaphrodi'tus (e-paf-ro-di'tus) {love- 
ly), the full name of which Epaphras 
is a contraction. Philip. 2 : 25 ; 4 : 18. 

E'phah (e'fah) {darkness) , the first, 
in order, of the sons of Midian, Gen. 
25 : 4 ; 1 Chron. 1 : 33, afterwards men- 
tioned by Isaiah. Isa. 60:6. 

E'phah. 1. Concubine of Caleb, in 
the line of Judah. 1 Chron. 2 : 46. 

2. Son of Jahdai; also in the line of 
Judah. 1 Chron. 2:47. 

Ephah. [Weights and Measures.] 

E'phai (e'fa-i) {fatigued), a Neto- 
phathite, whose sons were among the 
“captains of the forces” left in Judah 
after the deportation to Babylon. Jer. 
40:8; 41:3, comp. 40:13. (b.c. 586.) 

E'pher (e'fer) {a calf), the second, 
in order, of the sons of Midian. Gen. 
25:4; 1 Chron. 1:33. 

E'pher. 1. A son of Ezra, among the 
descendants of Judah. 1 Chron. 4:17. 

2. One of the heads of the families of 
Manasseh on the east of Jordan. 1 
Chron. 5 : 24. 

E'phes=dam'mim (e'fes-dam'mim), 
a place between Socoh and Azekah, at 
which the Philistines were encamped 
before the affray in which Goliath was 
killed. 1 Sam. 17 : 1. Under the shorter 
form of Pas-dammin it occurs once 
again in a similar connection. 1 Chron. 
11 : 13. 

Ephe'sians, The Epistle to the, 

was written by the apostle St. Paul dur- 
ing his first captivity at Rome, Acts 
28 : 16, apparently immediately after he 
had written the Epistle to the Colos- 
sians [Colossians, Epistle to], very 


probably about a.d. 62, though there is 
a difference of opinion (See Hastings’ 
Bible Dictionary) . The Epistle was 
very likely intended as a “ circular let- 
ter ” to the church at Ephesus and 
those near in Asia. [Ephesus.] Its 
contents may be divided into two por- 
tions, the first mainly doctrinal, ch. 1-3, 
the second hortatory and practical. 

Eph'esus (ef'e-sus) {permission) , 
the capital of the Roman province of 
Asia, and an illustrious city in the dis- 
trict of Ionia, nearly opposite the island 
of Samos. 

Buildings. — Conspicuous at the head 
of the harbor of Ephesus was the great 
temple of Diana or Artemis, the tutelary 
divinity of the city. This building was 
raised on immense substructions, in con- 



COIN OF EPHESUS. 


sequence of the swampy nature of the 
ground. The earlier temple, which had 
been begun before the Persian war, was 
burnt down in the night when Alexan- 
der the Great was torn ; and another 
structure, raised by fne enthusiastic co- 
operation of all the inhabitants of 
“ Asia,” had taken its place. The mag- 
nificence of this sanctuary was a proverb 
throughout the civilized world. In con- 
sequence of this devotion the city of 
Ephesus was called ve&Kopos, Acts 19 : 
35, or “ warden ” of Diana. Another 
consequence of the celebrity of Diana’s 
worship at Ephesus was that a large 
manufactory grew up there of portable 
shrines, which strangers purchased, and 
devotees carried with them on journeys 
or set up in their houses. The theatre, 
into which the mob who had seized on 
Paul, Acts 19 : 29, rushed, was capable 
of holding 21,000 or over, and is claimed 
to be the largest ever built by the 
Greeks. The stadium or circus, 850 feet 
long by 200 wide, where the Ephesians 
held their shows, is ascribed to the 
time of Augustus. Paul’s expression 
“ fought with beasts at Ephesus.” 1 
Cor. 15 : 32, is probably figurative. 


181 



RUINS OF TEMPLE OF DIANA, EPHESUS. REAR VIEW 


EPH 


182 


EPH 


Connection with Christianity. — The 
Jews were established at Ephesus in 
considerable numbers. Acts 2:9; 6:9. 
It is here and here only that we find 
disciples of John the Baptist explicitly 
mentioned after the ascension of Christ; 
Acts 18 : 25 ; 19 : 3. The first seeds of 
Christian truth were possibly sown here 
immediately after the great Pentecost. 
Acts 2. St. Paul remained in the place 
more than two years, Acts 19 : 8, 10 ; 


originally appropriate to the high priest. 
Ex. 28 : 4. 

E'phraim (e'fra-im) ( double fruit- 
fulness), the second son of Joseph by 
his wife Asenath, born _ during the 
seven years of plenty which preceded 
the famine which brought Jacob and his 
family to Egypt. The first indication 
we have of that ascendency over his 
elder brother Manasseh which at a later 
period the tribe of Ephraim so unmis- 



SITE OF THE THEATRE, EPHESUS. 


20 : 31, during which he wrote the First 
Epistle to the Corinthians. At a later 
period Timothy was set over the disci- 
ples, as we learn from the two epistles 
addressed to him. Among St. Paul’s 
other companions, two, Trophimus and 
Tychicus, were natives of Asia, Acts 
20 : 4, and the latter was probably, 2 
Tim. 4 : 12, the former certainly, Acts 
21 : 29, a native of Ephesus. 

Present condition. — The whole place 
is now utterly desolate, with* the excep- 
tion of the small Turkish village at 
Ayasaluk. The ruins are of vast ' ex- 
tent. 

Eph'Ial (ef'lal) ( judicious ), a de- 
scendant of Judah, of the family of 
Hezron and of Jerahmeel. 1 Chron. 
2: 37. 

E'phod, father of Hanniel of the 
tribe of Manasseh. Num. 34:23. 

Ephod (ef'od), a sacred vestment 


takably possessed is in the blessing of 
the children by Jacob. Gen. 48. 

E'phraim (e'fra-im), that portion of 
Canaan named after Joseph’s second 
son. Gen. . 41 : 50-52. The boundaries 
of the portion of Ephraim are given in 
Josh. 16:1-10. The south boundary 
was coincident for part of its length 
with the north boundary of Benjamin. 
It extended from the Jordan on the 
east, at the reach opposite Jericho, to 
the Mediterranean on the west, probably 
about Joppa. On the north of Ephraim 
and Manasseh were the tribes of Asher, 
Zebulun and Issachar. The territory 
thus allotted to the “ house of Joseph ” 
may be roughly estimated at 55 miles 
from east to west by 70 from north to 
south. It was one at once of great 
richness and great security. Its fertile 
plains and well-watered valleys could 
only be reached by a laborious ascent 
through steep and narrow ravines, all 



EPH 


183 


EPI 


but impassable for an army. Under 
Joshua the tribe must have taken a 
high position in the nation, to judge 
from the tone which the Ephraimites 
assumed on occasions shortly subse- 
quent to the conquest. After the revolt 
of Jeroboam the history of Ephraim is 
the history of the kingdom of Israel, 
since not only did the tribe become a 
kingdom, but the kingdom embraced 
little besides the tribe. 

E'phraim. 1. In “ Baal-hazor which 
is by Ephraim ” was Absalom’s sheep- 
farm, at which took place the murder 
of Amnon, one of the earliest events 
to be included in the revolt of Absalom. 
2 Sam. 13 : 23. The site is extremely 
uncertain ; some considering it identical 
with the Ephrain of 2 Chron. 13 : 19, 
Ophrah of Benjamin (1 Sam. 13:17). 

2. A city “ in the district near the 
wilderness ” to which our Lord retired 
with his disciples when threatened with 
violence by the priests. John 11 : 54. 
See Ephrain. 

E'phraim, Gate of, one of the gates 
of the city of Jerusalem, 2 Kings 14: 
13 ; 2 Chron. 25 : 23 ; Neh. 8 : 16 ; 12 : 39, 
probably at or near the position of the 
present “ Damascus gate.” 

E'phraim, Mount, is a district which 
seems to extend as far south as Ramah 
and Bethel, 1 Sam. 1:1; 7 : 17 ; . 2 

Chron. 13 : 4, 19, compared with 15 : 8, 
places but a few miles north of Jeru- 
salem, and within the limits of Benja- 
min. 

E'phraim, The wood of, a wood, 
or rather a forest, on the east of Jordan, 
in which the fatal battle was fought be- 
tween the' armies of David and of Absa- 
lom. 2 Sam. 18 : 6. 

E'phraimite (e'fram-Ite). Of the 
tribe of Ephraim; elsewhere called 
“ Ephrathite.” Judges 12 : 5. 

E'phrain (e'fra-in), a city of Israel, 
which Judah captured from Jeroboam. 
2 Chron. 13 : 19. This place is thought 
by many to be the same as Ephraim 2, 
where our Lord lived for some time, 
and as Ophrah a city of Benjamin, men- 
tioned in 1 Sam. 13 : 17. They identify 
the village with the modern et-Taiyibeh, 
on a hill 4 miles northeast of Bethel, 
and 14 miles from Jerusalem. Hast- 
ings’ Bible dictionary considers this a 
very probable site. Another identifica- 
tion of Ephrain with Ephraim 1, near 
which Amnon was murdered, is thought 


by the same authority extremely im- 
probable. 

Eph'ratah (ef'ra-tah), or Eph'rath 
(fruitful). 1. Second wife of Caleb the 
son of Hezron, mother of Hur and 
great grandmother of Bezaleel the ar- 
chitect of the tabernacle, according to 
1 Chron. 2 : 19, 50, and probably 24, and 
4:4. 

2. The ancient name of Bethlehem- 
judah. Gen. 35 : 16, 19 ; 48 : 7. 

Eph'rathite (ef'rath-ite). 1. An in- 
habitant of Bethlehem. Ruth 1 : 2. 

2. An Ephraimite. 1 Sam. 1:1; 1 
Kings 11 : 26. 

Eph'ron (eph'ron) (fawn-like) , the 
son of Zochar, a Hittite, from whom 
Abraham bought the field and cave of 
Machpelah. Gen. 23 : 8-17 ; 25 : 9 ; 49 : 
29, 30; 50:13. (b.c. 1860.) 

Eph'ron, Mount. The “cities of 
Mount Ephron ” formed one of the 
landmarks on the northern boundary of 
the tribe of Judah. Josh. 15 : 9. 

Epicure'ans (ep-i-ku-re'ans). The, 
derived their name from Epicurus (342- 
270 b.c.), a philosopher of Attic descent, 
whose “ Garden ” at Athens rivalled in 
popularity the “ Porch ” and the “ Acad- 
emy.” The doctrines of Epicurus found 
wide acceptance in Asia Minor and 
Alexandria. (95-50 b.c.) The object 
of Epicurus was to find in philosophy a 
practical guide to happiness. True 
pleasure and not absolute truth was the 
end at which he aimed ; experience and 
not reason the test on which he relied. 
It is obvious that a system thus framed 
would degenerate by a natural descent 
into mere materialism ; and in this form 
Epicurism was the popular philosophy 
at the beginning of the Christian era. 
When St. Paul addressed “ Epicureans 
and Stoics,” Acts 17 : 18, at Athens, the 
philosophy of life was practically re- 
duced to the teaching of these two an- 
tagonistic schools. 

Epistles, letters ; personal corre- 
spondence by writing. The twenty-one 
epistles of the New Testament took the 
place of tracts among us. In their out- 
ward form they are such as might be ex- 
pected from men who were brought into 
contact with Greek and Roman customs, 
themselves belonging to a different race, 
and so reproducing the imported style 
with only partial accuracy. They begin 
(the Epistle to the Hebrews and 1 John 
excepted) with the names of the writer 
and of those to whom the epistle is ad- 


ER 


184 


ESD 


dressed. Then follows the formula of 
salutation. Then the letter itself com- 
mences in the first person, the singular 
and plural being used indiscriminately. 
When the substance of the letter has 
been completed, come the individual 
messages. The conclusion in this case 
was probably modified by the fact that 
the letters were dictated to an amanuen- 
sis. When he had done his work, the 
apostle took up the pen or reed, and 
added in his own large characters, Gal. 
6 : ll, the authenticating autograph. In 
one instance, Rom. 16 : 22, the amanuen- 
sis in his own name adds his salutation. 
An allusion in 2 Cor. 3 : 1 brings be- 
fore us another class of letters which 
must have been in frequent use in the 
early ages of the Christian Church, by 
which travelers or teachers were com- 
mended by one church to the good 
offices of others. 

Er (er) (watchful). 1. First-born 
of Judah. Er “ was wicked in the sight 
of the Lord; and the Lord slew him.” 
Gen. 38 : 3-7 ; Num. 26 : 19. 

2. Descendant of Shelah the son of 
Judah. 1 Chron. 4 : 21. 

3. Son of Jose and father of Elmo- 
darn. Luke 3 : 28. 

E'ran (e'ran) (watchful), the grand- 
son of Ephraim. Num. 26 : 36. 

E'ranites (e'ran-ites), The. Num. 
26 : 36. 

Erastus (e-ras'tus) (beloved). 1. 
One of the attendants of St. Paul at 
Ephesus, who with Timothy was sent for- 
ward into Macedonia. Acts 19 : 22. (a.d. 
57.) He is probably the same with 
Erastus who is again mentioned in the 
salutations to Timothy. 2 Tim. 4 : 20. 

2. Erastus the chamberlain, or rather 
the public treasurer, of Corinth, who 
was one of the early converts to Chris- 
tianity. Rom. 16 : 23. According to the 
traditions of the Greek Church, he was 
first treasurer to the church at Jeru- 
salem, and afterwards bishop of Paneas. 

E'rech (e'rek), one of the cities of 
Nimrod’s kingdom in the land of 
Shinar, Gen. 10 : 10, doubtless the same 
as Orchoe, 82 miles south and 43 east 
of Babylon, the modern designations of 
the site — Warka, Irka and I^ak — bear- 
ing a considerable affinity to the orig- 
inal name. 

E'ri (e'ri) (watcher), son of Gad, 
Gen. 46 : 16, and ancestor of the Erites. 
Num. 26 : 16. 


Esa'ias (e-sa'ias), the Greek form of 
Isaiah. [Isaiah.] 

E'sar=had'don (e'sar-had'don) (As- 
sur has given a brother), the favorite 
but not the eldest son of Sennacherib, 
2 Kings 19 : 37, and the grandson of 
Sargon, who succeeded Shalmaneser. 
He appears by his monuments to have 
been one of the most powerful, if not 
the most powerful, of all the Assyrian 
monarchs. He was equally eminent as 
a military general and political ruler. 
He rebuilt Babylon which had been de- 
stroyed. Bricks from a palace have 
been recovered bearing his name. His 
reign lasted very nearly thirteen years, 
from b.c. 680 to b.c. 668; and it was 
doubtless within this space of time that 
Manasseh king of Judah, having been 
seized by his captains at Jerusalem on 
a charge of • rebellion, was brought be- 
fore him at Babylon, 2 Chron. 33 : 11, 
and detained for a time as prisoner 
there. As a builder of great works 
Esar-haddon is particularly distin- 
guished. Besides his palace at Babylon, 
he built at least three others in different 
parts of his dominions, either for him- 
self or his sons, and thirty temples. 

E'sau (e'saw) (hairy), the eldest son 
of Isaac, and twin-brother of Jacob. 
The singular appearance of the child 
at his birth originated the name. Gen. 
25 : 25. Esau’s robust frame and 
“ rough ” aspect were the types of a 
wild and daring nature. He was a 
thorough Bedouin, a “ son of the des- 
ert.” He was much loved by his father, 
and was of course his heir, but was in- 
duced to sell his birthright to Jacob. 
Mention of his unhappy marriages may 
be found in Gen. 26 : 34. The next 
episode in the life of Esau is the loss 
of his father’s covenant blessing, which 
Jacob secured through the craft of his 
mother, and the anger of Esau, who 
vows vengeance. Gen. 27. Later he 
marries a daughter of Ishmael, Gen. 
28 : 8, 9, and soon after establishes him- 
self in Mount Seir, where he was living 
when Jacob returned from Padan-aram 
rich and powerful, and the two brothers 
were reconciled. Gen. 33 : 4. Twenty 
years thereafter they united in burying 
Isaac’s body in the cave of Machpelah. 
Of Esau’s subsequent history nothing is 
known ; for that of his descendants see 
Edom. 

Esdrae'Ion (es-dra-e'lon). This 
name is merely the Greek form of the 


ESD 


185 


ESH 


Hebrew word Jezreel. “ The great 
plain of Esdraelon ” extends across cen- 
tral Palestine from the Mediterranean 
to the Jordan, separating the mountain 
ranges of Carmel and Samaria from 
those of Galilee. The western section 
of it is properly the plain of Accho or 
* Akka . The main body of the plain is 
a triangle. Its base on the east extends 
from Jenin (the ancient Engannim) to 
the foot of the hills below Nazareth, 
and is about 15 miles long; the north 
side, formed by the hills of Galilee, is 
about 12 miles long; and the south side, 
formed by the Samaria range, is about 
18 miles. The apex on the west is a 
narrow pass opening into the plain of 
’Akka. From the base of this triangu- 
lar plain three branches stretch out east- 
ward, like fingers from a hand, divided 
by two bleak, gray ridges — one bear- 
ing the familiar name of Mount Gil- 
boa, the other called by Franks Little 
Hermon, but by natives Jebel ed-Duhy. 
The central branch is the richest as well 
as the most celebrated. This is the 
“ valley of Jezreel ” proper — the battle- 
field on which Gideon triumphed, and 
Saul and Jonathan were overthrown. 
Judges 7:1, seq.; 1 Sam. 29 and 31. 
Two things are worthy of special no- 
tice in the plain of Esdraelon: (l) Its 
wonderful richness; (2) Its present 
desolation. If we except the eastern 
branches, there is not a single inhabited 
village on its whole surface, and not 
more than one-sixth of its soil is cul- 
tivated. It is the home of the wild 
wandering Bedouin. 

Es'dras, the form of the name of 
Ezra the scribe in 1 and 2 Esdras. 

Es'dras ( Greek form of Ezra), The 
First Book of, the first in order of the 
apocryphal books in the English Bible. 
The first chapter is a transcript of the 
last two chapters of 2 Chron., for the 
most part verbatim, and only in one or 
two parts slightly abridged and para- 
phrased. Chapters 3, 4, and 5 to the 
end of ver. 6, are the original portions 
of the book, and the rest is a transcript 
more or less exact of the book of Ezra, 
with one transposition and one inter- 
polation, and a portion _ of Nehemiah. 
Hence a twofold design in the compiler 
is discernible — one to introduce and give 
scriptural sanction to the legend about 
Zerubbabel ; the other to explain the 
great obscurities of the book of Ezra, 
in which, however, he has signally 


failed. Its author is unknown; some 
peculiarities indicate that it may have 
been written for the Alexandrian Jews. 
It has no historical value. 

Es'dras, The Second Book of. This 
exists in a Latin translation, the Greek 
being lost. Chapters 3-14 consist of a 
series of angelic revelations and visions 
in which Ezra is instructed in some of 
the great mysteries of the moral world, 
and assured of the final triumph of the 
righteous. The date is uncertain. 

E'sek (e'sek) ( contention ), a well 
which the herdsmen of Isaac dug in 
the valley of Gerar. Gen. 26 : 20. 

Esh=ba'al (esh-ba'al) ( Baal’s man), 
1 Chron. 8 : 33 ; 9 : 39, the same as Ish- 
bosheth. 

Esh'ban (esh'ban) ( wise man), a 
Horite ; one of the four sons of Dishon. 
Gen. 36 : 26 ; 1 Chron. 1 : 41. 

Esh'col (esh'kol) ( cluster of grapes), 
brother of Mamre the Amorite and of 
Aner, and one of Abraham’s compan- 
ions in his pursuit of the four kings 
who had carried off Lot. Gen. 14 : 13, 
24. (b.c. 1913.) 

Esh'col, The valley or The brook 

of, a wady in the neighborhood of He- 
bron (Mamre), explored by the spies 
who were sent by Moses from Kadesh- 
barnea. Num. 13:23, 24; Deut. 1:24. 
There is a spring of fine water called 
* Ain Eshkali, in a valley about two 
miles north of Hebron, but according 
to Conder there is no connection be- 
tween this name and the Hebrew. 

Esh'ean (esh'e-an) {support), one 
of the cities of Judah. Josh. 15:52. 

E'shek (e'shek) {oppression) , one of 
the late descendants of Saul. 1 Chron. 
8 : 39. 

Esh'kalonites (esh'ka-lon-ites), The. 
Josh. 13 : 3. [Ashkelon.] 

Esh'taol (esh'ta-ol), a town in the 
low country — the Shefelah — of Judah, 
afterwards allotted to Dan. Josh. 15: 
33 ; 19 : 41. Here Samson spent his 

boyhood, and hither after his last ex- 
ploit his body was brought. Judges 13: 
25; 16:31; 18:2, 8, 11, 12. 

Esh'taulites (esh'taul-ites), The, in- 
habitants of Eshtaol. 1 Chron. 2:53. 
R. V. “ Eshtaolites.” 

Eshtemo'a (esh-te-mo'a), and in 
shorter form Eshtemoh {obedience) , a 
town of Judah, in the mountains, Josh. 
15 : 50, allotted to the priests. Josh. 21 : 
14 ; 1 Chron. 6 : 57. It was one of the 
places frequented by David and his fol- 


ESH 


186 


ETA 


lowers during the long period of their 
wanderings. 1 Sam. 30 : 28 ; comp. 31. 
Its site is at Semu’a, a village seven 
miles south of Hebron. 

Esh'ton (esh'ton) ( perhaps uxori- 
ous )•, a name which occurs in the gen- 
ealogies of Judah. 1 Chron. 4:11, 12. 

Es'li (es'li), son of Nagge or Naggai, 
in the genealogy of Christ. Luke 3 : 25. 

Es'rom (es'rom). Matt. 1:3; Luke 
3 : 33. [Hezron.] 

Essenes', a Jewish sect, who, accord- 
ing to the description of Josephus, com- 
bined the ascetic virtues of the Pythago- 
reans and Stoics with a spiritual knowl- 
edge of the divine law. The derivation 
of the name is obscure. It pr<?bably 
means pious or saintly. As a sect the 
Essenes were distinguished by an as- 
piration after ideal purity rather than 
by any special code of doctrines. There 
were isolated communities of Essenes, 
which were regulated by strict rules, 
analogous to those of the monastic in- 
stitutions of a later date. All things 
were held in common, without distinc- 
tion of property; and special provision 
was made for the relief of the poor. 
Self-denial, temperance and labor — espe- 
cially agriculture — were the marks of 
the outward life of the Essenes ; purity 
and divine communion the objects of 
their aspiration. Slavery, war and com- 
merce were alike forbidden. Their 
best-known settlements were on the 
northwest shore of the Dead Sea. 

Es'ther (es'ther) ( a star), the Per- 
sian name of Hadassah {myrtle), 
daughter of Abihail, the son of Shimei, 
the son of Kish, a Benjamite. Esther 
was a beautiful Jewish maiden. She 
was an orphan, and had been brought 
up by her cousin Mordecai, who had an 
office in the household of Ahasuerus 
king of Persia — recognized as the Xer- 
xes of history — and dwelt at “ Shushan 
the palace.” When Vashti was dis- 
missed from being queen, the king chose 
Esther to the place on account of her 
beauty, not knowing her race or par- 
entage; and on the representation of 
Hainan the Agagite that the Jews scat- 
tered through his empire were a perni- 
cious race, he gave him full power and 
authority to kill them all. The means 
taken by Esther to avert this great ca- 
lamity from her people and her kindred 
are fully related in the book of Esther. 
The Jews still commemorate this deliv- 
erance in the yearly festival Purim, on 


the 14th and 15th of Adar (February- 
March). History is wholly silent about 
both Vashti and Esther. 

Es'ther, Book of, one of the latest 
of the canonical books of Scripture, 
having been written late in the reign of 
Xerxes, or early in that of his son Arta- 
xerxes Longimanus (b.c. 465-425). 

This story belongs to the times of the 
return. It opens about half a century 
after the first caravan left Babylon 
amid great rejoicing and with high 
hopes and entered Jerusalem nearly 
fifty thousand strong. But the hopes 
were realized very slowly. 

The author is unknown, but must 
have been some one “ living in the heart 
of Persia, a man who was intimately 
acquainted with the scenery he de- 
scribes.” — Professor Adeney. 

The date of writing is also unknown. 
Professor Sayce places it at b.c. 425. 
He says that the minuteness of detail 
shows that the author- lived before the 
overthrow of the Persian power, b.c. 
331. Some writers place the date still 
later. 

Historical Accuracy. There are 
two principal theories concerning the 
historical nature of this book : one, that 
it is a reliable history; the other, that 
it is a historical romance founded on 
fact, or substantially true ; like Shake- 
speare’s Julius Ccesar and Henry VIII., 
like Scott’s historical romances, or 
Xenophon’s Cyropedeia. “ The fact that 
the action of the book culminates in 
the establishment of the popular national 
feast of Purim, and that it is a stand- 
ing memorial of that feast, argues for 
its general historicity.” — Prof. Frank K. 
Sanders. 

It has often been remarked as a 
peculiarity of this book that the name 
of God does not once occur in it. But 
the reality of God is there. 

E'tam (e'tam) ( lair of wild beasts). 
1. A village of the tribe of Simeon, 
specified only in the list in 1 Chron. 
4 : 32 ; comp. Josh. 19 : 7. 

2. A place in Judah, fortified and gar- 
risoned by Rehoboam. 2 Chron. 11 : 6. 
Here, according to the statements of Jo- 
sephus and the Talmudists, were the 
sources of the water from which Sol- 
omon’s gardens and pleasure-grounds 
were fed, and Bethlehem and the temple 
supplied. 

E'tam, The rock, a cliff or lofty 
rock, into a cleft or chasm of which 


ETH 


187 


EUN 


Samson retired after his slaughter of the 
Philistines. Judges 15:8, 11. This nat- 
ural stronghold was in the tribe of Ju- 
dah ; and near it, probably at its foot, 
were Lehi or Ramath-lehi and Enhak- 
kore. Judges 15 : 9, 14, 17, 19. The site 
is still undefined. Conder considers as 
a possible site a rocky hill to the east 
of Samson’s home at Zorah, on which 
the village of Beit Atab now stands, 
under which is a curious cavern in the 
rock. 

E'tham (e'tham), one of the early 
resting-places of the Israelites when 
they quitted Egypt ; described as “ in 
the edge of the wilderness.” Ex. 13: 
20; Num. 33:6, 7. Etham was to all 
appearances the last city on properly 
Egyptian ground. Its site is much dis- 
puted, partly because of the uncertainty 
as to the route taken. 

E'than (e'than) {enduring). 1. 
Ethan the Ezrahite, one of the four 
sons of Mahol, whose wisdom was ex- 
celled by Solomon. 1 Kings 4:31; 1 
Chron. 2 : 6. His name is in the title of 
Ps. 89. 

2. Son of Kishi or Kushaiah; a 
Merarite Levite, head of that family in 
the time of King David, 1 Chron. 6: 44, 
and spoken of as a “ singer.” With 
Heman and Asaph, the heads of the 
other two families of Levites, Ethan 
was appointed to sound with cymbals. 
1 Chron. 15 : 17, 19. 

3. A Gershonite Levite, one of the 
ancestors of Asaph the singer. 1 Chron. 
6: 42. 

Eth'anim (eth'a-mm). [Month.] 

Ethba'al (eth-ba'-al) ( with Baal), 
king of Sidon and father of Jezebel. 
1 Kings 16 : 31. Josephus represents 
him as king of the Tyrians as well as 
of the Sidonians. We may thus identify 
him with Eithobalus, who, after having 
assassinated Pheles, usurped the throne 
of Tyre for thirty-two years. The date 
of Ethbaal’s reign was probably about 
875 b.c. 

E'ther (e'ther) {abundance) , one of 
the cities of Judah in the low country, 
the Shefelah, Josh. 15 : 42, allotted to 
Simeon. Josh. 19 : 7. 

Ethio'pia (e-thi-6'pi-a) {burnt faces). 
The country which the Greeks and 
Romans described as “ ^Ethiopia ” and 
the Hebrews as “ Cush ” lay to the 
south of Egypt, and embraced, in its 
most extended sense, the modern Nubia, 
Sennaar, Kordofan and northern Abys- 


sinia, and in its more definite sense the 
kingdom of Meroe. Ezek. 29 : 10. The 
Hebrews do not appear to have had 
much practical acquaintance with 
Ethiopia itself, though the Ethiopians 
were well known to them through their 
intercourse with Egypt. The inhab- 
itants of Ethiopia were a Hamitic race. 
Gen. 10 : 6. They were divided into 
various tribes, of which the Nubians 
were the most powerful. The history 
of Ethiopia is closely interwoven with 
that of Egypt. The two countries were 
not unfrequently united under the rule 
of the same sovereign. Shortly before 
our Saviour’s birth a native dynasty of 
females, holding the official title of Can- 
dace (Plin. vi. 35), held sway in Ethio- 
pia, and even resisted the advance of 
the Roman arms. One of these is the 
queen noticed in Acts 8 : 27. 

Ethio'pian (e-thi-6'pi-an), properly 
“Cushite,” Jer. 13:23; used of Zerah, 
2 Chron. 14:9, and Ebed-melech. Jer. 
38 : 7, 10, 12 ; 39 : 16. 

Ethio'pian eunuch, The, a Jewish 
proselyte, Acts 8 : 26, etc., who was 
treasurer of Candace queen of Ethiopia, 
but who was converted to Christianity 
on a visit to Jerusalem, through Philip 
the evangelist. Nothing is known of 
him after his return to Ethiopia. 

Ethio'pian woman. The wife of 
Moses is so described in Num. 12 : 1. 
She is elsewhere said to have been the 
daughter of a Midianite, and in conse- 
quence of this some have supposed that 
the allusion is to another wife whom 
Moses married after the death of Zip- 
porah. 

Eth'nan (eth'nan) {hire), one of the 
sons of Helah the wife of Ashur. 1 
Chron. 4 : 7. 

Eth'ni (eth'ni) {munificent), a Ger- 
shonite Levite. 1 Chron. 6 : 41. 

Eubu'lus (u-bu'lus) {prudent), a 
Christian at Rome mentioned ' by St. 
Paul. 2 Tim. 4 : 21. (a.d. 66.) 

Euni'ce (u-ni'ce) {good victory), 
mother of Timotheus. 2 Tim. 1:5. 

Eunuch. “ The English form of the 
Greek word which means bed-keeper. 
In the strict and proper sense they 
were the persons who had charge of 
the bed-chambers in palaces and larger 
houses. But as the jealous and dissolute 
temperament of the East required this 
charge to be in the hands of persons 
who had been deprived of their virility, 
the word eunuch came naturally to de- 


EUO 


188 


EVI 


note persons in that condition. But as 
some of these rose to be confidential 
advisers of their royal masters or mis- 
tresses, the word was occasionally em- 
ployed to denote persons in such a posi- 
tion, without indicating anything of 
their proper manhood.” — Abbott. 

Euo'dia. [See Euodias.] 

Euo dias (u-6'di-as) (fragrance), a 
Christian woman at Philippi. Philip. 
4:2. (a.d. 57.) The name is correctly 

Euodia, as given in the Revised Version. 

Euphrates (u-fra'tes) is the Greek 
modification of the Hebrew Perath 
which is variously explained. It is most 
frequently denoted in the Bible by the 
term “ the river.” The Euphrates is 
the largest, the longest and by far the 
most important of the rivers of western 
Asia. It rises from two chief sources 
in the Armenian mountains, and flows 
into the Persian Gulf. The entire 
course is 1780 miles, and of this dis- 
tance more than two-thirds (1200 
miles) is navigable for boats. The 
width of the river is greatest at the 
distance of about 700 miles from its 
mouth — that is to say, from its junction 
with the Khabour to the village of 
Werai. It there averages 400 yards. 
The annual inundation of the Euphrates 
is caused by the melting of the snows 
in the Armenian highlands. It occurs 
in the month of May. The great hy- 
draulic works ascribed to Nebuchadnez- 
zar had for their chief object to con- 
trol the inundation. The Euphrates is 
first mentioned in Scripture as one of 
the four rivers of Eden. Gen. 2:14. 
We next hear of it in the covenant made 
with Abraham. Gen. 15 : 18. During 
the reigns of David and Solomon it 
formed the boundary of the promised 
land to the northeast. Deut. 11 : 24 ; 
Josh. 1 : 4. Prophetical reference to 
the Euphrates is found in Jer. 13:4-7; 
46 : 2-10 ; 51 : 63 ; Rev. 9 : 14 ; 16 : 12. 

“ The Euphrates is linked with the most 
important events in ancient history. 
On its banks stood the city of Babylon; 
the army of Necho was defeated on its 
banks by Nebuchadnezzar; Cyrus the 
Younger and Crassus perished after 
crossing it; Alexander crossed it, and 
Trajan and Severus descended it.” — 
Appleton's Cyc. 

Eura'quilo, the word used in the 
Revised Version instead of Euroclydon, 
in Acts 27 : 14. It is compounded of 


two words meaning east and north , and 
means a northeast gale. 

Euroc'Iydon (u-rok'ly-don), a tem- 
pestuous wind or hurricane, cyclone, on 
the Mediterranean, and very dangerous ; 
now called a “ levanter.” This wind 
seized the ship in which St. Paul was 
ultimately wrecked on the coast of 
Malta. It came down from the island, 
and therefore must have blown more or 
less from the northward. Acts 27 : 14. 

Eu'tychus (u'ty-kus) (fortunate), a 
youth at Troas, Acts 20:9, who sitting 
in a window, and having fallen asleep 
while St. Paul was discoursing, fell from 
the third story, and being taken up dead, 
was miraculously restored to life by the 
apostle. 

Evangelist (publisher of glad tid- 
ings). In the New Testament the 
“ evangelists ” appear on the one hand 
after the “ apostles ” and “ prophets ; ” 
on the other before the “ pastors ” and 
“ teachers.” They probably stood be- 
tween the two. Acts 21 : 8 ; Eph. 4 : 11. 
The work of the evangelist is the proc- 
lamation of the glad tidings to those 
who have not known them, rather than 
the instruction and pastoral care of 
those who have believed and been bap- 
tized. It follows also that the name de- 
notes a work rather than an order. Its 
use is nearly like our word missionary. 
The evangelist might or might not be a 
bishop-elder or a deacon. The apostles, 
so far as they evangelized, Acts 8 : 25 ; 
14 : 7 ; 1 Cor. 1 : 17, might claim the title, 
though there were many evangelists who 
were not apostles. If the gospel were a 
written book, and the. office of the evan- 
gelists was to read or distribute it, then 
the writers of such books were pre- 
eminently the evangelists. In later lit- 
urgical language the word was applied 
to the reader of the gospel for the day. 

Eve (life), the name given in Scrip- 
ture to the first woman. The account 
of Eve’s creation is found at Gen. 2: 
21, 22. Perhaps that which we are 
chiefly intended to learn from the nar- 
rative is the foundation upon which the 
union between man and wife is built, 
viz., identity of nature and oneness of 
origin. Through the subtlety of the 
serpent Eve was beguiled into a viola- 
tion of the one commandment which 
had been imposed upon her and Adam. 
The Scripture account of Eve closes 
with the birth of Seth. 

E'vi (e'vi) (desire), one of the five 


EVI 


189 


£XO 


kings or princes of Midian slain by the 
Israelites. Num. 31 : 8 ; Josh. 13 : 21. 

E'vil=mer'odach (e'vll-mer'6-dak) 

( the man of Merodach), 2 Kings 25: 27, 
the son and successor of Nebuchadnez- 
zar. He reigned but a short time, hav- 
ing ascended the throne on the death 
of Nebuchadnezzar in b.c. 562, and being 
himself succeeded by Neriglissar in b.c. 
560. He was murdered by Neriglissar. 

Excommunication ( expulsion from 
communion ) . 1. Jewish excommunica- 

tion. — The word excommunication does 
not occur in the Bible and the practice 
itself is quite late. The Jews in early 
times excluded those ceremonially un- 
clean from the camp, and devoted 
whole cities and tribes, even of Israel 
itself, to destruction, but these are 
hardly parallel cases, though giving us 
the root of the later, milder practice. 
In the time of Ezra we find the first 
real example, when those who retained 
their foreign wives were to be separated 
completely from the congregation of 
Israel. Ezr. 10 : 8. But this was to in- 
clude loss of property. The Talmud 
speaks of 24 offences as punishable by 
excommunication. Two degrees are 
recognized, the milder being a temporary 
exclusion from the synagogue together 
with a restriction upon social inter- 
course, while the more severe amounted 
to a ban of indefinite or permanent 
duration. This latter could not be in- 
flicted by less than 10 persons. The 
only references to the custom in the gos- 
pels are Luke 6 : 22 ; John 9 : 22 ; 12 : 42 ; 
16:2. The Talmud does not take us 
back to Christ’s time and we have no 
source of knowledge as to methods in 
use. The idea that there was a third 
and more awful excommunication re- 
ferred to in the Talmud — making three 
forms with a reference to the three in 
Luke 6 : 22 — is now generally acknowl- 
edged to be a mistake. (See Hastings’ 
Dictionary of Christ and the Gospels.) 

2. Christian excommunication. — Ex- 
communication, as exercised by the 
Christian Church, was instituted by our 
Lord, Matt. 18 : 15, 18, and it was prac- 
ticed and commanded by St. Paul. 1 
Cor. 5 : 11 ; 1 Tim. 1 : 20 ; Titus 3 : 10. 
In the epistles we find St. Paul fre- 
quently claiming the right to exercise 
discipline over his converts; comp. 2 
Cor. 1 : 23 ; 13 : 10. 

Exodus, The Book of. Exodus 
means “ a going out,” and is so named I 


from the era which it describes. The 
period to which it belongs is that from 
the death of Joseph to the erection of 
the tabernacle in the wilderness. 

The author and the date of its com- 
position are unknown. Modern scholars 
regard it as a composite work, as are 
most of the histories of to-day. 

Divisions. Two great subjects are 
treated. Chapters 1-15:21, are called 
“The Epic of the Great Deliverance,” 
and the remainder of the book, “ The 
Solemn Institution of the Theocracy at 
Sinai.” The first part contains an ac- 
count of the following particulars : The 
great increase of Jacob’s posterity in 
the land of Egypt, and their oppression 
under a new dynasty, which occupied 
the throne after the death of Joseph; 
the birth, education, flight and return 
of Moses; the ineffectual attempts to 
prevail upon Pharoah to let the Israelites 
go; the successive signs and wonders, 
ending in the death of the first-born, by 
means of which the deliverance of Israel 
from the land of bondage is at length 
accomplished, and the institution of the 
Passover; finally the departure out of 
Egypt and the arrival of the Israelites 
at Mount Sinai. 

2. This part gives a sketch of the 
early history of Israel as a nation; and 
the history has three clearly-marked 
stages. First we see a nation en- 
slaved; next a nation redeemed; lastly 
a nation set apart, and through the 
blending of its religious and political 
life consecrated to the service of God. 

Exodus, The, of the Israelites. 

Date. The common chronology 
places the date at 1491 b.c. 

The tendency for the last few years 
has been to bring the date down to 
between 1300 and 1200 b.c., just after 
the death of Rameses II., the Pharaoh 
of the oppression. Professor Orr and 
others regard a previous Pharaoh, 
Thothmes, as the oppressor, and bring 
the date back to the common date. 

Professor Willis J. Beecher in his 
Dated Events of the Old Testament, 
the most thorough study of Bible 
Chronology yet issued (1907), dates the 
Exodus 1498 b.c., soon after the death 
of Rameses II. in 1501 b.c. Thus he is 
close to Ussher’s date in the margin of 
our Bibles. He still regards Rameses 
as the Pharaoh of the oppression, but 
places him 200 years earlier. 

Length of the Sojourn in Egypt. — 


EXO 


190 


EXO 


In the Bible account in 1 Kings 6 : 1 it 
is stated that the building of the tem- 
ple, in the fourth year of Solomon, was 
in the 480th year after the Exodus. The 
fourth year of Solomon was about b.c. 
1012. Add the 480 years (leaving off 
one year because neither the fourth nor 


or 215 years, being spent in Egypt. 
Others make it to cover only the period 
of bondage spent in Egypt. St. Paul 
says in Gal. 3 : 17 that from the cove- 
nant with (or call of) Abraham to the 
giving of the law (less than a year 
after the Exodus) was 430 years. But 


Abraham’s Jacob comes 

call into Egypt “Exodus 

B.C. 1921 1706 1491 

< 430 years ; > 


Temple 

480^rean^— 

1012 


the 480th was a full year), and we have 
b.c. 1491 as the date of the Exodus. 
This is probably very nearly correct ; 
but many Egyptologists place it at 215 
years later, — about b.c. 1300. Which 
date is right depends chiefly on the in- 
terpretation of the Scripture period of 
430 years, as denoting the duration of 
the bondage of the Israelites. The pe- 
riod of bondage given in Gen. 15 : 13, 
14, Ex. 12 : 40, 41 and Gal. 3 : 17 as 430 
years has been interpreted to cover dif- 
ferent periods. The common chronol- 
ogy makes it extend from the call of 
Abraham to the Exodus, one-half of it, 


in Gen. 15 : 13, 14 it is said that they 
should be strangers in a strange land, 
and be afflicted 400 years, and nearly the 
same is said in Ex. 12 : 40. But, in very 
truth, the children of Israel were stran- 
gers in a strange land from the time 
that Abraham left his home for the 
promised land, and during that whole 
period of 430 years to the Exodus they 
were nowhere rulers in the land. So in 
Ex. 12:40 it is said that the sojourning 
of the children of Israel who dwelt in 
Egypt was 430 years. But it does not 
say that the sojourning was all in Egypt, 
but this people who lived in Egypt had 



iLgft, 

BEGAN THE EXODUS. 


THE MODERN REGION OF EGYPT AS IT WAS WHEN THE ISRAELITES 


EXO 


191 


EXO 


been sojourners for 430 years. This is 
the simplest way of making the various 
statements harmonize. The chief diffi- 
culty in the way of accepting the shorter 
period for the sojourn in Egypt lies in 
the great increase of the children of 
Israel from 70 to 2,000,000 in 215 years. 
Known facts render this possible. But 
probably Professor Beecher is correct 
in his interpretation of the numbers, that 
the enumeration is of even hundreds 
and thousands, that is of companies and 
regiments, as in an army. The regi- 
ments are seldom full, so that 600 thou- 
sands are 600 regiments, and the total 
men may have been only 200,000, or 
300,000, and the total population less 
than a million. “ In illustration of the 
event, a sudden retreat is recorded of 
a whole nomadic people — 400,000 Tar- 
tars — under cover of a single night, 
from the confines of Russia into their 
native deserts as late as the close of the 
last century.” — Stanley. 

The Route of the March. There 
has always been something strange in 
the movement of the Israelites from 
Rameses, in going northward at first, 
and then returning into the borders of 
Egypt and going south to the Red Sea. 
Dr. Trumbull’s Kadesh-barnea throws 
the most light upon this movement 
which makes all plain and simple. There 
were three great routes from Egypt to 
Palestine, — the Philistia Road, the Wall 
Road, and the Red Sea Road. 1 . The 
Philistia Road, or “ the way of the 
land of the Philistines,” was the north- 
ern road, which runs along the coast of 
the Mediterranean, and is the shortest, 
easiest and best watered route. 2. The 
Wall Road, “the Way of Shur,” i. e., 
wall (Gen. 16:7), is the central road, 
starting from the northern end of Lake 
Timsah, near the modern town Ismailia. 
It goes straight into the desert, and leads 
to Palestine by way of Beersheba and 
Hebron, and it would require a con- 
tinuous miracle to sustain the people 
and their flocks. 3. The Red Sea Road, 
“ the Way of the Wilderness of the Red 
Sea ” was the road “ which swept across 
the wilderness, between the two arms 
of the Red Sea, from the head of the 
Gulf of Suez to the head of the Gulf 
of Akabah.” It is to-day the great 
route of the pilgrim caravans to Mecca. 

The Great Wall. The next import- 
ant fact in understanding this story was 
the great wall, like the immense' Chinese 


wall, nearly 1500 miles long, built to 
defend China from the invasions of the 
Tartars on the north. There is evidence 
that, at the time of the Exodus, a great 
wall extended from Pelusium on the 
Mediterranean across the whole isthmus 
to the Gulf of Suez. It was east of, 
and nearly parallel with, the present 
Suez Canal. It was dotted with special 
fortifications, and was the defence of 
Egypt against invasion from the east, 
and must have been specially guarded 
at the entrances to the three great roads. 
This, of course, could be made a great 
barrier to the Exodus. 

The Israelites first moved towards the 
northern or the Philistia route. This 
seemed the nearest and safest way, and 
it was natural that they should choose 
it in their haste to get away from Egypt. 
The Israelites came to the edge of the 
desert to the northeast of Succoth and 
were confronted by this great wall with 
its garrisons and the desert. They 
realized, too, that without weapons or 
training it would be impossible to con- 
quer the Philistine trained armies, if 
they continued on that route. The best 
route for many reasons was the southern 
or Red Sea route. Therefore, from 
Etham they made a sharp turn, by the 
command of God, and were led south- 
ward by the pillar of cloud and of fire, 
which here first appears to be their 
guide. They returned to the western or 
Egyptian side of the lakes, and marched 
along their shores toward the Red Sea. 
This seems strange at first, but we are 
to remember that on the Egyptian side 
were pastures and water and roads, but 
on the other side was the great wall and 
the deserts. They had permission to go, 
and hence their being in Egypt was no 
objection. Moreover, God had plans of 
his own which were necessary to the 
best success of their plan. This gave 
time for Pharaoh to recover from his 
fright and change his mind, close the 
gates in the wall, and entrap the Israel- 
ites. See Red Sea, Passage of. 

Exorcist, one who pretends to expel 
evil spirits by conjuration, prayers and 
ceremonies. Exorcism was frequently 
practiced among the Jews. Matt. 12: 
27 : Lev. 11 : 19 ; Acts 19 : 13. The 
power of casting out devils was be- 
stowed by Christ while on earth upon 
the apostles. Matt. 10 : 8, and the sev- 
enty disciples, Luke 10 : 17-19, and was, 
according to his promise, Mark 16 : 17, 


EXP 


192 


EZI 


exercised by believers after his ascen- 
sion. Acts 16 : 18. 

Expiation. [Sacrifice.] 

Eye. The practice of painting the 
eyelids to make the eyes look large, lus- 
trous and languishing is often alluded 
to in the Old Testament, and still exten- 
sively prevails among the women of the 
East, and especially among the Moham- 
medans. Jezebel, in 2 Kings 9 : 30, is 
said to have prepared for her meeting 
with Jehu by painting her face, or, as it 
reads in the margin, “ put her eyes in 
paint.” See also Ezek. 23 : 40. A small 
probe of wood, ivory or silver is wet 
with rose-water and dipped into paste 
of black antimony powder, and is then 
drawn between the lids of the eye 
nearly closed, and leaves a narrow black 
border, which is thought a great orna- 
ment. 

Ez'bai (ez'ba-i), father of Naarai, 
who was one of David’s thirty mighty 
men. 1 Chron. 11 : 37. 

Ez'bon (ez'bon). 1. Son of Gad, 
and founder of one of the Gadite fami- 
lies. Gen. 46 : 16 ; Num. 26 : 16. (Ozni.) 

2. Son of Bela, the son of Benjamin 
according to 1 Chron. 7 : 7. 

Ezeki'as (ez-e-ki'as). Matt. 1:9, 10. 
[Hezekiah.] 

Eze'kiel (e-ze'ki-el) {God is s.trong 
or God doth strengthen) , one of the 
four greater prophets, was the son of 
a priest named Buzi, and was taken 
captive in the captivity of Jehoiachin, 
eleven years before the destruction of 
Jerusalem. He was a member of a com- 
munity of Jewish exiles who settled on 
the banks of the Chebar, a “ river ” or 
canal of Babylonia. He began proph- 
esying b.c. 592, and continued until b.c. 
570, a period of more than twenty-two 
years. We learn from an incidental al- 
lusion, Ezek. 24 : 18, that he was married, 
and had a house, Ezek. 8 : 1, in his place 
of exile, and lost his wife by a sudden 
and unforeseen stroke. He lived in the 
highest consideration among his com- 
panions in exile, and their elders con- 
sulted him on all occasions, though they 
did not always follow his advice (Ezek. 
2:3, 4; 3:5-7). The time and manner 
of his death are unknown. The late 
tradition that he was murdered because 
he denounced idolatry is worthless. 

Ezekiel was distinguished by his stern 
and inflexible energy of will and char- 
acter and his devoted adherence to the 
rites and ceremonies of his national re- 


ligion. The depth of his matter and the 
marvellous nature of his visions make 
him occasionally obscure. 

Ezekiel, The Book of, was written at 
Tel-Abib on the river Chebar not far 
from Babylon, about the middle of the 
70 years’ Exile. 

The book falls into three divisions. 

1. Prophecies delivered during the 
early part of the captivity during the 
troublous times before the destruction 
of Jerusalem, warning the Jews that 
unless they repented, their city and tem- 
ple would be destroyed on account’ of 
their sins. 

2. Prophecies of judgment against 
seven surrounding nations. Sin would 
be punished in the heathen nations as 
well as in God’s people. 

3. Prophecies of restoration and re- 
turn, full of hope and encouragement, 
written after the destruction of Jeru- 
salem. God through the captivity would 
lead the people to the true God, to right- 
eousness, and to their return from exile. 
He pictured by the symbol of the tem- 
ple the new life, and worship and final 
success of the people of God. 

E'zel (e'zel) {departure) , The stone, 
a well-known stone in the neighborhood 
of Saul’s residence, the scene of the 
parting of David and Jonathan. 1 Sam. 
20 : 19. 

E'zem (e'zem) {hone), one of the 
towns of Simeon. 1 Chron. 4 : 29. 

E'zer (e'zer) {treasure) . 1. A son 

of Ephraim, who was slain by the abo- 
riginal inhabitants of Gath while en- 
gaged in a foray on their cattle. 1 
Chron. 7 : 21. 

2. A priest who assisted in the dedica- 

tion of the walls of Jerusalem under Ne- 
hemiah. Neh. 12:42. (b.c. 446.) 

3. Father of Hushah of the sons of 
Hur. 1 Chron. 4 : 4. 

4. One of the Gadite chiefs who 
fought with David. 1 Chron. 12 : 8, 9. 

5. One who aided in repairing the wall 
at Jerusalem; g, Levite. Neh. 3: 19. 

E'zion=ga'ber, or E'zion=ge'ber (e'- 
zi-on-ge'ber) {giant’s backbone), Num. 
33 : 35 ; Deut. 2:8; 1 Kings 9 : 26 ; 22 : 
48 ; 2 Chron. 8 : 17, the last station 
named for the encampment of the Is- 
raelites before they came to the wilder- 
ness of Zin. It probably stood at Ain 
el-Ghudyan, about ten miles up what is 
now the dry bed of the Arabah, but 
which was probably then the northern 
end of the gulf of Akaba. [Ei.ath.] 


EZN 


193 


EZR 


Ez'nite (ez'nite), The. According to 
the statement of 2 Sam. 23 : 8, Adino 
the Eznite was another name for Jasho- 
beam, a Tachmonite. 1 Chron. 11:11. 
Probably the words are a corruption for 
the Hebrew “ he lifted up his spear.” 

Ez'ra (ez'ra) {help), called Esdras in 
the Apocrypha, the famous scribe and 
priest. He was a learned and pious 
priest residing at Babylon in the time 
of Artaxerxes Longimanus. The origin 
of his influence with the king does not 
appear, but in the seventh year of his 
reign he obtained leave to go to Jeru- 
salem, and to take with him a company 
of Israelites, (b.c. 458.) The journey 
from Babylon to Jerusalem took just 
four months; and the company brought 
with them a large free-will offering of 
gold and silver, and silver vessels. It 
appears that Ezra’s great design was to 
effect a religious reformation among 
the Palestine Jews. His first step was 
to enforce separation upon all who had 
married foreign wives. Ezra 10. This 
was effected in little more than six 
months after his arrival at Jerusalem. 
With the detailed account of this im- 
portant transaction Ezra’s autobiography 
ends abruptly, and we hear nothing more 
of him till, thirteen years afterwards, in 
the twentieth year of Artaxerxes, we 
find him again at Jerusalem with Nehe- 
miah. It seems possible that after ef- 
fecting the above reformations he re- 
turned to the king of Persia. The 
functions he executed under Nehemiah’s 
government were purely of a priestly 
and ecclesiastical character. The date 
of his death is uncertain. There was 
a Jewish tradition that he was buried 
in Persia. 

Ezra’s work was that of a scribe, a 
student and interpreter of the law; not 


a mere copyist, nor author, but one who 
wrote upon it, and promulgated it 
among the people. He brought the law 
to Jerusalem for the purpose of re-in- 
stating it as the code of the community. 
“ In particular the activity of Ezra and 
his successors, the scribes, guided the 
development of the religious life in a di- 
rection which was bound to lead to the 
rise of synagogues all over the country.” 

Ez'ra, Book of, is a continuation of 
the books of Chronicles. The period 
covered by the book* is eighty years, 
from the first of Cyrus, b.c. 536, to the 
beginning of the eighth of Artaxerxes, 
b.c. 457. It consists of the contemporary 
historical journals kept from time to 
time, containing, chs. 1-12, an account 
of the return of the captives under Ze- 
rubbabel, and the rebuilding of the tem- 
ple in the reign of Cyrus and Cambyses. 
Most of the book is written in Hebrew; 
but from chs. 4 : 8 to 6 : 19 it is written 
in Chaldee. The last four chapters, 'be- 
ginning with ch. 7, continue the history 
after a gap of fifty-eight years — from 
the sixth of Darius to the seventh of 
Artaxerxes — narrating his visit to Jeru- 
salem, and giving an account of the re- 
forms there accomplished, referred to 
under Ezra. Parts of the book seem 
to have been written by Ezra himself, 
and he may have compiled other por- 
tions. The narrative in the last chap- 
ter appears to have been by another 
scribe. 

Ez'rahite (ez'ra-hite), The ( son of 
Zerah), a title attached to two persons 
— Ethan, 1 Kings 4:31; Ps. 89, title, and 
Heman, Ps. 88, title. 

Ez'ri (ez'ri) {help of Jehovah), son 
of Chelub, superintendent of King 
David’s farm-laborers. 1 Chron. 27 : 
26. 


F 


Fable. A fable is a narrative in 
which beings irrational, and sometimes 
inanimate, are, for the purpose of moral 
instruction, feigned to act and speak 
with human interests and passions. — 
Encyc. Brit. The fable differs from 
the parable in that — (1) The parable al- 
ways relates what actually takes place, 
and is true to fact, which the fable is 
not; and (2) The parable teaches the 
higher heavenly and spiritual truths, 
but the fable only earthly moralities. 
Of the fable, as distinguished from the 
parable [Parable], we have but two ex- 
amples in the Bible: (1) That of the 
trees choosing their king, addressed by 
Jotham to the men of Shechem, Judges 
9 : 8-15. (2) That of the cedar of Leb- 

anon and the thistle, as the answer of 
Jehoash to the challenge of Amaziah. 
2 Kings 14 : 9. The fables of false 
teachers claiming to belong to the Chris- 
tian Church, alluded to by writers of 
the New Testament, 1 Tim. 1:4; 4:7; 
Titus 1 : 14 ; 2 Pet. 1 : 16, do not appear 
to have had the character of fables, 
properly so called. 

Fair Ha'vens, a harbor in the island 
of Crete, Acts 27 : 8, though not men- 
tioned in any other ancient writing, is 
still known by its own Greek name, and 
appears to have been the harbor of 
Lasaea. 

Fairs, a word which occurs only in 
Ezek. 27, and there no less than seven 
times, vs. 12, 14, 16, 19, 22, , 27, 33; in 
the last of these verses it is rendered 
“ wares,” and this is without doubt the 
true meaning of the word throughout. 

Fallow deer (called fallow from its 
reddish-brown color) (Heb. yachmur). 
The Hebrew word, which is mentioned 
only in Deut. 14 : 5 and 1 Kings 4 : 23, 
possibly denotes the Alcelaphus bubalis 
(the bubale or wild cow), of Barbary 
and North Africa. It is about the size 
of a stag, and lives in herds. It is al- 


most exactly like the European roebuck, 
and is valued for its venison. 



THE FALLOW DEER. 


Famine. In the whole of Syria and 
Arabia, the fruits of the earth must ever 
be dependent on rain ; the watersheds 
having few large springs, and the small 
rivers not being sufficient for the irri- 
gation of even the level lands. If 
therefore the heavy rains of November 
and December fail, the sustenance of the 
people is cut off in the parching drought 
of harvest-time, when the country is al- 
most devoid of moisture. Egypt, again, 
owes all its fertility to its mighty river, 
whose annual rise inundates nearly the 
whole land. The causes of dearth and 
famine in Egypt are defective inunda- 
tion, preceded, accompanied and fol- 
lowed by prevalent easterly and souther- 
ly winds. Famine is likewise a natural 
result in the East when caterpillars, 
locusts or other insects destroy the 
products of the earth. The first famine 


194 


FAN 


195 


FAT 


recorded in the Bible is that of Abraham 
after he had pitched his tent on the 
east of Bethel, Gen. 12 : 10 ; the second 
in the days of Isaac, Gen. 26 : 1, seq. 
We hear no more of times of scarcity 
until the great famine of Egypt, which 
“ was over all the face of the earth.” 
Gen. 41 : 53-57. The modern history of 
Egypt throws some curious light on 
these ancient records of famines; and 
instances of their recurrence may be 
cited to assist us in understanding their 
course and extent. The most remark- 
able famine was that of the reign of 
the Fatimee Khaleefeh, El-Mustansir 
billah, which is the only instance on 
record of one of seven years duration 
in Egypt since the time of Joseph (a.h. 
457-464, a.d. 1064-1071). Vehement 
drought and pestilence continued for 
seven consecutive years, so that the 
people ate corpses, and animals that died 
of themselves. The famine of Samaria 
resembled it in many particulars ; and 
that very briefly recorded in 2 Kings 
8:1, 2, affords another instance of one 
of seven years. In Arabia famines are 
of frequent occurrence. 

Fan, a winnowing-shovel, with which 
grain was thrown up against the wind 
to be cleansed from the chaff and 
stra^. Isa. 30:24; Matt. 3:12. A 
large wooden fork is used at the present 
day. 

Farthing. Two names of coins in 
the New Testament are rendered in the 
Authorized Version by this word: (1) 
Quadrans, Matt. 5:26; Mark 12 : 42, a 
coin current in the time of our Lord, 
equivalent to one quarter of a cent; (2) 
The assarion, equal to one cent in our 
day. Matt. 10 : 29 ; Luke 12 : 6. 

Fasts. 1 . One fast only was ap- 
pointed by the Mosaic law, that on the 
day of atonement. There is no mention 
of any other periodical fast in the Old 
Testament except in Zech. 7 : 1-7 ; 8 : 19. 
From these passages it appears that the 
Jews, during their captivity, observed 
four annual fasts, — in the fourth, fifth, 
seventh and tenth months. 

2. Public fasts were occasionally pro- 
claimed to express national humiliation 
and to supplicate divine favor. In the 
case of public danger the proclamation 
appears to have been accompanied with 
the blowing of trumpets. Joel 2 : 1-15. 
(See 1 Sam. 7:6; 2 Chron. 20:3; Jer. 
36:6-10). Three days after the feast 
of tabernacles, when the second temple 


was completed, “the children of Israel 
assembled with fasting, and with sack- 
clothes and earth upon them,” to hear 
the law read and to confess their sins. 
Neh. 9:1. 

3. Private occasional fasts are recog- 
nized in one passage of the law — Num. 
30 : 13. The instances given of individ- 
uals fasting under the influence of grief, 
vexation or anxiety are numerous. , 

4. In the New Testament the only 
references to the Jewish fasts are the 
mention of “ the fast ” in Acts 27 : 9 
(generally understood to denote the day 
of atonement) and the allusions to the 
weekly fasts. Matt. 9:14; Mark 2 : 18 ; 
Luke 5 : 33 ; 18 : 12 ; Acts 10 : 30. These 
fasts originated some time after the 
captivity. 

5. The Jewish fasts were observed 
with various degrees of strictness. 
Sometimes there was entire abstinence 
from food. Esther 4: 16, etc. On other 
occasions there appears to have been 
only a restriction to a very plain diet. 
Dan. 10 : 3. Those who fasted fre- 
quently dressed in sackcloth or rent 
their clothes, put ashes on their head 
and went barefoot. 1 Kings 21 : 27 ; 
Neh. 9:1; Ps. 35:13. 

6. The sacrifice of the personal will, 
which gives to fasting all its value, is 
expressed in the old term used in the 
law, afflicting the soul. 

Fat. The Hebrews distinguished be- 
tween the suet or pure fat of an animal 
and the fat which was intermixed with 
the lean. Neh. 8:10. Certain restric- 
tions were imposed upon them in refer- 
ence to the former; some parts of the 
suet, viz., about the stomach, the entrails, 
the kidneys, and the tail of a sheep, 
which grows to an excessive size in many 
eastern countries, and produces a large 
quantity of rich fat, were forbidden to 
be eaten in the case of animals offered 
to Jehovah in sacrifice. Lev. 3 : 3, 9, 17 ; 
7 : 3, 23. The ground of the prohibition 
was that the fat was the richest part of 
the animal, and therefore belonged to 
him. Lev. 3 : 16. The burning of . the 
fat of sacrifices was particularly specified 
in each kind of offering. 

Fat, i. e. Vat, the word employed in 
the Authorized Version to translate the 
Hebrew term yekeb, in Joel 2 : 24; 3 : 13. 
The word commonly used for yekeb is 
“ winepress ” or “ winefat,” and once 
“pressfat.” Hag. 2:16. The “vats” 
appear to have been excavated out of the 


FAT 


196 


FES 


native rock of the hills on which the 
vineyards lay. 

Father. The position and authority 
of the father as the head of the family 
are expressly assumed and sanctioned in 
Scripture, as a likeness of that of the 
Almighty over his creatures. It lies of 
course at the root of that so-called pa- 
triarchal government, Gen. 3 : 16 ; 1 

Cor. 11 : 3, which was introductory to the 
more definite systems which followed, 
and which in part, but not wholly, su- 
perseded it. The father’s blessing was 
regarded as conferring special benefit, 
but his malediction special injury, on 
those on whom it fell, Gen. 9 : 25, 27 ; 
27 : 27-40 ; 48 : 15, 20 ; 49 ; and so also the 
sin of a parent was held to affect, in 
certain cases, the welfare of his de- 
scendants. 2 Kings 5:27. The com- 
mand to honor parents is noticed by St. 
Paul as the only one of the Decalogue 
which bore a distinct promise, Ex. 20: 
12 ; Eph. 6:2; and disrespect towards 
them was condemned by the law as one 
of the worst of crimes. Ex. 21 : 15, 17 ; 
1 Tim. 1:9. It is to this well-recognized 
theory of parental authority and su- 
premacy that the very various uses of 
the term “ father ” in Scripture are due. 
“ Fathers ” is used in the sense of 
seniors, Acts 7:2; 22 : 1, and of parents 
in general, or ancestors. Dan. 5:2; 
Jer. 27 : 7 ; Matt. 23 : 30, 32. 

Fathom. [Weights and Meas- 
ures.] 

Feasts. [Festivals; Meals.] 

Fe'lix (fe'lix) {happy), a Roman pro- 
curator of Judea appointed by the 
emperor Claudius in a.d. 53. He ruled 
the province in a mean, cruel and profli- 
gate manner. His period of office was 
full of troubles and seditions. St. Paul 
was brought before Felix in Caesarea. 
He was remanded to prison, and kept 
there two years in hopes of extorting 
money from him. Acts 24 : 26, 27. At 
the end of that time Porcius Festus 
[Festus] was appointed to supersede 
Felix, who, on his return to Rome, was 
accused by the Jews in Caesarea, and 
would have suffered the penalty due to 
his atrocities had not'his brother Pallas 
prevailed with the emperor Nero to 
spare him. This was probably about 
a.d. 60. The wife of Felix was Drusil- 
la, daughter of Herod Agrippa I., who 
was his third wife and whom he per- 
suaded to leave her husband and marry 
him. 


Fenced cities, i. e. cities fortified or 
defended. The fortifications of the 
cities of Palestine, thus regularly 
“ fenced,” consisted of one or more 
walls (sometimes of thick stones, some- 
times of combustible material), crowned 
with battlemented parapets, having 
towers at regular intervals, 2 Chron. 3&: 
5; Jer. 31:38, on which in later times 
engines of war were placed, and watch 
was kept by day and night in time of 
war. Judges 9:45; 2 Kings 9:17; 2 
Chron. 26 : 9, 15. 

Ferret, one of the unclean creeping 
things mentioned in Lev. 11 : 30. The 
animal referred to was probably a reptile 
of the lizard tribe (the gecko). The 
rabbinical writers seem to have identified 
this animal with the hedgehog. 

Festivals. I. The religious times or- 
dained in the law fall under three 
heads : 1. Those formally connected 

with the institution of the Sabbath ; 2. 
The historical or great festivals ; 3. The 
day of atonement. 1. Immediately con- 
nected with the institution of the Sab- 
bath are — a. The Sabbath itself, b. 
The New Moon. c. The seventh new 
moon, or feast of trumpets, d. The 
sabbatical year. e. The year of jubilee. 
2. The great feasts are — a. The pass- 
over. b. The feast of pentecost, of 
weeks, of wheat-harvest or of the first- 
fruits. c. The feast of tabernacles or 
of ingathering. On each of these oc- 
casions every male Israelite was com- 
manded to “ appear before the Lord,” 
that is, to attend in the court of the 
tabernacle or the temple, and to make 
his offering with a joyful heart. Deut. 
27:7; Neh. 8:9-12. The attendance of 
women was voluntary, but the zealous 
often went up to the passover. On all 
the days of holy convocation there was 
to be an entire suspension of ordinary 
labor of all kinds, Ex. 12 : 16 ; Lev. 16 : 
29; 23:21, 24, 25, 35; but on the inter- 
vening days of the longer festivals work 
might be carried on. The agricultural 
significance of the three great festivals 
is clearly set forth in the account of 
the Jewish sacred year contained in 
Lev. 23. The times of the festivals 
were evidently ordained in wisdom, so 
as to interfere as little as possible with 
the industry of the people. The value 
of these great religious festivals was 
threefold, (l) Religious effects. — They 
preserved the religious faith of the na- 
tion and religious unity among the peo- 


FES 


197 


FIR 


pie. They constantly reminded the peo- 
ple of the divinely-wrought deliverances 
of the past; promoted gratitude and 
trust; and testified the reverence of the 
people for the temple and its sacred 
contents. Besides this was the influence 
of well-conducted temple services upon 
the synagogues through the land. (2) 
Political effects . — The unity of the na- 
tion would be insured by this fusion of 
the tribes ; otherwise they would be 
likely to constitute separate tribal states. 
They would carry back to the provinces 
glowing accounts of the wealth, power 
and resources of the country. (3) So- 
cial effects . — They promoted friendly 
intercourse between travelling com- 
panions ; distributed information 
through the country at a time when the 
transmission of news was slow and im- 
perfect; and imported into remote pro- 
vincial districts a practical knowledge 
of all improvements in arts and sciences. 
3. For the day of atonement see that 
article. II. After the captivity, the 
feast of Purim, Esther 9 : 20, seq., and 
that of the dedication, 1 Macc. 4 : 56, 
were instituted. 

Fes'tus (fes'tus), Por'cius (Festus 
means festival), successor of Felix as 
procurator of Judea, Acts 24:27, sent 
by Nero probably in the autumn of a.d. 
60. A few weeks after Festus reached 
his province he heard the cause of St. 
Paul, who had been left a prisoner by 
Felix, in the presence of Herod Agrip- 
pa II. and Bernice his sister, Acts 25 : 11, 
12. Judea was in the same disturbed 
state during the procuratorship of Fes- 
tus which had prevailed through that 
of his predecessor. He died . probably 
in the summer of a.d. 62, having ruled 
the province less than two years. 

Fetters. Fetters were for the feet 
only, while chains were for any part of 
the body. They were usually made of 
brass or copper. “ It is still the cus- 
tom in Syria to attach a chain to each 
of the rings put round a prisoner’s an- 
kles, the middle of the chain being fas- 
tened to his girdle. He is thus, accord- 
ing to the Arabic way of speaking, 
bound with two chains.” Iron was oc- 
casionally employed for the purpose. 
Ps. 105 : 18 ; 149 : 8. 

Field. The Hebrew sadeh is applied 
to any cultivated ground, and in some 
instances in marked opposition to the 
neighboring wilderness. On the other 
hand the sadeh is frequently contrasted 


with what is enclosed, whether a vine- 
yard, a garden or a walled town. In 
many passages the term implies what is 
remote from a house, Gen. 4:8; 24 : 63 ; 
Deut. 22 : 25, or settled habitation, as in 
the case of Esau. Gen. 25 : 27. The 
separate plots of ground were marked 
off by stones, which might easily be re- 
moved, Deut. 19: 14; 27: 17; cf. Job 24: 
2; Prov. 22:28; 23:10; the absence of 
fences rendered the fields liable to dam- 
age from straying cattle, Ex. 22 : 5, or 
fire, Ex. 22 : 6 ; 2 Sam. 14 : 30 ; hence the 
necessity of constantly watching flocks 
and herds. From the absence of en- 
closures, cultivated land of any size 
might be termed a field. 

Fig, Fig tree. The fig tree ( Ficus 
carica) is very common in Palestine. 
Deut. 8 : 8. Mount Olivet was famous 
for its fig trees in ancient times, and 
they are still found there. To “ sit un- 
der one’s own vine and one’s own fig 
tree ” became a proverbial expression 
among the Jews to denote peace and 
prosperity. 1 Kings 4 : 25 ; Micah 4:4; 
Zech. 3 : 10. The fig is a pear-shaped 
fruit, and is much used by the Orientals 
for food. The young figs are especially 
prized for their sweetness and flavor. 
The fruit always appears before the 
leaves ; so that when Christ saw leaves 
on the fig tree by the wayside, Mark 
11 : 13, he had a right to expect fruit. 
The usual summer crop of fruits is not 
gathered till May or June; but in the 
sunny ravines of Olivet fig trees could 
have ripe fruit some weeks earlier ( Dr . 
Thomson) , and it was not strange that 
so early as Easter Christ might find the 
young eatable figs, although it was not 
the usual season for gathering the fruit. 

Fir. Isaiah 14:8; Ezek. 27 : 5, etc. 
The rendering of the Hebrew Berosh. 
Several trees have been named as the 
true meaning of the Hebrew, among 
them the pine, the tall juniper and the 
cypress. The last two would meet all 
the requirements, but the weight of evi- 
dence is for the cypress which is still 
found in the Lebanon. The wood of 
the fir was used for ship-building, Ezek. 
27:5; for musical instruments, 2 Sam. 
6:5; for beams and rafters of houses, 
1 Kings 5:8, 10 ; 2 Chron. 2 : 8. 

Finger’s breadth, Digit. [Weights 
and Measures.] 

Fire is represented as the symbol of 
Jehovah’s presence and the instrument 
of his power, in the way either of ap- 


FIR 


198 


FIR 



FIG TREE. 

proval or of destruction. Ex. 3:2; 14 : 
19, etc. There could not be a .better 
symbol for Jehovah than this of fire, it 
being immaterial, mysterious, but visible, 
warming, cheering, comforting, but also 
terrible and consuming. Parallel with 
this application of fire and with its sym- 
bolical meaning are to be noted the sim- 
ilar use for sacrificial purposes and the 
respect paid to it, or to the heavenly 
bodies as symbols of deity, which pre- 
vailed among so many nations of an- 
tiquity, and of which the traces are not 
even now extinct ; e.g. the Sabean and 
Magian systems of worship. Isa. 27 : 9. 
Fire for sacred purposes obtained else- 
where than from the altar was called 
“ strange fire,” and for the use of such 
Nadab and Abihu were punished with 
death by fire from God. Lev. 10 : 1, 2 ; 
Num. 3:4; 26 : 61. 

Firepan, one of the vessels of the 
temple service. Ex. 27:3; 38:3; 2 

Kings 25 : 15 ; Jer. 52 : 19. The same 
word is elsewhere rendered “ snuff- 


dish,” Ex. 25:38; 37: 

23 ; Num. 4:9, a n fl 
“ censer.” Lev. 10 : 1 ; 
16:12; Num. 16:6 ff. 
There appear, therefore, 
to have been two arti- 
cles so called: one, like 
a chafing-dish, to carry 
live coals for the pur- 
pose of burning incense; 
another, like a snuffer- 
dish, to be used in trim- 
ming the lamps, in order 
t o carry the snuffers 
and convey away the 
snuff. 

Firkin. [Weights 

and Measures.] 

Firmament. Hebrew 
rakia „ which denotes an 
expanse beaten or ham- 
mered out. Firmament, 
from the Latin, means 
support. Numerous pas- 
sages may be cited t o 
prove that the Hebrews 
regarded the sky as a 
solid vault or arched 
dome, thus sharing the 
belief o f almost a 1 1 
primitive peoples. See 
Job 27 : 18 ; Gen. 7 : 11 ; 
2 Kings 7:2; Ps. 78 : 23 ; 
104 : 2. The belief 1 i n- 
gered late as poetic 
imagery but is not taught as a fact in 
the Bible. 

First=born. Under the law, in mem- 
ory of the Exodus (when the first-born 
of the Egyptians were slain), the eldest 
son was regarded as devoted to God, 
and was in every case to be redeemed 
by an offering not exceeding five shekels, 
within one month from birth. If he 
died before the expiration of thirty 
days, the Jewish doctors held the father 
excused, but liable to the payment if he 
outlived that time. Ex. 13 : 12-15 ; 22 : 
29; Num. 8:17; 18:15, 16; Lev. 27:6. 
The eldest son received a double por- 
tion of the father’s inheritance, Deut. 
21 : 17, but not of the mother’s. Under 
the monarchy the eldest son usually, 
but not always, as appears in the case 
of Solomon, succeeded his father in the 
kingdom. 1 Kings 1 : 30 ; 2 : 22. The 
male first-born of animals was also de- 
voted to God. Ex. 13 : 2, 12, 13 ; 22 : 
29, 30 ; 34 : 19, 20. Unclean animals 

were to be redeemed with the addition 


FIR 


199 


FLA 


of one-fifth of the value, or else put to 
death ; or, if not redeemed, to be sold, 
and the price given to the priests. Lev. 
27:13, 27, 28. 

First=fruits. (1) The law ordered in 
general that the first of all ripe fruits 
and of liquors, or, as it is twice ex- 
pressed, the first of first-fruits, should 
be offered in God’s house. Ex. 22 : 29 ; 
23 : 19 ; 34 : 26. It was an act of alle- 
giance to God as the giver of all. No 
exact quantity was commanded, but it 
was left to the spiritual and moral sense 
of each individual. (2) On the morrow 
after the passover sabbath, i. e. on the 
16th of Nisan, a sheaf of new corn was 
to be brought to the priest and waved 
before the altar, in acknowledgment of 
the gift of fruitfulness. Lev. 2: 12; 23: 
5, 6, 10-12. (3) At the expiration of 

seven weeks from this time, i. e. at the 
feast of pentecost, an oblation was to 
be made of two loaves of leavened bread 
made from the new flour, which were 
to be waved in like manner with the 
passover sheaf. Ex. 34:22; Lev. 23 : 
15, 17; Num. 28:26. (4) The feast of 

ingathering, i. e. the feast of tabernacles, 
in the seventh month, was itself an ac- 
knowledgment of the fruits of the har- 
vest. Ex. 23 : 16 ; 34 : 22 ; Lev. 23 : 39. 
These four sorts of offerings were na- 
tional. Besides them, the two follow- 
ing were of an individual kind. (5) A 
cake of the first dough that was baked 
was to be offered as a heave offering. 
Num. 15 : 19, 21. (6) The first-fruits of 

the land were to be brought in a basket 
to the holy place of God’s choice, and 
there presented to the priest, who was 
to set the basket down before the altar. 
Deut. 26 : 2-11. The offerings were the 
perquisite of the priests. Num. 18 : 11 ; 
Deut. 18:4. Nehemiah, at the return 
from captivity, took pains to reorganize 
the offerings of first-fruits of both 
kinds, and to appoint places to receive 
them. Neh. 10:35, 37; 12:44. An of- 
fering of first-fruits is mentioned as an 
acceptable one to the prophet Elisha. 2 
Kings 4 : 42. 

Fish. The Hebrews recognized fish 
as one of the great divisions of the 
animal kingdom, and as such gave them 
a place in the account of the creation, 
Gen. 1 : 21, 28, as well as in other pas- 
sages where an exhaustive description 
of living creatures is intended. Gen. 9 : 
2 ; Ex. 20 : 4 ; Deut. 4 : 18 ; 1 Kings 4 : 33. 
The Mosaic law, Lev. 11 : 9, 10, pro- 


nounced unclean such fish as were de- 
void of fins and scales; these were and 
are regarded as unwholesome in Egypt. 
There are several idols representing the 
god by a figure half man and half fish. 
1 Sam. 5 : 4. On this account the wor- 
ship of fish is expressly prohibited. 
Deut. 4 : 18. In Palestine, the Sea of 
Galilee was and still is remarkably well 
stored with fish, Tristram speaks of 
fourteen species found there, and thinks 
the number inhabiting it at least three 
times as great. Jerusalem derived its 
supply chiefly from the Mediterranean. 
Comp. Ezek. 47 : 10. The existence of 
a regular fish-market is implied in the 
notice of the fish-gate, which was prob- 
ably contiguous to it. 2 Chron. 33 : 14 ; 
Neh. 3:3; 12:39; Zeph. 1:10. The 
Orientals are exceedingly fond of fish 
as an article of diet. Numerous allu- 
sions to the art of fishing occur in the 
Bible. Fish-hooks and lines were used. 
Hab. 1 : 15 ; Am. 4 : 2. But the most 
usual method of catching fish was by 
the use of the net, either the casting 
net, Ezek. 26 : 5, 14 ; 47 : 10 ; Hab. 1 : 15, 
probably resembling the one used in 
Egypt, or the draw or drag net, Isa. 19 : 
8 ; Hab. 1 : 15, which was larger, and 
required the use of a boat. The latter 
was probably most used on the Sea of 
Galilee, as the number of boats kept on 
it was very considerable. 

Fitches ( i . e. Vetches), without 
doubt the Nigella sativa, an herbaceous 
annual plant belonging to the natural 
order Ranunculaceoe (the buttercup fam- 
ily), which grows in the south of 
Europe and in the north of Africa. 
Its black seeds are used like pepper, 
and have almost as pungent a taste. 
The Syrians sprinkle these seeds over 
their flat cakes before they are baked. 
[See Rye.] 

Flag. There are two Hebrew words 
rendered “flag” in our Bible: (1) A 
word of Egyptian origin, and denoting 
“ any green and coarse herbage, such 
as rushes and reeds, which grows in 
marshy places.” Gen. 41 : 2, 18 (here 
translated meadow). It is perhaps the 
Cy perns esculentus. ( 2 ) A word 
which appears to be used in a very wide 
sense to denote “ weeds of any kind,” 
Ex. 2:3, 5 ; Isa. 19 : 6, meaning marine 
growths. 

Flagon, a word employed in the Au- 
thorized Version to render two distinct 
Hebrew terms: ( 1 ) Ashishah, 2 Sam. 


FLA 


200 


FLU 


6 : 19 ; 1 Chron. 16:3; Cant. 2:5; Hos. 
3:1. It really means a cake of pressed 
raisins. Such cakes were considered as 
delicacies ; they were also offered to 



fennel flower or vetches (Nigella sativa). 

idols. (2) Nebel, Isa. 22 : 24, is com- 
monly used for a bottle or vessel, orig- 
inally probably a skin, but in later times 
a piece of pottery. Isa. 30 : 14. 

Flax, a well-known plant with yel- 
lowish stem and bright-blue flowers. 
Its fibres are employed in the manu- 
facture of linen. The root contains an 
oil, and after the oil is expressed is 
used as a food for cattle. Egypt was 
celebrated for the culture of flax and 
the manufacture of linen. The spin- 
ning was anciently done by women of 
noble birth. It seems probable that the 
cultivation of flax for the purpose of 
the manufacture of linen was by no 
means confined to Egypt, but that, orig- 
inating in India, it spread over Asia at 
a very early period of antiquity. That 
it was grown in Palestine even before 
the conquest of that country by the 
Israelites appears from Josh. 2 : 6. The 
various processes employed in preparing 
the flax for manufacture into cloth are 


indicated: (1) The drying process. 
(2) The peeling of the stalks and sep- 
aration of the fibres. (3) The hackling. 
Isa. 19 : 9. That flax was one of the 



most important crops in Palestine ap- 
pears from Hos. 2:5, 9. 

Flea, an insect but twice mentioned 
in Scripture, viz., in 1 Sam. 24 : 14 ; 26 : 
20. Fleas are abundant in the East, 
and afford the subject of many prover- 
bial expressions. 

Flesh. [Food.] 

Flint, a well-known stone, a variety 
of quartz. It is extremely hard, and 
strikes fire. It was very abundant in 
and about Palestine. 

Flood. [Noah.] 

Floor. [Gabbatha.] 

Flour. [Bread.] 

Flute. The word so translated in 
Dan. 3, was probably not the modern 
flute. There were four Heb. words 
representing flute-like instruments (1) 
Halil, “ Pipe,” 1 Kings 1 : 40 ; Isa. 30 : 
29; etc. This bore a close resemblance 
to the modern flute and was made of 
reeds, of copper, and other material. It 
was the principal wind-instrument. (2) 
Ugab, a word of uncertain meaning, 
perhaps “bagpipe.” Gen. 4:21; Job 
21:12; Ps. 150:4, etc. (3) Mashro- 
kitha, the one used at the worship of 
Nebuchadnezzar’s golden image, Dan. 
3:5, 7, 15, probably the “syrinx.” (4) 
Symphonia, in Dan. 3 : 5, 15. Tradi- 


FLU 


201 


FOO 


tionally a bagpipe. Perhaps it was de- 
veloped from the double flute. 

Flux, Bloody, Acts 28 : 8, the same 
as our dysentery, which in the East is, 
though sometimes sporadic, generally 
epidemic and infectious, and then as- 
sumes its worst form. 

Fly, Flies. The two following He- 
brew terms denote flies of some kind: 
(1) Zebub, which occurs only in Eccles. 
10 : 1 and in Isa. 7 : 18, and is probably 
a generic name for an insect. (2) ’Arob 
(“swarms of flies ” “divers sorts of 
-flies” Authorized Version), the name 
of the insect or insects which God sent 
to punish Pharaoh ; see Ex. 8 : 21-31 ; 
Ps. 78 : 45 ; 105 : 31. The question as to 
what particular species is denoted, or 
whether any one species is to be under- 
stood, has long been a matter of dis- 
pute. As the arob are said to have filled 
the houses of the Egyptians, it seems 
not improbable that common flies ( Mus - 
cidce') are more especially intended. 
The arob may include various species 
of Culicidce (gnats), such as the mos- 
quito; but the common flies are to this 
day in Egypt regarded as a “plague,” 
and are the great instrument of spread- 
ing the well-known ophthalmia, which 
is conveyed from one individual to an- 
other by these dreadful pests. Accord- 
ing to the Septuagint “the dog-fly is 
meant, which at certain seasons is de- 
scribed as a far worse plague than 
mosquitoes. The bite is exceedingly 
sharp and painful, causing severe in- 
flammation, especially in the eyelids. 
Coming in immense swarms, they cover 
all objects in black and loathsome 
masses, and attack every exposed part 
of a traveller’s person with incredible 
pertinacity.” — Cook. 

Food. The diet of eastern nations 
has been in all ages light and simple. 
Vegetable food was more used than ani- 
mal. Bread was the principal food; 
preparations of grain were, however, 
common. The Hebrews used a great 
variety of articles, John 6:5, 9, to give 
a relish to bread. Milk and its prep- 
arations hold a conspicuous place in 
eastern diet, as affording substantial 
nourishment; generally in the form of 
the modern leben, i. e. sour milk. Au- 
thorized Version “butter;” Gen. 18:8; 
Judges 5 : 25 ; 2 Sam. 17 : 29. Fruit was 
another source of subsistence : figs stood 
first in point of importance ; they were 
generally dried and pressed into cakes. 


Grapes were generally eaten in a dried 
state as raisins. Of vegetables we have 
most frequent notice of lentils, beans, 
leeks, onions and garlic, which were 
and still are of a superior quality in 
Egypt. Num. 11 : 5. Honey is exten- 
sively used, as is also olive oil. 

The Orientals have been at all times 
sparing in the use of animal food; not 
only does the excessive heat of the cli- 
mate render it both unwholesome to eat 
much meat and expensive from the ne- 
cessity of immediately consuming a 
whole animal, but beyond this the ritual 
regulations of the Mosaic law in ancient, 
as of the Koran in modern, times have 
tended to the same result. The prohibi- 
tion expressed against consuming the 
blood of any animal, Gen. 9 : 4, was 
more fully developed in the Levitical 
law, and enforced by the penalty of 
death. Lev. 3 : 17 ; 7:26; 19 : 26 ; Deut. 
12:16. Certain portions of the fat of 
sacrifices were also forbidden, Lev. 3 : 
9, 10, as being set apart for the altar. 
Lev. 3 : 16 ; 7 : 25. 

In addition to the above, the Jews 
were forbidden to eat the flesh of ani- 
mals portions of which had been offered 
to idols. All beasts and birds classed 
as unclean, Lev. 11 : 1 ff. ; Deut. 14 : 4 
ff. ; were also prohibited. Under these 
restrictions the Hebrews were permitted 
the free use of animal food : generally 
speaking they only availed themselves 
of it in the exercise of hospitality or at 
festivals of a religious, public or private 
character. It was only in royal house- 
holds that there was a daily consumption 
of meat. The animals killed for meat 
were — calves, lambs, oxen not above 
three years of age, harts, roebucks and 
fallow deer ; birds of various kinds ; fish, 
with the exception of such as were with- 
out scales and fins. Locusts, of which 
certain species only were esteemed clean, 
were occasionally eaten, Matt. 3 : 4, but 
were regarded as poor fare. 

Footman, a word employed in the 
English Bible in two senses: (1) Gen- 
erally, to distinguish those of the fight- 
ing men who went on foot from those 
who were on horseback or in chariots. 
(2) In a more special sense, in 1 Sam. 
22 : 17 only, and as the translation of a 
different term from the above — a body 
of swift runners in attendance on the 
king. This body appears to have been 
afterwards kept up, and to have been 
distinct from* the body-guard — the six 


F OR 


202 


FOX 


hundred and the thirty — who were orig- 
inated by David. See 1 Kings 14 : 27, 
28 ; 2 Kings 11 : 4, 6, 11, 13, 19 ; 2 Chron. 
12 : 10, 11. In each of these cases the 
word is the same as the above, and is 
rendered “ guard,” with “ runners ” in 
the margin in two instances — 1 Kings 
14 : 27 ; 2 Kings 11 : 13. 

Forehead. The practice of veiling 
the face (forehead) in public for women 
of the higher classes, especially married 
women, in the East, sufficiently stigma- 
tizes with reproach the unveiled face of 
women of bad character. Gen. 24:65; 
Jer. 3:3. The custom among many 
Oriental nations both of coloring the 
face and forehead and of impressing on 
the body marks indicative of devotion 
to some special deity or religious sect 
is mentioned elsewhere. The “jewels 
for the forehead,” mentioned by Eze- 
kiel, 16 : 12, and in margin of Authorized 
Version, Gen. 24:22, were in all prob- 
ability nose-rings. Isa. 3 : 21. 

Forest. Although Palestine has never 
been in historical times a woodland 
country, yet there can be no doubt that 
there was much more wood formerly 
than there is at present, and that the de- 
struction of the forests was one of the 
chief causes of the present desolation. 

Fortifications. [Fenced cities.] 

Fortuna'tus (for-tu-na'tus) ( fortu- 
nate ), 1 Cor. 16:17, one of three Co- 
rinthians, the others being Stephanas 
and Achaicus, who were at Ephesus 
when St. Paul wrote his first epistle. 
There is a Fortunatus mentioned in the 
end. of. Clement’s first epistle to the 
Corinthians, who was possibly the same 
person. 

Fountain (a spring, in distinction 
from a well). The springs of Palestine, 
though short-lived, are remarkable for 
their abundance and beauty, especially 
those, which fall into the Jordan and 
into its lakes, of which there are hun- 
dreds throughout its whole course. The 
spring or fountain of living water, the 
“eye” of the landscape, is distinguished 
in all Oriental languages from the ar- 
tificially-sunk and enclosed well. Jeru- 
salem appears to have possessed either 
more than one perennial spring or one 
issuing by more than one • outlet. In 
Oriental cities generally public foun- 
tains are frequent. Traces of such 
fountains at Jerusalem may perhaps be 
found in the names of Enrogel, 2 Sam. 
17 : 17, the “ Dragon well ” or fountain, 


and the “gate of the fountain.” Neh. 2: 
13, 14. 

Fowl. Several distinct Hebrew and 
Greek words are thus rendered in the 
English Bible. Of these the most com- 
mon is ’oph, which is usually a collective 
term for all kinds of birds. In 1 Kings 
4 : 23, among the daily provisions for 
Solomon’s table “ fatted fowl ” are in- 
cluded. In the New Testament the 
word translated “ fowls ” is most fre- 
quently that which comprehends all 
kinds of birds (including ravens , Luke 
12 : 24). [Sparrow.] 

Fox (Heb. shu’dl). Probably the 
jackal is the animal signified in almost 
all the passages in the Old Testament 
where the Hebrew term occurs. Though 
both foxes and jackals abound in Pales- 
tine, the shu’dlim (foxes) of Judges 15: 



SYRIAN FOX. 


4 are evidently jackals and not foxes, 
for the former animal is gregarious, 
whereas the latter is solitary in its 
habits; Samson could not, for that rea- 
son, have easily caught three hundred 
foxes, but it was easy to catch that 
number of jackals, which are concealed 
by hundreds in the caves and ruins of 
Syria. It is not probable, however, that 
Samson sent out the whole three hun- 
dred at once. With respect to the 
jackals and foxes of Palestine, there 
is no doubt that the common jackal of 
the country is the Canis aureus, which 
may be heard every night in the vil- 
lages. It is like a medium-sized dog, 
with a head like a wolf, and is of a 
bright-yellow color. These beasts de- 


FRA 


203 


FUL 


vour the bodies of the dead, and even 
dig them up from their graves. 

Frankincense, a vegetable resin, brit- 
tle, glittering, and of a bitter taste, used 
for the purpose of sacrificial fumiga- 
tion. Ex. -30:34-36. It was called 
frank because of the freeness with 
which, when burned, it gives forth its 
odor. It burns for a long time, with a 
steady flame. It is obtained by succes- 
sive incisions in the bark of a tree of 
the genus Boswellia. The first incision 
yields the purest and whitest resin, 
while the product of the after incisions 
is spotted with yellow, and loses its 
whiteness altogether as it becomes old. 



The Hebrews imported their frankin- 
cense from Arabia, Isa. 60:6; Jer. 6: 
20, and more particularly from Sheba, 
but it is remarkable that at present the 
Arabian libanum’ or olibanum is of a 
very inferior kind, and that the finest 
frankincense imported into Turkey 
comes through Arabia from the islands 
of the Indian Archipelago. There can 
be little doubt that the tree which pro- 
duces the Indian frankincense is the 
Boswellia serrata of Roxburgh, or Bos- 
wellia thurifera of Colebrooke, and 
bears some resemblance when young to 
the mountain ash. It grows to be forty 
feet high. 


Frog, a well-known amphibious ani- 
mal of the genus Rana. The mention 
of this reptile in the Old Testament is 
confined to the passage in Ex. 8:2-7, 
etc., in which the plague of frogs is 
described, and to Ps. 78 : 45 ; 105 : 30. In 
the New Testament the word occurs 
once only, in Rev. 16 : 13. There is no 
question as to the animal meant. The 
only known species of frog which oc- 
curs at present in Egypt is the Rana 
esculenta, the edible frog of the con- 
tinent. 

Frontlets, or Phylacteries. Ex. 13: 

16 ; Deut. 6:8; 11 : 18 ; Matt. 23 : 5. 
These “frontlets” or “phylacteries” 
were strips of parchment, on which 
were written four passages of Scrip- 
ture, Ex. 13: 2-10, 11-17; Deut. 6:4-9, 
13-23, in an ink prepared for the pur- 
pose. They were then rolled up in a 
case of black calfskin, which was at- 



tached to a stiffer piece of leather, hav- 
ing a thong one finger broad and one 
and a half cubits long. They were 
placed at the bend of the left arm. 
Those worn on the forehead were writ- 
ten on four strips of parchment, and 
put into four little cells within a square 
case on which the letter t£* was written. 
The square had two thongs, on which 
Hebrew letters were inscribed. That 
phylacteries were used as amulets is 
certain, and was very natural. The ex- 
pression “ they make broad their phylac- 
teries,” Matt. 23 : 5, refers not so much 
to the phylactery itself, which seems to 
have been of a prescribed breadth, as to 
the case in which the parchment was 
kept, which the Pharisees, among their 
other pretentious customs, Mark 7:3, 4 ; 
Luke 5 : 33, etc., made as conspicuous as 
they could. It is said that the Pharisees 
wore them always, whereas the common 
people only used them at prayers. 

Fuller. The trade of the fullers, so 
far as it is mentioned in Scripture, ap- 
pears to have consisted chiefly in cleans- 
ing garments and whitening them. The 
process of fulling or cleansing clothes 
consisted in treading or stamping on the 
garments with the feet or with bats in 


FUL 


204 


FUR 


tubs of water, in which some alkaline 
substance answering the purpose of soap 
had been dissolved. The substances 
used for this purpose which are men- 
tioned in Scripture are natron, Prov. 
25 : 20 ; Jer. 2 : 22, and soap. Mai. 3 : 2. 
Other substances also are mentioned as 
being employed in cleansing, which, to- 
gether with alkali, seem to identify the 
Jewish with the Roman process, as urine 
and chalk. The process of whitening 
garments was performed by rubbing in- 
to them chalk or earth of some kind. 
Creta cimolia (cimolite) was probably 
the earth most frequently used. The 
trade of the fullers, as causing offensive 
smells, and also as requiring space for 
drying clothes, appears to have been 
carried on at Jerusalem outside the city. 

Fuller’s field, The, a spot near Jeru- 
salem, 2 Kings 18 : 17 ; Isa. 7:3; 36:2, 
so close to the walls that a person 
speaking from there could be heard on 
them. 2 Kings 18 : 17, 26. One resort 
of the fullers of Jerusalem would seem 


to have been below the city on the 
southeast side. But Rabshakeh and his 
“ great host ” must have come from the 
north; and the fuller’s field was there- 
fore, to judge from this circumstance, 
on the table-land on the northern side 
of the city. 

Funerals. [Burial.] 

Furlong. [Weights and Measures.] 
Furnace. Various kinds of furnaces 
are noticed in the Bible, such as a 
smelting or calcining furnace, Gen. 19 : 
28 ; Ex. 9:8, 10 ; 19 : 18, especially a 
lime-kiln, Isa. 33 : 12 ; Amos 2:1; a re- 
fining furnace, Prov. 17 : 3 ; Nebuchad- 
nezzar’s furnace, a large furnace built 
like a brick-kiln, Dan. 3 : 22, 23, with 
two openings, one at the top for putting 
in the materials, and another below for 
removing them ; the potter’s furnace, 
Ecclus. 27 : 5 ; the blacksmith’s furnace. 
Ecclus. 38 : 28. The Persians were in 
the habit of using the furnace as a 
means of inflicting punishment. Dan. 
3 : 22, 23 ; Jer. 29 : 22. 


Ga'al (ga'al), son of Ebed, aided 
the Shechemites in their rebellion against 
Abimelech. Judges 9. 

Ga'ash (ga'ash) {earthquake) , a hill 
of Ephraim, where Joshua was buried. 
The brooks or valley of Gaash, 2 Sam. 
23:30; 1 Chron. 11:32, were probably 
at the foot of the hill. 

Ga'ba (ga'ba). [Geba.] 

Gab'bai (gab'ba-i) {tax-gatherer), 
apparently the head of an important 
family of Benjamin resident at Jeru- 
salem. Neh. 11: 8. Perhaps the Ibneiah 
of 1 Chron. 9 : 8. 

Gab'batha (gab'ba-tha) {a platform), 
the Hebrew or Chaldee appellation of a 
place, also called “ Pavement,” where 
the judgment-seat or bema was planted, 
from his place on which Pilate delivered 
our Lord to death. John 19 : 13. None 
of the attempted identifications of the 
spot have proved quite satisfactory. 
Possibly it was connected in some way 
with Herod’s Palace. No such place 
was mentioned by Josephus. 

Ga'briel (ga'bri-el) {man of God), 
an angel of high rank sent by God to 
announce to Zacharias the birth of John 
the Baptist, and to Mary the birth of 
Christ. He was also sent to Daniel to 
explain his visions. Dan. 8 : 16 ; 9 : 21. 

Gad (gad) {fortune). 1. Jacob’s 
seventh son, the first-born of Zilpah, 
Leah’s maid, and whole-brother to 
Asher. Gen. 30 : 11-13 ; 46 : 16, 18. 

2. “The seer,” or “the king’s seer,” 
i. e. David’s, 1 Chron. 29 : 29 ; 2 Chron. 
29 : 25, was a “ prophet ” who appears to 
have joined David when in the hold. 1 
Sam. 22:5. (b.c. 1061.) He reappears 

in connection with the punishment in- 
flicted for the numbering of the people. 
2 Sam. 24 : 11-19 ; 1 Chron. 21 : 9-19. 
He wrote a book of the Acts of David, 
1 Chron. 29 : 29, and also assisted in the 
arrangements for the musical service of 
the “ house of God.” 2 Chron. 29 : 25. 

Gad, The tribe of. The country al- 


lotted to the tribe of Gad appears, speak- 
ing roughly, to have lain chiefly about 
the centre of the land east of Jordan. 
The south of that district — from the Ar- 
non {Wady Mo jib), about halfway 
down the Dead Sea, to Heshbon, nearly 
due east of Jerusalem — was occupied by 
Reuben, and at or about Heshbon the 
possessions of Gad commenced. They 
embraced half Gilead, Deut. 3 : 12, or 
half the land of the children of Am- 
mon, Josh. 13 : 25, probably the moun- 
tainous district which is intersected by 
the torrent Jabbok, including, as its 
most northern town, the ancient sanc- 
tuary of Mahanaim. The character of 
the tribe is throughout strongly marked 
— fierce and warlike. 

Gadarenes' (gad-a-renes'), Gerge= 
senes' (ger-ge-senes'), Gerasenes' 
(ger-a-senes'). These three names are 
used indiscriminately to designate the 
place where Jesus healed two demoniacs. 
The first two are in the Authorized 
Version. Matt. 8:28; Mark 5:1; Luke 
8 : 26. In Mark and Luke the Revised 
Version uses Gerasenes in place of 
Gadarenes. There has been much dis- 
cussion as to the correct form of the 
word, — whether derived from Gadara, 
Gergesa or Gerasa. Gadara was a 
Greek city called by Josephus the 
metropolis of Perea on the east of 
Jordan. The miracle could not have 
taken place literally in the neighborhood 
of Gadara, as it is a three hours’ ride 
from the Sea of Galilee, and separated 
from it by a steep gorge. The name 
Gergesa found in the A. V. seems to 
have few advocates; its site may have 
been several miles north. Gerasa , the 
capital of the district of the Gerasenes, 
was one of the cities of the Decapolis, 
and a well-known city of Palestine. It 
was about 30 miles southeast of Gadara, 
37 miles south of the Dead Sea, on the 
borders of Perea, and a little north of 
the river Jabbok. It is now called 


GAD 


206 


GAL 


Jerash, and is a deserted ruin. This 
town is out of the question as the site 
of the miracle. The region may have 
been called by popular usage “ the coun- 
try of the Gadarenes,” although not 
officially a part of the district, but as 
being near enough to distinguish it 
among those familiar with the places. 
The derivation of the reading from the 
name Gerasa is, however, advocated by 
many, e. g. Cheyne, and the R. V. trans- 
lators. 

For the actual identification of the 
site, however, there is no dispute, as 
the modern Khersa is admitted by all 
to be the place where the miracle took 
place. Indeed it seems to be the one 
place on the eastern side of the Lake 
where all the conditions are fulfilled. 
For one of the latest discussions of the 
question see Hastings’ “ Dictionary of 
Christ and the. Gospels” (1906). 

Gad'di (gad'di) (fortunate ) , son of 
Susi; the Manassite spy sent by Moses 
to explore Canaan. Num. 13:11. (b.c. 

1490.) 

Gad'diel (gad'di-el) (God is my for- 
tune), a Zebulunite, one of the twelve 
spies. Num. 13:10. (b.c. 1490.) 

Ga'di (ga'di), a Gadite, father of 
Menahem, a king of Israel. 2 Kings 
15 : 14, 17. 

Gad'ites, The, the descendants of 
Gad, and the members of his tribe. 

Ga'ham (ga'ham) (sunburnt), son of 
Nahor, Abraham’s brother, by his con- 
cubine Reumah. Gen. 22 : 24. 

Ga'har (ga'har) (hiding-place) . The 
Bene-Gahar were among the families 
of Nethinim who returned from the 
captivity with Zerubbabel. Ezra 2 : 47 ; 
Neh. 7:49. 

Gai'us (ga'ius), or Cai'us. 1 . A 
Macedonian who accompanied Paul in 
his travels, and whose life was in dan- 
ger from the mob at Ephesus. Acts 
19:29. (a.d. 57.) 

2. Of Derbe.. He went with Paul 

from Corinth in his last journey to 
Jerusalem. Acts 20 : 4. (a.d. 57.) 

3. Of Corinth, whom Paul baptized, 
and who was his host in his second 
sojourn in that city. 1 Cor. 1 : 14 ; Rom. 
16:23. 

4. John’s third epistle is addressed to 
a Christian of this name. Attempts 
have been made in vain to identify him 
with any other named. 

Gal'aad (gal'a-ad), the Greek form 
of the word Gilead. 


Ga'lal (ga'lal) (a rolling). 1. A 
Levite, one of the sons of Asaph. 1 
Chron. 9 : 15. 

2. Another Levite, of the family of 
Elkanah. 1 Chron. 9 : 16. 

3. A third Levite, son of Jeduthun. 
Neh. 11: 17. Probably the same as (2). 

Galatia (ga-la'shia) (land of the 
Galli, Gauls), is the central district of 
Asia Minor. The chief interest of Bible 
students with regard to this province 
is connected with Paul’s Epistle to the 
Galatians. It has generally been sup- 
posed that the cities in which were “ the 
churches of Galatia ” are unknown, and 
that the record of Paul’s missionary 
journeys contains no notice of his 
preaching in them by name. Professor 
Ramsay has, however, convinced most 
modern scholars that the Roman prov- 
ince of Galatia extended much farther 
to the southwest, and included Pisidia 
and Lycaonia, so that Antioch, Iconium, 
Lystra and Derbe were among the 
churches of Galatia to whom the epistle 
was written. These churches were 
founded by Paul during his first mis- 
sionary journey (a.d. 45-47), and visited 
by him during his second journey (a.d. 
49 or 50), and again on his third jour- 
ney (a.d. 54). 

Gala'tians (ga-la'shuns), The Epis= 
tie to the, was written by the apostle 
St. Paul not long after his journey 
through Galatia and Phrygia, Acts 18 : 
23, and probably either during his long 
sojourn of nearly three years in Ephe- 
sus _ (a.d. 54-57), or soon after, at 

Corinth in a.d. 58. The epistle appears 
to have been called forth by the mach- 
inations of Judaizing teachers, who, 
shortly before the date of its composi- 
tion, had endeavored to seduce the 
churches of this province into a rec- 
ognition of circumcision, Gal. 5 : 2, 11, 
12 ; 6 : 12, seq., and had openly sought 
to depreciate the apostolic claims of St. 
Paul. Comp. 1 : 1, 11. “ Since the days 
of Luther the Epistle to the Galatians 
has always been held in high esteem as 
the gospel’s banner of freedom. To it 
and the Epistle to the Romans we owe 
most directly the springing up and de- 
velopment of the ideas and energies of 
the Reformation.” “ It gives in briefer 
outline, and with special application, the 
same scheme of salvation . . . which 

is . . . presented in the Epistle to 

the Romans. All men being under the 
law, and condemned as sinners by the 


GAL 


207 


GAL 


law, salvation is impossible by the works 
of the law. Christ alone can save.” 
“ The declaration of these truths made 
Christianity a world religion, instead of 
a Jewish sect.” — Purves. 

Galbanum, one of the perfumes em- 
ployed in the preparation of the sacred 
incense. Ex. 30 : 34. The galbanum of 
commerce is brought chiefly from India 
and the Levant. It is a resinous gum 
of a brownish-yellow color and strong 
disagreeable smell, usually met with in 
masses, but sometimes found in yellow- 
ish tear-like drops. But, though gal- 
banum itself is well known, the plant 
which yields it has not been exactly 
determined. 

Gal'e=ed (gal'e-ed) ( cairn of wit- 
ness ), the name given by Jacob to the 
heap which he and Laban made on 
Mount Gilead in. witness of the covenant 
then entered into between them. Gen. 
31 : 47, 48 ; comp. 23, 25. 

Galile'ans (gal-i-le'ans), the inhab- 
itants of Galilee, the northern province 
of Palestine. The apostles were all Gal- 
ileans by either birth or residence. 
Acts 1 : 11. It appears also that the 
pronunciation of those Jews who resided 
in Galilee had become peculiar, probably 
from their contact with their Gentile 
neighbors. Matt. 26 : 73. In ancient 
times a large part of the population 
of Galilee was non-Jewish, and after 
the fall of the northern kingdom many 
of the people were carried away, and in 
some cases their places were filled by 
foreigners. Soon after the time of the 
Maccabees, however, they became a 
thoroughly Jewish people, and remained 
so during the remainder of their his- 
tory. With few exceptions they were 
wealthy and in general an influential 
class, “ healthy, brave and industrious.” 
The Galileans had many manufactures, 
fisheries, some commerce, but were 
chiefly an agricultural people. They 
were eminent for patriotism and cour- 
age, as were their ancestors, with great 
respect for law and order. They were 
less bigoted than the Jews of Judea; 
partly, it is likely, because of their di- 
verse origin, and partly it is certain be- 
cause they were “ too industrious to be 
strictly orthodox from a Pharisaic point 
of view.” — Cheyne. 

Gal ilee (circuit). This name, which 
in the Roman age was applied to a 
large province, seems to have been orig- 
inally confined to a little ‘‘circuit” of 


country round Kedesh-Naphtali, in 
which were situated the twenty towns 
given by Solomon to Hiram king of 
Tyre as payment for his work in con- 
veying timber from Lebanon to Jeru- 
salem. Josh. 20:7; 1 Kings 9:11. In 
the time of our Lord all Palestine was 
divided into three provinces, Judea, Sa- 
maria and Galilee. Luke 17 : 11 ; Acts 
9 : 31 ; Joseph. B. J. iii. 3. The latter 
included the whole northern section of 
the country, including the ancient ter- 
ritories of Issachaf, Zebulun, Asher and 
Naphtali. On the west it was bounded 
by the whole plain of Aklca to the foot 
of Carmel. The southern border ran 
along the base of Carmel and of the 
hills of Samaria to Mount Gilboa, and 
then descended the valley of Jezreel by 
Scythopolis to the Jordan. The river 
Jordan, the Sea of Galilee, and the 
upper Jordan to the fountain at Dan, 
formed the eastern border ; and the 
northern ran from Dan westward across 
the mountain ridge till it touched the 
territory of the Phoenicians. 'Galilee 
was divided into two sections, “ Lower ” 
and “ Upper.” Lower Galilee included 
the great plain of Esdraelon with its 
offshoots, which run down to the Jor- 
dan and the Lake of Tiberias, and 
the whole of the hill country adjoining 
it on the north to the foot of the moun- 
tain range. It was thus one of the 
richest and most beautiful sections of 
Palestine. Upper Galilee embraced the 
whole mountain range lying between 
the upper Jordan and Phoenicia. To this 
region the name “ Galilee of the Gen- 
tiles ” is given in the Old and New 
Testaments. Isa. 9:1; Matt. 4:15. 
Galilee was the scene of the greater 
part of our Lord’s private life and 
public acts. It is a remarkable fact 
that the first three Gospels are chiefly 
taken up with our Lord’s ministrations 
in this province, while the Gospel of 
John dwells more upon those in Judea. 

Character of the country. — Galilee was 
a region of great natural fertility. Such 
is the fertility of the soil that it rejects 
no plant, for the air is so genial that 
it suits every variety. The walnut, 
which delights above other trees in a 
wintry climate, grows here luxuriantly, 
together with the palm tree, which is 
nourished by heat. It not only pos- 
sesses the extraordinary virtue of nour- 
ishing fruits of opposite climes, but 
also maintains a continual supply of 


GAL 


208 


GAL 


them. Here were found all the produc- 
tions which made Italy rich and beau- 
tiful. Forests covered its mountains 
and hills, while its uplands, gentle slopes 
and broader valleys were rich in pasture, 
meadows, cultivated fields, vineyards, 
olive groves and fruit trees of every 
kind. 

The population of Galilee is variously 
estimated. Josephus states that there 
were 204 cities and villages in Galilee, 
the smallest of which numbered 15,000 
inhabitants. Dr. Selah Merrill argues 
for the general correctness of Josephus’ 
estimates. 

There was a perfect network of roads 
covering the whole territory. “Judea 
was on the road to nowhere; Galilee 
is covered with roads to everywhere.” 
It was the great highroad between the 
Mediterranean and the countries of the 
far East, with which there was a con- 
siderable traffic. The common idea of 
Nazareth, the home of Jesus, as a quiet 
country village, is quite erroneous. For 
descriptions of Galilee and its people see 
Hastings’ Dictionary of Christ and the 
Gospels (1906). 

Gal'ilee, Sea of. So called from the 
province of Galilee, which bordered on 
its western side. Matt. 4 : 18. It was 
also called the “ Sea of Tiberias,” from 
the celebrated city of that name. John 
6:1.. At its northwestern angle was a 
beautiful and fertile plain called “ Gen- 
nesaret,” and from that it derived the 
name of “ Lake of Gennesaret.” Luke 
5 : 1. It was called in the Old Testa- 
ment “ the Sea of Chinnereth ” or “ Cin- 
neroth,” Num. 34:11; Josh. 12:3; 2 
Kings 15 : 20, from a town of that name 
which stood on or near its shore. Josh. 
19: 35. Its modern name is Bahr Tuba- 
riyeh. Most of our Lord’s public life 
was spent in the environs of this sea. 
The surrounding region was then the 
most densely peopled in all Palestine. 
About the Lake there were ten or twelve 
flourishing towns. The Sea of Galilee is 
of an oval or pear-shape, about thirteen 
geographical miles long and six broad. 
The river Jordan enters it at its north- 
ern end and passes out at its southern 
end. In fact the bed of the lake is just 
a lower section of the great Jordan 
valley. Its most remarkable feature is 
its deep depression, being no less than 
700 feet below the level of the ocean. 
It is exposed to frequent sudden and 


violent storms, awing to the great num- 
ber of hills. 

On the east and west the hills rise 
abruptly, almost forming a mountain 
wall. To the north and south also are 
hills, though the slopes are much more 
gradual. Not only Jews but people of 
many races have praised the beauty of 
the Sea of Galilee. Now it is bleak 
and barren, and the shores lined with 
ruins. The great depression makes the 
climate of the shores almost tropical. 
This is very sensibly felt by the traveler 
in going down from the plains of Gal- 
ilee. In summer the heat is intense, 
and even in early spring the air has 
something of an Egyptian balminess. 
The water of the lake is sweet, cool and 
transparent ; and as the beach is every- 
where pebbly it has a beautiful spark- 
ling look. It abounds in fish now as in 
ancient times. There were large fish- 
eries on the lake, and much commerce 
was carried on upon it. 

Gall. (1) Mereerah, denoting “that 
which is bitter;” hence the term is ap- 
plied to the “bile” or “gall” (the fluid 
secreted by the liver), from its intense 
bitterness, Job 16:13; 20:25; it is also 
used of the “poison” of serpents, Job 
20 : 14, which the ancients erroneously 
believed was their gall. (2) Rosh, gen- 
erally translated “ gall ” in the English 
Bible, is in Hos. 10 : 4 rendered “hem- 
lock:” in Deut. 32:33' and Job 20:16, 
rosh denotes the “ poison ” or “ venom ” 
of serpents. From Deut. 29 : 18 and 
Lam. 3 : 19, compared with Hos. 10 : 4, 
it is evident that the Hebrew term de- 
notes some bitter and perhaps poisonous 
plant. Other writers have supposed, 
and with some reason, from Deut. 32 : 
32, that some berry-bearing plant must 
be intended. Gesenius understands pop- 
pies; in which case the gall mingled 
with the wine offered to our Lord at 
his crucifixion, and refused by him, 
would be an anaesthetic, and tend to di- 
minish the sense of suffering. 

Gallery, an architectural term de- 
scribing the porticos or verandas which 
are # not uncommon in eastern houses. 
It is doubtful, however, whether the 
Hebrew words so translated have any 
reference to such an object. In S. of 
Sol. 7 : 5, it means, as in R. V. “tresses.” 
Elsewhere it probably means “colon- 
nade ” or “ panelling.” 

Galley. [Ship.] 


209 



JEWISH FISHERMEN BY THE SEA OF GALILEE. 


14 






GAL 


210 


GAR 


Gariim (gal'lim) {heaps). This is 
given as the native place of the man to 
whom Michal, David’s wife, was given. 
1 Sam. 25 : 44. Its site is unknown but 
not far from Jerusalem. The name oc- 
curs again in the catalogue of places 
terrified at the approach of Senna- 
cherib. Isa. 10 : 30. 

Gal'lio (gal'li-d), Junius Annaeus 
Gallio, the Roman proconsul of Achaia 
when St. Paul was at Corinth, a.d. 52, 
under the emperor Claudius. Acts 18 : 
12. He was brother to Lucius Annaeus 
Seneca, the philosopher. Seneca was 
forced by Nero to commit suicide in 
a.d. 65. Gallio appealed for mercy but 
was put to death the following year. 
Gallio has been the type of the man who 
is supremely indifferent to all religious 
questions. This is, however, not war- 
ranted by the text, which merely in- 
tends to state that as the Roman gov- 
ernor. he let questions of Jewish re- 
ligion alone. 

Gallows. [Punishments.] 

Gama'liel (ga-ma'li-el) ( recompense 
of God). 1 . Son of Pedahzur; prince 
or captain of the tribe of Manasseh at 
the census at Sinai, Num. 1:10; 2:20; 
7 : 54, 59, and at starting on the march 
through the wilderness. Num. 10 : 23. 
(b.c. 1490.) 

2. A Pharisee and celebrated doctor 
of the law, who gave prudent worldly 
advice in the Sanhedrin respecting the 
treatment of the followers of Jesus of 
Nazareth. Acts 5:34 ff. (a.d. 34.) 

We learn from Acts 22:3 that he was 
the pr.eceptor of St. Paul. He is gen- 
erally identified with the very celebrated 
Jewish doctor Gamaliel, grandson of 
Hillel, and who is referred to' as au- 
thority in the Jewish Mishna. 

Games. Among the Greeks the rage 
for theatrical exhibitions was such that 
every city of any’ size possessed its 
theatre and stadium. At Ephesus an 
annual contest was held in honor of 
Diana. It is probable that St. Paul was 
present when these games were proceed- 
ing. A direct reference to the exhibi- 
tions that took place on such occasions 
is made in 1 Cor. 15:32. St. Paul’s 
epistles abound with allusions to the 
Greek contests, borrowed probably from 
the Isthmian games, at which he may 
well have been present during his first 
visit to Corinth. These contests, 1 Tim. 
6:12; 2 Tim. 4:7, were divided into 
two classes, the pancratium, consisting 


of boxing and wrestling, and the pen- 
tathlon, consisting of leaping, running, 
quoiting, hurling the spear and wrest- 
ling. The competitors, 1 Cor. 9 : 25 ; 2 
Tim. 2:5, required a long and severe 
course of previous training, 1 Tim. 4, 
8, during which a particular diet was 
enforced. 1 Cor. 9 : 25, 27. In the Olym- 
pic contests these preparatory exercises 
extended over a period of ten months, 
during the last of which they were con- 
ducted under the supervision of appoint- 
ed officers. The contests took place in 
the presence of a vast multitude of 
spectators, Heb. 12 : 1, the competitors 
being the spectacle. 1 Cor. 4:9; Heb. 
10 : 33. The games were opened by the 
proclamation of a herald, 1 Cor. 9: 27, 
whose office it was to give out the name 
and country of each candidate, and 
especially to announce the name of the 
victor before the assembled multitude. 
The judge was selected for his spotless 
integrity, 2 Tim. 4:8; his office was to 
decide any disputes, Col. 3 : 15, and to 
give the prize, 1 Cor. 9 : 24 ; 'Phil. 3 : 14, 
consisting of a crown, 2 Tim. 2:5; 4 : 
8, of leaves of wild olive at the Olym- 
pic games, and of pine, or at one period 
ivy, at the Isthmian games. St. Paul 
alludes to two only out of the five con- 
tests, boxing and running, more fre- 
quently to the latter. . The Jews had 
no public games, the great feasts of 
religion supplying them with anniver- 
sary occasions of national gatherings. 

Gam'madim (gam'ma-dim) . This 
word occurs only in.Ezek. 27:11 as 
people in the towers of Tyre. A va- 
riety of explanations of the term have 
been offered, nearly all of which are 
based on the supposition of a slight 
error of the copyist, and upon none of 
which do modern scholars agree. 

Ga'mul (ga'mul) {weaned), a priest, 
the leader of the twenty-second course 
in the service of the sanctuary. 1 
Chron. 24 : 17. 

Garden. Gardens in the East, as the 
Hebrew word indicates, are enclosures 
on the outskirts of towns, planted with 
various trees and shrubs. From the 
allusions in the Bible we learn that they 
were surrounded by hedges of thorn, 
Isa. 5:5, or walls of stone. Prov. 24 : 
31. For further protection lodges, Isa. 
1:8; Lam. '2:6, or watchtowers, Mark 
12 : 1, were built in them, in which sat 
the keeper, Job 27 : 18, to drive away 
the wild beasts and robbers, as is the 


GAR 


211 


GAT 


case to this day. The gardens of the 
Hebrews were planted with flowers and 
aromatic shrubs, Cant. 6:2; 4:16, be- 
sides olives, fig trees, nuts or walnuts. 
Cant. 6 : 11, pomegranates, and others 
for domestic use. Ex. 23 : 11 ; Jer. 29 : 
5; Amos 9:14. Gardens of herbs, or 
kitchen gardens, are mentioned in Deut. 
11 : 10 and 1 Kings 21 : 2. The rose 
garden in Jerusalem, said to have been 
situated westward of the temple mount, 
is remarkable as having been one of the 
few gardens which, from the time of 
the prophets, existed within the city 
walls. The retirement of gardens ren- 
dered them favorite places for devotion. 

Ga'reb (ga'reb) (scabby), one of the 
heroes of David’s army. 2 Sam. 23 : 
38. 

Ga'reb, The hill, in the neighborhood 
of Jerusalem, named only in Jer. 31: 39. 

Garlic, Num. 11:5, is the Allium sa- 
tivum of Linnaeus, which abounds in 
Egypt. 

Garment. [Dress.] 

Gar'mite (gar'mite), The. Keilah 
the Garmite is mentioned in the obscure 
genealogical lists of the families of 
Judah. 1 Chron. 4:19. The meaning 
of the word is unknown. 

Garrison. The Hebrew words so 
rendered in the Authorized Version are 
derivatives from the root ndtsab, to 
“ place, erect,” which may be applied 
to a variety of objects. (1) Mattsab 
and mattsabah undoubtedly mean a 
“ garrison ” or fortified post. 1 Sam. 
13 : 23 ; 14 : 1, 4, 12, 15 ; 2 Sam. 23 : 14. 
(2) Netsib is also used for a “garri- 
son ” in 1 Chron. 11 : 16, but elsewhere 
for a “ column ” erected in an enemy’s 
country as a token of conquest. 1 Sam. 
13:3. (3) The same word elsewhere 

means “ officers ” placed over a van- 
quished people. 2 Sam. 8:6, 14 ; 1 
Chron. 18:13; 2 Chron. 17:2. (4) 

Mattsebah in Ezek. 26 : 11 means a 
“ pillar.” 

Gash'mu, a variation of the name 
Geshem. Neh. 6 : 6. 

Ga'tam (puny), the fourth son of 
Eliphaz the son of Esau, Gen. 36 : 11 ; 1 
Chron. 1:36, and one of the “ dukes ” 
of Eliphaz ; Gen. 36 : 16. 

Gate. The gates and gateways of 
eastern cities anciently held and still 
hold an important part, not only in the 
defence but in the public economy of 
the place. They are thus sometimes 
taken as representing the city itself. 


Gen. 22 : 17 ; 24 : 60 ; Deut. 12:12; Judges 
5:8; Ruth 4 : 10 ; Ps. 87 : 2 ; 122 : 2. 
Among the special purposes for which 
they were used may be mentioned — (1) 
As places of public resort. Gen. 19 : 1 ; 
23 : 10 ; 34 : 20, 24 ; 1 Sam. 4 : 18, etc. (2) 
Places for public deliberation, adminis- 
tration of justice, or of audience for 
kings and rulers or ambassadors. Deut. 
16 : 18 ; 21 : 19 ; 25:7; Josh. 20 : 4 ; Judges 
9 : 35, etc. (3) Public markets. 2 



the golden gate, on east of the Temple Area, 
Jerusalem (now closed). 


Kings 7:1. In heathen towns the open 
spaces near the gates appear to have 
been sometimes used as places for sacri- 
fice. Acts 14 : 13 ; comp. 2 Kings 23 : 8. 
Regarded therefore as positions of great 
importance, the gates of cities were 
carefully guarded, and closed at night- 
fall. Deut. 3:5; Josh. 2:5, 7; Judges 
9 : 40, 44. They contained chambers 

over the gateway. 2 Sam. 18 : 24. The 
doors themselves of the larger gates 
mentioned in Scripture were two-leaved, 
plated with metal, closed with locks and 
fastened with metal bars. Deut. 3:5; 
Ps. 107:16; Isa. 45:1, 2. Gates not 
defended by metal were of course lia- 
ble to be set on fire by an enemy. 
Judges 9 : 52. The gateways of royal 
palaces and even of private houses were 
often richly ornamented. Sentences 
from the law were inscribed on and 
above the gates. Deut. 6:9; Isa. 54 : 
12 ; Rev. 21 : 21. The gates of Solo- 
mon’s temple were very massive and 



GAT 


212 


GEB 


costly, being overlaid with gold and 
carvings. 1 Kings 6:34, 35 ; 2 Kings 
18: 16. Those of the holy place were of 
olive wood, two-leaved and overlaid with 
gold ; those of the temple of cypress. 

1 Kings 6:31, 32, 34; Ezek. 41:23, 24. 

Gath (gath) ( a wine-press) , one of 

the five royal cities of the Philistines, 
Josh. 13 : 3 ; 1 Sam. 6 : 17, and the na- 
tive place of the giant Goliath, 1 Sam. 
17 : 4, 23. It probably stood upon the 
conspicuous hill now called Tell-es- 
Safieh, upon the side of the plain of 
Philistia, at the foot of the mountains 
of Judah; 10 miles east of Ashdod, and 
about the same distance south by east 
of Ekron. It is irregular in form, and 
about 300 feet high. Gath occupied a 
strong position, 2 Chron. 11 : 8, on the 
border of Judah and Philistia, 1 Sam. 
21 : 10 ; 1 Chron. 18 : 1 ; and from its 
strength and resources forming the key 
of both countries, it was the scene of 
frequent struggles, and was often cap- 
tured and recaptured* 2 Kings 12 : 17 ; 

2 Chron. 11:8; 26 : 6 ; Amos 6 : 2. The 
ravages of war to which Gath was ex- 
posed appear to have destroyed it at a 
comparatively early period, as it is not 
mentioned among the other royal cities 
by the later prophets. Zeph. 2:4; Zech. 
9:5, 6. It is familiar to the Bible stu- 
dent as the scene of one of the most 
romantic incidents in the life of King 
David. 1 Sam. 21 : 10-15. 

Gath=he'pher (gath-he'fer) , or Git'= 
tah=he'pher ( wine-press of digging), a 
town on the border of the territory of 
Zebulun, not far from Japhia, now 
Yafa, Josh. 19 : 12, 13, celebrated as the 
native place of the prophet Jonah. 2 
Kings 14 : 25. El-Mesh-had, a village 
two miles east of Sefurieh, is the an- 
cient Gath-hepher. 

Gath=rim'mon (gath-rim'mon) ( press 
of the pomegranate) . 1 . A city given 

out of the tribe of Dan to the Levites. 
Josh. 21:24; 1 Chron. 6:69, situated 
on the plain of Philistia, apparently not 
far from Joppa. Josh. 19 : 45. 

2. A town of the half tribe of Manas- 
seh west of the Jordan, assigned to the 
Levites. Josh. 21:25. The reading 
Gathrimmon is probably an error of 
the transcribers for Ibleam. 

Ga'za (ga'za) ( the fortified; the 
strong) (Hebrew Azzah), one of the 
five chief cities of the Philistines. It 
is remarkable for its continuous exist- 
ence and importance from the very 


earliest times. The secret of this un- 
broken history is to be found in the 
situation of Gaza. It is the last town 
in the southwest of Palestine, on the 
frontier towards Egypt. The same pe- 
culiarity of situation has made Gaza 
important in a military sense. Its name 
means “the strong;” and this was well 
elucidated in its siege by Alexander the 
Great, which lasted five months. In the 
conquest of Joshua the territory of Gaza 
is mentioned as one which he was not 
able to subdue. Josh. 10 : 41 ; 11 : 22 ; 13 : 
3. It was assigned to the tribe of Judah, 
Josh. 15 : 47, and that tribe did obtain 
possession of it, Judges 1 : 18, but did 
not hold it long, Judges 3:3: 13 : 1, and 
apparently it continued through the 
times of Samuel, Saul and David to be 
a Philistine city. 1 Sam. 6 : 17 ; 14 : 52 ; 
31:1; 2 Sam. 21:15. Solomon became 
master of “ Azzah,” 1 Kings 4 : 24 ; but 
in after times the same trouble with the 
Philistines recurred. 2 Chron. 21:16; 
26:6; 28 : 18. The passage where Gaza 
is mentioned in the New Testament 
(Acts 8:26) is full of interest. It is 
the account of the baptism of the Ethio- 
pian eunuch on his return from Jerusa- 
lem to Egypt. Gaza is the modern 
Ghuzzeh, a Mohammedan town of about 
16,000 inhabitants, situated partly on 
an oblong hill of moderate height and 
partly on the lower ground. The cli- 
mate of the place is almost tropical, 
but it has deep wells of excellent water. 
There are a few palm trees in the town, 
and its fruit orchards are very produc- 
tive ; but the chief feature of the neigh- 
borhood is the widespread olive grove 
to the north and northeast. 

Ga'zathites (ga'zath-ites), The, Josh. 
13 : 3, the inhabitants of Gaza. 

Ga'zer (ga'zer). 2 Sam. 5:25; 1 

Chron. 14:16. [Gezer.] 

Ga'zez (ga'zez) {shearer), a name 
which occurs twice in 1 Chron. 2 : 46 — 
first as son of Caleb by Ephah his con- 
cubine, and second as son of Haran, the 
son of the same woman. The second 
is possibly only a repetition of the first. 

Ga'zites (ga'zites), The, inhabitants 
of Gaza. Judges 16 : 2. 

Gaz'zam (gaz'zam) {devour). The 
Bene-Gazzam were among the families 
of the Nethinim who returned from 
the captivity with Zerubbabel. Ezra 2: 
48; Neh. 7: 51. 

Ge'ba (ge'ba) {a hill), a city of Ben- 
jamin, with “suburbs,” allotted to the 


GEB 


213 


GEM 


priests. Josh. 21 : 17 ; 1 Chron. 6 : 60. 
It is named amongst the first group of 
the Benjamite towns — apparently those 
lying near to and along the north boun- 
dary. Josh. 18:24. Here the name is 
given as Gaba. During the wars of the 
earlier part of the reign of Saul, Geba 
was held as a garrison by the Philis- 
tines, 1 Sam. 13 : 3, but they were 
ejected by Jonathan. It is now the 
modern village of Jeba, which stands 
picturesquely on the top of its steep ter- 
raced hill, six miles north of Jerusalem, 
on the very edge of the great Wady 
Suweinit, looking northward to the op- 
posite village of ancient Michmash, 
which also retains its old name of Mukh- 
mas. 

Ge'bal (ge'bal) (mountain) , a mari- 
time town of Phoenicia, near Tyre, 
Ezek. 27 : 9 ; known by the Greeks as 
Byblus. It is called Jebail by the Arabs, 
thus reviving the old biblical name. 

Ge'ber (ge'ber) (man). 1. The son 
of Geber resided in the fortress of 
Ramoth-gilead, and had charge of 
Havoth-jair and the district of Argob. 
1 Kings 4 : 13. 

2. Geber the son of Uri had a district 
south of the former — the “ land of Gil- 
ead.” 1 Kings 4 : 19. 

Ge'bim (ge'bim) (the trenches), a 
village north of Jerusalem, Isa. 10 : 31. 
Its exact site is unknown, but it may 
possibly be the modern Jebia. 

Gedaliah (ged-a-li'ah) (Jehovah is 
great), son of Ahikam (Jeremiah’s pro- 
tector, Jer. 26 : 24) and grandson of 
Shaphan the secretary of King Josiah. 
After the destruction of the temple, 
b.c. 586, Nebuchadnezzar departed from 
Judea, leaving Gedaliah with a Chaldean 
guard, Jer. 40 : 5, at Mizpah to govern 
the vine-dressers and husbandmen, Jer. 
52 : 16, who were exempted from cap- 
tivity. Jeremiah joined Gedaliah ; and 
Mizpah became the resort of Jews from 
various quarters. Jer. 40 : 6, 11. He 
was murdered by Ishmael two months 
after his appointment. 

Ged'eon (ged'e-on). The Greek 
form of the Hebrew name Gideon. 
Heb. 11 : 32 L 

Ge'der (ge'der) (a wall). The king 
of Geder was one of the thirty-one 
kings who were overcome by Joshua on 
the west of the Jordan. Josh. 12:13. 
(b.c. 1451.) It is possible that it may 
be the same place as the Gedor named 
in 1 Chron. 4 : 39. 


Gede'rah (ge-de'rah) (a sheep fold), 
a town of Judah in the lowland coun- 
try? Josh. 15 : 36, apparently in its east- 
ern part. It is the modern Jedireh in 
the Shefaleh. There apparently was an- 
other place of the same name in Ben- 
jamin. 

Ged'erathite (ged'e-rath-ite), The, 
the native of a place called Gederah, ap- 
parently in Benjamin. 1 Chron. 12: 4. 

Ged'erite (ged'e-rite), The, the na- 
tive of some place named Geder or 
Gederah. 1 Chron. 27 : 28. 

Gede'roth (ge-de'roth) (sheep folds), 
a town in the low country of Judah. 
Josh. 15:41; 2 Chron. 28:18. Probably 
the modern Katrah. 

Gederotha'im (ged-e-roth-a'im) (two 
sheepfolds) , a town in the low country 
of Judah, Josh. 15:36, named next in 
order to Gederah. 

Ge'dor (ge'dor) (a wall), a town in 
the mountainous part of Judah, Josh. 
15 : 58, a few miles north of Hebron. 
Robinson discovered a Jedur halfway 
between Bethlehem and Hebron, about 
two miles west of the road. 

Geha'zi (ge-ha'zi) (valley of vision), 
the servant or boy of Elisha. He was 
sent as the prophet’s messenger on two 
occasions to the good Shunammite, 2 
Kings 4 (b.c. about 850) ; obtained 

fraudulently money and garments from 
Naaman, was miraculously smitten with 
incurable leprosy, and was dismissed 
from the prophet’s service. 2 Kings 5. 
Later in the history he is mentioned 
as being engaged in relating to King 
Joram all the great things which Elisha 
had done. 2 Kings 8:4, 5. 

Gehen'na (ge-hen'na). [Hinnom.] 

Gel'iloth (gel'i-loth) (circuits), a 
place named among the marks of the 
south boundary line of the tribe of 
Benjamin. Josh. 18 : 17. The name 
Geliloth never occurs again in this lo- 
cality, and it therefore seems possible 
that Gilgal is the right reading. 

GemaI'Ii (ge-mal'li) (camel-owner), 
the father of Ammiel, the Danite spy. 
Num. 13 : 12. 

Gemari'ah (gem-a-ri'ah) (Jehovah 
hath accomplished) . 1 . Son of Shaphan 

the scribe, and father of Michaiah. He 
was one of the nobles of Judah, and 
had a chamber in the house of the Lord, 
from which Baruch read Jeremiah’s 
alarming prophecy in the ears of all 
the people, b.c. 606. Jer. 36. 

2. Son of Hilkiah, was made the 


GEM 


214 


GEN 



the traditional Gehenna, to the east of Jerusalem. 


bearer of Jeremiah’s letter to the cap- 
tive Jews. Jer. 29 : 3. (b.c. 594.) 

Gems. [Stones, Precious.] 

Genealogy. In Hebrew the term for 
genealogy or pedigree is “ the book of 
the generations and because the oldest 
histories were usually drawn up on a 
genealogical basis, the expression often 
extended to the whole history, as is the 
case with the Gospel of St. Matthew, 
where “ the book of the generation of 
Jesus Christ” includes the whole his- 
tory contained in that Gospel. The 
promise of the land of Canaan to the 
seed of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob suc- 
cessively, and the separation of the 
Israelites from the Gentile world ; the 
expectation of Messiah as to spring 
from the tribe of Judah ; the exclusively 
hereditary priesthood of Aaron with its 
dignity and emoluments ; the long suc- 
cession of kings in the line of David ; 
and the whole division and occupation 
of the land upon genealogical principles 
by the tribes, families and houses of 
fathers, gave a deeper importance to 
the science of genealogy among the 
Jews than perhaps any other nation. 
When Zerubbabel brought back the cap- 
tivity from Babylon, one of his first 
cares seems to have been to take a cen- 


sus of those that returned, and to settle 
them according to their genealogies. 
Passing on to the time of the birth of 
Christ, we have a striking incidental 
proof of the continuance of the Jewish 
genealogical economy in the fact that 
when Augustus ordered the census of 
the empire to be taken, the Jews in the 
province of Syria immediately went 
each one to his own city. The Jewish 
genealogical records continued to be 
kept till near the destruction of Jeru- 
salem. But there can be little doubt that 
the registers of the Jewish tribes and 
families perished at the destruction of 
Jerusalem, and not before. It remains 
to be said that just notions of the na- 
ture of the Jewish genealogical records 
are of great importance with a view to 
the right interpretation of Scripture. 
Let it only be remembered that these 
records have respect to political and ter-, 
ritorial divisions as much as to strictly 
genealogical descent, and it will at once 
be seen how erroneous a conclusion it 
may be that all who are called “ sons ” 
of such or such a patriarch or chief 
father must necessarily be his very chil- 
dren. If any one family or house be- 
came extinct, some other would succeed 
to its place, called after its own chief 




GEN 


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GEN 


father. Hence of course a census of 
any tribe drawn up at a later period 
would exhibit different divisions from 
one drawn up at an earlier. The same 
principle must be borne in mind in in- 
terpreting any particular genealogy. 
Again, when a pedigree was abbreviated, 
it would naturally specify such genera- 
tions as would indicate from what chief 
houses the person descended. Females 
are named in genealogies when there is 
anything remarkable about them, or 
when any right or property is trans- 
mitted through them. See Gen. 11 : 29 ; 
22 : 23 ; 25 : 1-4 ; 35 : 22-26 ; Ex. 6 : 23 ; 
Num. 26:33. 

Genealogy of Jesus Christ. The 

New Testament gives us the genealogy 
of but one person, that of our Saviour. 
This is given because it was important 
to prove that Jesus fulfilled the proph- 
ecies spoken of him. Only as the son 
and heir of David could he be the Mes- 
siah. The following propositions will 
explain the true construction of these 
genealogies: — (1) They are both the 
genealogies of Joseph, i. e. of Jesus 
Christ as the reputed and legal son of 
Joseph and Mary. (2) The genealogy 
of St. Matthew is Joseph’s genealogy as 
legal successor to the throne of David. 
St. Luke’s is Joseph’s private genealogy, 
exhibiting his real birth as David’s son, 
and thus showing why he was heir to 
Solomon’s crown. The simple principle 
that one evangelist exhibits that gen- 
ealogy which contained the successive 
heirs to David’s and Solomon’s throne, 
while the other exhibits the paternal 
stem of him who was the heir, ex- 
plains all the anomalies of the two pedi- 
grees, their agreements as well as their 
discrepancies, and the circumstance of 
there being two at all. (3) Mary, the 
mother of Jesus, was in all probability 
the daughter of Jacob, and first cousin 
to Joseph her husband. Thus: 

Matt. Matthan or Matthat Luke. 


Jacob Heli 

I Matt, and Luke. 


Mary=Jacob’s heir was Joseph 

Jesus, called Christ 

Godet, Lange and many others take 
the ground that Luke gives the gen- 
ealo r v of Mary, rendering Luke 3 : 23 
thus: Jesus “being (as was supposed ) 


the son of Joseph (but in reality ) the 
son of Heli.” In this case Mary, as 
declared in the Targums, was the 
daughter of Heli, and Heli was the 
grandfather of Jesus. Mary’s name 
was omitted because “ ancient sentiment 
did not comport with the mention of 
the mother as the genealogical link.” 
So we often find in the Old Testament 
the grandson called the son. This view 
has this greatly in its favor, that it 
shows that Jesus was not merely the 
legal but the actual descendant of David; 
and it would be very strange that in 
the gospel accounts, where so much is 
made of Jesus being the son and heir 
of David and of his kingdom, his real 
descent from David should not be 
given. 

Generation. In the long-lived patri- 
archal age a generation seems to have 
been computed at 100 years, Gen. 15 : 16, 
comp. 13, and Ex. 12 : 40 ; but subse- 
quently the reckoning was the same 
which has been adopted by modern civ- 
ilized nations, viz. from thirty to forty 
years. Job 42:16. Generation is also 
used, to signify the men of an age or 
time, as contemporaries, Gen. 6:9; Isa. 
53 : 8 ; posterity, especially in legal for- 
mulae, Lev. 3 : 17, etc. ; fathers, or an- 
cestors. Ps. 49 : 19. 

Gen'esis (origin), the first book of 
the law or Pentateuch, so called from its 
title in the Septuagint, that is, Creation. 

Professor Moulton, with true literary 
intuition, sees that “ the portion of the 
Bible devoted to history seems to present 
a singularly clear historic whole; clear, 
not through a unity of plan laid down 
by a single writer, but through the 
sheer force of national consciousness 
animating each annalist or editor. 
History was to them the Chosen Nation 
exercising its commission to represent 
God to the nations.” 

Of the five great stages of the Bible 
history, Genesis is the first and describes 
the Formation of the Chosen Nation, 
“making a sketch map of general his- 
tory into which the story of the coming 
nation can be fitted. Within this part 
two lesser divisions, or books, may be 
distinguished. 

The first might be entitled The Be- 
ginnings of Things : essentials of world 
history viewed from their bearing upon 
the Chosen Nation, previous to the call 
of Abraham. 

The second book presents the Chosen 


GEN 


216 


GER 


People as a Patriarchal Family; follow- 
ing the fortunes of Abraham and his 
descendants in Canaan, the land prom- 
ised to their seed, until the strange in- 
cidents which bring them, in the third 
generation, into Egypt. Both books may 
in their general character be called 
Primitive History. The greater part of 
them is made up of incidents related 
with an epic simplicity suited to recol- 
lections of the world’s infancy.” Many 
of the stories bring out the careful sift- 
ing of the seed that is to inherit the 
promises. 

The early part of Genesis has the air 
of being made up of selections from 
very ancient documents, written by dif- 
ferent authors at different periods. The 
variety which is observable in the names 
and titles of the Supreme Being is ap- 
pealed to among the most striking 
proofs of this fact. This is obvious 
in the English translation, but still more 
so in the Hebrew original. In Gen. 
1 to 2:3, which is really one piece of 
composition, as the title, v. 4, “ These 
are the generations,” shows, the name of 
the Most High is uniformly Elohim, 
God, In ch. 2:4 to ch. 3, which may 
be considered the second document, the 
title is uniformly Y ehovah Elohim, Lord 
God; and in the third, including ch. 4, 
it is Y ehovah, Lord, only; while in ch. 
5 it is Elohim, God, only, except in v. 
29, where a quotation is made, and 
Y ehovah used. It is hardly conceivable 
that all this should be the result of mere 
accident. 

Late discoveries have shown that 
writing was practised long before the 
time of Moses. We have laws of Ham- 
murabi before Abraham’s time, and the 
Amarna letters as early as 1500 b.c. 

Modern critics distinguish at least 
four documents interwoven in Genesis, 
documents of different dates from 900 
b.c. to the time of the Exile. Space 
forbids any discussion of these theories, 
which would make Genesis a book chiefly 
of myths and legends. 

It is noteworthy that there are no un- 
answerable arguments against the tra- 
ditional early date of Genesis. That 
most of the contradictions found by 
the critics are made by the separation of 
the narrative into parts and assuming 
that each interwoven part is the whole 
of a story and not a selected portion. 

Most moral difficulties are avoided by 
realizing that divine revelation of truth 
is one thing, and the record of how 


people lived up* to it in their gradual 
development is another. 

Many of the narratives are traced 
by many critics to Babylonian legends, 
while other equally learned scholars 
think that is quite possible, even prob- 
able, that these pure and beautiful 
stories were the original facts ; and the 
Babylonian and other legends are their 
degenerate children. 

Gennes'aret (gen-nes'a-ret) ( garden 
of the princes), Land of. It is gen- 
erally believed that this term was ap- 
plied to the fertile crescent-shaped plain 
on the western shore of the lake, ex- 
tending from Khan Minyeh two or 
three miles south of Capernaum ( Tel - 
Hum ) on the north to the steep hill 
behind Mejdel ( Magdala ) on the south, 
and called by the Arabs el-Ghuweir, 
“ the little Ghor.” Its length is about 
2 y 2 miles, and its breadth one mile. 
Josephus speaks of its wonderful fer- 
tility and its genial air. Additional in- 
terest is given to the land of Gennes- 
aret, or el-Ghuweir, by the probability 
that its scenery suggested the parable 
of the sower. It is mentioned only 
twice in Scripture — Matt. 14 : 34 ; Mark 
6 : 53. Compare Luke 5 : 1. 

Gennes'aret, Sea of. [See Galilee, 
Sea of.] 

Gennes'areth (gen-nes'a-reth). In- 
accurately written for Gennesaret. 

Gen'tiles (nations). All the people 
who were not Jews were so called by 
them, being aliens from the worship, 
rites and privileges of Israel. The word 
was used contemptuously by them. In 
the New Testament Greek is used as its 
synonym. This use of the word seems 
to have arisen from the almost universal 
adoption of the Greek language. 

Genu'bath (ge-nu'bath), the son of 
Hadad, an Edomite of the royal family, 
by an Egyptian princess, the sister of 
Tahpenes, the queen of the Pharaoh 
who governed Egypt in the latter part 
of the reign of David. 1 Kings 11: 
20; comp. 16. 

Ge'ra (ge'ra) ( a grain), one of the 
sons, or descendants, of Benjamin. 
Gen. 46 : 21. Gera, who is named, 
Judges 3 : 15, as the ancestor of Ehud, 
and in 2 Sam. 16:5 as the ancestor of 
Shimei who cursed David, is probably 
also the same person (though some 
consider them different persons). 

Gerah (ge'rah). [Weights and 
Measures.] 


GER 


217 


GET 


Ge'rar (ge'riir), a very ancient city 
south of Gaza. It is named in Genesis, 
10 : 19 ; 20 : 1 ; 26 : 17 ; also incidentally 
in 2 Chron. 14 : 13, 14. Its territory 
must have trenched on the “ south ” or 
“ south country ” of later Palestine. 
From a comparison of Gen. 21:32 with 
26 : 23, 26, Beersheba would seem to be 
just on the verge of this territory, and 
perhaps to be its limit towards the 
northeast. 

Gerasenes'. Mark 5:1; Luke 8 : 26, 
Revised Version. [See Gadarenes.] 

Gergesenes'. [See Gadarenes.] 

Ger'izim (ger'i-zim) (cutters), a 
limestone mountain, 2849 feet high (800 
feet above the valley at its foot), in 
Ephraim, near Shechem (Sychar), from 
which the blessings were read to the 
Israelites on entering Canaan. [See 
Ebal.] According to the traditions of 
the Samaritans it was here that Abra- 
ham sacrificed Isaac, that Melchizedek 
met the patriarch, that Jacob built an 
altar, and at its base dug a well, the 
ruins of which are still seen. There 
are enough grounds for the first belief 
to make it plausible, according to many 
scholars, e. g. Stanley. Still general 
opinion is against it. [See Moriah.] 
Gerizim was the site of the Samaritan 
temple, which was built there after the 
captivity, in rivalry with the temple at 
Jerusalem. [See Samaritans.] Geri- 
zim is still to the Samaritans what Jeru- 
salem is to the Jews and Mecca to the 
Mohammedans. The ruins of the old 
temple are still visible. 

Ger'shom (ger'shom) (a stranger or 
exile). 1. The first-born son of Moses 
and Zipporah. Ex. 2 : 22 ; 18 : 3. (b.c. 

about 1530.) 

2. The form under which the name 
Gershon — the eldest son of Levi — is 
given in several passages of Chronicles, 
viz., 1 Chron. 6:16, 17, 20, 43, 62, 71; 
15: 7. 

3. The representative of the priestly 

family of Phinehas, among those who 
accompanied Ezra from Babylon. Ezra 
8:2. (b.c. 458.) 

Ger'shon (ger'shon) (exile), the eld- 
est of three sons of Levi, born before 
the descent of Jacob’s family into 
Egypt. Gen. 46:11; Ex. 6:16. (b.c. 

before 1706.) But, though the eldest 
born, the families of Gershon were out- 
stripped in fame by their younger 
brethren of Kohath, from whom sprang. 
Moses and the priestly line of Aaron. 


Ger'shonites (ger'shon-ites), The, 
the family descended from Gershon or 
Gershom, the son of Levi. “ The Ger- 
shonite,” as applied to individuals, oc- 
curs in 1 Chron. 26 : 21. The sons of 
Gershon (the Gershonites) had charge 
of the fabrics of the tabernacle— the 
coverings, curtains, hangings and cords. 
Num. 3 : 25, 26 ; 4 : 25, 26. 

Ge'ruth=Chim'ham (ge-ruth-chim'- 
ham), in Authorized Version “the 
habitation of Chimham.” Jer. 41:17. 
The R. V. margin also gives “ lodging 
place.” It is undecided whether it is 
a proper name, the name of a Khan 
or inn established by Chimham the 
son of Barzillai (2 Sam. 19:37), or the 
“ hurdles ” or “ sheep-pens ” — repre- 
senting the pastoral property of the 
family. 

Ge'sham (ge'sham) (correctly writ- 
ten Geshan), one of the sons of Jahdai, 
in the genealogy of Judah and family 
of Caleb. 1 Chron. 2 : 47. 

Ge'shem (ge'shem) and Gash'mu 
(gash'mu) (rain), an Arabian, men- 
tioned in Neh. 2:19 and 6:1, 2, 6. 
(b.c. 446.) We may conclude that he 
was an inhabitant of Arabia Petnea, 
or of the Arabian Desert, and probably 
the chief of a tribe. “ Gashmu saith it ” 
made him a type of those who create a 
common report. 

Ge'shur (ge'shur) (a bridge), a lit- 
tle principality of Syria, northeast of 
Bashan. Deut. 3 : 14 ; 2 Sam. 15 : 8. 

David married the daughter of its ruler, 
and- Absalom, a son of the marriage 
took refuge there after the murder of 
Amnon. Its exact site is extremely 
doubtful, several being proposed. 

Gesh'uri (gesh'u-ri) and Gesh'urites 
(gesh'u-rites). 1. The inhabitants of 
Geshur. Deut. 3:14; Josh. 12:5; 13: 
11 . 

2. An ancient tribe which dwelt in the 
desert between Arabia and Philistia. 
Josh. 13:2; 1 Sam. 27:8. This is con- 
sidered by some scholars as the same 
as 1. 

Ge'ther (ge'ther), the third in order 
of the sons of Aram. Gen. 10:23. No 
satisfactory trace of the people sprung 
from this stock has been found. 

Gethsem'a=ne (geth-sem'a-ne) (an 
oil-press), a small “place,” Matt. 26: 
36 ; Mark 14 : 32, situated across the 
brook Kedron, John 18 : 1, probably at 
the foot of Mount Olivet, Luke 22 : 39, 
east of Jerusalem. What is meant by the 


GET 


218 


GIA 



term translated “ place ” is a piece of 
ground enclosed by a fence of some sort. 
There is no doubt that there was a “ gar- 
den,” or rather orchard, attached to it, 
to which the olive, fig and pomegranate 
doubtless invited resort by their hos- 
pitable shade. And we know from the 
evangelists Luke, 22:39, and John, 18 : 
2, that our Lord ofttimes resorted 
thither with his disciples. But Gethsem- 
ane has not come down to us as a 


ancient olive tree, in the garden of Gethsemane. 


scene of mirth; its inexhaustible asso- 
ciations are the offspring of a single 
event— the agony of the Son of God 
on the evening preceding his passion. 
A garden, with eight venerable olive 
trees, and a _ grotto to the north, de- 
tached from it, and transformed into a 
Latin Sanctuary — the Grotto of the 
Agony,— is pointed out as the Geth- 
semane. Against the contemporary an- 
tiquity of the olive trees it has been 
urged that Titus cut down all the trees 
about Jerusalem. The probability 
would seem to be that they were planted 
by Christian hands to mark the spot; 
unless, like the sacred olive of the Ac- 


ropolis, they may have reproduced them- 
selves. 

Geu'el (ge-u'el) ( majesty of God), 
the Gadite spy. Num. 13 : 15. (b.c. 

1490.) 

Ge'zer (ge'zer) ( a place cut off), an 
ancient city of Canaan, whose king, 
Horam or Elam, coming to the as- 
sistance of Lachish, was killed with all 
his people by Joshua. Josh. 10:33; 12: 
12. It formed one of the landmarks on 
the south boundary of Eph- 
raim, between the lower 
Beth-horon and the Medi- 
terranean, Josh. 16:3, the 
western limit of the tribe. 

1 Chron. 7 : 28. It was al- 
lotted with its suburbs t o 
the Kohathite Levites, Josh. 
21 : 21 ; 1 Chron. 6 : 67 ; but 
the original inhabitants 
were not dispossessed, 
Judges 1:29, and even 
down to the reign of Solo- 
mon the Canaanites were 
still dwelling there, and 
paying tribute to Israel, 1 
Kings 9 : 16. It was burned 
by Pharaoh i n Solomon’s 
time, 1 Kings 9 : 15-17, and 
given to Solomon’s Egyp- , 
tian wife, and rebuilt b‘y 
him. Now Tell Jezcr, 4 
miles from the ancient 
Nicopolis, near the road 
from Jaffa to Jerusalem. 

Gez'rites (gez'rites), R. 
V. Girzites. A name given 
in connection with Geshur- 
ites and Amalekites in 1 
Sam. 27 : 8. 1 1 i s thought 

by some to denote “inhab- 
itants o f Gezer.” Others 
connect the name with Geri- 

zim. 

Gi'ah (gi'ah) ( gushing forth), a 
place named only in 2 Sam. 2:24 to 
designate the position of the hill Am- 
mah. 

Giants, men of extraordinary size or 
height. 1. They are first spoken of in 
Gen. 6 : 4, under the name Nephilim. 
We are told in Gen. 6: 1-4 that “there 
were Nephilim in the earth,” and that 
afterwards the “ sons of God ” mingling 
with the beautiful “ daughters of men ” 
produced a race of violent and insolent 
Gibborim (Authorized Version “ mighty 
men ”). 

2. The Rephaim , a name which fre- 



GIB 


219 


GID 


quently occurs. The earliest mention 
of them is the record of their defeat by 
Chedorlaomer and some allied kings at 
Ashteroth Karnaim. The “ valley of 
Rephaim,” 2 Sam. 5 : 18 ; 1 Chron. 11 : 
15 ; Isa. 17 : 5, a rich valley southwest of 
Jerusalem, derived its name from them. 
They were probably an aboriginal peo- 
ple of which the Emim, Anakim and 
Zuzim were branches. [See also Go- 
liath.] 

Gib'bar (gib'bar) ( a hero), the 
father of some who returned with 
Zerubbabel from Babylon. Ezra 2 : 20. 

Gib'bethon (gd/be-thon) (height), a 
town allotted to the tribe of Dan, Josh. 
19 : 44, and afterwards given with its 
“ suburbs ” to the Kohathite Levites, 
Josh. 21: 23. 

Gib'ea (gib'e-a) (a hill). Sheva 
“ the father of Macbenah ” and “ father 
of Gibea ” is mentioned with other 
names, unmistakably those of places and 
not persons, among the descendants of 
Judah. 1 Chron. 2 : 49, comp. 42. Prob- 
ably a variation of the familiar Gibeah. 

Gib'e=ah (gib'e-ah), a word employed 
in the Bible to denote a hill. Like most 
words of this kind it gave its name to 
several towns and places in Palestine, 
which would doubtless be generally on 
or near a hill. They are — 1. Gibeah, a 
city in the mountain district of Judah, 
named with Maon and the southern 
Carmel, Josh. 15 : 57 ; and comp. 1 
Chron. 2 : 49, etc. 

2. Gibeah of Benjamin first appears 
in the tragical story of the Levite and 
his concubine. Judges 19, 20. It was 
then a “ city,” with the usual open street 
or square, Judges 19:15, 17, 20, and 
containing 700 “chosen men,” ch. 20: 
15, probably the same whose skill as 
slingers is preserved in the next verse. 
In many particulars Gibeah agrees 
very closely with Tuleil-el-Ful, a con- 
spicuous eminence just four miles north 
of Jerusalem, to the right of the road. 
We next meet with Gibeah of Benjamin 
during the Philistine wars of Saul and 
Jonathan. 1 Sam. 13:15, 16. It now 
bears its full title. As “ Gibeah of 
Benjamin” this place is referred to in 
2 Sam. 23:29 (comp. 1 Chron. 11:31), 
and as “ Gibeah ” it is mentioned by 
Hosea, 5:8; 9:9; 10 : 9, but it does not 
again appear in the history. It is, how- 
ever, almost without doubt identical 
with 

3. Gibeah of Saul. This is not men- 


tioned as Saul’s city till after his 
anointing, 1 Sam. 10 : 26, when he is 
said to have gone “ home ” to Gibeah. 
In the subsequent narrative the town 
bears its full name, ch. 11 : 4. 

4. Gibeah in Kirjath-jearim was no 
doubt a hill in that city, and the place 
in which the ark remained from the 
time of its return by the Philistines till 
its removal by David. 2 Sam. 6:3, 4 ; 
comp. 1 Sam. 7:1. 2. R. Y. translates 
“the hill.” 

Gib'e=ath (gib'e-ath), probably the 
same as Gibeah of Benjamin. Josh. 
18 : 28. 

Gib'eon (gib'e-on) ( hill city), one of 
the four cities of the Hivites, the in- 
habitants of which made a league with 
Joshua, Josh. 9 : 3-15, and thus escaped 
the fate of Jericho and Ai. Comp. ch. 
11 : 19. Gibeon lay within the territory 
of Benjamin, ch. 18:25, and with its 
“ suburbs ” was allotted to the priests, 
ch. 21 : 17, of whom it became after- 
wards a principal station. It retains its 
ancient name almost intact, el-Jib. Its 
distance from Jerusalem by the main 
road is about 6^4 miles; but there is a 
more direct road reducing it to 5 miles. 

Gib'eonites (gib'e-on-ites), The, the 
people of Gibeon, and perhaps also of 
the three cities associated with Gibeon, 
Josh. 9:17 — Hivites; and who, on the 
discovery of the stratagem by which 
they had obtained the protection of the 
Israelites, were condemned to be per- 
petual bondmen, hewers of wood and 
drawers of water for the congregation, 
and for the house of God and altar of 
Jehovah. Josh. 9:23, 27. Saul appears 
to have broken this covenant, and in a 
fit of enthusiasm or patriotism to have 
devised a general massacre. 2 Sam. 21 : 
1, 2, 5. This was expiated many years 
after by giving up seven men of Saul’s 
descendants to the Gibeonites, who hung 
them “ before Jehovah ” in Gibeah, 
Saul’s own town, ch. 21 : 4, 6, 9. 

Gib'lites (gib'lites), The. [Gebal.] 

Giddal'ti (gid-dal'ti) (I magnified) , 
one of the sons of Heman, the king’s 
seer. 1 Chron. 25 : 4. 

Gid'del (gid'del) (very great). 1. 
Children of Giddel were among the 
Nethinim who returned from the cap- 
tivity with Zerubbabel. Ezra 2:47; 
Neh. 7:49. 

2. Bene-Giddel were also among the 
“ servants of Solomon ” who returned 


GID 


220 


GIL 


to Judea in the same caravan. Ezra 2: 
56; Neh. 7:58. 

Gid'eon (gid'e-on) (he that cuts 
down), youngest son of Joash of the 
Abiezrites, an undistinguished family 
who lived at Ophrah, a town probably 
on the west of Jordan, Judges 6 : 15, in 
the territory of Manasseh, near Shechem. 
He was the fifth recorded judge of 
Israel, and for many reasons the great- 
est of them all. When we first hear 
of him he was grown up and had sons. 
Judges 6:11; 8: 20; and from the apos- 
trophe of the angel, ch. 6:12, we may 
conclude that he had already distin- 
guished himself in war against the rov- 
ing bands of nomadic robbers who had 
oppressed Israel for seven years. When 
the angel appeared, Gideon was thresh- 
ing wheat with a flail in the wine-press, 
to conceal it from, the predatory tyrants. 
His call to be a deliverer, and his de- 
struction of Baal’s altar, are related in 
Judges 6. After this begins the second 
act of Gideon’s life. Clothed by the 
Spirit of God, Judges 6:34; comp. 1 
Chron. 12 : 18 ; Luke 24 : 49, he blew a 
trumpet, and was joined by Zebulun, 
Naphtali and even the reluctant Asher. 
Strengthened by a double sign from 
God, he reduced his army of 32,000 by 
the usual proclamation. Deut. 20 : 8 ; 
comp. 1 Macc. 3 : 56. By a second test 
at “ the spring of trembling ” he further 
reduced the number of his followers to 
300. Judges 7 : 5, seq. The midnight 
attack upon the Midianites, their panic, 
and the rout and slaughter that fol- 
lowed, are told in Judges 7. The 
memory of this splendid deliverance 
took deep root in the national tradi- 
tions. 1 Sam. 12:11; Ps. 83:11; Isa. 
9:4; 10:26; Heb. 11:32. After this 
there was a peace of forty years, 2nd 
we see Gideon in peaceful possession 
of his well-earned honors, and sur- 
rounded by the dignity of a numerous 
household. Judges 8 : 29-31. It is not 
improbable that, like Saul, he owed 
a part of his popularity to his princely 
appearance. Judges 8: 18. In this third 
stage of his life occur alike his most 
noble and his most questionable acts, 
viz., the refusal of the monarchy on the- 
ocratic grounds, and the irregular con- 
secration of a jewelled ephod formed 
out of the rich spoils of Midian, which 
proved to the Israelites a temptation to 
idolatry, although it was doubtless in- 


tended for use in the worship of Je- 
hovah. 

Gideo'ni (gid-e-6'ni) (my cutter 
down), a Benjamite, father of Abidan. 
Num. 1: 11; 7: 60, 65; 10: 24. 

Gi'dom (gi'dom) (cutting off), a 
place named only in Judges 20:45. It 
would appear to have been situated be- 
tween Gibeah (Tuleil-el-Ful) and the 
cliff Rimmon. 

Gier=eagle, an unclean bird men- 
tioned in Lev. 11 : 18 and Deut. 14 : 17 ; 
identical in reality as in name with the 
rakham of the Arabs, viz., the Egyptian 
vulture. 

Gift. The giving and receiving of 
presents has in all ages been not only a 
more frequent but also a more formal 
and significant proceeding in the • East 
than among ourselves. We cannot ad- 
duce a more remarkable proof of the 
important part which presents play in 
the social life of the East than the fact 
that the Hebrew language possesses no 
less than fifteen different expressions 
for the one idea. The mode of presen- 
tation was with as much parade as pos- 
sible. The refusal of a present was re- 
garded as a high indignity. No less an 
insult was it not to bring a present 
when the position of the parties de- 
manded it. 1 Sam. 10 : 27. “ This prac- 

tice may throw light upon the asking 
by the Israelites of jewels of gold and 
silver, etc., from the Egyptians.” 

Gi'hon (gi'hon) (a stream). 1. The 
second river of Paradise. Gen. 2 : 13. 
[Eden.] 

2. A place near Jerusalem, memorable 
as the scene of the anointing and proc- 
lamation of Solomon as king. 1 Kings 
1 : 33, 38, 45. 

Gil'alai (gil'a-lai), one of the priests’ 
sons at the consecration of the wall of 
Jerusalem. Neh. 12:36. (b.c. 446.) 

Gilbo'a (gil-bo'a) (a bubbling 
spring), a mountain range on the east- 
ern side of the plain of Esdraelon, 
rising over the city of Jezreel. Comp. 
1 Sam. 28 : 4 with 29 : 1. It is mentioned 
in Scripture only in connection with one 
event in Israelitish history, the defeat 
and death of Saul and Jonathan by the 
Philistines. 1 Sam. 31:1; 2 Sam. 1:6; 
21:12; 1 Chron. 10:1, 8. Of the iden- 
tity of Gilboa with the ridge which 
stretches eastward from the ruins of 
Jezreel no doubt can be entertained. 
The range of hills is known locally as 


GIL 


221 


GIR 


Jebel Fukua. One of the villages on 
its slopes is called Jelbun. 

Gilead (gil'e-ad) ( rocky region). 

1. A mountainous region bounded on 
the west by the Jordan, on the north 
by Bashan, on the east by the Arabian 
plateau, and on the south by Moab and 
Ammon. Gen. 31 : 21 ; Deut. 3 : 12-17. 
It is sometimes called “ Mount Gilead," 
Gen. 31 : 25, sometimes “ the land of 
Gilead," Num. 32 : 1, and sometimes 
simply “ Gilead." Ps. 60 : 7 ; Gen. 37 : 
25. In the main it is a fertile and beau- 
tiful country, though in some parts and 
from some points of view rocky and 
rugged. The mountains of Gilead, in- 
cluding Pisgah, Abarim and Peor, have 
a real elevation of from 2000 to 3000 
feet; but their apparent elevation on 
the western side is much greater, owing 
to the depression of the Jordan valley, 
which averages about 1000 feet. Their 
outline is singularly uniform, resembling 
a massive wall running along the hori- 
zon. Gilead was specially noted for its 
balm collected from “ balm of Gilead " 
trees, which it is impossible to identify 
with any certainty. 

2. Possibly the name of a mountain 
west of the Jordan, near Jezreel. 
Judges 7:3. We are inclined, however, 
to think that the true reading in this 
place should be Gilboa. 

3. Son of Machir, grandson of Ma- 
nasseh. Num. 26 : 29, 30. 

4. The father of Jephthah. Judges 

11 : 1 , 2 . 

Gil'eadites (gil'e-ad-ites), The, Num. 
26:29; Judges 10:3; 12:4, 5, a branch 
of the tribe Manasseh, descended from 
Gilead. 

Gil'gal (gil'gal) {a circle of stones ; 
a cromlech) . 1. The site of the first 

camp of the Israelites on the west of 
the Jordan, the place at which they 
passed the first night after crossing the 
river, and where the twelve stones were 
set up which had been taken from the 
bed of the stream, Josh. 4: 19, 20, comp. 
3; where also they kept their first pass- 
over in the land of Canaan, ch. 5 : 10. 
It was “in the east border of Jericho,” 
apparently on a hillock or rising ground, 
Josh. 5 : 3, comp. 9, in the plains of 
Jericho, that is, the hot depressed dis- 
trict of the Ghor which lay between the 
town and the Jordan, ch. 5 : 10. Here 
Samuel was judge, and Saul was made 
king. We again have a glimpse of it, 
some sixty years later, in the history of 


David’s return to Jerusalem. 2 Sam. 
19 : 40. A Gilgal is spoken of in Josh. 
15 : 7, in describing the north border of 
Judah. In Josh. 18:17 it is given as 
Geliloth. Gilgal near Jericho is doubt- 
less intended. 

, 2. In 2 Kings 2:1, 2 ; 4: 38 is named 
a Gilgal visited by Elijah and Elisha. 
This could not be the Gilgal of the low 
plain of the Jordan, for the prophets 
are said to have gone down to Bethel, 
which is 3000 feet above the plain. It 
has been identified with Jiljilia, about 
eight miles from Bethel. 

3. The “king of the nations of Gil- 
gal," or rather perhaps the “king of 
Goim at Gilgal," is mentioned in the 
catalogue of the chiefs overthrown by 
Joshua. Josh. 12 : 23. Possibly the site 
of this place is marked by the modern 
village Jiljulieh, about five miles north- 
east of Antipatris, which lies 16 miles 
northeast of Joppa. 

Gi'loh (gi'loh) {exile), a town in 
the mountainous part of Judah, named 
in the first group with Debir and Esh- 
temoh, Josh. 15:51; it was the native 
place of the famous Ahithophel. 2 Sam. 
15 : 12. 

Gi'lonite (gi'lon-Ite), The, native of 
Giloh. 2 Sam. 15:12; 23:34. 

Gim'zo (gim'zo) {fertile in sy co- 
mores), a town which with its depend- 
ent villages was taken possession of by 
the Philistines in the reign of Ahaz. 2 
Chron. 28 : 18. The name {Jimzu) still 
remains attached to a large village be- 
tween two and three miles southeast of 
Lydda, south of the road between Jeru- 
salem and Jaffa. 

Gin, a trap for birds or beasts ; it con- 
sisted of a net, Isa. 8 : 14, and a stick to 
act as a spring. Amos 3 : 5. 

Gi'nath (gi'nath), father of Tibni, 
the rival of Omri. 1 Kings 16 : 21, 22. 

Gin'netho (gin'ne-thd) {gardener). 
one of the chief of the priests and 
Levites who returned to Judea with 
Zerubbabel. Neh. 12 : 4. 

Gin'nethon (gm'-ne-thon) {garden- 
er), a priest who sealed the covenant 
with Nehemiah. Neh. 10:6. 

Girdle, an essential article of dress 
in the East, and worn by both men and 
women. The common girdle was made 
of leather, 2 Kings 1:8;^ Matt. 3 : 4, like 
that worn by the Bedouins of the pres- 
ent day. A finer girdle was made of 
linen, Jer. 13:1; Ezek. 16:10, em- 
broidered with silk, and sometimes with 


GIR 


222 


GOD 


gold and silver thread, Dan. 10 : 5 ; 
Rev. 1:13; 15:6, ’and frequently 

studded with gold and precious stones 
or pearls. The military girdle was worn 
about the waist; the sword or dagger 
was suspended from it. Judges 3:16; 
2 Sam. 20 : 8 ; Ps. 45 : 3. Hence girding 
up the loins denotes preparation for 
battle or for active exertion. Girdles 
were used as pockets, as they still are 
among the Arabs, and as purses, one end 
of the girdle being folded back for the 
purpose. Matt. 10 : 9 ; Mark 6 : 8. 

Gir'gasite (gir'gas-ite), The, Gen. 
10 : 16, or 

Gir'gashites (gir'ga-shites) ( dwell- 
ing on a clayey soil), The, one of the 
nations who were in possession of Ca- 
naan east of the Sea of Galilee before 
the entrance thither of the children of 
Israel. Gen. 10:16; 15:21; Deut. 7:1. 

Gis'pa (gis'pa) (caress), one of the 
overseers of the Nethinim, in “ the 
Ophel,” after the return from captivity. 
Neh. 11 : 21. 

Git'tah=he'pher (git'tah-he'fer) . 

Josh. 19:13. [Gath-hepher.] 

Gitta'im (git-ta'im). [Gittites.] 

Git'tites (git'tites) ( belonging to 
Gath), the 600 men who followed David 
from Gath, under Ittai the Gittite, 2 
Sam. 15 : 18, 19, and who probably acted 
as a kind of body-guard. Obed-edom 
“ the Gittite ” may have been so named 
from the town of Gittaim in Benjamin, 
2 Sam. 4:3; Neh. 11 : 33, or from Gath- 
rimmon. 

Gittith, a musical instrument, by 
some supposed to have been used by the 
people of Gath, and by others to have 
been employed at the festivities of the 
vintage. Ps. 8, 81, 84. 

Gi'zonite (gi'zo-nite), The ( inhab- 
itant of Gizoh). “The sons of Hashem 
the Gizonite ” are named amongst the 
warriors of David’s guard. 1 Chron. 
11 : 34. As neither man nor place by the 
name of Gizoh has been found in the 
Bible scholars are inclined to think the 
word should be “ Gunite.” 

Glass. The Hebrew word occurs 
only in Job 28 : 17, where in the Au- 
thorized Version it is rendered “crys- 
tal.” In spite of the absence of specific 
allusion to glass in the sacred writings, 
the Hebrews must have been aware of 
the invention. From paintings repre- 
senting the process of glass-blowing 
which have been discovered at Beni- 
hassan, and in tombs at other places, 


we know that the invention was known 
at least 3500 years ago. Fragments too 
of wine-vases as old as the Exodus have 
been discovered in Egypt. The art was 
also known to the ancient Assyrians. 
In the New Testament glass is alluded 
to as an emblem of brightness. Rev. 4 : 
6 ; 15:2; 21 : 18. 

Gleaning. The gleaning of fruit 
trees, as well as of corn-fields, was re- 
served for the poor. [Corner.] 

Glede, the old name for the common 
kite ( Milvus ater), occurs only in Deut. 
14 : 13, among the unclean birds of prey. 

Gnat, a species of mosquito men- 
tioned only in the proverbial expression 
used by our Saviour in Matt. 23 : 24. 

Goad. Judges 3:31; 1 Sam. 13:21. 
The Hebrew word in the latter passage 
perhaps means the point of the plough- 
share. The former word does probably 
refer to the goad, the long handle of 
which might be used as a formidable 
weapon. The instrument, as still used 
in countries of southern Europe and 
western Asia, consists of a rod about 
eight feet long, brought to a sharp point 
and sometimes cased with iron at the 
head. 

Goat. There appear to be two of 
three varieties of the common goat, 
Capra hircus, at present bred in Pales- 
tine and Syria, but whether they are 
identical with those which were reared 
by the ancient Hebrews it is not pos- 
sible to say. The most marked varieties 
are the Syrian goat ( Capra mambrica, 
Linn.) and the Angora goat ( Capra 
angorensis, Linn.), with fine long hair. 
As to the “ wild goats,” 1 Sam. 24 : 2 ; 
Job 39:1; ,Ps. 104:18, it is not at all 
improbable that some species of ibex 
is denoted. 

Goat, Scape. [Atonement, Day 
of.] 

Go'ath (go'ath) _ (lowing), a place 
apparently in the neighborhood of Jeru- 
salem, and named, in connection with 
the hill Gareb, only in Jer. 31:39. 

Gob (gob) (cistern), a place men- 
tioned only in 2 Sam. 21 : 18, 19, as the 
scene of two encounters between David’s 
warriors and the Philistines. In the 
parallel account in 1 Chron. 20 : 4 the 
name is given as Gezer. 

Goblet, a circular vessel for wine or 
other liquid. 

God. Throughout the Old Testa- 
ment Scriptures two chief names are 
used for the one true divine Being — • 


223 



SYRIAN IBEX, OR WILD GOAT OF THE BIBLE, 

• (Capra beden.) 




GOD 


224 


GOI 


Elohim, commonly translated God in 
our version, and Jehovah, translated 
Lord. Elohim is the plural of Eloah 
(in Arabic Allah ) ; it is often used in 
the short form El (a word signifying 
strength ), as in El-Shaddai, God Al- 
mighty, the name by which God was 
specially known to the patriarchs. Gen. 
17 : 1 ; 28 : 3 ; Ex. 6 : 3. The etymology 
is uncertain, but it is generally agreed 
that the primary idea is that of strength, 
power of effect, and that it properly 
describes God in that character in which 
he is exhibited to all men in his works, 
as the creator, sustainer and supreme 
governor of the world. The plural form 
of Elohim has given rise to much dis- 
cussion. The fanciful idea that it re- 
ferred to the trinity of persons in the 
Godhead hardly finds now a supporter 
among scholars. It is either what gram- 
marians call the plural of majesty, or it 
denotes the fullness of divine strength, 
the sum of the powers displayed by God. 

Jehovah denotes specifically the one 
true God, whose people the Jews were, 
and who made them the guardians of 
his truth. The name is never applied 
to a false god. Jehovah probably means 
“ He who in the absolute sense exists 
and who manifests his existence and his 
character.” 

While Elohim signifies the Creator, 
governor and upholder of the Universe, 
Jehovah is “ the God of revelation and 
grace dwelling with his people, guiding 
and delivering him.” It is the personal 
name of God. 

In the Authorized Version the name 
is translated Lord and printed in Cap- 
itals. So in the Revision of 1884. The 
new American Revision retains the 
name Jehovah. Probably the best state- 
ment of what God is is the summing up 
of the scripture definitions and descrip- 
tions as given in the Westminster 
Shorter Catechism with the addition of 
one word, — “ God is a Spirit, infinite, 
eternal, and unchangeable in his being, 
wisdom, power, justice, goodness, truth 
and love.” 

The Fatherhood of God is most clearly 
revealed by Jesus Christ his Son, not 
only by his teachings but by his char- 
acter, his actions, all he was and did ; 
by means of which we realize the char- 
acter and goodness and love of our 
Heavenly Father. 

The anthropomorphisms in which the 
Old Testament abounds are used in 


order that men may realize that God is 
not merely a force, or “ bright spirit 
increate ” but is a real person with 
mind, will, heart, feelings like his chil- 
dren, but in an infinite degree. They 
do not imply that even the earliest men 
thought of God as an infinite human 
body. We use the same expression to- 
day. When the Bible speaks, says San- 
day, “of the hand, arm, mouth, lips and 
eyes of God, when he makes ‘ bare his 
mighty arm,’ and musters his hosts with 
a shout, — all this is but a vivid concep- 
tion of his being, his intelligence, his 
activity, and universal power ; and tes- 
tifies to the warmth and intensity of 
the religious feelings of the writers.” 

Gog (gog). 1. A Reubenite, 1 Chron. 
5 : 4, son of Shemaiah. 

2. Gog and Magog. [See Magog.] 

Go'lan (go'lan), a city of Bashan, 
Deut. 4 : 43, allotted out of the half 
tribe of Manasseh to the Levites, Josh. 
21 : 27, and one of the three cities of 
refuge east of the Jordan, Josh. 20:8. 
Its very site is now unknown. It gave 
its name to the province of Gaulanitis. 
It lay east of Galilee and north of 
Gadaritis, and corresponds to the mod- 
ern province of Jaulan. 

Gold. Gold was known from the 
very earliest times. Gen. 2 : 11. It was 
at first used chiefly for ornaments, etc. 
Gen. 24 : 22. Coined money was not 
known to the ancients till a compara- 
tively late period; and on the Egyptian 
tombs gold is represented as being 
weighed in rings for commercial pur- 
poses. Comp. Gen. 43 : 21. Gold was 
extremely abundant in ancient times, 1 
Chron. 22 : 14 ; 2 Chron. 1:15; 9:9; 
Dan. 3:1; Nah. 2:9; but this did not 
depreciate its value, because of the enor- 
mous quantities consumed by the 
wealthy in furniture, etc. 1 Kings 6: 
22 ; 10 passim; Esther 1:6; Cant. 3 : 9, 
10; Jer. 10:9. The chief countries 
mentioned as producing gold are Hav- 
ilah, Sheba and Ophir. 1 Kings 9 : 28 ; 
10: 1; Job 28: 16. , 

Gol'gotha (gol'go-tha) (skull), .the 
Hebrew name of the spot at which our 
Lord was crucified. Matt. 27 : 33 ; Mark 
15:22; John 19:17. By these three 
evangelists it is interpreted to mean the 
“ place of a skull.” Golgotha is from 
the Hebrew for skull, of which Calvary 
is the Greek and Latin equivalent. The 
place is so called either from the form 
of the hill, or from the skulls there as 


GOL 


225 


GOS 


the place of execution. The site may 
have been near the Church of the Holy 
Sepulchre, within the present walls, — 
but the theory that it is outside the 
Damascus gate north of the city is at 
present in the ascendant. From cer- 
tain points of view this hill has a very 
close resemblance to a skull. 

Goli'ath (go-li'ath) {an exile), a 
famous giant of Gath, who “ morning 
and evening for forty days ” defied the 
armies of Israel. 1 Sam. 17. (b.c. 

1063.) He was possibly descended 
from the old Rephaim [Giants], of 
whom a scattered remnant took refuge 
with the Philistines after their disper- 
sion by the Ammonites. Deut. 2 : 20, 
21 ; 2 Sam. 21 : 22. His height was “ six 
cubits and a span,” which, taking the 
cubit at 18 inches, would make him 9% 
feet high. The scene of his combat 
with David, by whom he was slain, was 
the “ valley of the terebinth,” between 
Shochoh and Arekah, probably among 
the western passes of Benjamin. In 2 
Sam. 21 : 19 we find that another Goliath 
of Gath was slain by Elhanan, also a 
Bethlehemite. 

Go'mer (go'mer) {perfect). 1. The 
eldest son of Japheth, Gen. 10 : 2, 3, the 
progenitor of the early Cimmerians, of 
the later Cimbri and the other branches 
of the Celtic family, and of the modern 
Gael and Cymri. 

2. The wife of Hosea. Hos. 1:3. 

Gomor'rah (go-mor'rah) {submer- 
sion), one of the five “cities of the 
plain ” or “ vale of Siddim ” that under 
their respective kings joined battle there 
with Chedorlaomer, Gen. 14 : 2-8, and 
his allies, by whom they were discom- 
fited till Abraham came to the rescue. 
Four out of the five were afterwards 
destroyed by the Lord with fire from 
heaven. Gen. 19 : 23-29. One of them 
only, Zoar (or Bela, which was its orig- 
inal name), was spared at the request of 
Lot, in order that he might take refuge 
there. The geographical position of 
these cities is discussed under Sodom. 

Gopher wood. Only once mentioned 
— Gen. 6:14. Two principal conjec- 
tures have been proposed : — 1. That the 
“ trees of gopher ” are any trees of the 
resinous kind, such as pine, fir, etc. 2. 
That gopher is cypress. Cheyne sug- 
gests that some variety of cedar was in- 
tended. 

Go'shen (go'shen). 1. The name of 
a part of Egypt where the Israelites 
15 


dwelt during the whole period of their 
sojourn in that country. It was prob- 
ably situated on the eastern border of 
the Nile, extending from the Mediter- 
ranean to the Red Sea. It contained 
the treasure-cities of Rameses and 
Pithom. _ It was a pasture land, espe- 
cially suited to a shepherd people, and 
sufficient for the Israelites, who there 
prospered, and were separate from the 
main body of the Egyptians. 

2. A district in southern Palestine 
conquered by Joshua. Josh. 10 : 41. It 
lay between Gaza and Gibeon. 

3. A town in the mountains of Judah, 
probably in a part of the district of 
Goshen. Josh. 15:51. 

Gospels. The name Gospel (from 
god and spell, Ang. Sax. good message 
or news, which is a translation of the 
Greek euangelion) is applied to the four 
inspired histories of the life and teach- 
ing of Christ contained in the New 
Testament, of which separate accounts 
are given in their place. They were all 
composed during the latter half of the 
first century: those of St. Matthew and 
St. Mark some years before the de- 
struction of Jerusalem; that of St. Luke 
probably about a.d. 64; and that of St. 
John towards the close of the century. 
Before the end of the second century, 
there is abundant evidence that the four 
Gospels, as one collection, were gen- 
erally used and accepted. As a matter 
of literary history, nothing can be better 
established than the genuineness of the 
Gospels. On comparing these four 
books one with another, a peculiar diffi- 
culty claims attention, which has had 
much to do with the controversy as to 
their genuineness. In the fourth Gospel 
the narrative coincides with that of the 
other three in a few passages only. The 
received" explanation is the only satis- 
factory one, namely, that John, writing 
last, at the close of the first century, 
had seen the other Gospels, and pur- 
posely abstained from writing anew 
what they had sufficiently recorded. In 
the other three Gospels there is a great 
amount of agreement. If we suppose 
the history that they contain to be di- 
vided into 89 sections, in 42 of these 
all the three narratives coincide, 12 
more are given by Matthew and Mark 
only, 5 by Mark and Luke only, and 14 
by Matthew and Luke. To these must 
be added 5 peculiar to Matthew, 2 to 
Mark and 9 to Luke, and the enumera- 


GOS 


226 


GOS 


tion is complete. But this applies only 
to general coincidence as to the facts 
narrated: the amount of verbal coin- 
cidence, that is, the passages either ver- 
bally the same or coinciding in the use 
of many of the same words, is much 
smaller. It has been ascertained by 
Stroud that “ if the total contents of 
the several Gospels be . represented by 
100, the following table is obtained : 

Matt, has 42 peculiarities and 58 coincidences. 
Mark has 7 peculiarities and 93 coincidences. 
Luke has 59 peculiarities and 41 coincidences. 
John has 92 peculiarities and 8 coincidences.’ 

Why four Gospels. — (1) To bring four 
separate independent witnesses to the 
truth. (2) It is to give the Lord’s life 
from every point of view, four living 
portraits of one person. There were 
four Gospels because Jesus was to be 
commended to four races or classes of 
men, or to four phases of human 
thought, — the Jewish, Roman, Greek and 
Christian. Had not these exhausted the 
classes to be reached, there would 
doubtless have been more Gospels. In 
all ages, the Jewish, Roman and Greek 
natures reappear among men, and, in 
fact, make up the world of natural men, 
while the Christian nature and wants 
likewise remain essentially the same. 

The First Gospel was prepared by 
Matthew for the Jew. He gives us the 
Gospel of Jesus, the Messiah of the 
Jews, the Messianic royalty of Jesus. 
He places the life and character of 
Jesus, as lived on earth, alongside the 
life and character of the Messiah, as 
sketched in the prophets, showing 
Christianity as the fulfilment of Juda- 
ism. Mark wrote the Second Gospel. 
It was substantially the preaching of 
Peter to the Romans. The Gospel for 
him must represent the character and 
career of Jesus from the Roman point 
of view, as answering to the idea of 
divine power, work, law, conquest and 
universal sway; must retain its old sig- 
nificance and ever-potent inspiration as 
the battle-call of the almighty Con- 
queror. Luke wrote the Third Gospel 
in Greece for the Greek. It has its 
basis in the gospel which Paul and 
Luke, by long preaching to the Greeks, 
had already thrown into the form best 
suited to commend to their acceptance 
Jesus as the perfect divine man. It is 
the gospel of the future, of progressive 
Christianity, of reason and culture 


seeking the perfection of manhood. 
John, “the beloved disciple,” wrote the 
Fourth Gospel for the Christian, to 
cherish and train those who have en- 
tered the new kingdom of Christ, into 
the highest spiritual life. See Harmony 
of the Gospels in the Appendix. 

The Fourfold Gospel. — “ The exist- 
ence,” says Farrar, “of four separate 
and mainly, if not absolutely, independ- 
ent Gospels is a great blessing to the 
church of Christ.” (1) “ It furnishes 
us with such a weight of contempora- 
neous testimony as is wanting to the 
vast majority of events in ancient his- 
tory. A fourfold cord is not easily 
broken.” (2) Jesus is presented to us 
from several different points of view, 
“ each different, yet each the same ; 
each a separate mirror to take in the 
side presented to it, but all disclosing 
in life-like harmony the one grand Per- 
son.” Even a man cannot be under- 
stood when seen from one point of 
view : how much less the Son of God ! 
(3) It is this fourfold view that pre- 
sents Jesus as the Saviour of all men, 
of all races, of all tendencies of thought. 

“ When,” in the words of Professor 
Gregory, “ one has clearly grasped the 
characteristics of each of the Gospels, 
the attempt to mass them all in one, 
while preserving the glory of each, will 
appear as absurd as would the attempt 
of an architect to construct, from the 
materials of Solomon’s Temple, of the 
Parthenon, of the Colosseum, and of 
Westminster Abbey a new temple, which 
should preserve and harmoniously com- 
bine the peculiar features of them all, 
and be neither Jewish, Greek, Roman, 
nor Gothic.” 

From Canon Farrar’s Message of the 
Books we take the following descrip- 
tions : 

A common symbol of the evangelists 
was derived from Ezekiel’s cherubim, 
the “ fourfold visaged four.” “ Like 
them, the Gospels are four in number ; 
like them, they are the chariot of God 
who sitteth between the cherubim; like 
them, they bear him on a winged throne 
into all lands ; like them, they move 
wherever the Spirit guides them; like 
them, they are marvelously joined to- 
gether, intertwined with coincidences 
and differences, wing interwoven with 
wing, and wheel interwoven with wheel ; 
like them, they are full of eyes, and 
sparkle with heavenly light.” 


GOU 


227 


GOV 


“To sum up these large generaliza- 
tions in a form which has been recog- 
nized by all thoughtful students as giv- 


ing us a true, though not an exclusive 
or exhaustive, aspect of the differences 
of the four Gospels, we may say that 


.. i 



“ St. Matthew’s is the Gospel for the Jews, the Gos- 
pel of the past,, the Gospel which sees in Christianity a 
fulfilment of Judaism, the Gospel of discourses, the 
didactic Gospel, the Gospel which represents Christ as 
the Messiah of the Jew.” 

His emblem is the man: expressing the kingly and 
human characteristics of Christ. 


“ St. Mark’s is the Gospel for the Romans, the Gos- 
pel of the present, the Gospel of incident, the anecdotal 
Gospel, the Gospel which represents Christ as the Son 
of God and Lord of the world.” 

His emblem is' the lion : expressing courage, dignity, 
and energy. 




“ St. Luke’s is the Gospel for the Greeks, the Gospel 
of the future, the Gospel of progressive Christianity, of 
the universality and gratuitousness of the Gospel, the 
historic Gospel, the Gospel of Jesus as the Good Physi- 
cian and the Saviour of Mankind.” 

His emblem is the ox : expressing power and sacrifice, 
Christ’s priestly and mediatorial office. 


“ St. John’s is preeminently the Gospel for the church, 
the Gospel of eternity, the spiritual Gospel, the Gospel 
of Christ as the Eternal Son, and the Incarnate Word.” 

His emblem is the eagle : because “ he soars to heaven 
above the clouds of human infirmity, and reveals to us 
the mysteries of the God-head, and the felicities of eter- 
nal life, gazing on the light of immutable truth with a 
keen and steady ken.” 


Gourd. 1 . Kikayon only in Jonah 4: 
6-10. There are differences of opinion 
as regards the plant intended here. It 
seems identical with the Egyptian name 
for the Ricinus communis, or castor- 
oil plant, which, a native of Asia, is 
now naturalized in America, Africa and 
the south of Europe. This plant varies 
considerably in size, being in India a 
tree, but in England seldom attaining 
a greater height than three or four feet. 
The leaves are large and palmate, with 
serrated lobes, and would form an ex- 
cellent shelter for the sun-stricken 
prophet. On the other hand many be- 
lieve that the plant meant is a vine of 
the cucumber family, a genuine gourd, 
which is much used for shade in the 
East. 

2. The wild gourd of 2 Kings 4 : 39, 


which one of “ the sons of the prophets ” 
gathered ignorantly, supposing them to 
be good for food, is a poisonous gourd, 
supposed to be the colocynth, which 
bears a fruit of the color and size of 
an orange, with a hard, woody shell. 
It would be recognized by any one 
familiar with the region, but those com- 
ing from other parts might mistake it 
for the wholesome globe cucumber. 

Governor. In the Authorized Ver- 
sion this one English word is the repre- 
sentative of a large number of Hebrew 
and Greek words. (1) The chief of a 
tribe or family. (2) A ruler in his ca- 
pacity of lawgiver and dispenser of jus- 
tice. (3) A ruler considered especially 
as having power over the property and 
persons of his subjects. “The gov- 
ernors of the people,” in 2 Chron. 23: 


GOV 


228 


GRE 



20, appear to have been the king’s body- 
guard; cf. 2 Kings 11:19. (4) A 

prominent personage, whatever his ca- 
pacity. It is applied to a king as the 


COLOCYNTHUS OR WILD GOURD. 

military and civil chief of his people, 1 
Chron. 29 : 22. It denotes an officer of 
high rank in the palace, the lord high 
chamberlain. 2 Chron. 28:7 It is ap- 
plied in 1 Kings 10 : 15 to the petty chief- 
tains who were tributary to Solomon, 2 
Chron. 9:14. In the O. T. it is used 
most frequently for Pechah, a district 
ruler administering under a sovereign. 
The title is employed both for Persian 
satraps and for their subordinate mag- 
istrates. It seems to be the term used 
in 1 Kings 10 : 5 ; 2 Chron. 9 : 14 for 
Solomon’s “ governors of the land ;” for 
Benhadad’s “governors” as distinguish- 
ed from kings, 1 Kings 20 : 24. In the 
latter case it is a military officer. In 
Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel and Esther 
the civil head of the government is in- 
tended. The title was borne by Zerub- 
babel, Hag. 1:1, 14, and by Nehemiah. 
It appears from Ezra 6 : 8 that these 
governors were intrusted with the col- 
lection of the king’s taxes; and from 
Neh. 5:18; 12:26 that they were sup- 
ported by a contribution levied upon 
the people, which was technically 
termed “ the bread of the governor 
comp. Ezra. 4 : 14. They were probably 
assisted in discharging their official 
duties by a council. Ezra 4:7; 6:6. 


The “governor” beyond the river had 
a judgment-seat beyond Jerusalem, from 
which probably he administered justice 
when making a progress through his 
province. Neh. 3:7. 
In the New Testament 
it is most used for 
Procurator — • or the 
Roman governor o f 
Palestine in the time 
o f Christ and later. 
It is also used for 
Ethnarch. 2 Cor. 11 : 
32. 

Go'zan (go'zan) 
seems i n t h e Author- 
ized Version of 1 
Chron. 5:26 to be the 
name of a river; but 
in 2 Kings 17 : 6 and 
18 : 11 it is evidently 
applied not to a river 
but a country. Gozan 
was the tract to which 
the Israelites were car- 
ried away captive b y 
Pul, Tiglath-pileser and 
Shalmaneser, or possi- 
bly Sargon. It is probably identical with 
the Gauzanitis of Ptolemy, and may be 
regarded as represented by the Myg- 
donia of other writers. It was the 
tract watered by the Habor, the modern 
Khabour, the great Mesopotamian afflu- 
ent of the Euphrates. 

Grape. [Vine.] 

Grasshopper. [Locust.] 

Grave. [Burial.] 

Greaves, a piece of defensive armor 
which reached from the foot to the 
knee, and thus protected the shin of 
the wearer. It was made of leather or 
brass. 

Greece, Greeks, Gre'cians. The 

histories of Greece and Palestine are 
little connected with each other. In 
Gen. 10 : 2-5 Moses mentions the de- 
scendants of Javan as peopling the isles 
of the Gentiles ; and when the Hebrews 
came into contact with the Ionians of 
Asia Minor, and recognized them as 
the long-lost islanders of the western 
migration, it was natural that they 
should mark the similarity of sound 
between Javan and Iones. Accordingly 
the Old Testament word which is Gre- 
cia, in Authorized Version Greece, 
Greeks, etc., is in Hebrew Javan, Dan. 
8:21; Joel 3:6; the Hebrew, however, 


GRE 


229 


GUR 


is sometimes retained. Isa. 66 : 19 ; 
Ezek. 27 : 13. The Greeks and Hebrews 
met for the first time in the slave-mar- 
ket. The medium of communication 
seems to have been the Tyrian slave- 
merchants. Joel speaks of the Tyrians 
as selling the children of Judah to the 
Grecians, Joel 3:6; and in Ezek. 27: 13 
the Greeks are mentioned as trading in 
brazen vessels and slaves. Prophetical 
notice of Greece occurs in Dan. 8 : 21, 
etc., where the history of Alexander and 
his successors is rapidly sketched. 
Zechariah, Zech. 9 : 13, foretells the 
triumphs of the Maccabees against the 
Graeco-Syrian empire, while Isaiah looks 
forward to the conversion of the Greeks, 
amongst other Gentiles, through the in- 
strumentality of Jewish missionaries. 
Isa. 66 : 19. The name of the country, 
Greece, occurs once in the New Testa- 
ment, Acts 20 : 2, as opposed to Mace- 
donia. [Gentiles.] 

Gre'cian. The term Grecian, or Hel- 
lenist, denotes a Jew by birth or religion 
who spoke Greek. It is used chiefly of 
foreign Jews and proselytes in contrast 
with the Hebrews speaking the vernac- 
ular Hebrew or Aramaean. Greeks was 
the term used for non-Jewish peoples. 

Greyhound, the translation in the 
text of the Authorized Version, Prov. 
30 : 31, of the Hebrew word zarzir 
mothnayin, i. e. “ one girt about the 
loins.” Various are the opinions as to 
what animal “ comely in going ” is here 
intended. Some think “ a leopard,” 
others “ an eagle,” or “ a man girt with 
armor,” or “ a zebra,” or “ a war-horse 
girt with trappings.” But perhaps the 
word means “ a wrestler,” when girt 
about the loins for a contest. Some au- 
thorities, including the Septuagint, have 
“ a cock walking proudly among the 
hens.” 

Grinding. [Mill.] 

Grove. 1. A word used in the Au- 
thorized Version, with two exceptions. 


to translate the mysterious Hebrew term 
Asher ah, which is not a grove, but prob- 
ably an idol or image of some kind. 
[Asherah.] It is also probable that 
there was a connection between this 
symbol or image, whatever it was, and 
the sacred symbolic tree, the representa- 
tion of which occurs so frequently on 
Assyrian sculptures. 

2. The two exceptions noticed above 
are Gen. 21 : 33 and 1 Sam. 22 : 6 (mar- 
gin) in which verses the Revised Ver- 
sion translates the word “ tamarisk 
tree.” 

Guard. In Oriental countries, espe- 
cially, great attention is paid to the 
bodyguard of the king, which must be 
of approved fidelity. The captain of 
the king’s bodyguard was a high offi- 
cer. Gen. 37:36; 2 Sam. 23:22; 2 
Kings 25 : 8 ; Dan. 2 : 14, etc. They were 
often employed as executioners. 

Gud'godah (giid'go-dah). Deut. 10: 
7. [See Hor-hagidgad.] 

Guest. [Hospitality.] 

Gu'ni (gu'nl) {painted). 1. A son 
of Naphtali, Gen. 46 : 24 ; 1 Chron. 7 : 13, 
the founder of the family of the Gu- 
nites. Num. 26 : 48. 

2. A descendant of Gad. 1 Chron. 5 : 
15. 

Gu'nites (gu'nites), The, descend- 
ants of Guni, son of Naphtali. Num. 
26 : 48. 

Gur (gur) {abode), The going up 
to, an ascent or rising ground, at which 
Ahaziah received his death-blow while 
flying from Jehu after the slaughter of 
Joram. 2 Kings 9 : 27. 

Gur=ba'al (gur-ba'al) {abode of 
Baal), a place or district in which dwelt 
Arabians, as recorded in 2 Chron. 26 : 7. 
It appears from the context to have 
been in the country lying between Pales- 
tine and the Arabian peninsula, perhaps 
Petra; but this, although probable, can- 
not be proved. 


H 

Haahash'tari (ha-a-hash'-ta-ri), a 
man or a family immediately descended 
from Ashur, “ father of Tekoa,” by his 
second wife Naarah. 1 Chron. 4 : 6. 

Haba'iah (ha-ba'iah), or Haba'jah 
(. Jehovah hides). Bene-Habaiah were 
among the sons of the priests who re- 
turned from Babylon with Zerubbabel 
but were unable to prove their pedigree. 
Ezra 2:61; Neh. 7 : 63. 

Hab'akkuk, or Habak'kuk {em- 
brace), the eighth in order of the minor 
prophets. Of the facts of the prophet's 
life we have no certain information. 

He probably lived during the reigns of 
Josiah, Jehoahaz and Jehoiakim. 

Hab'akkuk, Prophecy of, consists 
of three chapters, in the first of which 
he foreshadows the invasion of Judea 
by the Chaldeans, and in the second he 
foretells the doom of the Chaldeans. 
The whole concludes with the magnifi- 
cent psalm in ch. 3, a composition un- 
rivalled for boldness of conception, sub- 
limity of thought and majesty of dic- 
tion. 

Habazini'ah (hab-a-zi-ni'-ah), appar- 
ently the head of one of the families of 
the Rechabites. Jer. 35 : 3. 

Habergeon, a coat of mail covering 
the neck and breast. [Arms.] 

Ha'bor (ha'bor), the “river of Go- 
zan," 2 Kings 17 : 6 and 18 : 11, is iden- 
tified beyond all reasonable doubt with 
the famous affluent of the Euphrates, 
which is called Aborrhas and Chaboras 
by ancient writers, and now Khabour. 

Hachali'ah (hak-a-li'ah), the father 
of Nehemiah. Neh. 1:1; 10:1. 

Hach'ilah (hak'i-lah), The hill, a hill 
apparently situated in a wood in the 
wilderness or waste land in the neigh- 
borhood of Ziph, in Judah, in the fast- 
nesses or passes of which David and his 
six hundred followers were lurking 
when the Ziphites informed Saul of his 
whereabouts. 1 Sam. 23 : 19 ; comp. 14, 

15, 18. 


Hach'moni (hak'mo-ni) {wise), Son 
of, and The Hach'monite (hak'mo- 
nite). 1 Chron. 11:11; 27:32. Hach- 
mon or Hachmoni was no doubt the 
founder of a family to whiqh these men 
belonged: the actual father of Jasho- 
beam was Zabdiel, 1 Chron. 27 : 2, and he 
is also said to have belonged to the 
Korhites. 1 Chron. 12 : 6. 

Ha'dad (ha'dad). 1. The name of 
the supreme deity of Syria. He is 
variously explained as the sun-god, or 
the god of the atmosphere. He is 
doubtless the same as is also known by 
the name of Rimmon. 

2. Son of Ishmael. Gen. 25 : 15 ; 1 
Chron. 1 : 30. Also miswritten Hadar. 

3. A king of Edom who gained an 
important victory over the Midianites 
on the field of Moab. Gen. 36:35; 1 
Chron. 1 : 46. 

4. Also a king of Edom, with Pau 
for his capital. 1 Chron. 1 : 50. 

5. A member of the royal house of 
Edom. 1 Kings 11 : 14 ff. In his child- 
hood he escaped the massacre under 
Joab, and fled with a band of followers 
into Egypt. Pharaoh, the predecessor 
of Solomon’s father-in-law, treated him 
kindly, and gave him his sister-in-law 
in marriage. After David’s death 
Hadad resolved to attempt the recovery 
of his dominion. He left Egypt and 
returned to his own country. See 2 
Kings 3:9; 8 : 20. 

Hadade'zer (had-ad-e'zer) {Hadad is 
a help), son of Rehob, 2 Sam. 8:3, 
the king of the Aramite state of Zobah, 
who was pursued by David and de- 
feated with great loss. 1 Chron. 18 : 3, 
4. After the first repulse of the Am- 
monites and their Syrian allies by Joab, 
Hadadezer sent his army to the as- 
sistance of his kindred the people of 
Maachah, Rehob and Ishtob. 1 Chron. 
19 : 16 ; 2 Sam. 10 : 15, comp. 8. Under 
the command of Shophach or Shobach, 
the captain of the host, they crossed 


230 




HAD 


231 


HAG 


the Euphrates, joined the other Syrians, 
and encamped at a place called Helam. 
David himself came from Jerusalem to 
take the command of the Israelite army. 
As on the former occasion, the rout 
was complete. 

Ha'dad=rim'mon (ha'dad-rim'mon) 
is, according to the ordinary interpreta- 
tion of Zech. 12 : 11, a place in the val- 
ley of Megiddo (a part of the plain 
of Esdraelon, six miles from Mount 
Carmel and eleven from Nazareth), 
where a national lamentation was held 
for the death of King Josiah. It was 
named after two Syrian idols. 

Ha'dar (ha'dar). [Hadad.] 

Hadare'zer (had-ar-e'zer). 2 Sam. 
10 : 16, 19 ; 1 Chron. 18:3 ff ; 19 : 16, 19. 
An incorrect form for Hadadezer. 

Hadashah (had'a-shah) (new), one 
of the towns of Judah, in the maritime 
low country, Josh. 15 : 37 only. It has 
not been identified. 

Hadas'sah (ha-das'sah) (myrtle), the 
Jewish name of Esther. Esther 2:7. 

Hadat'tah (ha-dat'tah) (new). Ac- 
cording to the Authorized Version, one 
of the towns of Judah in the extreme 
south. Josh. 15 : 25. [Hazor.] 

Ha'des, in Revised Version. * [See 
Hell.] 

Ha'did (ha'did) (sharp), a place 
named, with Lod (Lydda) and Ono, 
only in the later books of the history. 
Ezra 2:33; Neh. 7:37; 11:34. Its site 
is located at the modern Haditheh in the 
Jow hills about 3J4 miles N. E. of 
Lydda. Probably the Adida of 1 Mac. 
12 * 38 

Had'lai (had'la-i), a man of Eph- 
raim. 2 Chron. 28 : 12. 

Hado'ram (ha-do'ram). 1. The fifth 
son of r Joktan. Gen. 10 : 27 ; 1 Chron. 
1 : 21. His settlements, unlike those of 
many of Joktan’s sons, have not been 
identified. 

2. Son of Tou or Toi king of 
Hamath ; his father’s ambassador to 
congratulate David on his victory over 
Hadadezer king of Zobah. 1 Chron. 18 : 
10 . 

3. The form assumed in Chronicles by 
the name of the intendant of taxes un- 
der David, Solomon and Rehoboam. 2 
Chron. 10:18. In 1 Kings 4:6; 5:14, 
the name is given in the longer form of 
Adoniram, but in Samuel, 2 Sam. 20: 
24, as Adoram. 

Ha'drach (ha'drak), a country of 
Syria, mentioned once only, by the pro- 


phet Zechariah. Zech. 9 : 1. The po- 
sition of the district, with its borders, 
is here generally stated; but the name 
itself seems to have wholly disappeared. 
The name Hatarikka has been recently 
found in Assyrian inscriptions in con- 
nection with Damascus, and beyond 
doubt refers to this place. 

Ha'gab (ha' gab) (locust). Bene- 
Hagab were among the Nethinim who 
returned from Babylon with Zerubbabel. 
Ezra 2 : 46. 

Hag'aba (hag'a-ba) (locust). Bene- 
Hagaba were among the Nethinim who 
came back from captivity with Zerub- 
babel. Neh. 7 : 48. The name is slightly 
different in form from 

Hag'abah (hag'a-bah), under which 
it is found in the parallel list of Ezra 
2: 45. 

Ha' gar (ha'gar) (flight), an Egyptian 
woman, the handmaid or slave of Sarah, 
Gen. 16 : 1, whom the latter gave as a 
concubine to Abraham, after he had 
dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan 
and had no children by Sarah, ch. 16: 
2, 3. (b.c. 1911.) When Hagar saw 
that she had conceived, “ her mistress 
was despised in her eyes,” v. 4, and 
Sarah, with the anger, we may suppose, 
of a free woman rather than of a 
wife, reproached Abraham for the re- 
sults of her own act. Hagar fled, turn- 
ing her steps toward her native land 
through the great wilderness traversed 
by the Egyptian road. By the fountain 
in the way to Shur the angel of the 
Lord found her, charged her to return 
and submit herself under the hands of 
her mistress, and delivered the remark- 
able prophecy respecting her unborn 
child recorded in vs. 10-12. On her re- 
turn she gave birth to Ishmael, and 
Abraham was then eighty-six years old. 
When Ishmael was about sixteen years 
old, he was caught by Sarah making 
sport of her young son Isaac at the 
festival of his weaning, and Sarah de- 
manded the expulsion of Hagar and her 
son. She again fled toward Egypt, and 
when in despair at the want of water, 
an angel again appeared to her, pointed 
out a fountain close by, and renewed 
the former promises to her. Gen. 21 : 
9-21. St. Paul, Gal. 4 : 25, refers to her 
as the type of the old covenant of the 
law. 

Hagarenes' (ha-gar-enes'), Ha'gar= 
ites, a people dwelling to the east of 
Palestine, with whom the tribes of Reu- 


HAG 


232 


HA I 


ben made war in the time of Saul. 1 
Chron. 5 : 10, 18-20. The same people, 
as confederate against Israel, are men- 
tioned in Ps. 83 : 6. It is generally be- 
lieved that they were named after 
Hagar, and some think that the im- 
portant town and district of Hejer, on 
the borders of the Persian Gulf, repre- 
sent them. 

Ha'gerite (ha'ger-Ite), The. Jaziz 
the Hagerite, had the charge of David’s 
sheep. 1 Chron. 27 : 31. 

Hag'gai (hag'ga-i) ( festal ), a prophet 
of the Return, who prophesied b.c. 520 
in Jerusalem. He is generally regarded 
as an old man at the time of his proph- 
ecy, because it is inferred from Hag. 
2 : 3 that he had seen the old temple 
which had been destroyed 66 years be- 
fore. This would make him nearly 80 
years old when he prophesied. Haggai 
uttered four prophecies in the year b.c. 
520, in a time of coldness and neglect. 
Fifteen years before this 50,000 Israel- 
ites returned from captivity and began 
to build the city and the Temple. But 
soon the people began to attend to their 
own affairs. The city was still largely 
in ruins. The foundations of the tem- 
ple were laid but the temple was not 
built. Blight and drought had come 
upon the land, and there was general 
discouragement. At this time two 
prophets appeared on the scene, the aged 
Haggai and the young Zechariah. Hag- 
gai uttered four prophecies in one year. 
He urged every argument in an appeal 
to the citizens to build the Temple. He 
was successful, and by the end of four 
years the Temple was completed. 

Hag'geri (hag'ge-ri), was the father 
of one of the mighty men of David’s 
guard, according to 1 Chron. 11 : 38. 
The parallel passage — 2 Sam. 23 : 36 — 
has “ Bani the Gadite,” which is prob- 
ably the correct reading. 

Hag'gi (hag'gi) (born on a festival ), 
second son of Gad. Gen. 46:16; Num. 
26 : 15. 

Haggi'ah (hag-gi'ah) (festival of 
Jehovah ), a Merarite Levite. 1 Chron. 
6: 30. 

Hag'gites, The, a Gadite family 
sprung from Haggi. Num. 26:15. 

Hag'gith (hag'gfith) (festal), one of 
David’s wives, the mother of Adonijah. 
2 Sam. 3 : 4 ; 1 Kings 1 : 5. 

Ha'i (ha'i). Same as Ai. 

Hair. The Hebrews were fully alive 
to the importance of the hair as an ele- 


ment of personal beauty. Long hair 
was admired in the case of young men. 
2 Sam. 14 : 26. Men dreaded baldness 
as suggesting a suspicion of leprosy. 
Lev. 13 : 40 ; 2 Kings 2 : 23 ; 2 Sam. 10 : 

4. Tearing the hair, Ezra 9 : 3, and let- 
ting it go dishevelled were similar to- 
kens of grief. The usual and favorite 
color of the hair was black, Cant. 5 : 11, 
as is indicated in the comparisons in 
Cant. 1:5; 4:1; a similar hue is prob- 
ably intended by the purple of Cant. 7 : 

5. Pure white hair was deemed char- 
acteristic of the divine Majesty. Dan. 
7:9; Rev. 1 : 14. The chief beauty of 
the hair consisted in curls, whether of 
a natural or an artificial character. 
With regard to the mode of dressing 
the hair, we have no very precise in- 
formation; the terms used are of a gen- 
eral character, as of Jezebel, 2 Kings 9 : 
30, and of Judith, ch. 10:3, and in the 
New Testament, 1 Tim. 2:9; 1 Pet. 3: 
3. The arrangement of Samson’s hair 
into seven locks, or more properly 
braids, Judges . 16 : 13, 19, involves the 
practice of plaiting, which was also fa- 
miliar to the Egyptians and Greeks. 
The locks were probably kept in their 
place by a fillet, as in Egypt. The He- 
brews, like other nations of antiquity, 
anointed the hair profusely with oint- 
ments, which were generally com- 
pounded of various aromatic ingredients, 
Ruth 3:3; 2 Sam. 14 : 2 ; Ps. 23 : 5 ; 92 : 
10 ; Eccles. 9 : 8, more especially on occa- 
sions of festivity or hospitality. Luke 



BEARDS. 

Egyptian, from Wilkinson (top row). Of othei 
nations, from Rosellini and Layard. 


7 : 46. It appears to have been the cus- 
tom of the Jews in our Saviour’s time 
to swear by the hair, Matt. 5 : 36, much 
as the Egyptian women still swear by 
the side-lock, and the men by their 
beards. 



HAK 


233 


HAM 


Hak'katan (hak'ka-tan) {the small- 
est). Johanan, son of Hakkatan, was 
the chief of the Bene-Azgad who re- 
turned from Babylon with Ezra. Ezra 
8 : 12 . 

Hak'koz (hak'koz) {thorn), a priest, 
the chief of the seventh course in the 
service of the sanctuary, as appointed 
by David. 1 Chron. 24 : 10. In Ezra 
2 : 61 and Neh. 3 : 4, 21 the name occurs 
again as Koz in the Authorized Version. 

Haku'pha (ha-ku'fa) {bent). Bene- 
Hakupha were among the Nethinim who 
returned from Babylon with Zerub- 
babel. Ezra 2 : 51 ; Neh. 7 : 53. 

Ha'lah (ha'lah). 2 Kings 17:6; 18: 
11 ; 1 Chron. 5 : 26. A district of As- 
syria to which Israelite captives were 
carried. 

Ha'lak (ha'lak) {smooth), The 
mount, a mountain twice, and twice 
only, named as the southern limit of 
Joshua’s conquests, Josh. 11 : 17 ; 12 : 7, 
but which has not yet been identified 
with certainty. 

Hal'hul (hal'hul), a town of Judah 
in the mountain district. Josh. 15 : 58. 
The name still remains unaltered, at- 
tached to a village on a hill a mile to 
the east of the road from Jerusalem to 
Hebron, between three and four miles 
from the latter. 

Ha'li (ha'li) {necklace), a town on 
the boundary of Asher, named between 
Helkath and Beten. Josh. 19 : 25. 

Hall, used of the court of the high 
priest’s house. Luke 22 : 55. In Matt. 
27 : 27 and Mark 15 : 16 “ hall ” is synon- 
yniQUS with “ praetorium,” which in 
John 18:28 is in Authorized Version 
“ judgment hall.” 

Hallelujah (hal-le-lu'iah) {praise ye 
Jehovah). [Alleluia.] 

Hallo'hesh {the speaker of charms), 
one of the chief of the people who 
sealed the covenant with Nehemiah. 
Neh. 10:24. 

Halo'hesh (ha-lo'hesh). Shallum, 
son of Halohesh, was “ ruler of the half 
part of Jerusalem ” at the time of the 
repair of the wall by Nehemiah. Neh. 
3 : 12. b.c. 446. R. V. Hallohesh. 

Ham {black). 1. The name of one 
of the three sons of Noah, apparently 
the second in age. (b.c. 2348). Of the 
history of Ham nothing is related ex- 
cept his irreverence to his father and 
the curse which that patriarch pro- 
nounced. The sons of Ham are stated 
to have been “ Cush and Mizraim and 


Phut and Canaan.” Gen. 10:6; comp. 

1 Chron. 1 : 8. Egypt is recognized as 
the “ land of Ham ” in the Bible. Ps. 
78 : 51 ; 105 : 23 ; 106 : 22. The other set- 
tlements of the sons of Ham are dis- 
cussed under their respective names. 
The three most illustrious Hamite na- 
tions — the Cushites, the Phoenicians and 
the Egyptians — were greatly mixed with 
foreign peoples. 

2. According to the present text, Gen. 
14 : 5, Chedorlaomer and his allies smote 
the Zuzim in a place called Ham, prob- 
ably in the territory of the Ammonites 
(Gilead), east of the Jordan. 

Ha'man (ha'man), the chief minister 
or vizier of King Ahasuerus. Esther 
3:1. (b.c. 473.) After the failure of 

his attempt to cut off all the Jews in 
the Persian empire, he was hanged on 
the gallows which he had erected for 
Mordecai. The Targum and Josephus 
interpret the description of him — the 
Agagite — as signifying that he was of 
Amalekitish descent, but this is very 
doubtful. The Jews hiss whenever his 
name is mentioned on the day of Purim. 

Ha'math (ha'math) {fortress), the 
principal city of upper Syria, was sit- 
uated in the valley of the Orontes, which 
it commanded from the low screen of 
hills which forms the water-shed be- 
tween the source of the Orontes and 
Antioch. The Hamathites were a Ham- 
itic race, and are included among the 
descendants of Canaan. Gen. 10 : 18. 
Nothing appears of the power of Ha- 
math until the time of David. 2 Sam. 
8 : 9. Hamath seems clearly to have 
been included in the dominions of Sol- 
omon. 1 Kings 4 : 21-24. The “ store- 
cities ” which Solomon “ built in Ha- 
math,” 2 Chron. 8 : 4, were perhaps sta- 
ples for trade. In the Assyrian inscrip- 
tions of the time of Ahab (b.c. 875) 
Hamath appears as a separate power, in 
alliance with the Syrians of Damascus, 
the Hittites and the Phoenicians. About 
three-quarters of a century later Jero- 
boam the Second “ recovered Hamath.” 

2 Kings 14 : 28. Soon afterwards the 
Assyrians took it, 2 Kings 18 : 34 ; 19 : 
13, etc., and from this time it ceased to 
be a place of much importance. An- 
tiochus Epiphanes changed its name to 
Epiphaneia. The natives, however, 
called it Hamath even in St. Jerome’s 
time, and its present name, Hamah, is 
but slightly altered from the ancient 
form. 


234 



THE HAMMURABI MONUMENT. 

Inscribed in Archaic Babylonian, with 
the text of the “ Code of Laws,” which 
was drawn up by Hammurabi, King of 
the first dynasty of Babylonia. On the 
upper part the King is seen in an at- 
titude of worship, receiving the laws 
from the Sun-God. The lower portion 
is inscribed with twenty-eight columns 
in which the King enumerates the bene- 
fits of his reign and sets forth in 28 2 
clauses the laws by which the country 
shall be governed. This stele was orig- 
inally set up in the temple of E-sagili, 
in Babylon, and was carried off by an 
Elamite to Susa, in the ruins of which 
city it was discovered. 


1 



HAM 


235 


HAN 


Ha'mathite (ha'math-Ite), The, one 
of the families descended from Canaan, 
named last in the list. Gen. 10 : 18 ; 1 
Chron. 1 : 16. 

Ha'math=zo'bah (ha'math-zo'bah) 

( fortress of Zobah), 2 Chron. 8:3, has 
been conjectured to be the same as 
Hamath. But the name Hamath-zobah 
would seem rather suited to another 
Hamath which was distinguished from 
the “ Great Hamath ” by the suffix 
“ Zobah.” 

Ham'math (ham'math) (warm 
spring), one of the fortified cities in 
the territory allotted to Naphtali. Josh. 
19 : 35. It was near Tiberias, one mile 
distant, and had its name Chammath, 
“ hot baths,” because it contained those 
of Tiberias. In the list of Levitical 
cities given out of Naphtali, Josh. 21 : 
32, the name of this place seems to be 
given as Hammoth-dor. 

Hammed'atha (ham-med'a-tha), 

father of the infamous Haman. Es- 
ther 3:1, 10 ; 8:5; 9 : 24. 

Ham'melech (ham'me-lek), lit. “the 
king,” unnecessarily rendered in the 
Authorized Version as a proper name. 
Jer. 36 : 26 ; 38 : 6. 

Hammol'eketh (ham-mol'e-keth) 

( the queen), a daughter of Machir and 
sister of Gilead. 1 Chron. 7 : 17, 18. 

Ham'mon (ham'mon) (warm 
springs). 1. A city in Asher, Josh. 19: 
28, apparently not far from Zidon- 
rabbah. 

2. A city allotted out of the tribe of 
Naphtali to the Levites, 1 Chron. 6 : 76, 
probably identical with the similar 
names Ham math and Hammoth-dor 
in Joshua. 

Ham'moth=dor (ham'moth-dor), (see 
Hammath.) 

Hammura'bi, see Amraphel. 

Hamo'nah (multitude), the name of 
a city mentioned in Ezekiel. Ezek. 39: 

Ha'mon=gog (ha'mon-gog) (the mul- 
titude of Gog), The valley of, the name 
to be bestowed on a ravine or glen, pre- 
viously known as “the ravine of the 
passengers on the east of the sea,” after 
the burial there of “ Gog and all his 
multitude.” Ezek. 39 : 11, 15. 

Ha'mor (ha'mor) (he-ass), a Hivite 
who at the time of the entrance of 
Jacob on Palestine was prince of the 
land and city of Shechem. Gen. 33 : 
19 ; 34 : 2, 4, 6, 8, 13, 18, 20, 24, 26. (b.c. 

1739.) [Dinah.] 


Hamu'el (ha-mu'el) (heat, i. e. 

wrath, of God), a man of Simeon, of 
the family of Shaul. 1 Chron. 4 : 26. 

Ha'mul (ha'mul) (spared), the 

younger son of Pharez, Judah’s son by 

Tamar. Gen. 46:12; 1 Chron. 2:5. 

Ha'mulites (ha'mul-ites), The, the 
family of the preceding. Num. 26 : 21. j 

Hamu'tal (ha-mu'tal) (akin to the * 

dew), daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah; 
one of the wives of King Josiah. 2 
Kings 23:31; 24:18; Jer. 52:1. 

Hanam'eel (ha-nam'e-el) (perhaps 
God is gracious), son of Shallum and 
cousin of Jeremiah. Jer. 32: 7, 8, 9, 12; 
and comp. 44. (b.c. 587.) 

Ha'nan (ha'nan) (merciful). 1. One 
of the chief people of the tribe of Ben- 
jamin. 1 Chron. 8:23. 

2. The last of the six sons of Azel, 
a descendant of Saul. 1 Chron. 8:38; 

9 : 44. 

3. “ Son of Maachah,” i. e. possibly a 
Syrian of Aram-maachah, one of the he- 
roes of David’s guard. 1 Chron. 11 : 
43. 

4. The sons of Hanan were among 
the Nethinim who returned from Baby- 
lon with Zerubbabel. Ezra 2 : 46 ; Neh. 
7: 49. 

5. One of the Levites who assisted 

Ezra in his public exposition of the law. 
Neh. 8:7. (b.c. 446.) The same per- 

son is probably mentioned in ch. 10 : 10. 

6. One of the “ heads ” of “ the peo- 
ple,” who also sealed the covenant. 
Neh. 10 : 22. 

7. Another of the chief laymen on the 
same occasion. Neh. 10:26. 

8. Son of Zaccur, son of Mattaniah, 

whom Nehemiah made one of the store- 
keepers of the provisions collected as 
tithes. Neh. 13 : 13. ' 

9. Son of Igdaliah. Jer. 35 : 4. 

Hanan'eel (ha-nan'e-el) (El is gra- 
cious), The tower of, a tower which 
formed part of the wall of Jerusalem. 
Neh. 3:1; 12:39. From these two pas- 
sages, particularly from the former, it 
might almost be inferred that Hananeel 
was but another name for the tower of 
Hammeah; at any rate they were close 
together, and stood between the sheep- 
gate and the fish-gate. This tower is 
further mentioned in Jer. 31: 38. The 
remaining passage in which it is named, 
Zech. 14 : 10, also connects this tower 
with the “corner-gate,” which lay on 
the other side of the sheep-gate. 

Hana'ni (ha-na'ni) (gracious). 1. 


HAN 


236 


HAN 


One of the sons of Heman, and head of 
the eighteenth course of the service. 1 
Chron. 25 : 4, 25. 

2. A seer who rebuked (b.c. 902) Asa 
king of Judah. 2 Chron. 16 : 7. For 
this he was imprisoned, ver. 10. He 
was the father of Jehu the seer, who 
testified against Baasha, 1 Kings 16 : 1, 
7, and Jehoshaphat, 2 Chron. 19:2; 20: 
34. 

3. One of the priests who in the time 
of Ezra had taken strange wives. Ezra 
10 : 20 . 

4. A brother or near kinsman of Ne- 
hemiah, Neh. 1 : 2, who was made gov- 
ernor of Jerusalem under Nehemiah. 
ch. 7 : 2. 

5. A Levite mentioned in Neh. 12 : 36. 

Hanani'ah (han-a-ni'ah) ( Jehovah 

hath been gracious). 1. A son of 
Heman, and chief of the sixteenth 
course of singers. 1 Chron. 25 : 4, 5, 23. 

2. A general in the army of King Uz- 
ziah. 2 Chron. 26 : 11. 

3. Father of Zedekiah, who was a 
prince of Judah in the reign of Jehoia- 
kim. Jer. 36 : 12. 

4. Son of Azur, a Benjamite of 
Gibeon and a false prophet in the reign 
of Zedekiah king of Judah. In the 
fourth year of his reign, b.c. 593, Hana- 
niah withstood Jeremiah the prophet, 
and publicly prophesied in the temple 
that within two years Jeconiah and all 
his fellow captives, with the vessels of 
the Lord’s house, should be brought 
back to Jerusalem. Jer. 28. Hananiah 
corroborated his prophecy by taking 
from off the neck of Jeremiah the yoke 
which he wore by divine command, Jer. 
27, and breaking it. But Jeremiah was 
bidden to go and tell Hananiah that 
for the wooden yokes which he had 
broken he should make yokes of iron, 
so firm was the dominion of Babylon 
destined to be for seventy years. The 
prophet Jeremiah added to this rebuke 
the prediction of Hananiah’s death, the 
fulfilment of which closes the history 
of this false prophet. 

5. Grandfather of Irijah, the captain 
of the ward at the gate of Benjamin 
who arrested Jeremiah on the charge of 
deserting to the Chaldeans. Jer. 37 : 13. 

6. Head of a Benjamite house. 1 
Chron. 8 : 24. 

7. The Hebrew name of Shadrach. 
Dan. 1:3, 6, 7, 11, 19 ; 2 : 17. 

8. Son of Zerubbabel, 1 Chron. 3 : 
19, from whom Christ derived his de- 


scent. He is very possibly the same 
person who is by St. Luke called Joan- 
na. R. V. Joanan. (b.c. after 536.) 

9. One of the sons of Bebai who had 

“ married strange women.” Ezra 10 : 
28. (b.c. 458.) 

10. A priest, one of the makers of 
the sacred ointments and incense, who 
built a portion of the wall of Jerusalem 
in the days of Nehemiah. Neh. 3 : 8. 

11. Head of the priestly course of 
Jeremiah in the days of the high priest 
Joiakim. Neh. 12:12. 

12. Ruler of the palace at Jerusalem 

under Nehemiah. The arrangements 
for guarding the gates of Jerusalem 
were intrusted to him with Hanani, the 
Tirshatha’s brother. Neh. 7 : 2, 3. (b.c. 

446.) 

13. An Israelite. Neh. 10 : 23. 

Handicraft. Acts 18 : 3 ; 19 : 25 ; Rev. 

18 : 22. A trade was taught to all the 
Jewish boys, as a necessary part of their 
education. Even the greatest rabbis 
maintained themselves by trades ( De - 
litssch). Says Rabbi Jehuda, “He who 
does not teach his son a trade is much 
the same as if he taught him to be a 
thief.” In the present article brief no- 
tices only can be given of such handi- 
craft trades as are mentioned in Scrip- 
ture. 

1. Smiths or metal-workers. — The 
preparation of iron for use either in 
war, in agriculture or for domestic pur- 
poses was doubtless one of the earliest 
applications of labor; and together with 
iron, working in brass, or rather copper 
alloyed with tin (bronze), is mentioned 
as practised in antediluvian times. Gen. 
4:22. After the establishment of the 
Jews in Canaan, the occupation of a 
smith became recognized as a distinct 
employment. 1 Sam. 13 : 19. The 
smith’s work and its results are often 
mentioned in Scripture. 2 Sam. 12 : 31 ; 
1 Kings 6 : 7 ; 2 Chron. 26 : 14 ; Isa. 44 : 
12 ; 54 : 16. The worker in gold and 
silver must have found employment 
among both the Hebrews and the neigh- 
boring nations in very early times. Gen. 
24:22, 53; 35:4; 38:18. Various pro- 
cesses of the goldsmith’s work are il- 
lustrated by Egyptian monuments. Af- 
ter the conquest frequent notices are 
found of both moulded and wrought 
metal, including soldering. 

2. Carpenters are often mentioned in 
Scripture. Gen. 6:14; Ex. 37 ; Isa. 44 : 
13. In the palace built by David for 


HAN 


237 


HAN 




himself the workmen employed were 
chiefly foreigners. 2 Sam. 5 : 11. So 
also were those who executed the tim- 
ber work in Solomon’s temple. 1 Kings 
5:6. In the time of Joash there is no 
mention of the carpenters being for- 
eigners, 2 Kings 12 : 11 ; while those 
under Josiah seem to have been Jews. 
2 Kings 22 : 6. In Isa. 41 : 13 there is 
a picture of a carpenter carving a 
wooden idol — but this is supposed to 
refer to a Babylonian rather than a 
Jew. In the New Testament the occu- 
pation of a carpenter is mentioned in 
connection with Joseph the husband of 
the Virgin Mary, and ascribed to our 
Lord himself. Matt. 13 : 55 ; Mark 6 : 3. 

3. The masons employed by David 
and Solomon, at least the chief of them, 
were Phoenicians. 1 Kings 5:18; Ezek. 
27 : 9. The large stones used in Sol- 
omon’s temple are said by Josephus to 
have been fitted together exactly with- 
out either mortar or clamps, but the 
foundation stones to have been fastened 
with lead. The most common material 
in use now is clay, which must be pre- 
pared properly by treading and mixing 
with water, for if too dry it will crack 
and fall. The wall “ daubed with un- 
tempered mortar ” of Ezekiel 13 10 may 
have been of “ dry clay ” as it is given 
in the Arabic versions. The use of 
whitewash on tombs is remarked by our 
Lord. Matt. 23:27. 

4. Ship-building must have been ex- 
ercised to some extent for the fishing- 
vessels on the Lake of Gennesaret. 
Matt. 8 : 23 ; 9:1; John 21 : 3, 8. Sol- 
omon built ships for his foreign trade. 
1 Kings 9:26, 27 ; 22:48; 2 Chron. 20 : 
36, 37. 

5. Apothecaries or perfumers appear 
to have formed a guild or association. 
Ex. 30:25, 35; 2 Chron. 16:14; Neh. 
3:8; Eccles. 7:1; 10 : 1 ; Ecclus. 38 : 8. 

6. Weavers. — The arts of spinning and 
weaving both wool and linen are very 
ancient, and were carried to great pro- 
ficiency. Weaving was generally car- 
ried on by men in Egypt, but women 
sometimes engaged in it and the spin- 
ning was largely the work of the 
women. Ex. 35 : 25, 26 ; Lev. 19 : 19 ; 
Deut. 22:11; 2 Kings 23:7; Ezek. 16: 
16; Prov. 31 : 13, 24. The loom with its 
beam, 1 Sam. 17:7, pin, Judges 16:14, 
and shuttle, Job 7 : 6, was perhaps in- 
troduced later, but as early as David s 
time. 1 Sam, 17 ; 7. 


7. Dyeing and dressing cloth were 
practised in Palestine, as were also 
tanning and dressing leather. Ex. 25: 
5 ; Num. 31 : 20 ; 2 Kings 1:8; Matt. 3 : 
4 ; Acts 9 : 43. 

8 . Barbers. Num. 6 : 5, 19 ; Ezek. 5 : 1. 

9. Tent-makers are noticed in Acts 
18: 3. 

10. Potters are frequently alluded to. 
Jer. 18:2-6. 

,11. Bakers are noticed in Scripture, 
Jer. 37:21; Hos. 7:4; and the well- 
known valley Tyropoeon is commonly 
regarded as deriving its name from the 
occupation of the cheese-makers, its in- 
habitants. 

12. Butchers , not Jewish, are spoken 
of, 1 Cor. 10 : 25. 

Shoemakers, tailors, glaziers and glass 
vessels, painters and gold-workers are 
mentioned in the Mishna. Chel. viii. 9 ; 
xxix. 3, 4; xxx. 1. 

Handkerchief, Napkin, Apron. 

Luke 19:20; John 11:44; 20:7; Acts 
19 : 12. These terms were used in much 
the same manner and having much the 
same significance as at the present. 

Ha 'nes (ha'nes), a place in Egypt 
mentioned only in Isa. 30 : 4. The iden- 
tification with Tahpanhes, a fortified 
town on the eastern frontier, is very 
possible. 

Hanging, Hangings. (1) The 

“hanging” was a curtain or “cover- 
ing” to close an entrance; one was 
placed before the door of the tabernacle. 
Ex. 26 : 36 ; 37 ; 39 : 38. The R. V. trans- 
lates “screen.” (2) The “hangings” 
were suspended from pillars, and fenced 
off the court of the tabernacle from the 
outer world. Ex. 27 : 9 ; 35 : 17 ; 38 : 9 ; 
Num. 3 : 26 ; -4 : 26. 

Han'iel (han'iel) ( grace of God), 
one of the sons of Ulla of the tribe 
of Asher. 1 Chron. 7 : 39. 

Han'nah {grace), one of the wives of 
Elkanah, and mother of Samuel. 1 
Sam. 1, 2. A hymn of thanksgiving 
for the birth of her son is highly 
poetic; so much so that modern criti- 
cism pronounces it unsuited to Han- 
nah’s time and circumstances, and as- 
cribes it to a later date. Its resem- 
blance to that of the Virgin Mary, 
comp. 1 Sam. 2 : 1-10 with Luke 1 : 46- 
55, see also Ps. 113, has been noticed. 

Han'nathon (han'na-thon), one of 
the cities of Zebulun. Josh. 19:14. 

Han'niel (han'm-el) {the favor of 


HAN 


238 


HAR 


God), son of Ephod and prince of 
Manasseh. Num. 34:23. 

Ha'noch (ha'nok). 1. The third in 
order of the children of Midian. Gen. 
25: 4. 

2. Eldest son of Reuben, Gen. 46 : 9 ; 
Ex. 6 : 14 ; Num. 26:5; 1 Chron. 5 : 3, 
and founder of the family of the Ha- 
nochites. Num. 26 : 5. 

Ha'nun (ha'nun) (favored). 1. Son 
of Nahash, 2 Sam. 10 : 1, 2 ; 1 Chron. 
19:1, 2, king of Ammon, who dishon- 
ored the ambassadors of David, 2 Sam. 
10: 4, and involved the Ammonites in a 
disastrous war. 2 Sam. 12:31; 1 Chron. 
19 : 6. 

2. A man who, with the people of Za- 

noah, repaired the ravine gate in the 
wall of Jerusalem. Neh. 3:13. (b.c. 

446.) 

3. The sixth son of Zalaph, who also 

assisted in the repair of the wall, appar- 
ently on the east side. Neh. 3 : 30. (b.c. 

446.) 

Haphra'im (haf-ra'im) ( two pits), a 
city of Issachar, mentioned next to 
Shunem. Josh. 19:19. Jerome identi- 
fied it with Affarea, 6 miles from Legio 
( Lejjun ). This site is now called El- 
Ferriyeh. Another identification is with 
cl-Afuleh, 2 miles west of Solam (the 
ancient Shunem), about 7 miles from 
Lejjun. 

Ha'ra (ha'ra), 1 Chron. 5:26 only, is 
mentioned as a place where Israelitish 
exiles were settled by Tiglath Pileser. 
Its situation is unknown. 

Har'adah (har'a-dah) (fear), a 
desert station of the Israelites, Num. 
33 : 24, 25 ; its position is uncertain. 

Ha' ran (ha'ran) (a mountaineer). 1. 
The third son of Terah, and therefore 
youngest brother of Abram. Gen. 11: 
26. Three children are ascribed to him 
— Lot, vs. 27, 31, and two daughters, 
viz., Milcah, who married her uncle Na- 
hor, ver. 29, and Iscah, ver. 29. Haran 
was born in Ur of the Chaldees, and he 
died there while his father was still liv- 
ing, ver. 28. b.c. 1926 (Ussher). 

2. A Gershonite Levite, one of the 
family of Shimei. 1 Chron. 23 : 9. 

3. A son of Caleb the son of Hezron 
by his concubine Ephah. 1 Chron. 2 : 46. 

4. Haran or Charran, Acts 7:2, 4, 
name of the place whither Abraham 
migrated with his family from Ur of 
the Chaldees, and where the descendants 
of his brother Nahor established them- 
selves. Comp. . Gen. 24 : 10 with 27 : 43. 


It is said to be in Mesopotamia, Gen. 
24 : 10, or more definitely in Padan- 
aram, ch. 25 : 20, the cultivated district 
at the foot of the hills, a name well ap- 
plying to the beautiful stretch of coun- 
try which lies below Mount Masius be- 
tween the Khabour and the Euphrates. 
Here, about midway in this district, is a 
small village still called Harran. It was 
celebrated among the Romans, under the 
name of Charrae, as the scene of the 
defeat of Crassus. 

Ha'rarite (ha'ra-rit.e), The. The 
designation of two of David’s guard. 1. 
Shammah, the son of Agee, a Hararite. 

2 Sam. 23 : 11, 33. 

2. Sharar, 2 Sam. 23 : 33, or Sacar, 1 
Chron. 11 : 35, the Hararite, was the 
father of Ahiam, another member of 
the guard. ' 

Harbo'na (har-bo'na) (ass-driver), 
the third of the seven chamberlains or 
eunuchs who served King Ahasuerus. 
Esther 1:10. (b.c. 483-475.) 

Harbo'nah (har-bo'nah), Esther 7:9, 
the same as the preceding. 

Hare (Heb. arnebeth) occurs only in 
Lev. 11 : 6 and Deut. 14 : 7 amongst the 
animals disallowed as food by the 
Mosaic law. The hare is at this day 
called Arnabeh by the Arabs in Pales- 
tine and Syria. It was erroneously 
thought by the ancient Jews to have 
chewed the cud. They were no doubt 
misled, by the habit these animals have 
of moving the jaw about. Although 
some regard the statement as merely 
according to appearance, not scientific. 

Harem. [House.] 

Ha'reph (ha'ref) (a plucking off), 
a name occurring in the genealogies of 
Judah as a son of Caleb and as “ father 
of Beth-gader.” 1 Chron. 2 : 51 only. 

Ha'reth (ha'reth), The forest of, in 
which David took refuge, after, at the 
instigation of the prophet Gad, he had 
quitted the “ hold ” or fastness of the 
cave of Adullam. 1 Sam. 22 : 5. 

Harhai'ah (har-ha-i'ah), father of 
Uzziel. Neh. 3 : 8. 

Har'has (har'has), an ancestor of 
Shallum the husband of Huldah. 2 
Kings 22 : 14. 

Har'hur (har'hur) (fever or free- 
born). The sons of Harhur were 
among the Nethinim who returned from 
Babylon with Zerubbabel. Ezra 2 : 51 ; 
Neh. 7:53. 

Ha'rim (ha'rim) (consecrated) . 1. 

A priest who had charge of the third 


HAR 


239 


HAR 


division in the house of God. 1 Chron. 
24: 8. 

2. Bene-Harim, probably descendants 
of the above, to the number of 1017, 
came from Babylon with Zerubbabel. 
Ezra 2:39; Neh. 7 : 42. 

3. It further occurs in a list of 'the 
families of priests “ who went up with 
Zerubbabel and Jeshua,” and of those 
who were their descendants in the next 
generation. Neh. 12:15. 

4. Another family of Bene-Harim, 320 
in number, came from the captivity in 
the same caravan. Ezra 2:32; Neh. 7: 
35. The same names also appear among 
those who had married foreign wives, 
Ezra 10 : 31, as well as those who sealed 
the covenant. Neh. 10:27. 

Ha'riph (ha'rif) {autumn). A hun- 
dred and twelve of the Bene-Hariph re- 
turned from the captivity with Zerub- 
babel. Neh. 7:24. The name occurs 
again among the “ heads of the people ” 
who sealed the covenant, ch. 10 : 19. 

Harlot. That this class of persons 
existed in the earliest states of society 
is clear from Gen. 38 : 15. They were 
legalized in many cases as consecrated 
to the worship of the heathen gods, and 
formed both one of the attractions of 
idolatry and one of its chief dangers. 
After the exile legitimized harlotry was 
made an end of with idolatry. The 
“ harlots ” are classed with “ publicans,” 
as those who lay under the ban of so- 
ciety, in the New Testament. Matt. 21: 
32. 

Har=mag'edon (har-mag'e-don) {hill 
of Megiddo), Rev. 16: 16 in the Revised 
Version for Armageddon. The change 
is chiefly Har, hill, in place of Ar, city. 

Har'nepher (har'ne-fer) {panting), 
one of the sons of Zophah, of the tribe' 
of Asher. 1 Chron. 7 : 36. 

Ha'rod (ha'rod) {trembling), The 
well of, a spring by which Gideon and 
his great army encamped on the morn- 
ing of the day which ended in the rout 
of the Midianites, Judges 7:1, and 
where the trial of the people by their 
mode of drinking apparently took place. 
The site is not certain but the Ain 
Jalud is very suitable to the circum- 
stances, as being at present the largest 
spring in the neighborhood. 

Ha'rodite (ha'rod-ite), The, the 
designation of two of the thirty-seven 
warriors of David’s guard, Shammah 
and Elika, 2 Sam. 23 : 25, doubtless de- 
rived from a place named Harod. 


Har'oeh (har'o-e), a name occurring 
in the genealogical lists of Judah, l 
Chron. 2 : 52. 

Harorite (ha'ro-rite) (the same as 
Harodite), The, the title given to Sham- 
moth, one of the warriors of David’s 
guard. 1 Chron. 11 : 27. 

Haro'sheth (ha-ro'sheth) {carving) 
of the Gentiles was formerly thought 
near the waters of Merom. It is now 
generally identified with el-Harathiyeh 
a small village on the northern bank 
of the Kishon at the point where the 
stream enters the plain of Acre. It was 
the residence of Sisera, captain of Jabin 
king of Canaan, Judges 4 : 2, and it was 
the point to which the victorious Israel- 
ites under Barak pursued the discom- 
fited host and chariots of the second 
potentate of that name. Judges 4 : 16. 

Harp. The harp was the national in- 
strument of the Hebrews, and was well 
known throughout Asia. In Genesis its 
invention is assigned to Jubal during 
the antediluvian period. Gen. 4 : 21. 



EGYPTIAN HARP. 


Josephus records that the harp had ten 
strings, and that it was played on with 
the plectrum. Sometimes it was smaller, 
having only eight strings, and was usu- 
ally played with the fingers. 

Harrow. The word so rendered, 2 
Sam. 12 : 31 ; 1 Chron. 20 : 3, is probably 
a threshing-machine. The verb ren- 
dered “to harrow,” Job 39:10; Isa. 28: 
24; Hos. 10: 11, expresses apparently the 
breaking of the clods, and is so far anal- 
ogous to our harrowing; but whether 
done by any such machine as we call a 
“ harrow ” is very doubtful. 

Har'sha (har'sha). Bene-Harsha 


HAR 


240 


HAS 


were among the families of Nethinim 
who came back from Babylon with 
Zerubbabel. Ezra 2:52; Neh. 7 : 54. 

- Hart, the male deer. The word de- 
notes some member of the deer tribe, 
either the true fallow deer or the roe- 
buck. The hart is reckoned among the 
clean animals, Deut. 12 : 15 ; 14 : 5 ; 15 : 
22, and seems from the passages quoted, 
as well as from 1 Kings 4 : 23, to have 
been commonly killed for food. 

Ha' rum (ha'rum) (lofty), father of 
Aharhel, in one of the most obscure 
genealogies of Judah. 1 Chron. 4 : 8. 

Haru'maph (ha-ru'maf) (slit-nosed) , 
father or ancestor of Jedaiah. Neh. 3 : 
10 . 

Har'uphite (har'u-fite) (native of 
Hariph), The, the designation of 
Shephatiah, one of the Korhites who 
repaired to David at Ziklag. 1 Chron. 
12:5. (b.c. 1057.) 

Ha'ruz (ha'ruz) (diligent), a man of 
Jotbah, father of Meshullemeth queen 
of Manasseh. 2 Kings 21 : 19. 

Harvest. [Agriculture.] 

Hasadi'ah (has-a-di'ah) (Jehovah is 
kind). One of the sons of Zerubbabel. 
1 Chron. 3 : 20. 

Hasenu'ah (has-e-nu'ah), a Benja- 
mite, named twice, unless there were 
two of the same name. 1 Chron. 9:7; 
Neh. 11 : 9. 

Hashabi'ah (hash-a-bl'ah). 1. A 
Merarite Levite. 1 Chron. 6 : 45. 

2. Another Merarite Levite. 1 Chron. 
9: 14. 

3. The fourth of the six sons of Jed- 
uthun, 1 Chron. 25 : 3, who had charge 
of the twelfth course, ver. 19. 

4. One of the descendants of Hebron 
the son of Kohath. 1 Chron. 26 : 30. 

5. The son of Kemuel, who was prince 
of the tribe of Levi in the time of David. 
1 Chron. 27:17. 

6. A Levite, one of the “ chiefs ” of 

his tribe, who officiated for King Josiah 
at his great passover feast. 2 Chron. 
35 : 9. (b.C. 621.) 

7. A Merarite Levite who accompanied 
Ezra from Babylon. Ezra 8 : 19. 

8. One of the chiefs of the priests who 
formed part of the same caravan. Ezra 
8: 24. 

9. Ruler of half the circuit or environs 

of Keilah; he repaired a portion of the 
wall of Jerusalem under Nehemiah. 
Neh. 3 : 17. (b.c. 446.) 

10. One of the Levites who sealed the 
covenant of reformation after the re- 


turn from the captivity. Neh. 10 : 11 ; 
12 : 24 ; comp. 26. 

11. Another Levite, son of Bunni. 
Neh. 11: 15. 

12. A Levite, son of Mattaniah. Neh. 

11 : 22 . 

13. A priest of the family of Hilkiah 
in the days of Joiakim son of Jeshua. 
Neh. 12:21. 

Hashab'nah (ha-shab'nah), one of 
the chief of the “ people ” who sealed 
the covenant with Nehemiah. Neh. 10: 
25. 

Hashabni'ah (hash-ab-ni'ah). 1. 
Father of Hattush. Neh. 3 : 10. 

2. A Levite who was among those 
who officiated at the great fast under 
Ezra and Nehemiah when the covenant 
was sealed. Neh. 9 : 5. 

Hashbad'ana (hash-bad'a-na), one 
of the men (probably Levites) who 
stood on Ezra’s left hand while he read 
the law to the .people in Jerusalem. Neh. 
8:4. 

Ha'shem (ha'shem). The sons of 
Hashem the Gizonite are named amongst 
the members of David’s guard in 1 
Chron. 11 : 34. See Jashen and Gizon- 
ite. 

Hashmo'nah (hash-mo'nah), a sta- 
tion of the Israelites, mentioned Num. 
33 : 29 as next before Moseroth. 

Ha'shub (ha'shub) (considerate ) . 1. 

A son of Pahath-moab, who assisted in 
the repair of the wall of Jerusalem. 
Neh. 3 :11. (b.c. 446.) 

2. Another who assisted in the same 
work. Neh. 3:23. 

3. One of the heads of the people who 
sealed the covenant with Nehemiah. 
Neh. 10:23. 

4. A Merarite Levite. Neh. 11 : 15. 

Hashu'bah (ha-shu'bah) (considera- 
tion). One of the sons of Zerubbabel. 
1 Chron. 3 : 20. 

Ha'shum (ha'shum) (rich). 1. Bene- 
Hashum, 223 in number, came back 
from Babylon with Zerubbabel. Ezra 2 : 
19; 10:33; Neh. 7:22. The chief man 
of the family was among those who 
sealed the covenant with Nehemiah. 
Neh. 10: 18. 

2. One of the priests or Levites who 
stood on Ezra’s left hand while he read 
the law to the congregation. Neh. 8:4. 

Hashu'pha (ha-shu'fa) (stripped) , 
one of the families of Nethinim who re- 
turned from captivity in the first car- 
avan. Neh. 7 : 46. Called Hasupha in 


HAS 


241 


HAW 


Ezra 2 : 43, which is doubtless the cor- 
rect form. 

Has' rah (has'rah), the form in which 
the name Harhas is given in 2 Chron. 
34 : 22 ; comp. 2 Kings 22 : 14. 

Hassena'ah (has-se-na'ah). The 
Bene-Hassenaah rebuilt the fish-gate in 
the repair of the wall of Jerusalem. 
Neh. 3:3. 

Has'shub (has'shub). [See Ha- 
shub.] 

Hasu'pha (ha-su'fa). [See Ha- 
shupha.] 

Ha'tach (ha'tak), one of the eunuchs 
in the court of Ahasuerus. Esther 4 : 
5, 6, 9, 10. (b.C. 473.) 

Ha'thath (ha'thath) (terror), one of 
the sons of Othniel the Kenazite. 1 
Chron. 4 : 13. 

Hat'ipha (hat'i-fa) (captive). Bene- 
Hatipha (i. e. sons of Hatipha) were 
among the Nethinim who returned from 
Babylon with Zerubbabel. Ezra 2:54; 
Neh. 7 : 56. 

Hat'ita (hat'i-ta). Bene-Hatita were 
among the “porters” (i. e. the gate- 
keepers) who returned from the cap- 
tivity with Zerubbabel. Ezra 2 : 42 ; 
Neh. 7:45. 

Hat'til (hat'til) . Bene-Hattil were 
among the “ children of Solomon’s 
slaves ” who came back from captivity 
with Zerubbabel. Ezra 2:57; Neh. 7: 
59. 

Hat'tush (hat'tush) (assembled) . 1. 

A descendant of the kings of Judah, ap- 
parently one of the sons of Shecha- 
niah, 1 Chron. 3 : 22. A person of the 
same name accompanied Ezra from 
Babylon to Jerusalem. Ezra 8:2. In 
another statement Hattush is said to 
have returned with Zerubbabel. Neh. 
12 : 2 . 

2. Son of Hashabniah ; one of those 
who assisted Nehemiah in the repair 
of the wall of Jerusalem. Neh. 3:10. 
(b.c. 446.) 

Hau'ran (hau'ran) (caverns), a 
province of Palestine mentioned by Eze- 
kiel. Ezek. 47 : 16, 18. There can be 
little doubt that it is identical with the 
well-known Greek province of Auranitis 
and the modern Hauran, east of the 
Sea of Galilee, on the borders of the 
desert, in the tetrarchy of Philip. 

Hav'ilah (hav'i-lah) (sandy). 1. A 
son of Cush. Gen. 10 : 7. 

2. A son of Joktan. Gen. 10:29. 

Hav'ilah (hav'i-lah). Gen. 2:11. A 
part of Eden around which flowed the 
16 


river Pison. Its position is variously 
determined, some contesting that there 
were several districts of the name, oth- 
ers that the apparent differences are 
because different parts of a large terri- 
tory are mentioned. A very similar 
name was found in Africa, and also 
widely spread in Arabia. 

Havoth=ja'ir (ha'voth-ja'ir) (vil- 
lages of Jab'), certain villages on the 
east of Jordan, in Gilead or Bashan, 
which were taken by Jair the son of 
Manasseh, and called after his name. 
Num. 32 : 41 ; Deut. 3 : 14. In the records 
of Manasseh in Josh. 13 : 30 and 1 Chron. 
2: 23, the Havoth-jair are reckoned with 
other districts as making up sixty 
“ cities.” Comp. 1 Kings 4 : 13. There 
is apparently some confusion in these 
different statements as to what the sixty 
cities really consisted of. No less 
doubtful is the number of the Havoth- 
jair. In 1 Chron. 2:22 they are speci- 
fied as twenty-three, but in Judges 10: 
4 as thirty. 

Hawk. Lev. 11:16; Deut. 14:15; 
Job 39 : 26. Probably a general term for 



KESTREL OR HAWK. 


birds of prey. With respect to the pas- 
sage in Job (/. c.) which appears to al- 
lude to the migratory habits of hawks, 
it is curious to observe that of the ten 
or twelve lesser raptors (hawk tribe) 


HAY 


i 242 


HAZ 


of Palestine, nearly all are summer 
migrants. The kestrel remains all the 
year, but the others are all migrants 
from the south. 

Hay (Heb. chatsir), the rendering of 
the Authorized Version in Prov. 27:25 
and Isa. 15 : 6 of the Hebrew term, 
which occurs frequently in the Old Tes- 
tament, and denotes “ grass ” of any 
kind. There is another Hebrew word 
meaning “ dry grass ” or perhaps better 
“ cut grass,” viz. chashash, which, in 
the only two places where the word oc- 
curs, Isa. 5:24, 33:11, is rendered 

“chaff” in the Authorized Version. In 
the latter place the R. V. translates it 
“ dry grass.” The people of Palestine 
do not cut and dry grass for hay as 
do western peoples, and there is no evi- 
dence that it was done in Bible times. 
They do now, and probably did then, 
cut and pull grass and other fodder 
plants and give them to live stock, es- 
pecially during the spring and early 
summer. Hay would not be necessary, 
since there is always either the green 
grass, or the stubble remaining in the 
fields. 

Haz'a=el (haz'a-el) ( whom God 
sees), a king of Damascus who reigned 
from about b.c. 842 to b.c. 796. He ap- 
pears to have been previously a person 
in a high position at the court of Ben- 
hadad,- and was sent by his master to 
Elisha to inquire if he would recover 
from the malady under which he was 
suffering. Elisha’s answer led to the 
murder of Ben-hadad by his ambitious 
servant, who forthwith mounted the 
throne. 2 Kings 8 : 7-15. He was soon 
engaged in war with the kings of Judah 
and Israel, for the possession of the 
city of Ramoth-gilead. 8 : 28. Towards 
the close of the reign of Jehu, Hazael 
led the Syrians against the Israelites 
(about b.c. 819), whom he “smote in 
all their coasts,” 2 Kings 10,: 32, thus 
accomplishing the prophecy of Elisha. 
8:12. At the close of his life, having 
taken Gath, 12 : 17 ; comp. Amos 6 : 2, 
he proceeded to attack Jerusalem, 2 
Chron. 24 : 24, and was about to assault 
the city when Joash bribed him to re- 
tire. 2 Kings 12 : 18. Hazael appears to 
have died about the year b.c. 796, 2 
Kings 13 : 24, having reigned forty-six 
years. 

Haza'iah (ha-za'iah) ( Jehovah hath 
seen), a man of Judah of the family of 


the Shilonites, or descendants of Shelah. 
Neh. 11 : 5. 

Hazar=ad'dar (ha'zar-ad'dar) ( vil- 
lage of Addar), a place named as one 
of the landmarks on the southern boun- 
dary of the land promised to Israel. 
Num. 34:4; Adar, Josh. 15:3. 

Hazar=e'nan (ha'zar-e'nan) ( village 
of fountains) , the place at which the 
northern boundary of the land prom- 
ised to the children of Israel was to 
terminate. Num. 34:9, 10; comp. Ezek. 
47: 17; 48 : 1. 

Hazar=gad'dah (ha'zar-gad'dah) ( vil- 
lage of fortune), one of the towns in 
the southern district of Judah, Josh. 15: 
27, named between Moladah and Hesh- 
mon. 

Hazar=ma'veth (ha'zar-ma'vetlD ( vil- 
lage of death), one of the sons of 
Joktan. Gen. 10:26. The name is pre- 
served in the Arabic Hadramaut, the 
modern name of a province of southern 
Arabia, where his descendants formed 
one of the chief tribes in ancient times. 
They have left inscriptions which have 
recently been deciphered by Glaser. The 
country bordered the Indian Ocean, and 
its capital, Sabata, is still in existence. 
They were celebrated for their traffic 
in frankincense. 

Hazar=shu'al (ha'zar-shu'al) ( village 
of jackals), a town in the southern dis- 
trict of Judah, lying between Hazar- 
gaddah and Beer-sheba. Josh. 15:28; 
19 : 3 ; 1 Chron. 4 : 28. 

Hazar=su'sah (ha'zar-su'sah) ( village 
of horses), o ne of the “cities” allotted 
to Simeon in the extreme south of the 
territory of Judah. Josh. 19 : 5. 

Hazel. The Hebrew term luz occurs 
only in Gen. 30 : 37. Without doubt it 
should be translated as in R. V. “ al- 
mond.” The hazel does not grow in 
Mesopotamia, where Laban lived, while 
the almond is common. 

Hazelelpo'ni (haz-e-lel-po'ni), the 
sister of the sons of Etam in the geneal- 
ogies of Judah. 1 Chron. 4:3. 

Haze'rim (ha-ze'rim) {villages ) . 
The Avim, or more accurately the Av- 
vim, are said to have lived “ in the 
villages (Authorized Version * Haze- 
rim ’) as far as Gaza,” Deut. 2 : 23, be- 
fore their expulsion by the Caphtorim. 

Haze'roth (ha-ze'roth) {villages) , 
Num. 11:35; 12:16; 33:17; Deut. 1:1, 
a station of the Israelites in the desert, 
and perhaps recognizable in the Arabic 


HAZ 


24; 


HEB 


Ain el-Hudhera, forty miles northeast 
of Sinai. 

Haz'ezon=ta'mar (haz'e-zon-ta'mar) 
and Hazazon=ta'mar ( Hazezon of the 
palm tree), the ancient name of Engedi. 
Gen. 14 : 7. The name occurs in the 
records of the reign of Hezekiah. 2 
Chron. 20 : 2. 

Ha'ziel (ha'zi-el) ( vision of God), 
a Levite in the time of David, of the 
family of Shimei or Shimi, the younger 
branch of the Gershonites. 1 Chron. 23: 
9. 

Ha 'zo (ha'zo) {vision), a son of 
Nahor, by Milcah his wife. Gen. 22: 
22 . 

Ha'zor (ha'zor) {castle). 1. A for- 
tified city, which on the occupation of 
the country was allotted to Naphtali. 
Josh. 19 : 36. Its position was appar- 
ently between Ramah and Kedesh, ibid. 
12 : 19, on the high ground overlooking 
the Lake of Merom. There is no reason 
for supposing it a different place from 
that of which Jabin was king. Josh. 11 : 
1 ; Judges 4 : 2, 17 ; 1 Sam. 12 : 9. It was 
the principal city of the whole of north 
Palestine. Josh. 11 : 10. It was forti- 
fied by Solomon, 1 Kings 9 : 15, and its 
inhabitants were carried captive by Tig- 
lath-pileser. 2 Kings 15 : 29. The most 
probable site of Hazor is Tell Khurai- 
beh. 

2. One of the “ cities ” of Judah in 
the extreme south, named next in order 
to Kedesh. Josh. 15 : 23. 

3. Hazor-Hadattah = “new Hazor,” 
another of the southern towns of Judah. 
Josh. 15 : 25. 

4. A place in which the Benjamites 
resided after their return from the cap- 
tivity. Neh. 11 : 33. 

Head=dress. The earliest notice we 
have of a head covering is in connection 
with the sacerdotal vestments. Ex. 28 : 
40. The tsaniph (something like a tur- 
ban) is noticed as being worn by nobles, 
Job 29 : 14, ladies, Isa. 3 : 23, and kings, 
Isa. 62: 3; while the peer was an article 
of holiday dress, Isa. 61:3, Authorized 
Version “beauty;” Ezek. 24:17, 23, and 
was worn at weddings. Isa. 61 : 10. 
The ordinary head-dress of the Bedouin 
consists of the kefheh, a square handker- 
chief, generally of red and yellow cotton 
or cotton and silk, folded so that three 
of the corners hang down over the back 
and shoulders, leaving the face exposed, 
and bound round the head by a cord. 


It is not improbable that a similar cov- 
ering was used by the Hebrews on cer- 
tain occasions. The Assyrian head-dress 
is described in Ezek. 23 : 15 under the 
terms “exceeding in dyed attire.” The 
word rendered “ hats ” in Dan. 3 : 21 
may mean a tunic or a Persian “ fez.” 

Hearth. One way of baking much 
practised in the East is to place the 
dough on an iron plate, either laid on 
or supported on legs above the vessel 
sunk in the ground, which forms the 
oven. The cakes baked “ on the hearth,” 
Gen. 18 : 6, were probably baked in the 
existing Bedouin manner, on hot stones 
covered with ashes. The “ hearth ” of 
King JehoiakinTs winter palace, Jer. 36: 
23, was possibly a pan or brazier of 
charcoal. From this we see that the 
significance of the Hebrew words trans- 
lated hearth is not the same as with us. 

Heath, Jer. 17 : 6, was some species 
of juniper, probably the savin, a dwarf, 
stunted juniper which grows in the most 
sterile parts of the desert. 

Hea'then. [Gentiles.] 

Heaven. There are four Hebrew 
words thus rendered in the Old Testa- 
ment which we may briefly notice. (1) 
Raki’a, Authorized Version, firmament. 
[Firmament.] (2) Shamayim. This 
is the word used in the expression “ the 
heaven and the earth,” or “ the upper 
and lower regions.” Gen. 1:1. (3) 

Marom,. used for heaven in Ps. 18:16; 
Isa. 24 : 18 ; Jer. 25 : 30. Properly speak- 
ing it means a mountain, as in Ps. 102 : 
19 ; Ezek. 17 : 23. (4) Shechakhn, “ ex- 

panses,” with reference to the extent of 
heaven. Deut. 33:26; Job 35:5. St. 
Paul’s expression “ third heaven,” 2 
Cor. 12:2, has led to much conjecture. 
Grotius said that the Jews divided the 
heaven into three parts, viz., 1. The air 
or atmosphere, where clouds gather ; 2. 
The firmament, in which the sun, moon 
and stars are fixed ; 3. The upper 

heaven, the abode of God and his angels, 
the invisible realm of holiness and hap- 
piness, the home of the children of God. 
The later Jews were fond of dividing 
into seven different strata, the highest 
of all being regarded as God’s dwelling 
place. 

He'ber (he'ber) {alliance). 1. Grand- 
son of the patriarch Asher, Gen. 46 : 17 ; 
Num. 26:45; 1 Chron. 7:31, from 

whom came the Heberites. Num. 26 : 45. 


244 



0 


HEBRON 







HEB 


245 


HEB 


2. The patriarch Eber. Luke 3 : 35. 
[Eber.] 

3. The father of Socho; a Judahite. 
1 Chron. 4 : 18. 

4. A Benjamite. 1 Chron. 8:17. 

5. A Benjamite. 1 Chron. 8:22. 
“Eber” in R. V. 

6. A Gadite. 1 Chron. 5 : 13. “ Eber ” 
in R. V. 

7. The husband of Jael, who slew Sis- 
era by driving a nail into his temple. 
Judges 4 : 21, 22. 

He'brew (he'bru). There is a con- 
siderable difference of opinion as to the 
original meaning of this word. It first 
appears as applied to Abram, Gen. 14: 
13. The most common derivations are 
from ’eber, “ beyond, on the other side,” 
Abraham and his posterity being called 
Hebrews in order to express a distinc- 
tion between the races east and west of 
the Euphrates ; and (2) from Heber or 
Eber, one of the ancestors of Abraham. 
Gen. 10 : 24. The term Israelite was 
used by the Jews of themselves among 
themselves ; the term Hebrew was the 
name by which they were known to for- 
eigners. The latter was accepted by the 
Jews in their external relations; and 
after the general substitution of the 
word Jew, it still found a place in that 
marked and special feature of national 
contradistinction, the language. 

He'brew language. The books of 
the Old Testament are written almost 
entirely in the Hebrew language. It is 
a branch of the Shemitic language, one 
of the three great divisions into which 
all languages have been reduced. It is 
one of the earliest of known languages, 
and some suppose that it was the orig- 
inal language of man. 

Hebrews, Epistle to. The Author 
remains unknown, and no surmise as to 
who wrote the book has brought us 
near the answer. 

The Date can be inferred from the 
contents. The Epistle is “ a supreme 
effort to avert an apostasy at a time of 
extreme peril,” such as the destruction 
of Jerusalem. 

“ There is therefore a high degree of 
probability in the suggestion that the 
Epistle was written when the war which 
issued so disastrously for the Jewish 
people, was raging and drawing near 
to its awful crisis.” (Bruce in Hast- 
ings’ Bible Dictionary.) This would be 
during the years just previous to a.d. 70. 

The Persons to whom written. “He- 


brews ” means Jews speaking Hebrew. 
They may have lived in Judea, or, per- 
haps more likely, Jews in Syria speaking 
Greek as well as Hebrew, for the Epis* 
tie is written in Greek. Contents.— 
With respect to the scope of the epistle, 
it should be recollected that while the 
numerous Christian churches scattered 
throughout Judea, Acts 9:31; Gal. 1 : 22, 
were continually exposed to persecution 
from the Jews, 1 Thess. 2 : 14, there 
was in Jerusalem one additional weapon 
in the hands of the predominant op- 
pressors of the Christians. The mag- 
nificent national temple might be shut 
against the Hebrew Christian ; and even 
if this affliction were not often laid upon 
him, yet there was a secret burden which 
he bore within him, the knowledge that 
the end of all the beauty and awfulness 
of Zion was rapidly approaching. The 
writer of this epistle meets the Hebrew 
Christians on their own ground, showing 
that the new faith gave them Christ the 
Son of God, more prevailing than the 
high priest as an intercessor ; that his 
Sabbath awaited them, his covenant, his 
atonement, his city heavenly not made 
with hands. The letter it may truth- 
fully be said in the words of G. 
Campbell Morgan, “ is intended for 
those who felt as though under the new 
dispensation they had lost all that was 
most dear to them." Judaism, with its 
splendid ritual and elaborate priesthood, 
was stricken root and branch, and was 
passing away. The writer of this letter 
teaches the fact that it is only the ex- 
ternal elements of Judaism that are go- 
ing, and that something infinitely better 
is taking its place, — something that con- 
tains all that was essential and eternal 
in the old system.” 

He'bron (he'bron) {alliance). 1. 
The third son of Kohath, who was the 
second son of Levi. Ex. 6 : 18 ; Num. 
3:19; 1 Chron. 6 : 2, 18 ; 23 : 12. He 
was the founder of a family of Hebron- 
ites, Num. 3 : 27 ; 26 : 58 ; 1 Chron. 26 : 
23, 30, 31, or Bene-Hebron. 1 Chron. 
15 : 9 ; 23 : 19. 

2. A city of Judah, Josh. 15 : 54, situ- 
ated among the mountains, Josh. 20 : 7, 
about 20 miles south of Jerusalem, and 
the same distance north of Beersheba. 
Hebron is one of the most ancient cities 
in the world still existing; and in this 
respect it is the rival of Damascus. It 
was a well-known town when Abraham 
entered Canaan more than 3800 year? 


HEB 


246 


HEL 


ago. Gen. 13 : 18. Its original name 
was Kirjath-arba, Judges 1:10, “the 
city of Arba;” so called from Arba the 
father of Anak. Josh. 15 : 13, 14 ; 21 : 13. 
Sarah died at Hebron; and Abraham 
then bought from Ephron the Hittite the 
field and cave of Machpelah, to serve 
as a family tomb. * Gen. 23 : 2-20. The 
cave is still there ; and the massive walls 
of the Haram or mosque, within which 
it lies, form the most remarkable object 
in the whole city. Abraham is called 
by Mohammedans el-Khulil, _ “ the 
Friend,” i. e. of God, and this is the 
modern name of Hebron. Hebron now 
contains about 18,000 inhabitants, of 
whom less than 1000 are Jews. It is 
picturesquely situated in a narrow val- 
ley, surrounded by rocky hills. The val- 
ley runs from north to south; and the 
main quarter of the town, surmounted 
by the lofty walls of the venerable 
Haram , lies partly on the eastern slope. 
Gen. 37 : 14 ; comp. 23 : 19. About two 
miles from the town, up the valley, is 
one of the largest oak trees in Palestine. 
This, say some, is the very tree beneath 
which Abraham pitched his tent, and it 
still bears the name of the patriarch. 

3. One of the towns in the territory 
of Asher, Josh. 19 : 28 ; probably Ebdon 
or Abdon. Not same name as 2. R. 
V. Ebron. 

He'bronites, The. A family of Ko- 
hathite Levites, descendants of Hebron 
the son of Kohath. Num. 3 : 27 ; 26 : 58 ; 
1 Chron. 26:23. 

Hedge. In the New Testament a 
fence of any kind. In the Old Testa- 
ment two Hebrew words are used, — one, 
a stone wall, gader ; the other, sakak, a 
thorn hedge. Prov. 24 : 31 ; Ezek. 42 : 

10. The stone walls which surround 
the sheepfolds of modern Palestine are 
frequently crowned with sharp thorns. 

Heg'ai (he'ga-i), one of the Persian 
eunuchs of the court of Ahasuerus. 
Esther 2:8, 15. (b.c. 473.) 

He'ge (he'ge), another form of the 
preceding. Esther 2 : 3. 

Heifer. 1 Sam. 6:7-12; Job 21:10; 
Isa. 7:21. The heifer or young cow 
was customarily used for ploughing, ac- 
cording to Jud. 14:18. Ploughing and 
harrowing are both mentioned in Hos. 
10 : 11, where we find it used also in 
treading out the corn. See also Jer. 50 : 

11. Israel is sometimes compared to a 
stubborn (A. V. backsliding) heifer, 
that will not learn the yoke; and in 


Hos. 10 : 11 to one hitherto used only 
for threshing, but now to have the 
harder work of ploughing and harrow- 
ing. 

Heir. The Hebrew institutions rela- 
tive to inheritance were of a very simple 
character. Under the patriarchal sys- 
tem the property was divided among the 
sons of the legitimate wives, Gen. 21 : 
10 ; 24 : 36 ; 25 : 5, a larger portion being 
assigned to one, generally the eldest, 
on whom devolved the duty of main- 
taining the females of the family. The 
sons of concubines were portioned off 
with presents. Gen. 25 : 6. At a later 
period the exclusion of the sons of con- 
cubines was rigidly enforced. Judges 
11 : 1 ff. Daughters had no share in the 
patrimony, Gen. 31 : 14, but received a 
marriage portion. The Mosaic law reg- 
ulated the succession to real property 
thus : it was to be divided among the 
sons, the eldest receiving a double por- 
tion, Deut. 21 : 17, the others equal 
shares; if there were no sons, it went 
to the daughters, Num. 27 : 8, on the 
condition that they did not marry out 
of their own tribe, Num. 36 : 6 ff. ; other- 
wise the patrimony was forfeited. If 
there were no daughters, it went to the 
brother of the deceased ; if no brother, 
to the paternal uncle ; and, failing these, 
to the next of kin. Num. 27 : 9-11. 

He'Iah (he'lah) (rust), one of the 
two wives of Ashur, father of Tekoa. 
1 Chron. 4 : 5. 

He'lam (he'lam), a place east of the 
Jordan, but west of the Euphrates, at 
which the Syrians were collected by Ha- 
darezer, and where iJavid met and de- 
feated them. 2 Sam. 10 : 16, 17. 

Hel'bah (hel'bah) (fertile), a town 
of Asher. Its site is entirely unknown. 
Judges 1 : 31. 

Hel'bon (hel'bon) (fertile), a place 
mentioned only in Ezek. 27 : 18. Geog- 
raphers have sometimes represented 
Helbon as identical with the city of 
Aleppo, called Haleb by the Arabs; but 
there are strong reasons against this, 
and the ancient city must be identified 
with a village within a few miles of 
Damascus, still bearing the ancient name 
Helbun, and still celebrated as produc- 
ing the finest grapes in the country. 

Hel'dai (hel'da-I) (durable). 1. 
The twelfth captain of the monthly 
courses for the temple service. 1 Chron. 
27 : 15. Probably the same as Heleb. 

2. An Israelite who seems to have re- 


HEL 


247 


HEM 


turned from the captivity, bringing 
gifts from Babylon. Zech. 6 : 10. 

He'leb (he'leb) or He'led (he'led), 
son of Baanah the Netophathite, one of 
the heroes of King David’s guard. 2 
Sam. 23 : 29 ; 1 Chron. 11 : 30. [Heldai.] 

He'Iek (he'lek) (portion), one of the 
descendants of Manasseh, and second 
son of Gilead, Num. 26 : 30, and founder 
of the Helekites. 

He'lem (he'lem). 1. A descendant 
of Asher. 1 Chron. 7 : 35. 

2. A man mentioned only in Zech. 6 : 
14. Apparently the same as Heldai, 2. 

He'leph (he'lef), the place from 
which the boundary of the tribe of 
Naphtali started. Josh. 19:33. 

He'lez (he'lez) (vigor). 1. One of 
“ the thirty ” of David’s guard, 2 Sam. 
23 : 26 ; 1 Chron. 11 : 27 ; an Ephraimite, 
and captain of the seventh monthly 
course. 1 Chron. 27 : 10. 

2. A man of Judah, son of Azariah. 
1 Chron. 2 : 39. 

He'li (he'll), the father of Joseph 
the husband of the Virgin Mary, Luke 
3 : 23. [See Genealogy of Jesus 
Christ.] 

Heliop'olis (he-li-op'olis). [See On.] 

Hel'kath (hel'kath) (portion), the 
town named as the starting-point for the 
boundary of the tribe of Asher, Josh. 
19 : 25, and allotted with its “ suburbs ” 
to the Gershonite Levites, ch. 21:31. 
Some identify, doubtfully, with Y erka, 
seven miles from Acre. 

Herkath=haz'zurim (hel'kath-haz'zu- 
rim) (field of sword edges), a piece of 
ground, apparently close to the pool of 
Gibeon, where the combat took place 
between the two parties of Joab’s men 
and Abner’s men which ended in the 
death of the whole of the combatants, 
and brought on a general battle. 2 Sam. 
2: 16. 

Hell. In the Old Testament this is 
the word generally and unfortunately 
used by our translators to render the 
Hebrew Sheol. It really means the 
place of the dead, the unseen world, 
without deciding whether it be the place 
of misery or of happiness. It is clear 
that in many passages of the Old Tes- 
tament Sheol can only mean “ the 
grave,’’ and is so rendered in the Au- 
thorized Version; see, for example, 
Gen. 37:35; 42:38; 1 Sam. 2:6; Job 
14 : 13. In other passages, however, it 
seems to involve a notion of punish- 
ment, and is therefore rendered in the 


Authorized Version by the word “ hell.” 
But in many cases this translation mis- 
leads the reader. The English Revisers 
sometimes use the word “ Sheol ” in the 
text, in other places hold to the transla- 
tion hell, grave, pit, as in the A. V. and 
put Sheol in the margin. The Amer- 
ican Revision discards all translations 
and consistently places Sheol throughout 
in the text. In the. New Testament 
“ hell ” is the translation of two words, 
Hades and Gehenna. The word Hades, 
like Sheol, sometimes means merely 
“the grave,” Acts 2:31; 1 Cor. 15:55; 
Rev. 20 : 13, or in general “ the unseen 
world.” It is in this sense that the 
creeds say of our Lord, “ He went down 
into hell,” meaning the state of the 
dead in general, without any restriction 
of happiness or misery. In cases where 
hell is the translation of “ Hades,” the 
revisers have put simply “ Hades.” 

Hell is used more properly as the 
translation of Gehenna, as the place or 
state of the just retribution for the 
finally impenitent. The term Gehenna 
is the Hebrew for the “valley of Hin- 
nom,” south of Jerusalem where the un- 
usable refuse of the city was burned. 
Here also was the scene of gross and 
cruel rites of heathenism, including the 
burning of children to Molech (2 Chron. 
28:3; 33:6; Jer. 7:31; 2 Kings 23:5, 
10 ). 

“ The terrible associations of the place, 
the fires said to have been kept burn- 
ing in it in order to consume the foul 
and corrupt objects thrown into it, make 
it a natural and unmistakable symbol 
of wasting penalty” for being the pol- 
luted, sin-breeding incurable moral re- 
fuse of the world. 

Hel'Ienist (Grecian), the term ap- 
plied in the New Testament to Greek- 
speaking or “ Grecian ” Jews. The Hel- 
lenists as a body included not only the 
proselytes of Greek (or foreign) parent- 
age, but also those Jews who, by settling 
in foreign countries, had adopted the 
prevalent form of the current Greek civ- 
ilization, and with it the use of the com- 
mon Greek dialect. Acts 6:1; 9 : 29. 

Helmet. [Arms.] 

He'lon (he'lon) (valorous) , father 
of Eliab, of the tribe of Zebulun. Num. 
1:9; 2:7; 7 : 24, 29 ; 10 : 16. 

Hem of garment. The importance 
which the later Jews, especially the 
Pharisees, Matt. 23 : 5, attached to the 
hem or fringe of their garments was 


HEM 


248 


HER 


founded upon the regulation in Num. 15 : 
38, 39, which gave a symbolical meaning 
to it. [See Dress.] * 

He'mam (he'mam). Hori and He- 
mam were sons of Lotan, the eldest son 
of Seir. Gen. 36:22. 

He'man (he'man) {faithful). 1. Son 
of Zerah. 1 Chron. 2: 6; 1 Kings 4: 31. 

2. Son of Joel and grandson of Sam- 
uel the prophet, a Kohathite. He is 
called “the singer,” rather the musician, 
1 Chron. 6 : 33, and was the first of the 
three Levites to whom was committed 
the vocal and instrumental music of the 
temple service in the reign of David. 1 
Chron. 15 : 16-22. The 88th Psalm is 
ascribed to him. There is some con- 
fusion as to his descent, and later critics 
are inclined to doubt it. 

He'math (he'math), a person named 
in the genealogical lists of Judah, as 
the origin of the Kenites, and the 
“ father ” of the house of Rechab. 1 
Chron. 2 : 55. R. V. Hammath. 

Hem'dan (hem'dan) {pleasant), the 
eldest son of Dishon, son of Anah the 
Horite. Gen. 36:26. [Amram, 2.] 

Hemlock, the common ground or 
dwarf hemlock, a bitter, poisonous plant. 
The Hebrew rosh is rendered “ hem- 
lock ” in two passages, Hos. 10:4; Amos 
6 : 12, but elsewhere “ gall.” . [Gall.] 
It is probable that the plant is rather 
the poppy than an hemlock. 

Hen {kindness). Apparently a son 
of Zephaniah, Zech. 6 : 14. But very 
probably not a proper name. 

Hen. The hen is nowhere noticed in 
the Bible except in Matt. 23:37; Luke 
13 : 34. That a bird so common in 
Palestine should receive such slight no- 
tice is certainly singular. 

He'na (he'na), a city the Assyrian 
kings had reduced shortly before the 
time of Sennacherib. 2 Kings 19 : 13 ; 
Isa. 37 : 13. There are several conjec- 
tures as to its site which Hommel and 
Cheyne consider wasted time. The for- 
mer considers it a divine name — the lat- 
ter a mistake. 

Hen'adad (hen'a-dad) {favor of 
Hadad), the head of a family of the 
Levites who took a prominent part in 
the rebuilding of the temple. Ezra 3 : 9. 

He'noch (he'nok). 1. Enoch, 2. 1 
Chron. 1 : 3. 

2. Hanoch, 1. 1 Chron. 1 : 33. 

He'pher (he'fer) {digging). 1. The 
youngest of the sons of Gilead, Num. 


26:32, and head of the family of the 
Hepherites. 

2. Son of Ashur, the “ father of 
Tekoa.” 1 Chron. 4 : 6. 

3. The Mecherathite, one of the he- 
roes of David’s guard. 1 Chron. 11 : 
36. 

He'pher (he'fer), a place in ancient 
Canaan, which occurs in the list of con- 
quered kings. Josh. 12:17. It was on 
the west of Jordan. Comp. 7 and 1 
Kings 4 : 10. 

He'pherites, The, the family of He- 
pher the son of Gilead. Num. 26 : 32. 

Heph'zi=bah (hef'zi-bah). 1. A name 
signifying “my delight in her,” which 
is to be borne by the restored Jerusalem. 
Isa. 62 : 4. 

2. The queen of King Hezekiah and 
the mother of Manasseh. 2 Kings 21 : 1. 
(b.c. 709.) 

Herald, one who makes public proc- 
lamation. The only notice of this offi- 
cer in the Old Testament occurs in Dan. 
3 : 4. The term “ herald ” might be sub- 
stituted for “preacher” in 1 Tim. 2:7; 
2 Tim. 1:11; 2 Pet 2 : 5. 

Herd (a collection of cattle), Herds= 
man. The herd was greatly regarded 
in both the patriarchal and the Mosaic 
period. The ox was the most precious 
stock next to horse and mule. The herd 
yielded the most esteemed sacrifice, 
Num. 7:3; Ps. 69:31; Isa. 66:3; also 
flesh meat, and milk, chiefly converted, 
probably, into butter and cheese. Deut. 
32:14; 2 Sam. 17:29. The agricultural 
and general usefulness of the ox in 
ploughing, threshing, and as a beast of 
burden, 1 Chron. 12: 40; Isa. 46: 1, made 
a slaughtering of him seem wasteful. 
Herdsmen, etc., in Egypt were a low, 
perhaps the lowest, _ caste; but of the 
abundance of cattle in Egypt, and of the 
care there bestowed on them, there is no 
doubt. Gen. 47 : 6, 17 ; Ex. 9 : 4, 20. So 
the plague of hail was sent to smite es- 
pecially the cattle, Ps. 78 : 48, the first- 
born of which also were smitten. Ex. 
12 : 29. The Israelites departing stipu- 
lated for, Ex. 10 : 26, and took “ much 
cattle ” with them, ch. 12 : 38. Cattle 
formed thus one of the traditions of the 
Israelitish nation in its greatest period, 
and became almost a part of that great- 
ness. The occupation of herdsman was 
honorable in early times. Gen. 47 : 6 ; 1 
Sam. 11 : 5 ; 1 Chron. 27 : 29 ; 28 : 1. 

Saul himself resumed it in the interval 
of his cares as king; also Doeg was 


240 



MOUNT HERMON 




HER 


250 


HER 


certainly high in his confidence. 1 Sam. 
21 : 7. Pharaoh made some of Joseph’s 
brethren “ rulers over his cattle.” 
David’s herdmasters were among his 
chief - officers of state. The prophet 
Amos at first followed this occupation. 

He'res (he'rez) ( the sun), Judges 1 : 
35, a city of Dan, in Mount Ephraim, 
near Ajalon; possibly identical with 
Mount Jearim (Ir-shemesh, city of the 
sun). 

He'resh (he'resh) ( artificer ), a Levite 
attached to the temple. 1 Chron. 9 : 15. 

Heresy. In N. T. a synonym for 
sect. In its modern meaning it never 
appears — it being merely indicative of 
the sectarian spirit. 

Her'mas (her'mas), the name of a 
Christian resident at Rome to whom St. 
Paul sends greetings in his Epistle to 
the Romans. Rom. 16 : 14. (a.d. 57.) 

Irenaeus, Tertullian and Origen agree in 
attributing to him the work called The 
Shepherd. It was never received into 
the canon, but yet was generally cited 
with respect only second to that which 
was paid to the authoritative books of 
the New Testament. 

Her'mes (her'mez) (Mercury), a 
Christian mentioned in Rom. 16 : 14. 
According to tradition he was one of 
the seventy disciples, and afterward 
bishop of Dalmatia, (a.d. 57.) 

Hermog'enes (her-mog'-enes), a per- 
son mentioned by St. Paul in the latest 
of all his epistles, 2 Tim. 1: 15, when all 
in Asia had turned away from him. 
(a.d. 64.) 

Her'mon (her'mon) (belonging to a 
sanctuary), a mountain on the north- 
eastern border of Palestine, Deut. 3:8; 
Josh. 12 : 1, over against Lebanon, Josh. 
11:17, adjoining the plateau of Bashan. 
1 Chron. 5 : 23. It stands at the southern 
end, and is the culminating point of 
the anti-Libanus range ; it towers high 
above the ancient border city of Dan 
and the fountains of the Jordan, and is 
the most conspicuous and * beautiful 
mountain in Palestine or Syria. At the 
present day it is called Jebel esh- 
Sheikh, “ the mountain of the chief,” 
because it is the residence of the re- 
ligious head of the Druses. It also has 
the name of Jebel eth-Thelj, “the snow 
mountain ” because when the whole 
country is parched with the summer sun, 
white lines of snow streak the head of 
Hermon. This mountain was the great 
landmark of the Israelites. It was as- 


sociated with their northern border al- 
most as intimately as the sea was with 
the western. Hermon has three sum- 
mits, situated like the angles of a tri- 
angle, and about a quarter of a mile 
from each other. In two passages of 
Scripture this mountain is called Baal- 
hermon, Judges 3 : 3; 1 Chron. 5: 23, be- 
cause of its sacred character. It is 
more than probable that some part of 
Hermon was the scene of the trans- 
figuration, as it stands near Caesarea 
Philippi, where we know Christ was just 
before that event. Hermon rises 9166 
feet above the level of the Mediterra- 
nean. 

Her'monites, The. Properly " the 
Hermons” with reference to the three 
summits of Mount Hermon. Ps. 42 : 6. 
R. V. “ the Hermons.” 

Her'od (her'od) (hero-like). This 
family, though of Idumean origin and 
thus alien by race, was Jewish in faith. 
I. Herod the Great was the second son 
of Antipater, an Idumean, who was ap- 
pointed procurator of Judea by Julius 



COIN OF HEROD AGRIPPA I. 


Caesar, b.c. 47. He was physically mag- 
nificent and no less conspicuous for skill 
in war. He was clever, able, but un- 
scrupulous and ambitious. He grew 
more cruel and suspicious as he grew 
older until the reputation for cruelty has 
in _ popular thought almost or quite 
eclipsed his real ability as a ruler. At 
his father’s elevation he was made gov- 
ernor of Galilee, being about 25 years 
old. In b.c. 41 he was appointed by 
Antony tetrarch of Judea. Forced to 
abandon Judea the following year, he 
fled to Rome, and received the appoint- 
ment of king of Judea. In the course 
of a few years, by the help of the 
Romans he took Jerusalem (b.c. 37), 
and completely established his authority 
throughout his dominions. The terrible 
acts of^ bloodshed which Herod perpe- 
trated in his own family were accom- 
panied by others among his subjects 
equally terrible, from the number who 
fell victims to them. According to the 
well-known story, he ordered the nobles 


A Genealogical Table of the Herodian Family, Including Those Members who are 

Mentioned in the New Testament. 


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whom he had called to him in his last 
moments to be executed immediately 
after his decease, that so at least his 
death might be attended by universal 
mourning. It was at the time of his 
fatal illness that he must have caused 



COIN OF HEROD ANTIPAS. 


the slaughter of the infants at Bethle- 
hem. Matt. 2 : 16-18. He adorned Jeru- 
salem with many splendid monuments of 
his taste and magnificence. The temple, 
which he built with scrupulous care, was 
th<~ greatest of these works. The restor- 
ation was begun b.c. 20, and the temple 
itself was completed in a year and a 
half. But fresh additions were con- 
stantly made in succeeding years, so that 
it was said that the temple was “ built 
in forty and six years,” John 2 : 20, the 
work continuing long after Herod’s 
death. Herod died of a terrible disease, 
at Jericho, in April, b.c. 4, at the age of 
69, after a long reign of 37 years. 

II. Herod Antipas was the son of 
Herod the Great by Malthake, a Samari- 
tan. He first married a daughter of 
Aretas, “king of Arabia Petraea,” but 
afterward Herodias, the wife of his 
half-brother, Herod Philip. Aretas, in- 
dignant at the insult offered to his 
daughter, found a pretext for invading 
the territory of Herod, and defeated 
him with great loss. This defeat, ac- 
cording to the famous passage in Jo- 
sephus, was attributed by many to the 
murder of John the Baptist, which had 
been committed by Antipas shortly be- 
fore, under the influence of Herodias. 



Matt. 14 : 4 ff. ; Mark 6 : 17 ff. ; Luke 3 : 
19. At a later time the ambition of 
Herodias proved the cause of her hus- 
band’s ruin. She urged him to go to 


Rome to gain the title of king, cf. Mark 
6:14; but he was opposed at the court 
of Caligula by the emissaries of Agrip- 
pa, and condemned to perpetual banish- 
ment at Lugdunum, a.d. 39. Herodias 
voluntarily shared his punishment, and 
he died in exile. Pilate took occasion 
from our Lord’s residence in Galilee to 
send him for examination, Luke 23 : 6 
ff., to Herod Antipas, who came up to 
Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. 
The city of Tiberias, which Antipas 
founded and named in honor of the em- 
peror, was the most conspicuous monu- 
ment of his long reign. 

III. Herod Philip I. (Philip, Mark 
6:17) was the son of^Herod the Great 
and Mariamne. He married Herodias, 
the sister of Agrippa I., by whom he 
had a daughter, Salome. He was ex- 
cluded from all share in his father’s 
possessions in consequence of his moth- 
er’s treachery, and lived afterward in a 
private station. 

IV. Herod Philip II. was the son of 
Herod the Great and Cleopatra. He re- 
ceived as his own government Batanea, 
Trachonitis, Auranitis, Gaulanitis, and 



COIN OF PHILIP THE TETRARCH. 


some parts about Jamnia, with the title 
of tetrarch, Luke 3:1. He built a 
new city on the site of Paneas, near the 
sources of the Jordan, which he called 
Caesarea Philippi, Matt. 16 : 13 ; Mark 
8 : 27, and raised Bethsaida to the rank 
of a city under the title of Julias, and 
died there a.d. 34. He married Salome, 
the daughter of Herod Philip I. and 
Herodias. 

V. Herod Agrippa I. was the son of 
Aristobulus and Bernice, and grandson 
of Herod the Great. He was brought 
up at Rome, and was thrown into prison 
by Tiberius, where he remained till the 
accession of Caligula, who made him 
king, first of the tetrarchy of Philip and 
Lysanias; afterward the dominions of 
Antipas were added, and finally Judea 
and Samaria. Unlike his predecessors, 
Agrippa was a strict observer of the law, 
and he sought with success the favor of 


HER 


253 


HEZ 


the Jews. It is probable that it was with 
this view he put to death James the son 
of Zebedee, and further imprisoned 
Peter. Acts 12 : 1 ff. But his sudden 
death interrupted his ambitious projects. 
Acts 12 : 21, 23. 

VI. Herod Agrippa II. was the son 
of Herod Agrippa I. In a.d. 53 the em- 
peror gave him the tetrarchies formerly 
held by Philip and Lysanias, with the 
title of king. Acts 25 : 13. The relation 
in which he stood to his sister Bernice, 
Acts 25 : 13, was the cause of grave sus- 
picion. It was before him that Paul 
was tried. Acts 26 : 28. 

Hero'dians (from Herod). Matt. 22: 
15 ff. ; Mark 12 : 13 ff. Canon Cook de- 
scribes these persons as “ that party 
among the Jews who were supporters of 
the Herodian family as the last hope of 
retaining for the Jews a fragment of 
national government, as distinguished 
from absolute dependence upon Rome as 
a province of the empire. Supporters 
of the family of Herod, who held their 
dominions by the grant of the Roman 
emperor, would be in favor of paying 
tribute to the supreme power.” Matt. 
22 : 16. 

Hero'dias (he-ro'di-as), daughter of 
Aristobulus, one of the sons of Mariam- 
ne and Herod the Great, and conse- 
quently sister of Agrippa I. She first 
married Herod Philip I. ; then she 
eloped from him to marry Herod Anti- 
pas, her step-uncle. The head of John 
the Baptist was granted at the request 
of Herodias. Matt. 14:8-11; Mark 6: 
24-28. (a.d. 29.) She accompanied 

Antipas into exile to Lugdunum. 

Hero'dion (he-ro'di-on), a relative of 
St. Paul, to whom he sends his saluta- 
tion amongst the Christians of the 
Roman church. Rom. 16 : 11. (a.d. 57.) 

Heron, Lev. 11 : 19 ; Deut. 14 : 18, a 
common large, wading, unclean bird. 
Nearly all of the species known in Eng- 
lish ornithology are found in the vicinity 
of Palestine. The family contains the 
Herons, Egrets, Bitterns and the White 
Ibis. The use of the words “ after her 
kind” shows that the family was in- 
tended. It is very probable that heron 
is the correct rendering. 

He'sed (he'sed) (mercy). The son 
of Hesed or Ben-Hesed, was commis- 
sary for Solomon. 1 Kings 4:10. 

Hesh'bon (hesh'bon) (device), the 
capital city of Sihon king of the Amor- 
ites. Num. 21:26. It stood on the 


western border of the high plain on the 
boundary line between the tribes of 
Reuben and Gad. The ruins of Hesbdn, 
20 miles east of the Jordan, on the 
parallel of the northern end of the Dead 
Sea, mark the site, as they bear the 
name, of the ancient Heshbon. There 
are many cisterns among the ruins. 
Comp. Cant. 7 : 4. 

Hesh'mo.i (hesh'mon) (fatness), a 
place named, with others, as lying in the 
extreme south of Judah. Josh. 15 : 27. 

Hes'ron (hes'ron), Hez'ron (hez'ron) 
(enclosed) , the son of Reuben, Num. 
26 : 6, and ancestor of the Hezronites. 

Heth, probably the forefather of the 
nation of the Hittites. In the genealog- 
ical tables of Gert. 10 : 15 and 1 Chron. 
1 : 13 Heth is a son of Canaan. Gen. 
23 : 3, 4 ; 27 : 46 ; 28 : 1, 2. 

Heth'Ion (heth'lon), the name of a 
place on the northern border of Pales- 
tine. Ezek. 47 : 15 ; 48 : 1. In this ref- 
erence “ the way of Hethlon ” seems to 
be the pass at the northern end of 
Lebanon, and thus identical with “ the 
entrance of Hamath ” in Num. 34 : 8, etc. 

Hez'eki (hez'e-ki), a Benjamite, one 
of the Bene-Elpaal, a descendant of 
Shaar aim. 1 Chron. 8 : 17. R. V. 
“ Hizki.” 

Hezeki'ah (hez-e-ki'ah) (Jehovah 
strengtheneth) . 1. Thirteenth king of 

Judah, son of the apostate Ahaz and 
Abi or Abijah, ascended the throne at 
the age of 25, b.c. 726. Hezekiah was 
one of the three most perfect kings of 
Judah. 2 Kings 18:5; Ecclus. 49:4. 
His first act was to purge and repair 
and reopen with splendid sacrifices and 
perfect ceremonial the temple. He also 
destroyed a brazen serpent, said to have 
been the one used by Moses in the mi- 
raculous healing of the Israelites, Num. 
21:9, which had become an object of 
adoration. When the kingdom of Israel 
had fallen, Hezekiah invited the scat- 
tered inhabitants to a peculiar passover, 
which was continued for the unpre- 
cedented period of fourteen days. 2 
Chron. 29 : 30, 31. At the head of a 
repentant and united people, Hezekiah 
ventured to assume the aggressive 
against the Philistines; and in a series 
of victories not only rewon the cities 
which his father had lost, 2 Chron. 28: 
18, but even dispossessed them of their 
own cities, except Gaza, 2 Kings 18 : 8, 
and Gath. He refused to acknowledge 
I the supremacy of Assyria. 2 Kings 18 : 




HEZ 


254 


HIE 


7. Instant war was imminent, and 
Hezekiah used every available means to 
strengthen himself. 2 Kings 20 : 20. . It 
was probably at this dangerous crisis 
in his kingdom that we find him sick 
and sending for Isaiah, who prophesies 
death as the result. 2 Kings 20 : 1. 
Hezekiah’s prayer for longer life is 
heard. The prophet had hardly left the 
palace when he was ordered to return 
and promise the king immediate recov- 
ery and fifteen years more of life. 2 
Kings 20 : 4-6. An embassy coming 
from Babylon ostensibly to compliment 
Hezekiah on his convalescence, but 
really to form an alliance between the 
two powers, is favorably received by 
the king, who shows them the treasures 
which he had accumulated. For this 
Isaiah foretells the punishment that shall 
befall his house. 2 Kings 20 : 17. The 
two invasions of Sennacherib occupy the 
greater part of the Scripture records 
concerning the reign of Hezekiah. The 
first of these took place in the third 
year of Sennacherib, b.c. 702, and oc- 
cupies only three verses. 2 Kings 18 : 
13-16. Respecting the commencement 
of the second invasion we have full de- 
tails in 2 Kings 18:17, seq.; 2 Chron. 
32:9, seq.; Isa. 36. Sennacherib sent 
against Jerusalem an army under the 
Tartan, the Rab-saris and the Rabshe- 
kah, officers of his court, with a blas- 
phemous and insulting summons to sur- 
render; but Isaiah assures the king he 
need not fear, promising to disperse the 
enemy. 2 Kings 19 : 6, 7. Accordingly 
that night “ the angel of the Lord went 
out, and smote in the camp of the As- 
syrians a hundred fourscore and five 
thousand.” Hezekiah slept with his 
fathers after a reign of twenty-nine 
years, in the 56th year of his age, b.c. 
697. In 1830 there was found among 
the ruins of Nineveh a cylinder on 
which Sennacherib inscribed an account 
of his victories over Hezekiah. It is 
noticeable that Sennacherib does not 
refer to the destruction of his army in 
any of his records. But this is both 
natural and common. For a modern 
instance, any one who has visited Napo- 
leon’s tomb at Paris can notice that 
while the sides are full of names of 
places where his battles were fought, 
Waterloo, the scene of his great defeat, 
is not recorded there. See cut, page 602. 

2. Son of Neariah, one of the descend- 


ants of the royal family of Judah. 1 
Chron. 3 : 23. R. V. Hizkiah. 

3. The same name, though rendered 
in the Authorized Version Hizkiah, is 
found in Zeph. 1 : 1. Perhaps the same 
as 1. 

4. Ater of Hezekiah. [Ater.] 

He'zion (he'zi-on) (vision), a king 

of Aram (Syria), father of Tabrimon 
and grandfather of Ben-hadad I. 1 
Kings 15 : 18. He is probably identical 
with Rezon, the contemporary of Sol- 
omon, in 1 Kings 11 : 23. 

He'zir (he'zir) (swine). 1. A priest 
in the time of David, leader of the 
seventeenth monthly course in the serv- 
ice. 1 Chron. 24 : 15. 

2. One of the heads of the people 
(laymen) who sealed the solemn cove- 
nant with Nehemiah. Neh. 10:20. 

Hez'rai (hez'ra-i) (enclosed), one of 
the thirty heroes of David’s guard. 2 
Sam. 23:35. In the parallel list, 1 
Chron. 11 : 37, the name appears as 
Hezro. 

Hez'ron (hez'ron). 1. A son of 
Reuben. Gen. 46 : 9 ; Ex. 6 : 14. 

2. A son of Pharez. Gen. 46 : 12 ; 
Ruth 4 : 18. 

Hez'ronites (hez'ron-ites) (descend- 
ants of Hezron), The. 1. Descendants 
of Hezron the son of Reuben. Num. 
26: 6. 

2. A branch of the tribe of Judah, de- 
scendants of Hezron the son of Pharez. 
Num. 26:21. 

Hid'dai (hid'da-I), one of the thirty- 
seven heroes of David’s guard. 2 Sam. 
23 : 30 

Hid'dekel (hid'de-kel), one of the 
rivers of Eden, the river which “ goeth 
eastward to Assyria,” Gen. 2:14, and 
which Daniel calls “ the great river,” 
Dan. 10 : 4, seems to have been rightly 
identified by the LXX. with the Tigris. 
Dekel is clearly an equivalent of Digla 
or Diglath, a name borne by the Tigris 
in all ages. The name now in use 
among the inhabitants of Mesopotamia 
is Dijleh. 

Hi'el (hi' el) (brother of God), a 
native of Bethel, who rebuilt Jericho in 
the reign of Ahab, 1 Kings 16 : 34, and 
in whom was fulfilled the curse pro- 
nounced by Joshua, Josh. 6 : 26, five hun- 
dred years before. 

Hierap'olis (hl-e-rap'o-lis) (holy 
city), a city of Phrygia, situated above 
the junction of the rivers Lycus and 
Maeander, near Colossae and Laodicea. 


HIG 


255 


HIG 


Mentioned only in Col. 4 : 13 as the seat 
of a church probably founded during 
Paul’s stay at Ephesus. 

Higga'ion (hig-ga'ion) ( meditation ), 
a word which occurs three times in the 
book of Psalms — Ps. 9 : 16 ; 19 : 14 ; 92:3 
(margin). The word has two meanings, 
one of a general character, implying 
thought, reflection, Ps. 19 : 14 ; 92:3 and 
Lam. 3 : 63. Another, Ps. 9 : 16, a musi- 
cal term, the precise meaning of which 
cannot at this distance of time be de- 
termined. Canon Cook says that it 
probably means an interlude, giving mu- 
sical expression to the feelings sug- 
gested by the preceding words. 

High places. From the earliest 
times it was the custom among all na- 
tions to erect altars and places of wor- 
ship on lofty and conspicuous spots. To 
this general custom we find constant al- 
lusion in the Bible, Isa. 65 : 7 ; Ezek. 6 : 
13, and it is especially attributed to the 
Moabites. Isa. 15 : 2 ; 16 : 12. Even 

Abraham built an altar to the Lord on 
a mountain near Bethel. Gen. 12 : 7, 8 ; 
cf. 22 : 2-4 ; 31 : 54. Notwithstanding 

this we find that it was implicitly for- 
bidden by the law of Moses, Deut. 12: 
11-14, which also gave the strictest in- 
junction to destroy these monuments of 
Canaanitish idolatry. Lev. 26. The 
command was a prospective one, and 
was not to come into force until such 
time as the tribes were settled in the 
promised land, and a central place of 
worship had been erected. Thus we find 
that both Gideon and Manoah built 
altars on high places by divine com- 
mand. Judges 6:25, 26; 13:16-23. 

Other altars also are mentioned, those 
erected by Samuel at Mizpeh, 1 Sam. 
7 : 10, and at Bethlehem, ch. 16 : 5 ; by 
Saul at Gilgal, ch. 13:9, and at Ajalon, 
(?) ch. 14:35; by David, 1 Chron. 21 : 
26; by Elijah on Mount Carmel, 1 Kings 
18 : 30, and by other prophets. 1 Sam. 
10 : 5. The worship in high places was 
organized and all but universal through- 
out Judea, not only during, 1 Kings 3: 
2-4, but even after the time of Solo- 
mon. In most cases it was the worship 
of Jehovah, but gradually idolatry be- 
came more common, and even where 
the worship was nominally that of Je- 
hovah it became contaminated with the 
corruption of the idol worship. At last 
Hezekiah set himself in good earnest 
to the suppression of this prevalent cor- 
ruption, 2 Kings 18 : 4, 22, both in Judah 


and Israel, 2 Chron. 31:1; although so 
rapid was the growth of the evil that 
even his sweeping reformation required 
to be finally consummated by Josiah, 2 
Kings 23, and that too in Jerusalem and 
its immediate neighborhood. 2 Chron. 
34: 3. After the time of Josiah we find 
no further mention of these Jehovistic 
high places. 

High priest. The first indication 
that Aaron and his sons were to care 
for the tabernacle is found in Ex. 24: 
1 ; and their first distinct separation to 
the office of the priesthood is recorded 
in Ex. 28. After that the legal head of 
the house of Aaron became high priest, 
on the death of his predecessor ; prefer- 
ably the oldest son. Aaron alone was 
anointed, Lev. 8:12, whence one of the 
distinctive epithets of the high priest 
was “ the anointed priest.” Lev. 4:3, 5, 
16; 21:10; see Num. 35:25. The 

anointing of the sons of Aaron, i. e. the 
common priests, seems to have been con- 
fined to sprinkling their garments with 
the anointing oil. Ex. 29 : 21 ; 28 : 41, 
etc. The high priest had a peculiar 
dress, which passed to his successor at 
his death. This dress consisted of eight 
parts: (a) The breastplate, or, as it is 
further named, 28 : 15, 29, 30, the breast- 
plate of judgment. The breastplate was 
originally two spans long and one span 
broad, but when doubled it was square, 
the shape in which it was worn. On it 
were the twelve precious stones, set in 
four rows, three in a row, thus corre- 
sponding to the twelve tribes — each stone 
having the name of one of the children 
of Israel engraved upon it. ( b ) The 
ephod. This consisted of two parts, of 
which one covered the back and the 
other the front, i. e. the breast and upper 
part of the body. These parts were 
clasped together on the shoulder with 
two large onyx stones, each having en- 
graved on it six of the names of the 
tribes of Israel. They were further 
united by a “curious girdle” of gold, 
blue, purple, scarlet and fine twined linen 
round the waist. [Ephod; Girdle.] (c) 
The robe of the ephod. This was of 
inferior material to the ephod itself, be- 
ing all of blue, ver. 31, which implied 
its being only of “woven work.” ch. 
39 : 22. It was worn immediately under 
the ephod, and was longer than it. The 
skirt of this robe had a remarkable trim- 
ming of pomegranates in blue, red and 
crimson, with a bell of gold between 


HIG 


256 


HIIi 


the pomegranates alternately. The bells 
were to give a sound when the high 
priest went in and came out of the holy 
place, (d) The mitre or upper turban, 
with its gold plate, engraved with 
“ Holiness to the Lord,” fastened to it 
by a ribbon of blue. ( e ) The broidered 
coat was a tunic or long skirt of linen 
with a tessellated or diaper pattern* like 
the setting of a stone. (/) The girdle, 
also of linen, was wound round the 
body several times from the breast 
downward, and the ends hung down to 
the ankles. ( g ) The breeches or draw- 
ers, of linen, covered the loins and 
thighs; and ( h ) The bonnet was a tur- 
ban of linen, partially covering the head, 
but not in the form of a cone like that 
of the high priest when the mitre was 
added to it. These last four were com- 
mon to all priests. The high priest 
alone was permitted to enter the holy 
of holies, which he did once a year, on 
the great day of atonement, when he 
sprinkled the blood of the sin offering 
on the mercy seat, and burnt incense 
within the veil. Lev. 16. The man- 
slayer might not leave the city of refuge 
during the lifetime of the existing high 
priest. It was also forbidden to the high 
priest to follow a funeral, or rend his 
clothes for the dead. It does not appear 
by whose authority the high priests were 
appointed to their office before there 
were kings of Israel. After this the 
office seems to have been used for po- 
litical rather than religious purposes. 
Though at first chosen for life, w£ find 
that Solomon deposed Abiathar, 1 Kings 
2 : 35, and that Herod appointed a num- 
ber of high priests, which may account 
for there being at least two living in 
Christ’s time, Annas and Caiaphas. 
Luke 3 : 2. The usual age for entering 
upon the functions of the priesthood, ac- 
cording to 2 Chron. 31: 17, is considered 
to have been 20 years, though a priest or 
high priest was not actually incapaci- 
tated if he had attained to puberty. 
Again, according to Lev. 21 : 17-21, no 
one that had a blemish could officiate at 
the altar. 

The theological view of the high 
priesthood does not fall within the 
scope of this work. It must suffice 
therefore to indicate that such a view 
would embrace the consideration of the 
office, dress, functions and ministrations 
of the high priest, considered as typical 
of the priesthood of our Lord Jesus 


Christ, and as setting forth under 
shadows the truths which are openly 
taught under the gospel. This has been 
done to a great extent in the Epistle 
to the Hebrews. It would also embrace 
all the moral and spiritual teaching 
supposed to be intended by such symbols. 

Highways. Though during the sway 
of the Romans over Palestine they made 
a few substantial roads for their carts 
and chariots, yet for most of the time, 
as to-day, the Jews had nothing such as 
we call roads, but only footpaths through 
which animals walk in single file. These 
are never cared for ; no repairs are made 
or obstacles removed. This fact brings 
into striking prominence the figure of 
preparing a highway for the return of 
the captives, or the coming of the great 
King. On special occasions kings had 
roads prepared for the progress of their 
armies, or their own going from place to 
place. 

Hi'len (hi'len), the name of a city of 
Judah allotted with its suburbs to the 
priests. 1 Chron. 6 : 58. 

Hilki'ah (hil-ki'ah) ( Jehovah is my 
portion). 1. Father of Eliakim. 2 
Kings 18 : 37 ; Isa. 22 : 20 ; 36 : 22. [Elia- 
kim.] 

2. High priest in the reign of Josiah. 

2 Kings 22: 4, seq.; 2 Chron. 34: 9, seq.; 
1 Esd. 1:8. (b.c. 623.) His high priest- 

hood was rendered particularly illus- 
trious by the great reformation effected 
under it by King Josiah, by the solemn 
Passover kept at Jerusalem in the 18th 
year of that king’s reign, and above 
all by the discovery which he made of 
the book of the law of Moses in the 
temple. 

3. A Merarite Levite, son of Amzi. 1 
Chron. 6 : 45. 

4. Another Merarite Levite, second 
son of Hosah. 1 Chron. 26 : 11. 

5. One of those who stood on the right 
hand of Ezra when he read the law to 
the people ; doubtless a Levite, and prob- 
ably a priest. Neh. 8 :-4. 

6. A priest of Anathoth, father of the 
prophet Jeremiah. Jer. 1 : 1. 

7. Father of Gemariah, who was one 
of Zedekiah’s envoys to Babylon. Jer. 
29 : 3. 

Hil'lel (hil'lel) (he hath praised), a 
native of Pirathon in Mount Ephraim, 
father of Abdon, one of the judges of 
Israel. Judges 12 : 13, 15. 

Hills. From the Hebrew gibeah, 
meaning a curved round hill. But our 


257 



THE REPUTED VALLEY OF IIINNOM 








HIN 


258 


HIF< 


translators have also employed the same 
English word for the very different term 
liar, which has a much more extended 
sense than gibeah, meaning a whole dis- 
trict. For instance, in Ex. 24 : 4 the 
“ hill ” is the same which is elsewhere in 
the same chapter, vs. 12, 13, 18, etc., and 
book consistently and accurately ren- 
dered “mount ’’-and “mountain/’ The 
“ country of the hills,” in Deut. 1:7; 
Josh. 9:1; 10 : 40 ; 11 : 16, is the elevated 
district of Judah, Benjamin and Eph- 
raim, which is correctly called “ the 
mountain ” in the earliest descriptions of 
Palestine, Num. 13 : 29, and in many 
subsequent passages. 

Hin. [Weights and Measures.] 

Hind, the female of the common stag, 
in Hebrew Ayyalah. It is frequently no- 
ticed in the poetical parts of Scripture 
as emblematic of activity, Gen. 49 : 21 ; 
Ps. 18 : 33, gentleness, Prov. 5 : 19, femi- 
nine modesty, Cant. 2:7; 3:5, earnest 
longing, Ps. 42 : 1, and maternal affec- 
tion. Jer. 14:5. Its shyness and re- 
moteness from the haunts of men are 
also alluded to, Job 39 : 1, and its timid- 
ity, causing it to cast its young at the 
sound of thunder. Ps. 29 : 9. 

Hinge. Both ancient Egyptian and 
modern Oriental doors were and are 
hung by means of pivots turning in sock- 
ets on both the upper and lower sides. 
1 Kings 7 : 50. In Syria, and especially 



the Hauran, there are many ancient 
doors consisting of stone slabs with 
pivots carved out of the same piece, in- 
serted in sockets above and below, and 
fixed during the building of the house. 
The allusion in Prov. 26 : 14 is thus 
clearly explained. 


Hin'nom (hin'nom), Valley of, other- 
wise called “ the valley of the son ” or 
“ children of Hinnom.” The earliest 
mention of the valley of Hinnom is in 
Josh. 15 : 8 ; 18 : 16, where the boundary 
line between the tribes of Judah and 
Benjamin is described as passing along 
the bed of the ravine. Otherwise it is 
mentioned principally with reference to 
the abominable rites and ceremonies of 
the Ammonites. Solomon erected high 
places for Molech, 1 Kings 11 : 7, whose 
horrid rites were revived from time to 
time in the same vicinity by the later 
idolatrous kings. Ahaz and Manasseh 
made their children “ pass through the 
fire ” in this valley, 2 Kings 16 : 3 ; 2 
Chron. 28 : 3 ; 33 : 6, and the fiendish 
custom of infant sacrifice to the fire- 
gods seems to have been kept up in 
Tophet, which was in this valley. To 
put an end to these abominations the 
place was polluted by Josiah, who ren- 
dered it ceremonially unclean by spread- 
ing over it human bones and other cor- 
ruptions, 2 Kings 23 : 10, 13, 14; 2 Chron. 
34 : 4, 5. In it was probably burned all 
the refuse of the city, including the 
dead bodies of men and animals. From 
its ceremonial defilement, and from the 
detested and abominable fire of Molech, 
if not from the supposed ever-burning 
funeral piles, the later Jews applied the 
name of this valley — Ge Hinnom, Ge- 
henna (land of Hinnom) — to denote the 
place of eternal torment. In this sense 
the word is used by our Lord. Matt. 5 : 
29 ; 10 : 28 ; 23 : 15 ; Mark 9 : 43 ; Luke 
12: 5. The exact position of the Valley 
is uncertain. It was 
surely one of the three 
valleys encompassing 
Jerusalem, but modern 
scholars are undecided 
which one, though the 
name is very generally 
applied to the one on 
the south o r south- 
west. 

Hippopotamus. [Be- 
hemoth.] 

Hi'rah (hi' rah) ( no- 
bility ), an Adullamite, 
the friend of Judah. 
Gem 38 : 1, 12 ; and see 20. 

Hi'ram (hi'ram), or Hu'ram (hu'- 
ram). 1. The king of Tyre who sent 
workmen and materials to Jerusalem, 
first, 2 Sam. 5:11; 1 Chron. 14 : 1, to 
build a palace for David, whom he ever 
loved, 1 Kings 5 : 1, and again, 1 Kings 



HIR 


259 


HIV 


5 : 10 ; 7 : 13 ; 2 Chron. 2 : 16, to build the 
temple for Solomon, with whom he had 
a treaty of peace and commerce. 1 
Kings 5 : 11, 12. He admitted Solomon’s 



REPRESENTATION OF A HITTITE GOD (excavated 

at Babylon). 


ships, issuing from Joppa, to a share in 
the profitable trade of the Mediterra- 
nean, 1 Kings 10:22; and the Jewish 
sailors, under the guidance of Tyrians, 
were taught to bring the gold of India, 
1 Kings 9:26, to Solomon’s two har- 
bors on the Red Sea. 

2. Hiram was the name of a man of 
mixed race, 1 Kings 7 : 13, 40, the prin- 


cipal architect and engineer sent by 
King Hiram to Solomon. 

Hit'tites ( descendants of Heth ), The, 
the nation descended from Cheth (Au- 
thorized Version Heth), the second son 
of Canaan. Abraham bought from the 
“ children of Heth ” the field and the 
cave of Machpelah, belonging to Ephron 
the Hittite. They were then settled at 
the town which was afterwards, under 
its new name of Hebron, to become one 
of the most famous cities of Palestine, 
and which then bore the name of Kir- 
jath-arba. Gen. 23:19; 25:9. When 

the Israelites entered the promised land, 
we find the Hittites taking part against 
the invader, in equal alliance with the 
other Canaanite tribes. Josh. 9:1; 11 : 
3, etc. Henceforward the notices of the 
Hittites are very few and faint. Be- 
yond the notices in the Old Testament 
the Hittites were a forgotten people till 
the middle of the nineteenth century, 
insomuch that scholars denied the ex- 
istence of any such people. But since 
then Egyptian and Assyrian monuments 
have been found describing them as a 
great people of the North (see 1 Kings 
10:29; 2 Kings 7:6), whose armies 
were feared for their valor and num- 
bers, able to cope with Egypt or any 
world power. 

Prof. Ira M. Price tells us that there 
have been discovered a quantity of Hit- 
tite antiquities, carved on the sides of 
mountains, on rock sides of mountain 
passes, and on ruins of buildings in 
Asia Minor and Northern Syria. 

Professor Winckler recently discov- 
ered (1907) more than 2500 Hittite 
tablets or fragments of tablets in the 
ruins of Boghaz-Keni in Cappadocia, 
Asia Minor, which is now regarded as 
the capital of a Hittite empire in the 
days of the nineteenth Egyptian dy- 
nasty. 

Hi'vites (hi'vites), The, descend- 
ants — the sixth in order — of Canaan the 
son of Ham. Gen. 10 : 17 ; 1 Chron. 1 : 
15. We first encounter the actual people 
of the Hivites at the time of Jacob’s 
return to Canaan. > Gen. 34 : 2. We next 
meet with the Hivites during the con- 
quest of Canaan. Josh. 9:7; 11:19. 
The main body of the Hivites were at 
this time living on the northern con- 
fines of western Palestine — “ under Her- 
mon, in the land of Mizpeh,” Josh. 11 : 
3 — “ in Mount Lebanon, from Mount 
Baal-Hermon to the entering in of 


HIZ 


260 


HON 


Hamath.” Judges 3:3; comp. 2 Sam. 
24:7. 

Hizki'ah (hiz-kl'ah), an ancestor of 
Zephaniah the prophet. Zeph. 1 : 1. 
[Hezekiah, 3.] 

Hizki jah (hiz-ki'jah), one of those 
who sealed the covenant with Nehemiah. 
Neh. 10 : 17. R. V. Hezekiah. 

Ho'bab (ho'bab) (beloved). This 
name is found in two places only — 
Num. 10:29; Judges 4:11. Hobab was 
brother-in-law to Moses. 

Ho'bah (hd'bah), the place to which 
Abraham pursued the kings who had 
pillaged Sodom. Gen. 14 : 15. It was 
situated “to the north of Damascus.” 

Hod (hod) (majesty), one of the 
sons of Zophah, among the descendants 
of Asher. 1 Chron. 7 : 37. 

Hoda'iah (hod-a'-iah), son of the 
royal line of Judah. 1 Chron. 3 : 24. R. 
V. Hodaviah. 

Hodavi'ah (hod-a-vl'ah) (Jehovah is 
his praise). 1. A man of Manasseh, one 
of the heads of the half tribe on the 
east of Jordan. 1 Chron. 5 : 24. 

2. A man of Benjamin, son of Has- 
senuah. 1 Chron. 9 : 7. 

3. A Levite, who seems to have given 
his name to an important family in the 
tribe. Ezra 2 : 40. [Hodevah.] 

Ho'desh (ho'desh) (new moon), a 
woman named in the genealogies of 
Benjamin, 1 Chron. 8:9, as the wife of 
Shaharaim. 

Hode'vah (ho-de'vah). Neh. 7:43. 
[Hodaviah, 3.] 

Hodi'ah (ho-di'ah) (my majesty is 
Jehovah ), a man of Judah who mar- 
ried a sister of Naham. 1 Chron. 4: 19. 
The* A. V. translates wrongly and makes 
this the name of the wife. 

Hodi'jah (my majesty is Jehovah). 

1. A Levite in the time of Ezra and 
Nehemiah. Neh. 8:7; and probably 
also 9:5; 10:10. 

2. Another Levite at the same time. 
Neh. 10: 13. 

3. A layman; one of the “heads” of 
the people at the same time. Neh. 10: 
18. 

Hog'Iah (hog'lah) (partridge), the 
third of the five daughters of Zelophe- 
had. Num. 26:33; 27:1; 36:11; Josh. 
17:3. (b.c. 1450.) 

Ho'ham (ho'ham), king of Hebron at 
the time of the conquest of Canaan. 
Josh. 10 : 3. 

Holofer'nes, or more correctly Olo- 
f ernes, was, according to the book of 
Judith, a general of Nebuchadnezzar 


king of the Assyrians, Judith 2:4, who 
was slain by the Jewish heroine Judith 
during the siege of Bethulia (probably 
Jerusalem). 

Ho'Ion (ho'lon) (sandy). 1 . A town 
in the mountains of Judah; mentioned 
with Debir. Josh. 15:51; 21:15. 

[Hilen.] 

2. A city of Moab. Jer. 48 : 21 only. 
No identification of it has yet taken 
place. 

Ho'mam (ho'mam), the form under 
which, in 1 Chron. 1 : 39, an Edomite 
name appears, which in Gen. 36 : 22 is 
given Hemam. 

Homer. [Weights and Measures.] 

Honey. The Hebrew debash in the 
first place applies to the product of the 
bee, to which exclusively we give the 
name of honey. All travellers agree in 
describing Palestine as a land “ flowing 
with milk and honey,” Ex. 3:8; bees 
being abundant even in the remote parts 
of the wilderness, where they deposit 
their honey in the crevices of rocks or in 
hollow trees. In some parts of northern 
Arabia the hills are so well stocked 
with bees that no sooner are hives 
placed than they are occupied. In the 
second place the term debash applies to 
a decoction of the juice of the grape, 
which is stifl called dibs, and which 
forms _ an article of commerce in the 
East; it was this, and not ordinary bee- 
honey, which Jacob sent to Joseph, Gen. 
43 : 11, and which the Tyrians purchased 
from Palestine. Ezek. 27 : 17. A third 



FLESH-HOOKS. 


kind has been described by some writers 
as “ vegetable ” honey, by which is 
meant the exudations of certain trees 
and shrubs, such as the Tamarix manni- 
fera, found in the peninsula of Sinai, or 
the stunted oaks of Luristan and Meso- 
potamia. The honey which Jonathan 
ate in the wood, 1 Sam. 14 : 25, and the 
“ wild honey ” which supported John 


HOO 


261 


HOR 


the Baptist, Matt. 3:4, have been re- 
ferred to this species. But it was prob- 
ably the honey of wild bees. 

Hook, Hooks. Various kinds of 
hooks are noticed in the Bible, of which 
the following are the most important: 
(1) Fishing hooks. Job 41:2; Isa. 19: 
8; Hab. 1:15. (2) A ring, such as in 

our country is placed through the nose 
of a bull, and similarly used in the East 
for leading about lions — Ezek. 19 : 4, 
where the Authorized Version has 
“ with chains” — camels and other ani- 
mals. Called “thorn” in Job 41 : 2. A 
similar method was adopted for leading 
prisoners. 2 Chron. 33:11. (3) The 

hooks of the pillars of the tabernacle. 
Ex. 26 : 32, 37 ; 27 : 10 ff. ; 38 : 10 ff. (4) 
A vine-dresser’s pruning-hook. Isa. 2: 
4; 18:5; Micah 4:3; Joel 3:10. (5) 

A flesh-hook for getting up the joints 
of meat out of the boiling-pot. Ex. 
27:3; 1 Sam. .2 : 13, 14. (6) Probably 


2 : 12-17, 22, filled the people with dis- 
gust and indignation, and provoked the 
curse which was denounced against 
their father’s house, first by an unknown 
prophet, 1 Sam. 2:27-36, and then by 
Samuel, ch. 3:11-14. They were both 
cut off in one day in the flower of their 
age, and the ark which they had ac- 
companied to battle against the Philis- 
tines was lost on the same occasion. 1 
Sam. 4 : 10, 11. 

Hor (hor), Mount. 1 . The moun- 
tain on which Aaron died. Num. 20 : 
25, 27. It was “ on the boundary line,” 
Num. 20:23, or “at the edge,” ch. 33: 
37, of the land of Edom. It was the 
halting-place of the people next after 
Kadesh, ch. 20 : 22 ; 33 : 37, and they 
quitted it for Zalmonah, ch. 33 : 41, in 
the road to the Red Sea, ch. 21 : 4. It 
was during the encampment at Kadesh 
that Aaron was gathered to his fathers. 
Mount Hor is situated on the eastern 



THE TRADITIONAL MOUNT HOR. 


“ hooks ” used for the purpose of hang- 
ing up animals to flay them. Ezek. 40: 
43. 

Hoph'ni (hof'ni) and Phinehas, the 
two sons of Eli, who fulfilled their 
hereditary sacerdotal duties at Shiloh. 
Their brutal rapacity and lust, 1 Sam. 


side of the great valley of the Arabah, 
the highest and most conspicuous of the 
whole range of the sandstone mountains 
of Edom, having close beneath it on its 
eastern side the mysterious city of Petra. 
It is now the Jebel Nebi-Harun, “ the 
mountain of the prophet Aaron.” Its 




HOR 


262 


height is 4800 feet above the Mediter- 
ranean ; that is to say, about 1700 feet 
above the town of Petra, 4000 above the 
level of the Arabah, and more than 6000 
above the Dead Sea. The mountain is 
marked far and near by its double top, 
which rises like a huge castellated build- 
ing from a lower base, and is sur- 
mounted by a circular dome of the tomb 
of Aaron, a distinct white spot on the 
dark red surface of the mountain. The 
chief interest of Mount Hor consists in 
the prospect from its summit, the last 
view of Aaron — that view which was 
to him what Pisgah was to his brother. 

2. A mountain, entirely distinct from 
the preceding, named in Num. 34:7, 8 
only, as one of the marks of the north- 
ern boundary of the land which the 
children of Israel were about to con- 
quer. This Mount Hor is the great 
chain of Lebanon itself. 

Ho'ram (ho'ram), king of Gezer at 
the time of the conquest of the south- 
western part of Palestine. Josh. 10:33. 

Ho'reb (ho'reb) {desert). [Sinai.] 

Ho'rem (ho'rem) {sacred), one of the 
fortified places in the territory of Naph- 
tali ; named with Iron and Migdal-el. 
Josh. 19:38. Conder identifies with 
Hurah near Kedesh-Naphtali, but the 
site is disputed. 

Hor=hagid'gad (hor'ha-gid'gadj {cav- 
ern of Gidgad), the name of the 
desert station where the Israelites en- 
camped, Num. 33 : 32; probably the same 
as Gudgodah. Deut. 10 : 7. 

Ho'ri (ho'ri) {cave-dweller). 1. A 
Horite, son of Lotan the son of Seir. 
Gen. 36 : 22 ; 1 Chron. 1:39; Gen. 36 : 30. 

2. A man of Simeon, father of Sha- 
phat. Num. 13 : 5. 

HoTim (ho'rim) and Ho'rites (ho'- 
rites), the aboriginal inhabitants of 
Mount Seir, Gen. 14 : 6, and probably 
allied to the Emim and Rephaim. The 
name Horite appears to have been de- 
rived from their habits as “ cave-dwell- 
ers.” They were destroyed as a people 
by the descendants of Esau, Deut. 2 : 12, 
though partially preserved by intermar- 
riage with their conquerors. 

Hor'mah (hor'mah) {a devoted 
place), or Zephath, Judges 1:17, was 
the chief town of a king of a Canaan- 
itish tribe on the south of Palestine, 
which was reduced by Joshua, and be- 
came a city of the territory of Judah, 
Josh. 15 : 30 ; 1 Sam. 30 : 30, but appar- 
ently belonged to Simeon. 1 Chron. 4 : 
30. 


HOR 


Horn. The word “ horn ” is often 
used metaphorically to signify strength 
and honor, because horns are the chief 
weapons and ornaments of the animals 
which possess them ; hence they are also 
used as a type of victory. Of strength 
the horn of the unicorn or one-horned 
rhinoceros was the most frequent rep- 
resentative, Deut. 33 : 17, etc., but not 
always ; comp. 1 Kings 22 : 11, where 
probably horns of iron, worn defiantly 
and symbolically on the head, are in- 
tended. Among the Druses upon Mount 



HORNS. 

Worn as head-ornaments by modern Orientals. 


Lebanon the married women wear silver 
horns on their heads. In the sense of 
honor, the word horn stands for the ab- 
stract — “my horn,” Job 16:15; “all the 
horn of Israel,” Lam. 2 : 3 — and so for 
the supreme authority. It also stands 
for the concrete, whence it comes to 
mean king, kingdom. Dan. 7:8, 8:3, 
etc. ; Zech. 1 : 18. Out of either or both 
of these last two metaphors sprang the 
idea of representing gods with horns. 

Hornet. The hornet bears a general 
resemblance to the common wasp, only 
it is larger. It is exceedingly fierce and 
voracious, especially in hqt climates, and 
its sting is frequently dangerous. In 
Scripture the hornet is referred to only 
as the means which Jehovah employed 
for the extirpation of the Canaanites. 
Ex. 23:28; Deut. 7:20; Josh. 24:12; 
Wisd. 12 : 8. It is said that the Phasel- 
itse, a Phoenician people, were driven 
from their locality by hornets; and 
other examples are given in Paxton’s 
“ Illustrations of Scripture,” 1 . 303. 

Horona'im (hor-o-na'im) {two cav- 
erns), a town of Moab, possibly a 


HOR 


263 


HOS 


sanctuary, named with Zoar and Luhith. 
Isa. 15:5; Jer. 48:3, 5, 34. 

Hor'onite (hor'o-nite) ( native of 
Bethhoron), The, the designation of 
Sanballat. Neh. 2: 10, 19; 13:28. It is 
derived by Gesenius from Horonaim. 

Horse. The most striking feature in 
the biblical notices of the horse is the 
exclusive application of it to warlike 
operations ; in no instance is that useful 
animal employed for the purposes of or- 
dinary locomotion or (agriculture, if we 
except Isa. 28 : 28. The animated de- 
scription of the horse in Job 39 : 19-25 
applies solely to the war-horse. The 
Hebrews in the patriarchal age, as a 
pastoral race, did not stand in need of 
the services of the horse, and for a 
long period after their settlement in 
Canaan they dispensed with it, partly 
in consequence of the hilly nature of 
the country, which only admitted of 
the use of chariots in certain localities. 
Judges 1 : 19, and partly in consequence 
of the prohibition in Deut. 17 : 16, which 
would be held to apply at all periods. 
David first established a force of cavalry 
and chariots, 2 Sam. 8:4; but the great 
supply of horses was subsequently 
effected by Solomon through his con- 
nection with Egypt. 1 Kings 4 : 26. 
Solomon also established a very active 
trade in horses, which were brought by 
dealers out of Egypt and resold, at a 
profit, to the Hittites. With regard to 
the trappings and management of the 
horse we have little information. They 
had halters (Isa. 30:28) and bridles 
(Ps. 32:9). The bridles were decorated 
with bells. Zech. 14 : 20. The bit is 
mentioned Ps. 32 : 9 and Jas. 3 : 3. Sad- 
dles were not used until a late period. 
The horses were not shod, and therefore 
hoofs as hard “ as flint,” Isa. 5 : 28, were 
regarded as a great merit. The chariot- 
horses were covered with embroidered 
trappings. Ezek. 27 : 20. Horses and 
chariots were used also in idolatrous 
processions, as noticed in regard to the 
sun. 2 Kings 23 : 11. 

Horse=Ieech, Heb. ’alukah, occurs 
once only, viz. Prov. 30 : 15. There is 
little doubt that ' alukah denotes some 
species of leech, or rather is the generic 
term for any blood-sucking annelid. 

Ho'sah (ho'sah) {refuge), a city of 
Asher, Josh. 19:29, the next landmark 
on the boundary to Tyre. 

Ho'sah, a Merarite Levite, 1 Chron. 


26 : 10, chosen by David to be one of 
tl e first doorkeepers to the ark after its 
arrival in Jerusalem. 1 Chron. 16:38. 
(b.c. 1042.) 

Hosanna {save, pray). “Save, we 
pray! ” the cry of the multitudes as they 
thronged in our Lord’s triumphal pro- 
cession into Jerusalem. Matt. 21: 9, 15; 
Mark 11 : 9, 10 ; John 12 : 13. The 

Psalm from which it was taken, the 
118th, was one with which they were 
familiar from being accustomed to re- 
cite the 25th and 26th verses at the feast 
of tabernacles, forming a part of the 
great hallel. Ps. 113-118. 

Hose'a (ho-se'a) ( salvation ), son of 
Beeri, and first of the minor prophets. 
Probably the prophetic career of Hosea 
extended from some time in the reign of 
Jeroboam II., and on into the brief and 
troublous reigns that followed. He was 
a contemporary in part with Amos and 
Isaiah. The prophecies of Hosea were 
delivered in the kingdom of Israel. 
Jeroboam II. was on the throne, and 
Israel was at the height of its earthly 
splendor. Nothing is known of the 
prophet’s life excepting what may be 
gained from his book. 

Hose'a, Prophecies of. Hosea’s 
message came in very evil times, when 
luxury and vice, oppression, drunkenness, 
idolatry, debauchery prevailed and every 
law of God was habitually broken. 

Just before him Amos had tried to 
stem the tide. His message was one of 
denunciation of sin, of “ Woe unto you,” 
of punishment, of warning. It was of 
divine justice. He enforced his mes- 
sage by pointing out the disasters that 
had come upon the people for their sins, 
— famine, blasting, locusts, pestilence, 
war. 

Hosea follows him with a new motive, 
the mightiest that can be brought to 
bear upon the heart of man, — the love 
of God, the deepest, tenderest, strongest 
love possible. “ To Amos’s proposition 
‘ God is Justice,’ Hosea adds, ‘ God is 
Love.’ Not as if Hosea were any less 
severe in his judgment of the evils of 
his people ; on the contrary, he shows 
himself even more deeply affected by 
them. . . . But God is a kind Father, 
who punishes his child with a bleeding 
heart, for its own good, so that after- 
ward he may enfold it all the more 
warmly in his arms.” 

Probably Part 1, chs. 1-3, record a 


HOS 


264 


HOU 


prophetic appeal growing out of the 
prophet’s own experience with a beloved 
wife, who had been unfaithful to him, 
as the Israelites had been unfaithful to 
their God. But Hosea appeals to her, 
and receives her back into his home, a 
perfect picture of God’s forgiving love. 

Part 2, chs. 4-14 were probably writ- 
ten at a later period of the prophet’s 
life; and appear to be a summary of 
his preaching at various times. 

Hoshai'ah (hosh-a-i'ah) ( Jehovah 
hath saved). 1. A man who assisted in 
the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem 
after it had been rebuilt by Nehemiah. 
Neh. 12:32. (b.c. 446.) 

2. The father of a certain Jezaniah or 
Azariah, who was a man of note after 
the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebu- 
chadnezzar. Jer. 42 : 1 ; 43 : 2. 

Hosh'ama (hosh'a-ma) ( Jehovah has 
heard), one of the sons or descendants 
of Jeconiah or Jehoiachin the last king 
but one of Judah. 1 Chron. 3 : 18. 

Hoshe'a (ho-she'a) ( salvation ). 1. 

The nineteenth, last and best king of 
Israel. He succeeded Pekah, whom he 
slew in a successful conspiracy, thereby 
fulfilling a prophecy of Isaiah. Isa. 7 : 
16. In the third year of his reign (b.c. 
726), Shalmaneser cruelly stormed the 
strong caves of Beth-arbel, Hos. 8 : 14, 
and made Israel tributary, 2 Kings 17 : 3, 
for three years. At the end of this 
period Hoshea entered into a secret al- 
liance with the king of Egypt, to throw 
off the Assyrian yoke. The alliance did 
him no good ; it was revealed to the 
court of Nineveh by the Assyrian party 
in Ephraim, and Hoshea was imme- 
diately seized as a rebellious vassal, shut 
up in prison, and apparently treated 
with the utmost indignity. Micah 5 : 1. 
Of the subsequent fortunes of Hoshea 
nothing is known. 

2. The son of Nun, i. e. Joshua, Deut. 
32:44; and also in Num. 13:8, though 
there the Authorized Version has 
Oshea. 

3. Son of Azaziah, 1 Chron. 27 : 20 ; 
like his great namesake, a man of 
Ephraim, ruler of his tribe in the time 
of King David. 

4. One of the heads of the people who 
sealed the covenant with Nehemiah. 
Neh. 10:23. 

Hospitality. Hospitality was re- 
garded by most nations of the ancient 
world as one of the chief virtues. The 


Jewish laws respecting strangers, Lev. 
19 : 33, 34, and the poor, Lev. 25 : 14, 
seq.; Deut. 15:7, and concerning re- 
demption, Lev. 25 : 23, seq., etc., are 
framed in accordance with the spirit of 
hospitality. In the law compassion to 
strangers is constantly enforced by the 
words “ for ye were strangers in the 
land of Egypt.” Lev. 19 : 34. And be- 
fore the law, Abraham’s entertainment 
of the angels, Gen. 18 : 1, seq., and Lot’s, 
Gen. 19 : 1, are in exact agreement with 
its precepts, and with modern usage. 
Comp. Ex. 2 : 20 ; Judges 13 : 15 ; 19 : 17, 
20, 21. In the New Testament hospi- 
tality is yet more markedly enjoined; 
and in the more civilized state of society 
which then prevailed, its exercise became 
more a social virtue than a necessity of 
patriarchal life. The good Samaritan 
stands for all ages as an example of 
Christian hospitality. The neglect of 
Christ is symbolized by inhospitality to 
our neighbors. Matt. 25 : 43. The apos- 
tles urged the Church to “ follow after 
hospitality,” Rom. 12 : 13 ; cf. 1 Tim. 
5 : 10 ; to remember Abraham’s exam- 
ple, Heb. 13 : 2 ; to “ use hospitality one 
to another without grudging,” 1 Pet. 4 : 
9 ; while a bishop must be a “ lover of 
hospitality.” Titus 1 : 8, cf. 1 Tim. 3 : 
2. The practice of the early Christians 
was in accord with these precepts. 
They had all things in common, and 
their hospitality was a characteristic of 
their belief. In the patriarchal ages we 
may take Abraham’s example as the 
most fitting, as we have of it the fullest 
account. “ The account,” says Mr. 
Lane, “ of Abraham’s entertaining the 
three angels, related in the Bible, pre- 
sents a perfect picture of the manner 
in which a modern Bedawee sheikh re- 
ceives travelers arriving at his encamp- 
ment.” The Oriental respect for the 
covenant of bread and salt, or salt 
alone, certainly sprang from the high 
regard in which hospitality was held. 

Ho'tham (ho'tham) (seal), a man of 
Asher, son of Heber, of the family of 
Beriah. 1 Chron. 7 : 32. 

Ho'than (ho'than), a man of Aroer, 
father of Shama and Jehiel. 1 Chron. 
11 : 44. R. V. correctly Hotham. 

Ho'thir (ho'thir), the thirteenth son 
of Heman, “the king’s seer,” 1 Chron. 
25 : 4, 28, and therefore a Kohathite Le- 
vite. 

Hour. The ancient Hebrews were 


HOU 


265 


HOU 


probably unacquainted with the division 
of the natural day into twenty-four 
parts; but they afterwards parcelled out 
the period between sunrise and sunset 
into a series of divisions distinguished 
by the sun’s course. The natural divi- 
sions of morning, noon-day, and even- 
ing were distinguished, and other ex- 
pressions were used to denote more defi- 
nite portions. But there seems to be no 
sign of any definite division until after 
the Exile. The division of the night 
into three watches was much earlier 
recognized, the middle watch being 
named in Judges 7 : 19. At what period 
the Jews first became acquainted with 
the division of the day into twelve hours 
is unknown, but it is generally supposed 
they learned it from the Babylonians 
during the captivity. It was known to 
the Egyptians at a very early period. 
They had twelve hours of the day and 
of the night. There are two kinds of 
hours, viz. (1) the astronomical or equi- 
noctial hour, i. e. the 24th part of a civil 
day, and (2) the natural hour, i. e. the 
12th part of the natural day, or of the 
time between sunrise and sunset. These 
are the hours meant in the New Testa- 
ment, John 11 : 9, etc., and it must be 
remembered that they perpetually vary 
in length, so as to be very different at 
different times of the year. 

House. The houses of the rural poor 
in Egypt, as well as in most parts of 
Syria, Arabia and Persia, are generally 
mere huts of mud or sunburnt bricks. 
In some parts of Palestine and Arabia 
stone is used, and in certain districts 
caves in the rocks are used as dwellings. 
Amos 5 : 11. The houses are usually of 
one story only, viz., the ground floor, 
and often contain only one apartment. 
Sometimes a small court for the cattle 
is attached ; and in some cases the cattle 
are housed in the same building, or the 
people live on a raised platform, and 
the cattle round them on the ground. 
1 Sam. 28 : 24. The windows are small 
apertures high up in the walls, some- 
times grated with wood. The roofs are 
commonly but not always flat, and are 
usually formed of a plaster of mud and 
straw laid upon boughs or rafters; and 
upon the flat roofs, tents or “booths” 
of boughs or rushes are often raised to 
be used as sleeping-places in summer. 
The difference between the poorest 
houses afid those of the class next above 
them is greater than between these and 


the houses of the first rank. The pre- 
vailing plan of eastern houses of this 
class presents, as was the case in ancient 
Egypt, a front wall, whose blank and 
mean appearance is usually relieved only 
by the door and a few latticed and pro- 
jecting windows. Within this is a court 
or courts with apartments opening into 
them. Over the door is a projecting 
window with a lattice more or less elab- 
orately wrought, which, except in times 



UPPER ROOM. 


of public celebrations, is usually closed, 
2 Kings 9 : 30. An awning is sometimes 
drawn over the court, and the floor 
strewed with carpets on festive occa- 
sions. The stairs to the upper apart- 
ments are in Syria usually in a corner 
of the court. Around part, if not the 
whole, of the court is a veranda, often 
nine or ten feet deep, over which, when 
there is more -than one floor, runs a 
second gallery of like depth, with a 
balustrade. When there is no second 
floor, but more than one court, the 
women’s apartments — hareem, harem or 
haram — are usually in the second court; 
otherwise they form a separate building 
within the general enclosure, or are 
above on the first floor. When there is 
an upper story, the ka’ah forms the 
most important apartment, and thus 
probably answers to the “ upper room,” 
which was often the guest-chamber. 
Luke 22:12; Acts 1:13; 9:37; 20:8. 
The windows of the upper rooms often 
project one or two feet, and form a 
kiosk or latticed chamber. Such may 
have been “ the chamber in the wall.” 2 
Kings 4 : 10, 11. The “ lattice,” through 
which Ahaziah fell, perhaps belonged 
to an upper chamber of this kind, 2 
Kings 1:2, as also the “ third loft,” 
from which Eutychus fell. Acts 20 : 9 ; 




HOU 


266 


HUN 


comp. Jer. 22:13. Paul preached in 
such a room on account of its superior 
size and retired position. The outer cir- 
cle of an audience in such a room sat 
upon a dais, or upon cushions elevated 
so as to be as high as the window-sill. 
From such a position Eutychus could 
easily fall. 

There are usually no special bedrooms 
in eastern houses. The outer doors are 
closed with a wooden lock, but in some 
cases the apartments are divided from 
each other by curtains only. There are 
no chimneys, but fire is made when re- 
quired with charcoal in a chafing-dish; 
or a fire of wood might be kindled in 
the open court of the house. Luke 22 : 
55. Some houses in Cairo have an 
apartment open in front to the court, 
with two or more arches and a rail- 
ing, and a pillar to support the wall 
above. It was probably in a chamber 
of this kind, that our Lord was being 
arraigned before the high priest at 
the time when the denial of him by St. 
Peter took place. He “ turned and 
looked” on Peter as he stood by the 
fire in the court, Luke 22: 56, 61; John 
18 : 24, whilst he himself was in the 
“ hall of judgment.” 

In no point do Oriental domestic 
habits differ more from European than 
in the use of the roof. Its flat surface 
is made useful for various household 
purposes, as drying corn, hanging up 



EASTERN BATTLEMENTED HOUSE. 


linen, and preparing figs and raisins. 
The roofs are used as places of recrea- 
tion in the evening, and often as sleep- 
ing-places at night. 1 Sam. 9 : 25, 26 ; 
2 Sam. 11:2; 16 : 22 ; Job 27 : 18 ; Prov. 


21 : 9 ; Dan. 4 : 29. They were also used 
as places for devotion and even idola- 
trous worship. 2 Kings 23:12; Jer. 19: 
13 ; 32 : 29 ; Zeph. 1:5; Acts 10 : 9. At 
the time of the feast of tabernacles 
booths were erected by the Jews on the 
tops of their houses. Protection of the 
roof by parapets was enjoined by the 
law. Deut. 22 : 8. Special apartments 
were devoted in larger houses to winter 
and summer uses. Jer. 36:22; Amos 
3 : 15. The ivory house of Ahab was 
probably a palace largely ornamented 
with inlaid ivory. 

Huk'kok (hiik'kok), a place on the 
boundary of Naphtali. Josh. 19 : 34. It 
is probably Yakuk , a village in the 
mountains of Naphtali, west of the upper 
end of the Sea of Galilee, though some 
dispute it. 

Hu'kok (hu'kok), a name which in 
1 Chron. 6 : 75 is erroneously used for 
Helkath, which see. 

Hul (hul) {circle), the second son of 
Aram, and grandson of Shem. Gen. 10 : 
23. The strongest evidence for the loca- 
tion of his descendants is in favor of the 
district about the roots of Lebanon, but 
no real identification has been ma^le. 

Hul'dah (hul'dah) {weasel), a proph- 
etess, whose husband, Shallum, was 
keeper of the wardrobe in the time of 
King Josiah. It was to her that Josiah 
had recourse, when Hilkiah found a 
book of the law, to procure an authorita- 
tive opinion on it. 2 Kings 22 : 14 ; 2 
Chron. 34: 22. (b.c. 623.) 

Hum'tah (hum'tah) {place of liz- 
ards), a city of Judah, one of those in 
the mountain district, the next to He- 
bron. Josh. 15 : 54. 

Hunting. Hunting, as a matter of 
necessity, whether for the extermination 
of dangerous beasts or for procuring 
sustenance, betokens a rude and semi- 
civilized state; as an' amusement, it be- 
tokens an advanced state. The He- 
brews, as a pastoral and agricultural 
people, were not given to the sports of 
the field ; the density of the population, 
the earnestness of their character, and 
the tendency of their ritual regulations, 
particularly those affecting food, all 
combined to discourage the practice of 
hunting. The manner of catching ani- 
mals was, first, either by digging a pit- 
fall, or, secondly, by a trap which was 
set under ground, Job 18 : 10, in the run 
of the animal, Prov. 22 : 5, and caught it 
by the leg, Job 18:9; or lastly by the 


HUP 


267 


HUZ 


use of the net, of which there were va- 
rious kinds, as for the gazelle, Isa. 51 : 

20, Authorized Version, wild bull,” and 
other animals of that class. 

Hu'pham (hu'fam), a son of Benja- 
min, founder of the family of the Hu- 
phamites. Num. 26:39. [Huppim.] 

Hu'phamites (hu'fam-ites.), The, de- 
scendants of Hupham, of the tribe of 
Benjamin. Num. 26:39. 

Hup'pah (hup'pah) ( canopy ), a priest 
in the time of David. 1 Chron. 24 : 13. 

Hup'pim (hup'pim) {coverings) , head 
of a Benjamite family. Gen. 46:21; 1 
Chron. 7 : 12. Given as Hupham in 
Num. 26:39. 

Hur (hur). 1. A man mentioned 
with Moses and Aaron on the occasion 
of the battle with Amalek at Rephidim. 
Ex. 17 : 10, when with Aaron he stayed 
up the hands of Moses, ver. 12. (b.c. 

1491.) He is mentioned again in ch. 24: 
14 as being, with Aaron, left in charge 
of the people by Moses during his ascent 
of Sinai. The Jewish tradition is that 
he was the husband of Miriam, and that 
he was identical with 

2. The grandfather of Bezaleel, the 
chief artificer of the tabernacle. Ex. 31 : 
2; 35:30; 38:22. 

3. The fourth of the five kings of 

Midian who were slain with Balaam 
after the “ matter of Peor.” Num. 31 : 
8. (b.c. 1451.) In a later mention of 

them, Josh. 13 : 21, they are called 
princes of Midian and dukes. 

4. Father of Rephaiah, who was ruler 
of half of the environs of Jerusalem, 
and assisted Nehemiah in the repair of 
the wall. Neh. 3 : 9. 

5. The “ son of Hur ” — Ben-Hur — 
was commissariat officer for Solomon in 
Mount Ephraim. 1 Kings 4 : 8. 

Hu'rai (hu'rai), or Hura'i, one of 
David’s guard — Hurai of the torrents 
of Gaash, according to the list of 1 
Chron. 11:32. [Hiddai.] 

Hu'ram (hu'ram) {noble). 1. A Ben- 
jamite; son of Bela, the first-born of 
the patriarch. 1. Chron. 8 : 5. 

2. The form in which the name of 
the king of Tyre in alliance with David 
and Solomon — and elsewhere given as 
Hiram — appears in Second Chronicles. 
2 Chron. 2:3, 11, 12 ; 8 : 2, 18 ; 9 : 10, 

21 . 

3. The same change occurs in Chron- 
icles in the name of Hiram the artificer, 
which is given as Huram in 2 Chron. 
4:11, 16. [Hiram.] 


Hu'ri (hu'ri) {linen weaver), a 
Gadite ; father of Abihail. 1 Chron. 5 : 
14. 

Husband. [Marriage.] 

Hu'shah (hu'shah) {haste), a name 
which occurs in the genealogies of the 
tribe of Judah. 1 Chron. 4: 4. 

Hu'shai (hu'shai), or Husha'i {has- 
ting), an Archite, i. e. possibly an in- 
habitant of a place called Erec. 2 Sam. 
15 : 32 ff. ; 16 : 16 ff. He is called the 
“ friend ” of David. 2 Sam. 15 : 37 ; 
comp. 1 Chron. 27 : 33. To him David 
confided the delicate and dangerous part 
of a pretended adherence to the cause 
of Absalom, (b.c. about 1023.) He was 
probably the father of Baana. 1 Kings 
4: 16. 

Hu'sham (hu'sham) {haste), one of 
the early kings of Edom. Gen. 36 : 34, 
35 ; 1 Chron. 1 : 45, 46. 

Hu'shathite (hu'shath-ite) {inhab- 
itant of Hushah), The, the designation 
of two of the heroes of David’s guard. 

1. Sibbechai. 2 Sam. 21:18; 1. Chron. 
11:29; 20:4; 27:11. Josephus, how- 
ever, calls him a Hittite. 

2. Mebunnai, 2 Sam. 23 : 27, a mere 
corruption of Sibbechai. 

Hu'shim (hu'shim). 1. In Gen. 46: 
23 “ the children of Dan ” are said to 
have been Hushim. The name is plural, 
as if of a tribe rather than an individual. 
In Num. 26:42 the name is changed to 
Shuham. 

2. A Benjamite, 1 Chron. 7:12; and 
here again apparently the plural nature 
of the name is recognized, and Hushim 
are stated to be “ the sons of Aher.” 

3. One of the two wives of Shaharaim. 
1 Chron. 8 : 8. 

Husks. The word in Luke 15 : 16 de- 
scribes really the fruit of a particular 
kind of tree, viz. the carob or Ceratonia 
siliqua of botanists. It belongs to the 
locust family. This tree is very com- 
monly met with in Syria and Egypt; it 
produces pods, shaped like a horn, 
varying in. length from six to ten inches, 
and about a finger’s breadth, or rather 
more ; it is dark-brown, glossy, filled 
with seeds, and has a sweetish taste. 
It is used much for food by the poor, 
and for the feeding of swine (page 268). 

Huz (huz), the eldest son of Nahor 
and Milcah. Gen. 22 : 21. The same 
as Uz. 

Huz'zab (huz'zab), according to the 
general opinion of the Jews, was the 
queen of Nineveh at the time when Na- 


HYA 


268 


HYS 


hum delivered his prophecy. Nah. 2: 
7. Many modern scholars regard it as 
a verb, translating it as in R. V. in 



husks of swine — Carob Beans. 


“it is decreed.” There is no means as 
yet of deciding whether it is a proper 
noun, or what its meaning is in any 
case, and opinions exactly opposite are 
found in equally good authorities. 

Hyacinth, used in the Revised Ver- 
sion for jacinth in Rev. 9 : 17. It is 
simply another English spelling of the 
same Greek word. 

Hyaena. Authorities differ as to 
whether the term tzcibu’a in Jer. 12:9 
means a “ hysena ” or a “ speckled bird.” 
The only other instance in which it oc- 
curs is as a proper name, Zeboim, 1 
Sam. 13 : 18, “ the valley of hyaenas,” 
Neh. 11:34. The striped hyaena ( Hy - 
<zna striata ) is found in Africa, Asia 
Minor, Arabia and Persia, and is more 
common in Palestine than any other 
carnivorous animal, except perhaps the 
jackal. The hyaena is among the mam- 
mals what the vulture is among birds, 
— the scavenger of the wilderness, the 
woods and the shore. It often attacks 
animals, and sometimes digs up the dead 
bodies of men and beasts. From this 
last habit the hyaena has been regarded 
as a horrible and mysterious creature. 
Its teeth are so powerful that they can 
crack the bones of an ox with ease. — • 
Appleton’s Encyc. The hyaena was 
common in ancient as in modern Egypt, 
and is constantly depicted upon monu- 
ments ; it must therefore have been well 
known to the Jews. 


Hymenae'us (hi-me-ne'us) ( belong- 
ing to Hymen, the god of marriage), 
the name of a person occurring twice in 
the correspondence between St. Paul 
and Timothy; the first time classed with 
Alexander, 1 Tim. 1 : 20, and the second 
time classed with Philetus. 2 Tim. 2 : 
17, 18. (a.d. 65-7.) He denied the true 

doctrine of the resurrec- 
tion. 

Hymn, a religious 
song or psalm. Eph. 5 : 

19; Col. 3:16. Our 
Lord and his apostles 
sung a hymn after the 
last supper. In the jail 
at Philippi, Paul and 
Silas “ sang hymns” 

(Authorized Version 
“ praises ”) unto God, 
and so loud was their 
song that their fellow 
prisoners heard them. 

Hyssop. (Heb. ezdb.) 

The ezob was used for 
sprinkling in some o f 
the sacrifices and puri- 
fications of the Jews. 

In consequence of its 
detergent qualities, o r 
from its being associated 
with the purificatory 
services, the Psalmist 
makes use of the ex- 
pression, “Purge me 
with ezdb ” Ps. 51:7. 

It is described in 1 Kings 4:33 as grow- 
ing on or near walls. It is impossible 
to precisely identify the plant, probably 
because the name was given not to a 
particular plant but to a family of plants 
associated together by qualities easily 
noticed rather than by close botanical 
affinities. Different species of the family 
may have been used at different times. 
The plant now known by this name is 
“a shrub with low, bushy stalk 1 % feet 
high, small pear-shaped, close-setting op- 
posite leaves, all the stalks and branches 
terminated by erect whorled spikes of 
flowers of different colors in the varie- 
ties.. It is a hardy plant, with an aro- 
matic smell and a warm, pungent taste ; 
a native of the south of Europe and the 
East.” 

There is a considerable difference of 
opinion as to the identity of the hyssop 
mentioned in Scripture. The principal 
plants which are supposed to be intended 


HYS 


269 


HYS 


are : — 1. The Origanum maru, the s’atar 
of the Arabs. The French consul at 
Sidon exhibited to Dr. Thomson (“ The 
Land and the Book,” i. 161) a specimen 
of this “ having the fragrance of thyme, 
with a hot, pungent taste, and long 
slender stems.” Dr. Post of Beirut, in 
Hastings’ Bible Dictionary, argues that 
in John 19:29 the hyssop was added 
as a powder to the wine, to cool the 
mouth, the whole being lifted on a 
“ reed ” as in the parallel passages. 

2. Cheyne, in the “ Encyclopaedia Bib- 
lica,” following Tristram and others 
considers it the caper-plant, or Capparis 
spinosa of Linnaeus. The Arabic name 
of this plant, asuf, by which it is some- 


times, though not commonly, described, 
bears considerable resemblance to the 
Hebrew. “ It is a bright-green creeper,, 
which climbs from the fissures of the 
rocks, is supposed to possess cleansing 
properties, and is capable of yielding a 
stick to which a sponge might be at- 
tached.” — Stanley, “ Sinai and Pales- 
tine,” 23. It produces a ffuit the size 
of a walnut, called the mountain pepper. 

3. Hastings’ “ Dictionary of Christ and 
the Gospels,” gives the balance of prob- 
ability in favor of the view that the 
name is “ applied to various plants of 
the genera Thymus, Origanus, and 
others nearly allied in form and habit.” 


I 

Ib'har (lb'har) {[God] chooses), one 
of the sons of David, 2 Sam. 5:15; 1 
Chron. 3:6; 14:5, born in Jerusalem. 

Ib'le=am (lb'le-am) {the people fail- 
eth), a city of Manasseh, with villages 
or towns dependent on it. Judges 1: 27. 
It appears to have been situated in the 
territory of either Issachar or Asher. 
Josh. 17 : 11. The ascent of Gur was 
“ at Ibleam,” 2 Kings 9 : 27. It is gen- 
erally identified with Bileam. It is 
probably the modern ruin Bel’ame. 

Ibne'iah (lb-ne'iah) {Jehovah build- 
eth up), son of Jeroham, a Benjamite. 

1 Chron. 9 : 8. 

Ibnijah (lb-ni'jah) {Jehovah doth 
build), a Benjamite. 1 Chron. 9 : 8. 

Ib'ri (lb'ri) {Hebrew), a Merarite 
Levite of the family of Jaaziah, 1 Chron. 
24 : 27. 

Ib'zan (lb'zan), a native of Bethle- 
hem of Zebulun, who judged Israel for 
seven years after Jephthah. Judges 12: 

8 , 10 . 

Ich'abod (ik'a-b5d) {inglorious) , the 
son of Phinehas and grandson of Eli. 

1 Sam. 4 : 21. 

Ico'nium (i-ko'm-um) , the modern 
Konia, was the capital of Lycaonia, in 
Asia Minor. It was a large and rich 
city, 120 miles north from the Mediter- 
ranean Sea, at the foot of the Taurus 
mountains, and on the great line of com- 
munication between Ephesus and the 
western coast of the peninsula on one 
side, and Tarsus, Antioch and the Eu- 
phrates on the other. Iconium was a 
well-chosen place for missionary opera- 
tions. Acts 14 : 1 , 3, 21, 22 ; 16 : 1 , 2 ; 18 : 
23. Paul’s first visit here was on his 
first circuit, in company with Barnabas; 
and on this occasion he approached it 
from Antioch in Pisidia, which lay to 
the west. The modern Konia is between 
two and three miles in circumference, 
and contains about 45,000 (Cram’s Atlas, 
1901) < inhabitants. It contains manu- 
factories of carpets and leather. 

Id'alah (id'a-lah), one of the cities 


of the tribe of Zebulun, named between 
Shimron and Bethlehem. Josh. 19 : 15. 

Id'bash (id'bash) {honey-sweet) , one 
of the three sons of Abi-Etam, among 
the families of Judah. 1 Chron. 4:3. 

Iddo (id'do). The rendering of sev- 
eral Hebrew words with different mean- 
ings, not all of which are definitely 
agreed on by commentators. 

1. Father of Abinadab. 1 Kings 4 : 14. 

2. A descendant of Gershom, son of 
Levi. 1 Chron. 6 : 21. 

3. Son of Zechariah, ruler of the tribe 
of Manasseh east of Jordan in the time 
of David. 1 Chron. 27 : 21. 

4. A seer whose “ visions ” against 
Jeroboam incidentally contained some 
of the acts of Solomon. 2 Chron. 9 : 29. 
He appears to have written a chronicle 
or story relating to the life and reign 
of Abijah. 2 Chron. 13:22. 

5. The grandfather ‘ of the prophet 
Zechariah. Zech. 1:1, 7. 

6. The chief of those who assembled 
at Casiphia at the time of the second 
caravan from Babylon. He was one of 
the Nethinim. Ezra 8:17; comp. 20. 

Idol. An image or anything' used as 
an object of wor- 
ship in place o f 
the true God. 

Among the earli- 
est objects of 
worship, regarded 
as symbols of 
deity, were the 
meteoric stones, 
which the ancients 
believed to have 
been images o f 
the gods sent 
down from 
heaven. From 
these they trans- 
ferred their regard 
t o rough unhewn 
blocks, to stone columns or pillars of 
wood, in which the divinity worshiped 
was supposed to dwell, and which were 



An ASSYRIAN DEITY. 


270 


IDO 


IDO 


consecrated, like the sacred stone at 
Delphi, by being anointed with oil 
and crowned with wool on solemn 
days. Of the forms assumed by the 
idolatrous images we have not many 
traces in the Bible. Derceto, the Philis- 
tine fish-goddess, was a human figure 
terminating in a fish ; and that the 
Syrian deities were represented in later 
times in a symbolical human shape we 
know for certainty. When the process 



IMAGE OF THE god setush, from Thebes, Egypt. 


of adorning the image was completed, it 
was placed in a temple or shrine ap- 
pointed for it. Epist. Jer. 12, 19 ; Wisd. | 


13:15; 1 Cor. 8:10. From these tem- 
ples the idols were sometimes carried 
in procession, Epist. Jer. 4, 26, on fes- 
tival days. Their priests were main- 
tained from the idol treasury, and 
feasted upon the meats which were ap- 
pointed for the idols’ use. Bel and the 
Dragon 3, 13. 

Idolatry, strictly speaking, denotes 
the worship of deity in a visible form, 
whether the images to which homage is 
paid are symbolical representations of 
the true God or of the false divinities 
which have been made the objects of 
worship in his stead. 

I. History of idolatry among the Jews. 
— The first undoubted allusion to idol- 
atry or idolatrous customs in the Bible 
is in the account of Rachel’s stealing her 
father’s teraphim. Gen. 31 : 19. During 
their long residence in Egypt the Is- 
raelites defiled themselves with the idols 
of the land, and it was long before the 
taint was removed. Josh. 24:14; Ezek. 
20 : 7. In the wilderness they clamored 
for some visible shape in which they 
might worship the God who had brought 
them out of Egypt, Ex. 32, until Aaron 
made the calf, the embodiment of Apis 
or Mnevis, and emblem of the produc- 
tive power of nature. During the lives 
of Joshua and the elders who outlived 
him they kept true to their allegiance ; 
but the generation following, who knew 
not Jehovah nor the works he had done 
for Israel, swerved from the plain path 
of their fathers, and were caught in the 
toils of the foreigner. Judges 2. From 
this time forth their history becomes 
little more than a chronicle of the in- 
evitable sequence of offence and pun- 
ishment. Judges 2 : 12, 14. By turns 
each conquering nation strove to estab- 
lish the worship of its national god. 
In later times the practice of secret 
idolatry was carried to greater lengths. 
Images were set up on the corn-floors, 
in the wine-vats, and behind the doors of 
private houses, Isa. 57:8; Hos. 9:1, 
2 ; and to check this tendency the statute 
in Deut. 27 : 15 was originally promul- 
gated. Under Samuel’s administration 
idolatry was publicly renounced, 1 Sam. 
7:3-6; but in the reign of Solomon all 
this was forgotten, even Solomon’s own 
heart being turned after other gods. 1 
Kings 11 : 4. Rehoboam perpetuated 
the worst features of Solomon’s idolatry, 
1 Kings 14:22-24. Jeroboam erected 
golden calves at Bethel and at Dan, and 



IDO 


272 


IDO 


by this crafty state policy severed for- 
ever the kingdoms of Judah and Israel. 
1 Kings 12:26-33. There is, however, 
no reason to charge him with actual 
apostasy from the worship of Jehovah. 
The successors of Jeroboam followed in 
his steps, till Ahab, who, through the 
influence of his wife Jezebel introduced 
the actual worship of the God of the 
Zidonians, the Zidonian Baal. The con- 
quest of the ten tribes by Shalmaneser 
was for them the last scene of the 
drama of abominations which had been 
enacted uninterruptedly for upwards of 
250 years. Under Hezekiah a great re- 
form was inaugurated, that was not con- 
fined to Judah and Benjamin, but spread 
throughout Ephraim and Manasseh, 2 
Chron. 31 : 1, and to all external ap- 
pearance idolatry was extirpated. But 
the reform extended little below the 
surface. Isa. 29 : 13. With the death 
of Josiah ended the last effort to re- 
vive among the people a purer ritual, if 
not a purer faith. The lamp of David, 
which had long shed but a struggling 
ray, flickered for a while and then went 
out in the darkness of Babylonian cap- 
tivity. Though the conquests of Alex- 
ander caused Greek influence to be felt, 
yet after the captivity a better condi- 
tion of things prevailed, and the Jews 
never again fell into idolatry. The 
erection of synagogues has been as- 
signed as a reason for the comparative 
purity of the Jewish worship after the 
captivity, while another cause has been 
discovered in the hatred for images ac- 
quired by the Jews in their intercourse 
with the Persians. 

II. Objects of idolatry. — The sun and 
moon were early selected as outward 
symbols of all-pervading power, and the 
worship of the heavenly bodies was not 
only the most ancient but the most prev- 
alent system of idolatry. Taking its 
rise in the plains of Chaldea, it spread 
through Egypt, Greece, Scythia, and 
even Mexico and Ceylon. Comp. Deut. 
4 : 19 ; 17 : 3 ; Job 31 : 26-28. In the later 
times of the monarchy, the planets or 
the zodiacal signs received, next to the 
sun and moon, their share of popular 
adoration. 2 Kings 23 : 5. Beast-wor- 
ship, as exemplified in the calves of 
Jeroboam, has already been alluded to. 
Of pure hero-worship among the Semit- 
ic races we find no trace. The singu- 
lar reverence with which trees have 
been honored is not without example in 


the history of the Hebrews. The tere- 
binth (oak) at Mamre, beneath which 
Abraham built an altar, Gen. 12 : 7 ; 13 : 
18, and the memorial grove planted by 
him at Beersheba, Gen. 21 : 33, were in- 
timately connected with patriarchal wor- 
ship. Mountains and high places were 
chosen spots for offering sacrifice and 
incense to idols, 1 Kings 11 : 7 ; 14 : 23 ; 
and the retirement of gardens and the 
thick shade of woods offered great at- 
tractions to their worshipers. 2 Kings 
16:4; Isa. 1:29; Hos. 4:13. The host 
of heaven was worshiped on the house- 
top. 2 Kings 23 : 12 ; Jer. 19 : 13 ; 32 : 29 ; 
Zeph. 1:5. The modern objects of 
idolatry are less gross than the ancient, 
but are none the less idols. Whatever 
of wealth or honor or pleasure is loved 
and sought before God and righteous- 
ness becomes an object of idolatry. 

III. Punishment of idolatry. — Idolatry 
to an Israelite was a state offence, 1 
Sam. 15 : 23, a political crime of the 
greatest character, high treason against 
the majesty of his king. The first and 
second commandments are directed 
against idolatry of every form. Indi- 
viduals and communities were equally 
amenable to the rigorous code. The in- 
dividual offender was devoted to de- 
struction, Ex. 22 : 20 ; his nearest rela- 
tives were not only bound to denounce 
him and deliver him up to punishment, 
Deut. 13 : 2-10, but their hands were to 
strike the first blow, when, on the evi- 
dence of two witnesses at least, he was 
stoned. Deut. 17 : 2-7. To attempt to 
seduce others to false worship was a 
crime of equal enormity. Deut. 13 : 6- 
10 . 

IV. Attractions of idolatry. — Many 
have wondered why the Israelites were 
so easily led away from the true God, 
into the worship of idols. (1) Visible, 
outward signs, with shows, pageants, pa- 
rades, have an attraction to the natural 
heart, which often fails to perceive the 
unseen spiritual realities. (2) But the 
greatest attraction seems to have been 
in licentious revelries and obscene or- 
gies with which the worship of the 
Oriental idols was observed. This wor- 
ship, appealing to every sensual passion, 
joined with the attractions of wealth 
and fashion and luxury, naturally was 
a great temptation to a simple, re- 
strained, agricultural people, whose wor- 
ship and laws demanded the greatest 
purity of heart and of life. 


IDU 


273 


INC 


Idume'a (I-du-me'a). [Edom.] 

I'gal (i'gal) ( God redeems). 1. One 
of the spies, son of Joseph, of the tribe 
of Issachar. Num. 13 : 7. (b.c. 1490.) 

2. One of the heroes of David’s guard, 
son of Nathan of Zobah. 2 Sam. 23 : 
36. 

Igdali'ah (lg-da-li'ah) ( great is Je- 
hovah ), a prophet or holy man — “the 
man of God ” — named once only, Jer. 
35 : 4, as the father of Hanan. 

I'geal (i'ge-al), a son of Shemaiah, 
a descendant of the royal house of 
Judah. 1 Chron. 3 : 22. R. V. Igal. 

Tim (i'un) {ruins). 1. The partial 
or contracted form of the name Ije- 
abarim. Num. 33 ; 45. 

2. A town in the extreme south of Ju- 
dah. Josh. 15 : 29. 

rje=ab'arim (i'je-ab'a-rim), one of 
the later halting-places of the children 
of Israel. Num. 21:11; 33:44. It was 
on the boundary — the southeast boun- 
dary — of the territory of Moab; in the 
waste uncultivated “ wilderness ” on its 
skirts, ch. 21 : 11. * 

Tjon (i'jon) {a ruin), a town in the 
north of Palestine, belonging to the 
tribe of Naphtali. It was taken and 
plundered by the captains of Ben-hadad, 
1 Kings 15 : 20 ; 2 Chron. 16 : 4, and a 
second time by Tiglath-pileser. 2 Kings 
15 : 29. Its probable site is a few miles 
northwest of the site of Dan, in a fer- 
tile and beautiful little plain called Merj 
J Ayun. 

Ik'kesh (ik'kesh) {perverse), the 
father of Ira the Tekoite. 2 Sam. 23: 
26 ; 1 Chron. 11 : 28 ; 27 : 9. 

I'lai (i'lai) {supreme), an Ahohite, 
one of the heroes of David’s guard. 1 
Chron. 11 : 29. 

Illyr'icum (il-lir'i-kum), an extensive 
district lying along the eastern coast of 
the Adriatic, from the boundary of Italy 
on the north to Epirus on the south, 
and contiguous to Moesia and Macedonia 
on the east. Rom. 15 : 19. 

Image. [Idol.] 

Im'la (im'la), father or progenitor of 
Micaiah the prophet. 2 Chron. 18 : 7, 8. 
The form Imlah is employed in the 
parallel narrative. 1 Kings 22 : 8, 9. 

Imman uel {God with us), a child 
whose birth is prophesied in Isa. 7 : 14 
as a sign from God. In its final fulfil- 
ment it has always been held to refer 
to the Messiah (Matt. 1:23), and the 
name is often applied to Christ in the 
18 


Bible, by early Christian writers and by 
modern writers to our own day. 

Im'mer {talkative). 1. The founder 
of an important family of priests. 1 
Chron. 9:12; Neh. 11:13. This family 
had charge of, and gave its name to, 
the sixteenth course of the service. 1 
Chron. 24 : 14. 

2. Apparently the name of a place in 
Babylonia. Ezra 2:59; Neh. 7:61. 

Im'na (im'na) {he [God] keeps back ) , 
a descendant of Asher, son of Helem. 
1 Chron. 7:35; comp. 40. 

Im'nah (im'nah) {he allotteth). 1. 
The first-born of Asher. 1 Chron. 7 : 
30. 

2. Kore ben-Imnah, the Levite, as- 
sisted in the reforms of Hezekiah. 2 
Chron. 31 : 14. 

Im'rah (im'rah) {stubborn) , a de- 
scendant of Asher, of the family of 
Zophah. 1 Chron. 7 : 36. 

Im'ri (im'ri) {eloquent) . 1. A man 

of Judah, of the great family of Pharez. 
1 Chron. 9 : 4. 

2. Father or progenitor of Zaccur. 
Neh. 3 : 2. 

Incense, from the Latin “to burn,” 
“ a mixture of gums or spices and the 
like, used for the purpose of producing 
a perfume when burned ;” or the per- 
fume itself of the spices, etc., burned 
in worship. The incense employed in 
the service of the tabernacle was com- 
pounded of the perfumes stacte, onycha, 
galbanum and pure frankincense. All 
incense which was not made of these 
ingredients was forbidden to be offered. 
Ex. 30 : 9. Aaron, as high priest, was 
originally appointed to offer incense each 
morning and evening. The times of 
offering incense were specified in the 
instructions first given to Moses. Ex. 
30 : 7, 8. When the priest entered the 
holy place with the incense, all the peo- 
ple were removed from the temple, and 
from between the porch and the altar. 
Cf. Luke 1 : 10. Profound silence was 
observed among the congregation who 
were praying without, cf. Rev. 8 : 1, and 
at a signal from the prefect the priest 
cast the incense on the fire, and, bow- 
ing reverently toward the holy of holies, 
retired slowly backward. The offering 
of incense has formed a part of the 
religious ceremonies of most ancient 
nations. It was an element in the 
idolatrous worship of the Israelites. 2 
Chron. 34:25; Jer. 11 : 12, 17 ; 48:35. 
It would seem to be symbolical, not of 


274 



. ancient, incense altar from taanach. 

.Perforated, allowing the air to cause a draught under the burning incense. 


IND 


275 


IRO 


prayer itself, but of that which makes 
prayer acceptable, the intercession of 
Christ. In Rev. 8:3, 4 the incense is 
spoken of as something distinct from, 
though offered with the prayers of, all 
the saints. In Rev. 5 : 8 it is the golden 
vials, and not the odors or incense, 
which are said to be the prayers of 
saints. 

India (in'di-a). The name of India 
does not occur in the Bible before the 
book of Esther, where it is noticed as 
the limit of the territories of Ahasuerus 
in the east, as Ethiopia was in the west. 
Esther 1:1; 8:9. The India of the 
book of Esther is not the peninsula of 
Hindostan, but the country surrounding 
the Indus, the Punjab and perhaps 
Scinde. The people and productions of 
that country must have been tolerably 
well known to the Jews. An active 
trade was carried on between India and 
western Asia. The trade opened by 
Solomon with Ophir through the Red 
Sea consisted chiefly of Indian articles. 

Inheritance. [Heir.] 

Ink, Inkhorn. [Writing.] 

Inn. The Hebrew word ( malon) 
thus rendered literally signifies “a 
lodging-place for the night.” Inns, in 
our sense of the term, were, as they 
still are, unknown in the East, where 
hospitality is religiously practised. The 
khans or caravanserais are the repre- 
sentatives of European inns, and these 
were established but gradually. The 
halting-place of a caravan was selected 
originally on account of its proximity 
to water or pasture, by which the 
travelers pitched their tents and passed 
the night. Such was undoubtedly the 
“ inn ” at which occurred the incident 
in the life of Moses narrated in Ex. 
4 : 24 ; comp. Gen. 42 : 27. On the more 
frequented routes, remote from towns, 
Jer. 9 : 2, caravanserais were in course 
of time erected, often at the expense 
of the wealthy. “A caravanserai is a 
large and substantial square building. 
. . . Passing through a strong gate : 

way, the guest enters a large court, in 
the centre of which is a spacious raised 
platform, used for sleeping upon at 
night or for the devotions of the faith- 
ful during the day. Around this court 
are arranged the rooms of the building.” 

Inspiration. “That actuating energy 
of the Holy Spirit . . . guided by 
which the human agents chosen by God 
have officially proclaimed His will by 


word of mouth, or have committed to 
writing the several portions of the 
Bible.” (Lee — quoted in Hastings’ 

“ Dictionary of Christ and the Gospels,” 
1906.) Without deciding on any of the 
various theories of inspiration, the gen- 
eral doctrine of Christians is that the 
Bible is so inspired by God that it is the 
infallible guide of men, and is perfectly 
trustworthy in all its parts, as given by 
God. 

Instant, Instantly, in the Author- 
ized Version, means urgent, urgently or 
fervently, as will be seen from the fol- 
lowing passages : Luke 7:4; 23 : 23 ; 
Acts 26:7; Rom. 12 : 12. 

Iphede'iah (if-e-de'iah) ( Jehovah re- 
deems), a descendant of Benjamin, one 
of the Bene-Shashak. 1 Chron. 8 : 25. 

Ir (ir) (city). 1 Chron. 7:12. [Iri.] 

I'ra (i'ra) (watchful of a city). 1. 
“ The Jairite,” named in the catalogue 
of David’s great officers. 2 Sam. 20 : 26. 

2. One of the heroes of David’s guard. 
2 Sam. 23 : 38 ; 1 Chron. 11 : 40. 

3. Another of David’s guard, a Teko- 
ite, son of Ikkesh. 2 Sam. 23:26; 1 
Chron. 11 : 28. 

I'rad (i'rad) (fugitive), son of 
Enoch ; grandson of Cain, and father 
of Mehujael. Gen. 4: 18. 

Tram (Tram) (belonging to a city), 
a leader of the Edomites, Gen. 36 : 43 ; 1 
Chron. 1 : 54, i. e. the chief of a family 
or tribe. 

I'ri (I'ri) , or Ir (belonging to a city), 
a Benjamite, son of Bela. 1 Chron. 7: 
7, 12. 

Iri'jah (l-ri'jah) (Jehovah seeth), son 
of Shelemiah, a captain in the ^ard, 
who met Jeremiah in the gate of Jeru- 
salem called the “gate of Benjamin,” 
accused him of being about to desert 
to the Chaldeans, and led him back to 
the princes. Jer. 37 : 13, 14. 

Ir=na'hash (ir-na'hash) (serpent 
city), a name which, like many other 
names of places, occurs in the genealog- 
ical lists of Judah. 1 Chron. 4 : 12. 

I'ron (conspicuous) , a city of Naph- 
tali, Josh. 19 : 38. Probably the mod- 
ern Yarun. 

Iron is mentiqned with brass as the 
earliest of known metals. Gen. 4 : 22. 
The book of Job contains passages 
which indicate that iron was a metal 
well known. Sheet-iron was used for 
cooking utensils. Ezek. 4:3; cf. Lev. 
7:9. That it was plentiful in the time 
of David appears from 1 Chron. 22 : 3. 


IRP 


276 


ISA 


The market of Tyre was supplied with 
bright or wrought iron by the merchants 
of Dan and Javan. Ezek. 27:19. The 
Chalybes of the Pontus were celebrated 
as workers in iron in very ancient times. 
The product of their labor is supposed 
to be alluded to in Jer. 15:12 as being 
of superior quality. Specimens of As- 
syrian iron-work overlaid with bronze 
were discovered by Mr. Layard, and are 
now in the British Museum. Iron 
weapons of various kinds were found 
at Nimroud, but fell to pieces on ex- 
posure to the air. 

Ir'peel (ir'pe-el) ( God heals), one 
of the cities of Benjamin. Josh. 18: 
27. Probably the ruin Rafat, near 
Gibeon. 

Irshe'mesh (ir-she'mesh) ( city of 
the sun), a city of the Danites, Josh. 
19 : 41, probably identical with Beth- 
shemesh. 

I'ru (I'ru), the eldest son of the 
great Caleb, son of Jephunneh. 1 Chron. 
4:15. 

I'saac (i'sak) (laughter), the son 
whom Sarah bore to Abraham, in the 
hundredth year of his age, at Gerar. (b.c. 
1896.) In his infancy he became the 
object of Ishmael’s jealousy; and in his 
youth the victim, in intention, of Abra- 
ham’s great sacrificial act of faith. 
When forty years old he married Re- 
bekah _ his cousin, by whom, when he 
was sixty, he had two sons, Esau and 
Jacob. Driven by famine to Gerar, he 
acquired great wealth by his flocks, but 
was repeatedly dispossessed by the Phi- 
listines of the wells which he sunk at 
convenient stations. After the deceit by 
which Jacob acquired his father’s bless- 
ing, Isaac sent his son to seek a wife in 
Padan-aram ; and all that we know of 
him during the last forty-three years of 
his life is that he saw that son, with a 
large and prosperous family, return to 
him at Hebron, Gen. 35 : 27, before he 
died there, at the age of 180 years. He 
was buried by his two sons in the cave 
of Machpelah. In the New Testament 
reference is made to the offering of 
Isaac, Heb. 11:17; James 2:21, and to 
his blessing his sons. Heb. 11 : 20. In 
Gal. 4 : 28-31 he is contrasted with Ish- 
mael. In reference to the offering up of 
Isaac by Abraham, the primary doctrines 
taught are those of sacrifice and sub- 
stitution, as the means appointed by God 
for taking away sin ; and, as co-ordinate 
with these, the need of the obedience of 


faith, on the part of man, to receive the 
benefit. Heb. 11 : 17. The animal which 
God provided and Abraham offered was 
in the whole history of sacrifice the rec- 
ognized type of “ the Lamb of God, that 
taketh away the sins of the world.” 
Isaac is the type of humanity itself, de- 
voted to death for sin. 

Isa'iah (i-sa'iah), the prophet, son of 
Amoz. The Hebrew name signifies Je- 
hovah is salvation and is synonymous 
with Joshua (Jesus) and Hosea. He 
prophesied concerning Judah and Jeru- 
salem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, 
Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, Isa. 
1 : 1, covering at least from the last 
years of Uzziah to the first of Manasseh 
—772-697 or 741-686 B.c. It is thought 
that he belonged to the royal family. 

He was the greatest of the prophets, 
a statesman as well as a prophet- 
preacher, a man of wisdom, of elo- 
quence, of literary genius, with divinely 
inspired insight and vision. He was 
married and had two sons. Rabbinical 
tradition says that Isaiah, in his old age, 
was sawn asunder in the trunk of a 
carob tree by order of Manasseh, to 
which it is supposed that reference is 
made in Heb. 11 : 37. 

Isaiah, The Book of. “It may be 
safely asserted that nowhere else in the 
literature of the world have so many 
colossally great ideas been brought to- 
gether within the limits of a single work. 

. . . Even in literary form the world 
has produced nothing greater than 
Isaiah.” Prof. Moulton. 

The book falls into two great di- 
visions, each of which has several sub- 
divisions. 

1. Chapters 1-39 are chiefly historical, 
interpersed with songs and poems. It 
contains the most definite and magnifi- 
cent prophecies of the Messiah to come. 
A new interest would be given to the 
reading of Isaiah if its poetic portions 
had been printed in poetic forms. 

2. Chapters 40-66 are a collection of 
poems, printed as poems in the Revised 
Versions. They are concerned chiefly 
with assurances of return from the 
Babylonian Exile, with the conditions 
which make that return possible, and 
then, with this return as the basis and 
symbol, with visions of the final triumph 
of the kingdom of God. The proph- 
ecies were partly fulfilled to the Jews 
of that time, but the complete fulfilment 
has been going on ever since, and will 


ISA 


277 


ISH 


be realized when the kingdom of God 
has come, and his will be done on earth 
as it is in heaven. 

The prophecies in the time of the 
Exile inspired the Jews with hope and 
courage and faith and love to God. 

This second part is thought by many 
modern scholars to have been written 
not by Isaiah, who died almost a hun- 
dred years before the Exile began, but by 
a prophet or prophets in the latter part 
of the Exile whose main purpose was to 
show how Isaiah’s prophecies had been 
fulfilled and to carry them on to still 
loftier heights. Of these chapters, 40- 
48 are considered to be certainly the 
work of a single prophet, while the re- 
mainder, though by different hands, has 
been set in order of date and of thought 
by a single wise and sympathetic editor. 
The argument for this conclusion is 
based upon the references to Cyrus as 
already come, a successful warrior on 
his way to attack Babylon ; and the local 
color, language, style, and theology of 
the chapters. Their whole atmosphere 
is that of the Exile. They do not claim 
to be Isaiah’s. In the original Jewish 
canon, Isaiah was placed after Jeremiah 
and Ezekiel. Prof. George Adam Smith 
holds that the only evidence for the 
Isaian authorship of chapters 40-66 is 
tradition, supported by a mistaken in- 
terpretation of New Testament cita- 
tions; but after asserting this conclusion 
he emphatically adds : “ Do we find 

them any the less wonderful or divine? 
Do they comfort less? Do they speak 
with less power to the conscience? Do 
they testify with more uncertain voice 
to our Lord and Saviour ? Interpreted 
in connection with the history out of 
which they themselves say that God’s 
Spirit drew them, these twenty-seven 
chapters become only more prophetic of 
Christ, and more comforting and in- 
structive to men, than they were be- 
fore.” 

On the other hand, though this second 
portion of the book does not formally 
claim to be Isaiah’s, it contains no hint 
that it was written by another. Unbro- 
ken tradition, for more than twenty cen- 
turies, regards Isaiah as the author of 
the whole. The Septuagint, b.c. 250, and 
writers as early as the second century, 
distinctly attribute these last chapters to 
Isaiah. Indeed, as Delitzsch says in the 
last edition of his commentary on Isaiah, 
it is inconceivable that there should be 


a prophet or prophets who wrote in 
their master’s style, but surpassed him 
in brilliance of genius, and splendor of 
imagination, and completeness of in- 
spiration, who should yet be wholly un- 
known to history, utterly forgotten, “ al- 
though they lived nearer to the collector 
than did the old prophet whom they had 
taken as their model.” 

Note that, whichever view is taken, 
no one questions the inspiration of all 
parts of the book; and as to its prophetic 
character, all agree that the marvelous 
foretelling of the Messiah was written 
many centuries before he appeared. 

Is'cah (is'kah), daughter of Haran 
the brother of Abram, and sister of 
Milcah and of Lot. Gen. 11 : 29. In 
the Jewish traditions she is identified 
with Sarai, but it is not likely. 

Iscariot (is-kar'i-ot) ( man of Ke- 
rioth). [Judas Iscariot.] 

Ish'bah (ish'bah) {praising), a man 
in the line of Judah, commemorated as 
the “ father of Eshtemoa.” 1 Chron. 
4:17. 

Ish'bak (ish'bak), a son of Abra- 
ham and Keturah, Gen. 25 : 2 ; 1 Chron. 
1 : 32, and the progenitor of a tribe of 
northern Arabia. 

Ish'bi=be'nob (ish'bi-be'nob) {my 
dwelling place is on a height), one of 
the race of Philistine giants, who at- 
tacked David in battle, but was slain 
by Abishai. 2 Sam. 21 : 16, 17. 

Ish=bo'sheth (ish-bo'sheth) {man of 
shame), the youngest of Saul’s four 
sons, and his legitimate successor, (b.c. 
1055.) After the death of Saul, five 
years were spent in uniting the people 
under him, and then he “ reigned two 
years.” 2 Sam. 2 : 10. Curing these 
two years he reigned at Mahanaim, 
though only in name. The wars and 
negotiations with David were entirely 
carried on by Abner. 2 Sam. 2 : 12 ; 3 : 
6, 12. The death of Abner deprived 
the house of Saul of its last remaining 
support. When Ish-bosheth heard of it, 
“ his hands were feeble, and all the 
Israelites were troubled.” He was mur- 
dered in his bed. 

Ish'i (ish'i) {salutary). 1 . A man of 
the descendants of Judah, son of Ap- 
paim, 1 Chron. 2:31; one of the great 
house of Hezron. 

2. In a subsequent genealogy of Judah 
we find another Ishi, with a son Zoheth, 
1 Chron. 4 : 20. 


ISH 


ISH 


'278 


3. Head of a family of the tribe of 
Simeon. 1 Chron. 4 : 42. 

4. One of the heads of the tribe of 
Manasseh on the east of Jordan. 1 
Chron. 5:24. 

Ish'i (ish'i) (my husband). This 
word occurs in Hos. 2 : 16. It is the 
Israelite term, in opposition to Baali, a 
synonymous word, because the word 
Baal had become associated with idol- 
atry. 

Ishi'ah (ish-i'-ah) ( Jehovah lends), 
the fifth of the five sons of Izrahiah; 
one of the heads of the tribe, of Issa- 
char. 1 Chron. 7 : 3. The same name 
as Jesiah and Isshiah. R. V. always 
Isshiah. 

Ishi'jah (i-shi'jah) ( Jehovah lends), 
a lay Israelite of the Bene-Harim who 
had married a foreign wife. Ezra 10: 
31. (b.c. 458.) 

Ish'ma (ish'ma) ( desolation ), a 
name in the genealogy of Judah. 1 
Chron. 4 : 3. 

Ishmael (ish'ma-el) ( may God hear). 

1. The son of Abraham by Hagar the 
Egyptian, his concubine ; born when 
Abraham was fourscore and six years 
old. Gen. 16 : 15, 16. (b.c. 1910.) Ish- 

mael was the first-born of his father. 
He was born in Abraham’s house when 
he dwelt in the plain of Mamre; and on 
the institution of the covenant of cir- 
cumcision, was circumcised, he being 
then thirteen years old. Gen. 17 : 25. 
With the institution of the covenant, 
God renewed his promise respecting Ish- 
mael. He does not again appear in the 
narrative until the weaning of Isaac. 
At the great feast made in celebration 
of the weaning, “ Sarah saw the son of 
Hagar the Egyptian, which she had 
borne unto Abraham, mocking,” and 
urged Abraham to cast him and his 
mother out. Comforted by the renewal 
of God’s promise to make of Ishmael 
a great nation, Abraham sent them 
away, and they departed and wandered 
in the wilderness of Beersheba. His 
mother took Ishmael “ a wife out of the 
land of Egypt.” Gen. 21 : 9-21. This 
wife of Ishmael was the mother of his 
twelve sons and one daughter. Of the 
later life of Ishmael we know little. 
He was present with Isaac at the burial 
of Abraham. He died at the age of 137 
years. Gen. 25 : 17, 18. The sons of 
Ishmael peopled the north and west of 
the Arabian peninsula, and supposedly 
formed the chief element of the Arab 


nation, the wandering Bedouin tribes. 
They are now mostly Mohammedans, 
who look to him as their spiritual 
father, as the Jews look to Abraham. 
Their language, which is generally ac- 
knowledged to have been the Arabic 
commonly so called, has been adopted 
with insignificant exceptions throughout 
Arabia. The term “ Ishmaelite ” occur.s 
on three occasions : Gen. 37 : 25, 27, 28 ; 
39:1; Judges 8 : 24 ; Ps 83 * 6. 

2. One of the sons of Azel, a descend- 
ant of Saul through Meribbaal or Me- 
phibosheth. 1 Chron. 8 : 38 ; 9 : 44. 

3. A man of Judah, father of Zeba- 
diah. 2 Chron. 19 : 11. 

4. Another man of Judah, son of Je- 
hohanan; one of the captains of hun- 
dreds who assisted Jehoiada in restoring 
Joash to the throne. 2 Chron. 23 : 1. 

5. A priest of the Bene-Pashur, who 
was forced by Ezra to relinquish his 
foreign wife. Ezra 10:22. 

6. The son of Nethaniah ; a member 
of the royal house of David, whose 
treachery forms one of the chief epi- 
sodes of the history of the period im- 
mediately succeeding the first fall of 
Jerusalem. His exploits are related in 
Jer. 40 : 7-41 : 15 ; and 1 Kings 25 : 23- 
25. During the siege of the city he had 
fled across the Jordan, where he found 
a refuge at the court of Baalis. After 
the departure of the Chaldeans, Ishmael 
made no secret of his intention to kill 
the superintendent left by the king of 
Babylon and usurp his position. Of this 
Gedaliah was warned in express terms 
by Johanan and his companions, but 
notwithstanding entertained Ishmael and 
his followers at a feast, Jer. 41 : 1, dur- 
ing which Ishmael murdered Gedaliah 
and all his attendants. The same night 
he killed all Gedaliah’s establishment, 
including some Chaldean soldiers who 
were there. For two days the massa- 
cre remained entirely unknown to the 
people of the town. On the second day 
eighty devotees were bringing incense 
and offerings to the ruins of the temple. 
At his invitation they turned aside to 
the residence of the superintendent, and 
there Ishmael and his band butchered 
nearly the whole number : ten only es- 
caped by offering a heavy ransom for 
their lives. This done he descended to 
the town, surprised and carried off the 
daughters of King Zedekiah, who had 
been sent there by Nebuchadnezzar for 
safety, with their eunuchs and their 


ISH 


279 


ISR 


Chaldean guard, Jer. 41 : 10, 16, and all 
the people of the town, and made off 
with his prisoners to the country of 
the Ammonites. The news of the mas- 
sacre had by this time got abroad, and 
Ishmael was quickly pursued by Jo- 
hanan and his companions. He was at- 
tacked, two of his bravos slain, the 
whole of the prey recovered; and Ish- 
mael himself, with the remaining eight 
of his people, escaped to the Ammonites. 

Ish'maelite (ish'ina-el-ite) ( descend- 
ant of Ishmael). [Ishmael.] 

Ishma'iah (ish-ma'iah) ( Jehovah 
hears), son of Obadiah; the ruler of the 
tribe of Zebulun in the time of King 
David. 1 Chron. 27 : 19. 

Ish'me=elite (ish'me-el-ite), 1 Chron. 
2:17, and Ish'me=elites ( descendants 
of Ishmael), Gen. 37:25, 27, 28; 39:1, 
the form in which the descendants of 
Ishmael are given in a few places irj 
the Authorized Version. 

Ish'merai (ish'me-rai) ( Jehovah 
keeps), a Benjamite, one of the family 
of Elpaal. 1 Chron. 8 : 18. 

I'shod (i'shod) ( man of majesty), 
one of the tribe of Manasseh on the 
east of Jordan, son of Hammoleketh. 1 
Chron. 7 : 18. 

Ish'pan (lsh'pan), a Benjamite, one 
of the family of Shashak. 1 Chron. 8 : 
22 . 

ish'tob (ish'tob). R. V. translates — 
“ men of Tob.” 2 Sam. 10 : 6, 8. See 
Tob. 

Ish'uah (ish'u-ah) {resembling) , sec- 
ond son of Asher. Gen. 46 : 17. 

Ish'uai (ish'u-ai) ( resembling ), the 
third son of Asher. 1 Chron. 7 : 30. 
Called Isui in Gen. 46 : 17. 

Ish'ui (ish'u-I) (resembling) , second 
son of Saul by his wife . Ahinoam. 1 
Sam. 14: 49, comp. 50. (Died b.c. 1055.) 

Isle. The radical sense of the Hebrew 
word seems to be “ habitable places,” 
as opposed to water, and in this sense 
it occurs in Isa. 42 : 15. Hence it means 
secondarily any maritime district, 
whether belonging to a continent or to 
an island : thus it is used of the shore 
of the Mediterranean, Isa. 20:6; 23: 
2, 6, and of the coasts of Elishah, Ezek. 
27 : 7, i. e. of Greece and Asia Minor. 

Ismachi'ah (is-ma-ki'ah) (Jehovah 
supports), a Levite who was one of the 
overseers of offerings during the revival 
under King Hezekiah. 2 Chron. 31 : 13. 

Isma'iah (is-ma'iah) (Jehovah 
hears), a Gibeonite, one of the chiefs 


of those warriors who joined David at 
Ziklag. 1 Chron. 12 : 4. 

Is'pah (is'pah) (bald), a Benjamite 
of the family of Beriah ; one of the 
heads of his tribe. 1 Chron. 8 : 16. 

Is'rael (Is'ra-el). 1. The name given, 
Gen. 32:28, to Jacob after his wrestling 



I 












mm 














m: 












lllllllllll 


A MONUMENT OF MERENPTAH 

“ The Pharaoh of the Exodus,” with a refer- 
ence to Israel, the first mention of the name 
and the people in extra-Biblical sources. 


with the angel, Hos. 12:4, at Pemel. 
The meaning of the name has been a 
subject of much discussion. It may 
mean “ Perseverer vith God.” Gesenius 
interprets Israel “ soldier of God.” 

2. It became the national name of the 
twelve tribes collectively. They are so 
called in Ex. 3 : 16 and afterward. 

3. It is used in a narrower sense, ex- 


ISR 


280 


ISR 


eluding Judah, in 1 Sam. 11 : 8 ; 2 Sam. 
20 : 1 ; 1 Kings 12 : 16. Thenceforth it 
was assumed and accepted as the name 
of the northern kingdom. 

4. After the Babylonian captivity, the 
returned exiles resumed the name Israel 
as the designation of their nation. The 
name Israel is also used to denote lay- 
men, as distinguished from priests, Le- 
vites and other ministers. Ezra 6 : 16 ; 
9:1; 10: 25; Neh. 11 : 3, etc. 

Is'rael, Kingdom of. I. The king- 
dom. — The prophet Ahijah of Shiloh, 
who was commissioned in the latter days 
of Solomon to announce the division of 
the kingdom, left one tribe (Judah) to 
the house of David, and assigned ten to 
Jeroboam. 1 Kings 11 : 31, 35. These 
were probably Joseph (= Ephraim and 
Manasseh), Issachar, Zebulun, Asher, 
Naphtali, Benjamin, Dan, Simeon, Gad 
and Reuben ; Levi being intentionally 
omitted. Eventually the greater part of 
Benjamin, and probably the whole of 
Simeon and Dan, were included as if by 
common consent in the kingdom of Ju- 
dah. With respect to the conquests of 
David, Moab appears to have been at- 
tached to the kingdom of Israel, 2 
Kings 3.4; so much of Syria as re- 
mained subject to Solomon, see l Kings 
11 : 24, would probably be claimed by 
his successor in the northern kingdom; 
and Ammon was at one time allied, 2 
Chron. 20 : 1, we know not how closely 
or how early, with Moab. The sea- 
coast between Accho and Japho re- 
mained in the possession of Israel. The 
whole population may perhaps have 
amounted to at least three and a half 
millions. 

II. The capitals. — Shechem was the 
first capital of the new kingdom. 1 



representation of Israelites on the Black Ob- 
elisk of Shalmaneser II. (See “ Jehu,” p. 
296 and cut p. 608.) 

Kings 12 : 25. Subsequently Tirzah be- 
came the royal residence, if not the 
capital, of Jeroboam, 1 Kings 14:17, 


and of his successors, ch. 15 : 33 ; 16 : 
8, 17, 23. Samaria was chosen by Omri. 
1 Kings 16:24. Jezreel was probably 
only a royal residence of some of the 
Israelitish kings. 

III. History . — The kingdom of Israel 
lasted 216 years, from b.c. 937 to b.c. 721. 
The detailed history of the kingdom 
will be found under the names of its 
nineteen kings. See chart of the kings 
of Judah and Israel, at the end of the 
work. A summary view may be taken 
in four periods: (a) b.c. 937-885. Jero- 
boam had not sufficient force of char- 
acter in himself to make a las'ting im- 
pression on his people. A king, but not 
a founder of a dynasty, he aimed at 
nothing beyond securing his present ele- 
vation. Baasha, in the midst of the 
army at Gibbethon, slew the son and 
successor of Jeroboam; Zimri, a captain 
of chariots, slew the son and successor 
of Baasha; Omri, the captain of the 
host, was chosen to punish Zimri ; and 
after a civil war of four years he pre- 
vailed over Tibni, the choice of half the 
people. ( b ) b.c. 885-842. For forty- 
five years Israel was governed by the 
house of Omri. The princes of his 
house cultivated an alliance with the 
kings of Judah, which was cemented by 
the marriage of Jehoram and Athaliah. 
The adoption of Baal-worship led to a 
reaction in the nation, to the moral 
triumph of the prophets in the person 
of Elijah, and to the extinction of the 
house of Ahab in obedience to the bid- 
ding of Elisha, (c) 842-741. Unpar- 
alleled triumphs, but deeper humiliation, 
awaited the kingdom of Israel under 
the dynasty of Jehu. Hazael, the ablest 
king of Damascus, reduced Jehoahaz to 
the condition of a vassal, and triumphed 
for a time over both the disunited He- 
brew kingdoms. Almost the first sign 
of the restoration of their strength was 
a war between them; and Jehoash, the 
grandson of Jehu, entered Jerusalem as 
the conqueror of Amaziah. Jehoash 
also turned the tide of war against the 
Syrians; and Jeroboam II., the most 
powerful of all the kings of Israel, cap- 
tured Damascus, and recovered the 
whole ancient frontier from Hamath to 
the Dead Sea. This short-lived great- 
ness expired with the last king of Jehu’s 
line. ( d ) b.c. 741-721. Military vio- 
lence, it would seem, broke off the hered- 
itary succession after the obscure and 
probably convulsed reign of Zachariah. 


ISR 


281 


ITH 


An unsuccessful usurper, Shallum, is 
followed by the cruel Menahem, who, 
being unable to make head against the 
first attack of Assyria under Pul, be- 
came the agent of that monarch for the 
oppressive taxation of his subjects. Yet 
his power at home was sufficient to 
insure for his son and successor Peka- 
hiah a ten-years reign, cut short by a 
bold usurper, Pekah. Abandoning the 
northern and transjordanic regions to 
the encroaching power of Assyria under 
Tiglath-pileser, he was very near sub- 
jugating Judah, with the help of Damas- 
cus, now the coequal ally of Israel. 
But Assyria interposing summarily put 
an end to the independence of Damas- 
cus, and perhaps was the indirect cause 
of the assassination of the baffled Pekah. 
The irresolute Hoshea, the next and last 
usurper, became tributary to his invader, 
Shalmaneser, betrayed the Assyrian to 
the rival monarchy of Egypt, and was 
punished by the loss of his liberty, and 
by the capture, after a three-years siege, 
of his strong capital, Samaria. Some 
gleanings of the ten tribes yet remained 
in the land after so many years of re- 
ligious decline, moral debasement, na- 
tional degradation, anarchy, bloodshed 
and deportation. Even these were gath- 
ered up by the conqueror and carried to 
Assyria, never again, as a distinct peo- 
ple, to occupy their portion of that 
goodly and pleasant land which their 
forefathers won under Joshua from the 
heathen. No doubt many of the king- 
dom of Israel joined the later kingdom 
of the Jews after the captivity, and be- 
came part of that kingdom. As the 
name “ Israel,” or “ children of Israel ” 
had been used before the division of 
the kingdom for the whole race, so after 
the destruction of the northern kingdom 
it was again used for the surviving por- 
tion of the descendants of Jacob, with- 
out distinction of tribe. It is so used 
by Paul. Rom. 10:1; 11:1; 2 Cor. 11: 
22, etc., and also many times in the 
Gospels. 

Israelite ( descendant of Israel). In 
2 Sam. 17 : 25, Ithra, the father of 
Amasa, is called “ an Israelite,” while 
in 1 Chron. 2 : 17 he appears as “ Jether 
the Ishmaelite.” The latter is undoubt- 
edly the true reading. 

Is'sachar {there is a reward ) . 1. The 

ninth son of Jacob and the fifth of 
Leah. Gen. 30 : 17, 18. At the descent 
into Egypt four sons are ascribed to 


him, who founded the four chief fam- 
ilies of the tribe. Gen. 46 : 13 ; Num. 
26 : 23, 25 ; 1 Chron. 7 : 1. The number 
of the fighting men of Issachar, when 
taken in the census at Sinai, was 54,400. 
During the journey they seem to have 
steadily increased. The allotment of 
Issachar lay above that of Manasseh. 
Josh. 19 : 17-23. In the words of Jo- 
sephus, “ it extended in length from 
Carmel to the Jordan, in breadth to 
Mount Tabor.” This territory was, as 
it still is, among the richest land in 
Palestine. It is this aspect of the ter- 
ritory of Issachar which appears to be 
alluded to in the blessing of Jacob. 

2. A Korhite Levite, one of the door- 
keepers of the house of Jehovah, seventh 
son of Obed-edom. 1 Chron. 26 : 5. 

Isshi'ah (ls-shi'ah) ( Jehovah lends). 
1. A descendant of Moses by his 
younger son Eliezer. 1 Chron. 24 : 21 ; 
comp. 23 : 17 ; 26 : 25. 

2. A Levite of the house of Kohath 
and family of Uzziel. 1 Chron. 24 : 25. 

Issue, Running. Lev. 15 : 2, 3 ; 22 : 
4 ; Num. 5 : 2 ; 2 Sam. 3 : 29. In Lev. 
15 : 3 a distinction is introduced, which 
merely means that the cessation of the 
actual flux does not constitute cere- 
monial cleanness, but that the patient 
must bide the legal time, seven days, 
ver. 13, and perform the prescribed puri- 
fications and sacrifice, ver. 14. 

Is'uah (is'uah), second son of Asher. 
1 Chron. 7 : 30. [Ishuah.] 

Is'ui (is'u-1), third son of Asher, Gen. 
46 : 17, founder of a family called after 
him, though in the Authorized Version 
appearing as the Jeshuites. Num. 26: 
44. 

Ital ian band. [Army.] 

It'aly. This word is used in the New 
Testament, Acts 18:2; 27:1; Heb. 13: 
24, in the usual sense of the period, i. e. 
in its true* geographical sense, as de- 
noting the whole natural peninsula be- 
tween the Alps and the Straits of Mes- 
sina. 

I'thai (i'tha-T), a Benjamite, son of 
Ribai of Gibeah, one of the heroes of 
David’s guard. 1 Chron. 11:31. [It- 
.tai.] 

Ith'amar (ith'a-mar) (is land of 
palms), the youngest son of Aaron. 
Ex. 6:23. After the death of Nadab 
and Abihu, Lev. 10 : 1, Eleazar and 
Ithamar were appointed to succeed to 
their places in the priestly office. Ex. 
28:1, 40-43; Num. 3:3, 4; 1 Chron. 


ITH 


282 


IZH 


24 : 2. In the distribution of services 
belonging to the tabernacle, and its 
transport on the march of the Israelites, 
the Gershonites and the Merarites were 
placed under the superintendence of 
Ithamar. Ex. 38 : 21 ; Num. 4 : 21-33. 
The high priesthood passed into the 
family of Ithamar in the person of Eli, 
but for what reason we are not in- 
formed. 

Ith'iel (ith'i-el) (God is with me). 
1. A Benjamite, son of Jesaiah. Neh. 
11: 7. 

2. One of two persons — Ithiel and 
Ucal — to whom Agur ben-Jakeh deliv- 
ered his discourse. Prov. 30 : 1. 

Ith'mah (ith'mah) (bereavement) , a 
Moabite, one of the heroes of David’s 
guard. 1 Chron. 11 : 46. 

Ith'nan (ith'nan) (perennial), one of 
the towns in the extreme south of Ju- 
dah. Josh. 15:23. Its site is uncertain. 

Ith'ra (ith'ra) (abundance), an Is- 
raelite, 2 Sam. 17 : 25, or Ishmaelite, 1 
Chron. 2 : 17, the father of Amasa by 
Abigail, David’s sister. 

Ith'ran (ith'ran). 1. A son of Di- 
shon, a Horite, Gen. 36: 26'; 1 Chron. 1: 
41, and probably a chief of a tribe of 
the Horim. Gen. 36:30. (b.c. about 

1800.) 

2. A descendant of Asher. 1 Chron. 
7 : 30-40. 

Ith'ream (ith're-am) (abundance of 
people), son of David, born to him in 
Hebron, and distinctly specified as the 
sixth, and as the child of Eglah, David’s 
wife. 2 Sam. 3 : 5 ; 1 Chron. 3 : 3. 

Ith'rite (ith'rite), The, the designa- 
tion of two of the members of David’s 
guard, Ira and Gareb. 2 Sam. 23:38; 
1 Chron. 11 : 40. They may have come 
from Jattir, in the mountains of Judah. 

It'tah=ka'zin (lt'tah-ka'zin), one of 
the landmarks of the boundary of Zeb- 
ulun. Josh. 19 : 13. It has not been 
identified. 

Ittai (Tt'ta-I) (companionable ) . 1. 
“ Ittai the Gittite,” i. e. the native of 
Gath, a Philistine in the army of King 
David. He appears only during the rev- 
olution of Absalom, (b.c. 1023.) We 
first discern him on the morning of 
David’s flight. The king urges him to 
return with the 600 men of his com- 
mand. 2 Sam.‘ 15 : 18, 19. But Ittai 
is firm; he is the king’s slave, and 
wherever his master goes he will go. 
Accordingly he is allowed by David to 
proceed. When the army was num- 


bered and organized by David at Ma- 
hanaim, Ittai again appears, now in com- 
mand of a third part of the force. 2 
Sam. 18 : 2, 5, 12. 

2. Son of Ribai, from Gibeah of Ben- 
jamin; one of the thirty heroes of 
David’s guard. 2 Sam. 23 : 29. Same 
as Ithai. 

Iturae'a (l-tu-re'a) (land of Jetur), 
a small province on the northwestern 
border of Palestine, only mentioned in 
Luke 3:1. Jetur the son of Ishmael 
gave his name, like the rest of his 
brethren, to the little province he colon- 
ized. Gen. 25:15, 16. It adjoined or 
overlapped Trachonitis, and lay along 
the base of Libanus. The territory oc- 
cupied by the Itureans, was changed 
continually during their history, and the 
exact limits of the region intended are 
uncertain. 

I'vah (I'vah), or A'va, which is men- 
tioned in Scripture twice, 2 Kings 18 : 34 ; 
19 : 13 ; comp. Isa. 37 : 13, in connection 
with Hena and Sepharvaim, and once, 

2 Kings 17 : 24, in connection with Baby- 
lon and Cuthah, was one of the cities 
conquered by the Assyrians. Its situ- 
ation is unknown. 

Ivory. The word translated “ ivory ” 
literally signifies the “ tooth ” of any 
animal, and hence more especially de- 
notes the substance of the projecting 
tusks of elephants. The skilled work- 
men of Hiram, king of Tyre, fashioned 
the great ivory throne of Solomon, and 
overlaid it with pure gold. 1 Kings 10 : 
18 ; 2 Chron. 9 :17. The ivory thus em- 
ployed was supplied by the caravans of 
Dedan, Isa. 21 : 13 ; Ezek. 27 : 15, or was 
brought, with apes and peacocks, by the 
navy of Tarshish. 1 Kings 10:22. The 
“ ivory house ” of Ahab, 1 Kings 22 : 39, 
was probably a palace, the walls of 
which were panelled with ivory, like 
the palace of Menelaus, described by 
Homer. Odys. iv. 73. Beds inlaid or 
veneered with ivory were in use among 
the Hebrews. Amos 6 : 4. 

Iz'ehar, Num. 3 : 19. [Izhar.] 

Iz'eharites. A family of Kohathite 
Levites descended from Izhar, the son 
of Kohath. Num. 3 : 27. [Izharites.] 

Iz har ( lz'har) (fresh oil or shining), 
son of Kohath, the son of Levi and 
ancestor of Korah. Ex. 6 : 18, 21 ; Num. 

3 : 19 ; 16 : 1 ; 1 Chron. 6 : 2, 18. He was 
the founder of the family of the Iz- 
harites.' 


IZH 


283 


IZR 


Iz'harites (Iz'har-ites). The de- 
scendants of Izhar. 1 .Chron. 24:22; 
26 : 23. This is more correct than the 
other spelling Izeharites. 

Izrahi'ah (lz-ra-hi'ah) ( Jehovah will 
arise or shine), a chieftain of Issachar. 
1 Chron. 7 : 3. 

Iz'rahite (lz'rah-ite), The, the desig- 


nation of Shamhuth. 1 Chron. 27 : 8. 
Its real force is probably Zerahite, that 
is, from the great Judaic family of 
Zerah. 

Iz'ri (lz'ri), a Levite leader of the 
fourth course or ward in the service of 
the house of God. 1 Chron. 25:11. In 
ver. 3 he is called Zeri. 


J 

Ja'akan (ja'a-kan), the same as 
Jakan, the forefather of Bene-Jaakan. 
Deut. 10 : 6. 

Jaakobah (ja-ak-o'bah) ( supplant- 
ing ), one of the princes of the families 
of Simeon. 1 Chron. 4 : 36. 

Ja'ala (ja'a-la) (wild she-goat). 
Bene-Jaala were among the descendants 
of “ Solomon’s slaves ” who returned 
from Babylon with Zerubbabel. Neh. 

7 : 58. The name also occurs as 

Ja'alah (ja'a-lah). Ezra 2:56. 

Ja'alam (ja'a-lam), a son of Esau, 
Gen. 36 : 5, 14, 18 ; comp. 1 Chron. 1 : 35, 
and a head of a tribe of Edom. 

Ja'anai (ja'a-nai) (J ehovah answers) , 
a chief man in the tribe of Gad. 1 
Chron. 5 : 12. 

Ja'are=or'egim (ja'ar-e-or'e-gim) 
(forests of the weavers ), 2 Sam. 21: 19, 
a Bethlehemite, and the father of El- 
hanan who slew Goliath (not the man 
connected with David, but another of 
the same name). In the parallel pas- 
sage, 1 Chron. 20:5, Jair is found in- 
stead of Jaare, and Oregim is omitted. 

Ja'asau (ja'a-sau) (Jehovah mak- 
eth ), one of the Bene-Bani who had 
married a foreign wife. Ezra 10 : 37. 
(b.c. 458.) 

Jaa'siel (ja-a'si-el) (God maketh), 

1. Son of Abner. 1 Chron. 27 : 21. 

2 . One of David’s mighty men. 1 
Chron. 11 : 17. 

Jaazani'ah (ja-az-a-nl'ah) (Jehovah 
hears). 1. One of the captains of the 
forces who accompanied Johanan ben- 
Kareah to pay his respects to Gedaliah 
at Mizpah, 2 Kings 25 : 23, and who ap- 
pears afterwards to have assisted in re- 
covering Ishmael’s prey from his 
clutches. Comp. Jer. 41:11; 43:4, 5. 
(b.c. 586.) 

2. Son of Shaphan. Ezek. 8 : 11. One 
of the leaders in idolatry. 

3. Son of Azur : one of the princes of 
the people against whom Ezekiel was 
directed to prophesy. Ezek. 11 : 1. 

4. A Rechabite, son of Jeremiah. Jer. 
35:3. 


Jaa'zer (ja-a'zer), or Ja'zer (help- 
ful), a town on the east of Jordan, in 
or near to Gilead. Num. 32 : 1, 3 ; 1 
Chron. 26:31. We first hear of it in 
possession of the Amorites, and as taken 
by Israel after Heshbon, and on their 
way from thence to Bashan. Num. 21 : 
32. It seems to have given its name 
to a district of dependent or “ daugh- 
ter ” towns, Num. 21 : 32, Authorized 
Version “villages;” 1 Macc. 5:8, the 
“land of Jazer.” Num. 32:1. Now 
called Khurbet Sar. 

Jaazi'ah (ja-a-zi'ah) (Jehovah com- 
forts), apparently a third son, or a 
descendant, of Merari the Levite. 1 
Chron. 24 : 26, 27. 

Jaa'ziel (ja-a'zi-el) (God consol- 
eth), one of the Levites appointed by 
David to perform the musical service 
before the ark. 1 Chron. 15 : 18. (b.c. 

1042.) 

Ja'bal (ja'bal) (stream), the son of 
Lamech and Adah, Gen. 4 : 20, and 
brother of Jubal. He is described as 
the father of such as dwell in tents 
and have cattle. 

Jab'bok (jab'bok) (emptying), a 
stream which intersects the mountain 
range of Gilead, comp. Josh. 12 : 2, 5, 
and falls into the Jordan on the east 
about 25 miles north of the Dead Sea. 
It was anciently the border of the chil- 
dren of Ammon. Num. 21:24; Deut. 
2 : 37 ; 3 : 16. It was on the south bank 
of the Jabbok that the interview took 
place between Jacob and Esau, Gen. 32: 
22 ; and this river afterward became, to-' 
ward its western part, the boundary be- 
tween the kingdoms of Sihon and Og. 
Josh. 12: 2, 5. Its modern name is Wady 
Zerka. 

Ja'besh (ja'besh) (dry). 1. Father 
of Shallum, the fifteenth king of Israel. 
2 Kings 15 : 10, 13, 14. 

2. Jabesh-gilead, or Jabesh in the ter- 
ritory of Gilead. The territory east of 
the Jordan and north of Bashan. It 
included Gad and the half-tribe of Ma- 


284 


JAB 


285 


JAC 


nasseh. Jabesh was in northern Gilead, 
in Manasseh, and was one of the chief 
cities of the region. It is first men- 
tioned in Judges 21 : 8-14. Being at- 
tacked subsequently by Nahash the 
Ammonite, it gave Saul an opportunity 
of displaying his prowess in its de- 
fence. 1 Sam. 11 : 1-15. Eusebius places 
it beyond the Jordan, six miles from 
Pella on the mountain road to Gerasa; 
where its name is doubtless preserved 
in the Wady Yabis. 

Ja'bez (ja'bez) (he makes sorrow). 

I. Apparently a place at which the fam- 
ilies of the scribes resided who belonged 
to the families of the Kenites. 1 Chron. 
2:55. 

2. The name occurs again in the gene- 
alogies of Judah, 1 Chron. 4 : 9, 10, in a 
passage of remarkable detail inserted in 
a genealogy again connected with Beth- 
lehem, ver. 4. 

Ja'bin (ja'bin) (discerning) . 1. King 
of Hazor, who organized a confederacy 
of the northern princes against the Is- 
raelites. Josh. 11 : 1-3. Joshua sur- 
prised the allied forces by the waters 
of Merom, ver. 7, and utterly routed 
them. During the ensuing wars Joshua 
again attacked Jabin, and burnt his city. 
Josh. 11 : 1-14. 

2. A king of Hazor, whose general, 
Sisera, was defeated by Barak. Judges 
4:2, 13. 

Jab'neel (jab'ne-el) (God causeth 
to build). 1. One of the points on the 
northern boundary of Judah, not quite 
at the sea, though near it. Josh. 15 : 

II. There is no sign, however, of its 
ever having been occupied by Judah. 
Josephus attributes it to the Danites. 
There was a constant struggle going on 
between that tribe and the Philistines 
for the possession of all the places in 
the lowland plains, and it is not sur- 
prising that the next time we meet with 
Jabneel it should be in the hands of the 
latter. 2 Chron. 26 : 6. Uzziah dispos- 
sessed them of it and demolished its 
fortifications. Called also Jabneh. At 
the time of the fall of Jerusalem, a.d. 
70, Jabneh was one of the most popu- 
lous places of Judea. The modern vil- 
lage o ( f Yebna stands about two miles 
from the sea, on a slight eminence just 
south of the Nahr Rubin. 

2 . One of the landmarks on the boun- 
dary of Naphtali, Josh. 19 : 33, in upper 
Galilee. 


Jab'neh (jab'neh). 2 Chron. 26:6. 
[Jabneel.] 

Ja'chan (ja'kan) (troublous) , one of 
seven chief men of the tribe of Gad. 
1 Chron. 5 : 13. 

Ja'chin (ja'kin) (he doth establish). 
1. One of the two pillars which were 
set up “ in the porch,” 1 Kings 7 : 21, 
or before the temple, 2 Chron. 3 : 17, of 
Solomon. [Boaz.] 

2. Fourth son of Simeon, Gen. 46:10; 
Ex. 6 : 15 ; founder of the family of the 
Jachinites. Num. 26 : 12. 

3. Head of the twenty-first course of 
priests in the time of David. 1 Chron. 
9 : 10 ; 24 : 17 ; Neh. 11 : 10. 

Jacinth, a precious stone, forming 
one of the foundations of the walls of 
the new Jerusalem. Rev. 21 : 20. Called 
hyacinth in the Revised Version. This 
is simply a different English rendering 
of the same Greek original. It is prob- 
ably identical with the ligure of Ex. 28 : 
19. The jacinth or hyacinth is a red 
variety of zircon, which is found in 
square prisms of a white, gray, red, 
reddish-brown, yellow or pale-green 
color. The expression in Rev. 9 : 17, “ of 
jacinth,” is descriptive simply of a 
dark-purple color. R. V. here gives 
“ sapphire.” 

Ja'cob (sup planter), the second son 
of Isaac and Rebekah. He was born 
with Esau, probably at the well of 
Lahai-roi, about b.c. 1837. His history 
is related in the latter half of the book 
of Genesis. He bought the birthright 
from his brother Esau, and afterward 
acquired the blessing intended for Esau, 
by practising a well-known deceit on 
Isaac. Jacob did not obtain the bless- 
ing because of his deceit, but in spite of 
it. That which was promised he would 
have received in some good way; but 
Jacob and his mother, distrusting God’s 
promise, sought the promised blessing 
in a wrong way, and received with it 
trouble and sorrow. Jacob, in his 78th 
year, was sent from the family home to 
avoid his brother, and to seek a wife 
among his kindred in Padan-aram. As 
he passed through Bethel, God appeared 
to him. After the lapse of twenty-one 
years he returned from Padan-aram 
with two wives, two concubines, eleven 
sons and a daughter, and large property. 
He escaped from the angry pursuit of 
Laban, from a meeting with Esau, and 
from the vengeance of the Canaanites 
provoked by the murder of Shechem; 


JAC 


286 


JAH 


and in each of these three emergencies 
he was aided and strengthened by the 
interposition of God, and in sign of the 
grace won by a night of wrestling with 
God his name was changed at Jabbok 
into Israel. Deborah and Rachel died 
before he reached Hebron; Joseph, the 
favorite son of Jacob, was sold into 
Egypt eleven years before the death of 
Isaac; and Jacob had probably exceeded 
his 130th year when he went thither. 
He was presented to Pharaoh, and 
dwelt for seventeen years in Rameses 
and Goshen, and died in his 147th year. 
His body was embalmed, carried with 
great care and pomp into the land of 
Canaan, and deposited with his fathers, 
and his wife Leah, in the cave of Mach- 
pelah. 

The example of Jacob is quoted by 
the first and the last of the minor 
prophets. Besides the frequent mention 
of his name in conjunction with the 
names of the other two patriarchs, there 
are distinct references to the events in 
the life of Jacob in four books of the 
New Testament — John 1:51; 4:5, 12; 
Acts 7 : 12, 16 ; Rom. 9 : 11-13 ; Heb. 11 : 
21 ; 12 : 16. 

Jacob’s Well, a deep spring in the 
vicinity of Sychar, which was either the 
same as Shechem, or a place near it. 
It was probably dug by Jacob, whose 
name it bears. On the curb of the well 
Jesus sat and discoursed with the Sa- 
maritan woman. John 4 : 5-26. It is 
situated about 2 miles east-southeast of 
Nablus, the modern Shechem, at the foot 
of Mount Gerizim. It is about nine feet 
in diameter and 100 feet deep. At some 
seasons it is dry; at others it contains a 
Ifew feet of water. 

Ja'da (ja'da) (wise), son of Onam 
and brother of Shammai, in the ge- 
nealogy of the sons of Jerahmeel by his 
wife Atarah. 1 Chron. 2:28, 32. 

Jada'u (ja-da'u), one of the Bene- 
Nebo who had taken a foreign wife. 
Ezra 10:43. (b.c. 458.) R. V. Iddo. 

Jaddu'a (jad-du'a) (known). 1 . Son 
and successor in the high priesthood of 
Jonathan or Johanan. He is the last of 
the high priests mentioned in the Old 
Testament, and probably altogether the 
latest name in the canon. Neh. 12:11, 
22. Prof. Kent gives his date as from 
about 350 to the conquest of Palestine 
by Alexander in 331. 

2. One of the chief of the people who 


sealed the covenant with Nehemiah. 
Neh. 10:21. 

Ja'don (ja'don) (he judgeth), the 
Meronothite, who assisted to repair the 
wall of Jerusalem. Neh. 3:7. (b.c. 

446.) 

Ja'el (ja'el) (mountain goat), the 
wife of Heber the Kenite. In the head- 
long rout which followed the defeat of 
the Canaanites by Barak, at Megiddo 
on the plain of Esdraelon, Sisera, their 
general, fled to the tent of the Kenite 
chieftainess, at Kedesh in Naphtali, four 
miles northwest of Lake Merom. He 
accepted Jael’s invitation to enter, and 
she flung a mantle over him as he lay 
wearily on the 'floor. When thirst pre- 
vented sleep, and he asked for water, 
she brought him buttermilk in her 
choicest vessel. At last, with a feeling 
of perfect security, he fell into a deep 
sleep. Then it was that Jael took one 
of the great wooden pins which fas- 
tened down the cords of the tent, and 
with one terrible blow with a mallet 
dashed it through Sisera’s temples deep 
into the earth. Judges 5:27. She then 
waited to meet the pursuing Barak, and 
led him into her tent that she might in 
his presence claim the glory of the deed ! 
Many have supposed that by this act she 
fulfilled the saying of Deborah, Judges 
4:9; and hence they have supposed that 
Jael was actuated by some divine and 
hidden influence. But the Bible gives no 
hint of such an inspiration. 

Ja'gur (ja'gur) (lodging), a town of 
Judah, one of those farthest to the 
south, on the frontier of Edom. Josh. 
15 : 21. 

Jah (jah) (Jehovah), the abbreviated 
form of Jehovah, used only in poetry. 
It. occurs frequently in the Hebrew, but 
with a single exception, Ps. 68 : 4, is ren- 
dered “ Lord ” in the Authorized Ver- 
sion. The identity of Jah and Jehovah 
is strongly marked in two passages of 
Isaiah 12 : 2 ; 26 : 4. [Jehovah.] 

Ja'hath (ja'hath) (grasping) . 1 . Son 

of Libni, the son of Gershom, the son 
of Levi. 1 Chron. 6 : 20. 

2. Head of a later house in the family 
of . Gershom, being the eldest son of 
Shimei, the son of Laadan. 1 Chron. 
23 : 10, 11. 

3. A man in the genealogy of Judah, 
1 Chron. 4 : 2, son of Reaiah ben-Shobal. 

4. A Levite, son of Shelomoth. 1 
Chron. 24 : 22. 


JAH 


5. A Merarite Levite in the reign of 
Josiah. 2 Chron. 34:12. (b.c. 623.) 

Ja'haz (ja'haz), also Jaha'za, Jaha'= 
zah and Jah'zah (jah'zah) ( trodden 
down). Under these four forms is 
given in the Authorized Version the 
name of -a place which in the Hebrew 
appears as Yahatsah and Yahtsah. At 
Jahaz the decisive battle was fought be- 
tween the children of Israel and Sihon 
king of the Amorites. Num. 21 : 23 ; 
Deut. 2:32; Judges 11:20. It was in 
the allotment of Reuben. Josh. 13 : 18. 
Like many others relating to the places 
east of the Dead Sea, the question of 
its site must await further research. 

Jaha'zah (ja-ha'za): Josh. 21:36; 
Jer. 48 : 21. [Jahaz.] 

Jahazi'ah (ja-ha-zi'ah) ( Jehovah 
sees), son of Tikvah, apparently a 
priest. Ezra 10:15. R. V. Jahzeiah. 

Jaha ziel (ja-ha'zi-el) (God sees). 

1. One of the heroes of Benjamin who 
joined David at Ziklag. 1 Chron. 12: 
4. (b.c. 1057.) 

2. A priest in the reign of David. 1 
Chron. 16 : 6. 

3. A Kohathite Levite, third son of 
Hebron. 1 Chron. 23 : 19 ; 24 : 23. 

4. Son of Zechariah, a Levite of the 

Bene- Asaph in the reign of Jehoshaphat. 
2 Chron. 20 : 14. (b.c. 896.) 

5. The “son of Jahaziel” was the 
chief of the Bene-Shecaniah who re- 
turned from Babylon with Ezra. Ezra 
8:5. 

Jah ; dai (jah'da-i), a man who ap- 
pears to be thrust abruptly into the ge- 
nealogy of Caleb, as the father of six 
sons. 1 Chron. 2 : 47. 

Jah'diel (jah'di-el) (God giveth joy), 
a chieftain of Manasseh on the east of 
Jordan. 1 Chron. 5 : 24. 

Jah'do (jah'do) (union), a Gadite, 1 
Chron. 5 : 14, son of Buz and father of 
Jeshishai. 

Jahieel (jah'le-el) (wait for God), 
the third of the three sons of Zebulun, 
Gen. 46:14; Num. 26:26; founder of 
the family of Jahleelites. 

Jah'mai (jah'ma-I) (may Jehovah 
protect), a man of Issachar, one of the 
heads of the house of Tolah. 1 Chron. 
7:2. 

Jah'zah (jah'zah). 1 Chron. 6:78. 
[Jahaz.] 

Jah'zeel (jah'ze-el) (God divides), 
the first of the four sons of Naphtali, 


JAM 


Gen. 46:24; founder of the family of 
the Jahzeelites. Num. 26:48. 

Jah'zerah (jah'ze-rah) (may he lead 
hack), a priest o,f* the house of Immer. 
1 Chron. 9 : 12. 

Jah'ziel (jah'zi-el), the same as 
Jahzeel. 1 Chron. 7 : 13. 

Ja'ir (ja'ir) (enlightener) . 1. A man 

who on his father’s side was descended 
from Judah, and on his mother’s from 
Manasseh. During the conquest he took 
the whole of the tract of Argob, Deut. 
3 : 14, and in addition possessed him- 
self of some nomad villages in Gilead, 
which he called after his own name 
Havoth-jair. Num. 32:41; 1 Chron. 2: 
23. 

2. Jair the Gileadite, who judged 
Israel for two-and-twenty years.- Judges 
10 : 3-5. He had thirty sons, and pos- 
sessed thirty cities in the land of Gilead, 
which, like those of their namesake, 
were called Havoth-jair. 

3. A Benjamite, son of Kish and 
father of Mordecai. Esther 2 : 5. 

4. The father of Elhanan, one of the 
heroes of David’s army. 1 Chron. 20 : 5. 

Ja'irite (ja'ir-ite) (descendant of 
Jair), The. Ira the Jairite was a 
priest (Authorized Version “chief 
ruler ”) to David. 2 Sam. 20 : 26. 

Jai'rus (ja-I'rus) (Greek form of 
jair). A ruler of a synagogue, prob- 
ably in some town near the western 
shore of the Sea of Galilee. Matt. 9 : 
18; Mark 5:22; Luke 8:41. (a.d. 28.) 

Ja'kan (ja'kan), son of Ezer the 
Horite. 1 Chron. 1 : 42. The same as 
Jaakan. [And see Akan.] 

Ja'keh (ja'keh) (pious). [Agur.] 

Ja'kim (ja'kim) (God sets up). 1. 
Head of the twelfth course of priests 
in the reign of David. 1 Chron. 24 : 12. 

2. A Benjamite, one of the Bene- 
Shimhi. 1 Chron. 8:19. 

Ja'lon (ja'lon), one of the sons of 
Ezra. 1 Chron. 4 : 17. 

Jam'bres (jam'bres). [Jannes and 
Jambres.] 

James (the Greek form of Jacob). 
The name James occurs a number of 
times in the Gospels and Acts, and the 
identification of the men indicated in- 
volves points of dispute that can never 
be definitely settled. It is impossible to 
give any true discussion of the matter 
here. It seems best, therefore, to enu- 
merate all who may possibly be differ- 
ent, indicating the possible identifica- 


287 


JAM 


288 


JAM 


tions with some of the main objections 
and leave the real discussion to books 
with more space at their command. One 
of the latest discussions is in Hastings’ 
“ Dictionary of Christ and the Gospels ” 
(1906.) Articles “James” and “Breth- 
ren of the Lord.” 

1. James the son or Zebedee, one of 
the twelve apostles. He was elder 
brother of the evangelist John. His 
mother’s name was Salome, who was 
probably a sister of the Virgin Mary, 
making James the first cousin of Jesus. 
We first hear of him in a.d. 28, Mark 
1 : 20, when at the call of the Master he 
left all, and became, once and forever, 
his disciple, in the spring of 28. Matt. 
10 : 2 ; Mark 3:14; Luke 6 : 13 ; Acts 1 : 
13. It would seem to have been at the 
time of the appointment of the twelve 
apostles that the name of Boanerges was 
given to the sons of Zebedee. The 
“ sons of thunder ” had a burning and 
impetuous spirit, which twice exhibits 
itself. Mark 10:37; Luke 9:54. On 
the night before the crucifixion James 
was present at the agony in the gar- 
den. On the day of the ascension he is 
mentioned as persevering, with the rest 
of the apostles and disciples, in prayer. 
Acts 1 : 13. Shortly before the day of 
the passover, in the year 44, he was put 
to death by Herod Agrippa I. Acts 12 : 
1, 2. 

2. James the son of Alph^us, one 
of the twelve apostles (Matt. 10:3; 
Mark 3 : 18 ; Luke 6 : 15 ; Acts 1 : 13). 
The identification of this James is one 
of the most difficult problems in gospel 
history. Nothing more is said of him 
under this name. Matthew was “ the 
son of Alphseus, and is considered by 
many as “ most likely ” a brother of 
James. He has been identified with 
both (3) and (4) but there is at least 
great doubt of this. 

3. James the Less (Mark 15:40; cf. 

Matt. 27:56; John 19:25). This com- 
mon rendering, “the less” comes from 
a mistake of Jerome in translating the 
Greek positive mikros, “ little ” ( i . e. 
short of stature), by the Latin com- 
parative minor , “ less.” Some argu- 

ments for reckoning (2), (3) and (4) 
as only one man rest on this mistake, 
and are therefore valueless. This James 
was the son of a Mary, very probably 
the wife of Clopas, and brother of a man 
named Joses. The identification with 
(2) rests on the supposition, “ philolog- 


ically impossible,” that Alphseus and 
Clopas are two forms of the same name. 
We know nothing more of this James, 
under this name. 

4. James the Lord’s brother, men- 
tioned by name in Matt. 13:55; Mk. 
6 : 3 and several times in Acts and Epis- 
tles. He became the head of the church 
at Jerusalem, and was martyred between 
a.d. 60 and 70. He was the author of 
the Epistle bearing his name. He is 
often identified with (2). If so he was 
one of the twelve apostles, and not truly 
Jesus’ brother. But he is distinctly 
called his brother in a large number of 
places, while in John 7:3, 5 it dis- 
tinctly says that Jesus’ “brethren” did 
not believe in him. This was over a 
year after the appointment of the 
twelve. Still more often is he identified 
with (3) who was not an apostle. The 
question of his relationship to Jesus 
would, however, rise in this case. 

5. James in Luke 6: 16, given in A. V. 
as “the brother” of Judas, is by R. V. 
and most scholars translated “ the 
father” of Judas. Nothing more is 
known of him. The A. V. rendering 
has been used as argument for some of 
the other identifications. 

James, The General Epistle of. 
The author of this epistle was in all 
probability James, “our Lord’s brother.” 
It was written from Jerusalem, which 
St. James does not seem to have ever 
left. It was probably written shortly 
before his martyrdom, a.d. 63. Its main 
object is not to teach doctrine, but to 
improve morality. Its style is remark- 
able, combining pure rhythmical Greek, 
with the fiery sternness and intensity of 
the Hebrew prophets. Its leading idea 
is that “ faith without works is dead.” 
He wrote for the Jewish Christians, 
whether in Jerusalem or abroad, to warn 
them against the sins to which as Jews 
they were most liable, and to console 
and exhort them under the sufferings 
to which as Christians they were most 
exposed. 

Ja'min ( right hand). 1. Second son 
of Simeon, Gen. 46 : 10 ; Ex. 6:15; 1 
Chron. 4:24, founder of the family of 
the Jaminites. Num. 26 : 12. 

2. A man of Judah, second son of 
Ram the Jerahmeelite. 1 Chron. 2:27. 

3. One of the Levites who expounded 
the law to the people. Neh. 8 : 7. 

Jam'Iech (jam'lek), one of the chief 


JAM 


289 


JAR 


men of the tribe of Simeon. 1 Chron. 
4:34. 

Jam'nia (jam'ni-a). [Jabneel.] 

Jan'na (jan'na), son of Joseph, and 
father of Melchi, in the genealogy of 
Christ. Luke 3 : 24. In the Revised 
Version written Jannai. 

Jan'nes (jan'nes) and Jam'bres, the 
names of two Egyptian magicians who 
opposed Moses. Ex. 7:9-13; 2 Tim. 3: 
8, 9. (b.c. 1492.) 

Jano'ah (ja-no'ah) {rest), a place 
apparently in the north of Galilee, or 
the “land of Naphtali,” — one of those 
taken by Tiglath-pileser in his first in- 
cursion into Palestine. 2 Kings 15 : 29. 
It is the modern Yanuh. 

Jano'hah (ja-no'hah) (rest), a place 
on the boundary of Ephraim, Josh. 16: 
6, 7, east of Neapolis. A little less than 
twelve miles from Nablus, and about 
southeast in direction, two miles from 
Akrabeh, is the village of Yanun, doubt- 
less identical with the ancient Janohah. 

Ja'num (ja'num) (slumber) , a town 
of Judah in the mountain district, ap- 
parently not far from Hebron. Josh. 
15 : 53. 

Ja'pheth (ja'feth) ( enlargement ), 
one of the three sons of Noah. The 
descendants of Japheth occupied the 
“ isles of the Gentiles,” Gen. 10 : 5 — i. e. 
the coast lands of the Mediterranean 
Sea in Europe and Asia Minor — whence 
they spread northward over the whole 
continent of Europe and a considerable 
portion of Asia. 

Japhi'a (ja-fi'a) (splendid). The 
boundary of Zebulun ascended from 
Daberath to Japhia, and thence passed 
to Gath-hepher. Josh. 19 : 12. Ydfa, 
two miles south of Nazareth, is likely 
to be identical with Japhia. 

Japhi'a (splendid). 1. King of 
Lachish at the time of the conquest 
of Canaan by the Israelites. Josh. 10 : 
3. (b.c. 1450.) 

2. One of the sons of David born to 
him in Jerusalem. 2 Sam. 5 : 15 ; 1 
Chron. 3:7; 14 : 6. 

Japh'let (jaf'let) (may he deliver), 
a descendant of Asher through Beriah. 
1 Chron. 7:32, 33. 

Japh'Ieti (jaf'le-tl) (the Japhletite). 
The boundary of the “ Japhletite ” is one 
of the landmarks on the south boundary 
line of Ephraim. Josh. 16:3. 

Ja'pho (ja'f.o) (beauty). Josh. 19: 
46. The Hebrew form for the better- 
19 


known Joppa. 2 Chron. 2 : 16 ; Ezra 3 : 

7 ; Jonah 1 : 3. 

Ja'rah (ja'rah) (honey), a descend- 
ant of Saul, 1 Chron. 9* 42, comp. 40. 
Called Jehoadah in 8:36. 

Ja'reb (ja'reb) (contentious) , is a 
word used twice by Hosea (5 : 13 ; 10 : 6) 
as a designation of the king of As- 
syria. Various opinions have been ex- 
pressed as to whether it is a proper 
name or a descriptive epithet. There 
is no king known by this name, but it 
may have been the original name of one 
who changed it at his accession. Sayce 
suggests Sargon II., but he is in the 
opinion of others later than the date of 
Hosea. 

Ja'red (ja'red) (descent), one of the 
antediluvian patriarchs, and father of 
Enoch. Gen. 5 : 15, 16, 18-20 ; Luke 3 : 
37. In the lists of Chronicles the name 
is given in the Authorized Version 
Jered. 

Jaresi'ah (jar-e-si'ah) (Jehovah 
nourishes), a Benjamite, one of the 
Bene-Jeroham. 1 Chron. 8 : 27. 

Jar'ha (jar'ha), the Egyptian servant 
of Sheshan of the tribe of Judah, 
to whom his master gave his daughter 
and heir in marriage. 1 Chron. 2 : 34, 
35. 

Ja'rib (ja'rib) (adversary). 1. 
Named in the list of 1 Chron. 4 : 24 only, 
as a son of Simeon. Probably the same 
as Jachin. Gen. 46 : 10 ; Ex. 6 : 15 ; 
Num. 26 : 12. 

2. One of the “ chief men ” who ac- 

companied Ezra on his journey from 
Babylon to Jerusalem. Ezra 8 : 16. (b.c. 

458.) 

3. A priest of the house of Jeshua the 

son of Jozadak, who had married a for- 
eign wife, and was compelled by Ezra 
to put her away. Ezra 10 : 18. (b.c. 

458.) 

Jar'muth (jar'muth) (high). 1. A 
town in the low country of Judah. 
Josh. 15 : 35. Its king, Piram, was one 
of the five who conspired to punish 
Gibeon for having made alliance with 
Israel, Josh. 10 : 3, 5, and who were 
routed at Beth-horon and put to death 
by Joshua at Makkedah, ver. 33.^ Its 
site is probably the modern Yarmuk .. 

2. A city of Issachar, allotted with its 
suburbs to the Gershonite Levites. Josh. 
21 : 29. 

Jaro'ah (ja-ro'ah) (moon), a chief 
man of the tribe of Gad. 1 Chron. 5 : 
14. 


JAS 


290 


JEB 


Ja'shen (ja'shen) {sleeping). Bene- 
Jashen — “ sons of Jashen ” — are named 
in the catalogue of the heroes of David’s 
guard in 2 Sam. 23 : 32. 

Ja'sher (ja'sher), R. V. Ja'shar, 
Book of ( the book of the upright ), a 
book alluded to in two passages only 
of the Old Testament. Josh. 10: 13 and 
2 Sam. 1 : 18. It was probably writ- 
ten in verse; and it has been conjec- 
tured that it was a collection of ancient 
records of honored men or noble deeds. 
It is wholly lost. 

Jasho'beam (ja-sho'be-am) {let the 
people return ), named first among the 
chief of the mighty men of David. 1 
Chron. 11 : 11. He came to David at 
Ziklag. His distinguishing exploit was 
that he slew 300 (or 800, 2 Sam. 23 : 8) 
men at one time. The same man is re- 
ferred to under the name of Adino the 
Eznite in the parallel passage, 2 Sam. 
23 : 8. But the reading in 1 Chron. is 
probably the correct one. 

Jash'ub (jash'ub) {he returns). 1. 
The third son of Issachar, and founder 
of the family of the Jashubites. Num. 
26: 24; 1 Chron. 7: 1. Job in Gen. 46. 

2. One of the sons of Bani, who had 
to put away his foreign wife. Ezra 10 : 
29. (b.c. 458.) 

Jash'ubi=le'hem (jash'u-bi-le'hem), a 
person or a place named among the 
descendants of Shelah, the son of Judah 
by Bath-shua the Canaanitess. 1 Chron. 
4: 22. 

Ja'siel (ja'si-el) {God made), the 
last named on the list of David’s heroes 
in 1 Chron. 11: 47. R. V. “ Jaasiel.” 

Ja'son (ja'son), called the Thessa- 
lonian, entertained Paul and Silas, and 
was in consequence attacked by the Jew- 
ish mob. Acts 17 : 5, 6, 7, 9. (a.d. 51.) 

He is probably the same as the Jason 
mentioned in Rom. 16 : 21. 

Jasper, a precious stone frequently 
noticed in Scripture. It was the last of 
the twelve inserted in the high priest’s 
breastplate, Ex. 28 : 20 ; 39 : 13, and the 
first of the twelve used in the founda- 
tions of the new Jerusalem. Rev. 21 : 
19. The characteristics of the stone as 
far as they are specified in Scripture, 
Rev. 21 : 11, are that it “ was most pre- 
cious,” and “ like crystal ;” we may also 
infer from Rev. 4: 3 that it was a stone 
of brilliant and transparent light. Prof. 
Petrie, in Hastings’ Bible Dictionary, 
calls it the dark green jasper, a favorite 
stone in Greece and Egypt. Cheyne 


considers it probable that the opal is 
the stone intended. 

Jath'niel (jath'm-el) {God bestow- 
eth gifts), a Korhite Levite, of the 
family of Meshelemiah. 1 Chron. 26 : 2. 

Jat'tir (jat'tir) {pre-eminent), a 
town of Judah in the mountain districts, 
Josh. 15 : 48, one of the group contain- 
ing Socho, Eshtemoa, etc. See also 
Josh. 21:14; 1 Sam. 30:27; 1 Chron. 
6 : 57. By Robinson it is identified with 
’Attir, six miles north of Molada and 
ten miles south of Hebron. 

Ja'van (ja'van). 1. A son of Japh- 
eth. Gen. 10:2, 4. Javan was regarded 
as the representative of the Greek race. 
The name was probably introduced into 
Asia by the Phoenicians, to whom the 
Ionians were naturally better known 
than any other of the Hellenic races, on 
account of their commercial activity and 
the high prosperity of their towns on 
the western coast of Asia Minor. 

2. A town in the southern part of 
Arabia {Yemen), whither the Phoeni- 
cians traded. Ezek. 27 : 19. 

Javelin. [Arms.] 

Ja'zer (ja'zer). [Jaazer.] 

Ja'ziz (ja'ziz), a Hagarite who had 
charge of the flocks of King David. 1 
Chron. 27:31. 

Je'arim (je'a-rim) {forests), Mount, 
a place named in specifying the north- 
ern boundary of Judah. Josh. 15 : 10. 
The boundary ran from Mount Seir to 
“the shoulder of Mount Jearim, which 
is Chesalon ” — that is, Chesalon was the 
landmark on the mountain. Kesla, 
seven miles due west of Jerusalem, 
stands on a high point on the north 
slope of a lofty ridge, which is prob- 
ably Mount Jearim. 

Jeat'erai (je-at'e-rai), a Gershonite 
Levite, son of Zerah. 1 Chron. 6:21. 

Jeberechi'ah (je-ber-e-ki'ah) ( Jeho- 
vah blesses), father of a certain Zech- 
ariah, in the reign of Ahaz, mentioned 
Isa. 8 : 2. 

Je'bus (je'bus) {threshing-door). 
This name occurs only in Judges 19 : 
10 ; 1 Chron. 11 : 4, 5, with the statement 
“ the same is Jerusalem.” It has there- 
fore been commonly supposed an old 
name for that city. The Tel-el-Amarna 
tablets, however, call the city Urusalim. 
It is thought by many modern scholars 
to be a wrong inference from Jebusite, 
undoubtedly the name of the tribe occu- 
pying Jerusalem at the time of the con- 
quest of the city by David. 


JEB 


291 


JEH 


Jeb'usi. R. V. Jebusite. Josh. 18 ^ 16, 
28. 

Jeb'usites (jeb'u-sites). One of the 
early tribes. They first appear in the 
invaluable report of the spies. Num. 
13 : 29. When Jabin organized his rising 
against Joshua, the Jebusites joined him. 
Josh. 11 : 3. The tribe held Jerusalem, 
which lost its king in the slaughter of 
Beth-horon, Josh. 10 : 1, 5, 26 ; comp. 
12 : 10, was sacked and burned by the 
men of Judah, Judges 1 : 21, and its 
citadel finally scaled and occupied by 
David. 2 Sam. 5 : 6. After this they 
emerge from the darkness but once, in 
the person of Araunah the Jebusite, 
“ Araunah the king,” who appears be- 
fore us in true kingly dignity in his 
well-known transaction with David. 2 
Sam. 24 : 23 ; 1 Chron. 21 : 20-25. 

Jecami'ah (jek-a-mi'ah) ( may Je- 
hovah strengthen) . A son, or descend- 
ant of Jeconiah, that is, Jehoiachin, 
king of Judah. In R. V. Jekamiah. 
1 Chron. 3 : 18. 

Jecholi'ah (jek-o-li'ah), wife of 
Amaziah king of Judah, and mother of 
Azariah or Uzziah his successor. 2 
Kings 15 : 2. 

Jechoni'as (jek-o-ni'as), the Greek 
form of Jeconiah, an altered form of 
Jehoiachin. [Jehoiachin.] 

Jecoli'ah (jek-o-li'ah) the same as 
Jecholiah. 2 Chron. 26 : 3. 

Jeconi'ah (jek-o-ni'ah). [See Jehoi- 
achin.] 

Jeda'iah (je-da'iah) ( Jehovah has 
cast). 1. Head of the second course 
of priests, as they were divided in the 
time of David. 1 Chron. 24 : 7. Some 
of them survived to return to ‘Jerusalem 
after the Babylonish captivity, as ap- 
pears from Ezra 2:36; Neh. 7:39. 

2. A priest in the time of Jeshua the 
high priest. Zech. 6: 10, 14. (b.c. 536.) 

Jeda'iah (je-da'iah). 1. A Simeon- 
ite, forefather of Ziza. 1 Chron. 4 : 37. 

2. Son of Harumaph ; a man who did 
his part in the rebuilding of the wall 
of Jerusalem. Neh. 3 : 10. (b.c. 446.) 

Jedi'ael (jed-i'a-el) ( known of God). 
1. A chief patriarch of the tribe of Ben- 
jamin. 1 Chron. 7:6, 11. It has been 
assumed that Jediael is the same as 
Ashbel, Gen. 46:21; Num. 26:38; 1 
Chron. 8:1; but this is not certain. 

2. Second son of Meshelemiah, a Le- 
vite. 1 Chron. 26 : 1, 2. 

3. Son of Shimri; one of the heroes 


of David’s guard. 1 Chron. 11 : 45. 
Perhaps same as 

4. One of the chiefs of the thousands 
of Manasseh who joined David on his 
march to Ziklag. 1 Chron. 12 : 20 ; 
comp. 1 Sam. 30. (b.c. 1055.) 

Jedi'dah (je-di'dah), queen of Amon 
and mother of the good king Josiah. 2 
Kings 22:1. (b.c. 648.) 

Jedidi'ah (jed-i-di'ah) ( beloved of 
Jehovah), Jedid=jah ( darling of Je- 
hovah), the name bestowed, through 
Nathan the prophet, on David’s son 
Solomon. 2 Sam. 12 : 25. 

Jed'uthun (jed'u-thun) {praising), a 
Levite of the family of Merari, is prob- 
ably the same as Ethan. Comp. 1 
Chron. 15 : 17, 19 with 1 Chron. 16 : 41, 
42 ; 25 : 1, 3, 6 ; 2 Chron. 35 : 15. His 
office was generally to preside over the 
music of the temple service. Jedu- 
thun’s name stands at the head of the 
39th, 62d and 77th Psalms. 

Jee'zer (je-e'zer) ( father is help), 
Num. 26 : 30, the name of a descend- 
ant of Manasseh and founder of the 
family of the Jeezerites. In parallel 
lists the name is given as Abi-ezer; in 
R. V. Jezer. 

Je'gar=sahadu'tha (je'gar-sa-ha-du' 
tha) ( heap of testimony) , the Aramaean 
name given by Laban the Syrian to the 
heap of stones which he erected as a 
memorial of the compact between Jacob 
and himself. Gen. 31 : 47. Galeed, a 
“ witness heap,” which is given as the 
Hebrew equivalent, does not exactly 
represent Jegar-sahadutha. 

Jehale'leel (je-ha-le'le-el) ( he praises 
God). Four men of the Bene-Jehaleleel 
are introduced abruptly into the gen- 
ealogies of Judah. 1 Chron. 4:16. 

Jehal'elel (je-hal'e-lel ( he praises 
God), a Merarite Levite, father of 
Azariah. 2 Chron. 29 : 12. 

Jehde'iah ( may Jehovah give joy). 
1. The representative of the Bene-Shu- 
bael, in the time of David. 1 Chron. 
24 : 20. 

2. A Meronothite who had charge of 
the she-asses of David. 1 Chron. 27 : 
30. 

Jehez'ekel (je-hez'e-kel) {God 
strengtheneth) , a priest to whom was 
given by David the charge of the twen- 
tieth of the twenty-four courses in the 
service of the house of Jehovah. 1 
Chron. 24 : 16. 

Jehi'ah (je-hi'ah) {may Jehovah 
live!), “doorkeeper for the ark” at the 


JEH 


292 


JEH 


time of its establishment in Jerusalem. 
1 Chron. 15:24. (b.c. 1042.) 

Jehi'el (je-hi'el) (may God live). 1. 
One of the Levites appointed by David 
to assist in the service of the house of 
God. 1 Chron. 15 : 18, 20 ; 16 : 5. 

2. One of the sons of Jehoshaphat 
king of Judah, put to death by his 
brother Jehoram. 2 Chron. 21 : 2, 4. 
(b.c. 850.) 

3. One of the rulers of the house of 

God at the time of the reforms of 
Josiah. 2 Chron. 35:8. (b.c. 623.) 

4. A Gershonite Levite, 1 Chron. 23 : 
8, who had charge of the treasures, ch. 
29: 8. 

5. A son of Hachmoni named in the 
list of David’s officers, 1 Chron. 27 : 32, 
as “with the king’s sons,” whatever 
that may mean. 

6. A Levite who took part in the res- 

torations of King Hezekiah. 2 Chron. 
29:14; 2 Chron. 31:13. (b.c. 726.) 

7. Father of Obadiah, of the Bene- 
Joab. Ezra 8 : 9. 

8. One of the Bene-Elam, father of 
Shechaniah. Ezra 10 : 2. 

9. A member of the same family, per- 
haps the same man, who had to part 
with his wife. Ezra 10:26. 

10. A priest, one of the Bene-Harim, 

who also had to put away his foreign 
wife. Ezra 10:21. (b.c. 458.) 

Jehi'el (je-hi'el), or Jeiel ( treasured 
of God), a distinct name from the 
last. 1. A man described as father of 
Gibeon; a forefather of King Saul. 1 
Chron. 9 : 35. 

2. One of the sons of Hothan the 
Aroerite; a member of David’s guard. 
1 Chron. 11 : 44. 

Jehi'eli ( je-hi'e-ll) (a Jehielite), a 
family name from Jehiel 4, a Gershon- 
ite Levite of the family of Laadan. 1 
Chron. 26 : 21, 22. 

Jehizki'ah (je-hiz-ki'ah) (Jehovah 
strengthens) , son of Shallum, one of 
the heads of the tribe of Ephraim in 
the time of Ahaz and Pekah. 2 Chron. 
28 : 12 ; comp. 8,. 13, 15. 

Jeho'adah ( je-ho'a-dah), one of the 
descendants of Saul. 1 Chron. 8 : 36. 

Jehoad'dan (je-ho-ad'dan), queen to 
King Joash, and mother of Amaziah of 
Judah. 2 Kings 14:2; 2 Chron. 25 : 1. 

Jeho'ahaz (je-ho'a-haz) (Jehovah 
hath grasped). 1. The son and succes- 
sor of Jehu, reigned 17 years, b.c. 815- 
798, over Israel in Samaria. His in- 
glorious history is given in 2 Kings 13 : 


1-9. Throughout his reign, ver. 22, he 
was kept in subjection by Hazael king 
of Damascus. Jehoahaz maintained the 
idolatry of Jeroboam; but in the ex- 
tremity of his humiliation he besought 
Jehovah, and Jehovah gave Israel a 
deliverer — probably either Jehoash, vs. 
23 and 25, or Jeroboam II., 2 Kings 14: 
24, 25. 

2. Jehoahaz, otherwise called Shallum, 
son of Josiah, whom he succeeded as 
king of Judah. He was chosen by the 
people in preference to his elder (comp. 
2 Kings 23 : 31 and 36) brother, b.c. 
609, and he reigned three months in 
Jerusalem. Pharaoh-necho sent to Je- 
rusalem to depose him and to fetch him 
to Riblah. There he was cast into 
chains, and from thence he was taken 
into Egypt, where he died. 

3. The name given, 2 Chron. 21 : 17, to 
Ahaziah, the youngest son of Jehoram 
king of Judah. 

Jeho'ash (je-ho'ash) (Jehovah is 
strong), the uncontracted form of 
Joash. 1. The eighth king of Judah; 
son of Ahaziah. 2 Kings 11 : 21 ; 12 : 1, 
2, 4, 6, 7, 18 ; 14 : 13. [Joash, 1.] 

2. The twelfth king of Israel; son of 
Jehoahaz. 2 Kings 13 : 10, 25 ; 14 : 8, 9, 
11, 13, 15, 16, 17. [Joash, 2.] 

Jehoha'nan (je-ho-ha'nan) (Jehovah 
is gracious), a name contracted into 
Johanan and John. 1. A Korhite Levite, 
one of the doorkeepers to the taber- 
nacle. 1 Chron. 26 : 3 ; comp. 26 : 1. 

2. One of the principal men of Judah 
under King Jehoshaphat. 2 Chron. 17: 
15 ; comp. 13 and 19. Perhaps same as 

3. Father of Ishmael, one of the “ cap- 
tains of hundreds ” whom Jehoiada the 
priest took into his confidence about the 
restoration of the line of Judah. 2 
Chron. 23 : 1. 

4. One of the Bene-Bebai who was 

forced to put away his foreign wife. 
Ezra 10:28. (b.c. 458.) 

5. A priest, Neh. 12 : 13, during the 
high priesthood of Joiakim, ver. 12. 
(b.c. about 500.) 

6. A priest who took part in the dedi- 

cation of the wall of Jerusalem. Neh. 
12:42. (b.c. 446.) 

Jehoi'achin (je-hoi'a-kin) (Jehovah 
has appointed) , son of Jehoiakim, and 
for three months and ten days king of 
Judah, (b.c. 597.) At his accession Je- 
rusalem was quite defenceless, and un- 
able to offer any resistance to the army 
which Nebuchadnezzar sent to besiege it. 


JEH 


293 


JEH 


2 Kings 24 : 10, 11. In a very short time 
Jehoiachin surrendered at discretion; 
and he, and the queen-mother, and all 
his servants, captains and officers, came 
out and gave themselves up to Nebu- 
chadnezzar, who carried them, with the 
harem and the eunuchs, to Babylon. 
Jer. 29:2; Ezek. 17:12; 19:9. There 
he remained a prisoner, actually in 
prison and wearing prison garments, .for 
thirty-six years, viz., till the death of 
Nebuchadnezzar, when Evil-merodach, 
succeeding to the throne of Babylon, 
brought him out of prison, and made 
him sit at his own table. The time of 
his death is uncertain. 

Jehoi'ada (je-hoi'a-da) ( Jehovah 
knows). 1. Father of Benaiah, David’s 
well-known warrior. 2 Sam. 8 : 18 ; 1 
Kings 1 and 2 passim; 1 Chron. 18:17, 
etc. Without doubt the same as 

2. Leader of the Aaronites, i. e. the 
priests; who joined David at Hebron. 
1 Chron. 12 : 27. 

3. According to 1 Chron. 27 : 34, son 
of Benaiah ; but in all probability Bena- 
iah the son of Jehoiada is meant. Prob- 
ably an error in copying. 1 Chron. 18 
17 ; 2 Sam. 8 : 18. 

4. High priest at the time of Atha- 
liah’s usurpation of the throne of Ju- 
dah, b.c. 842-836, and during the greater 
portion of the forty-years reign of 
Joash. He married Jehosheba; and 
when Athaliah slew all the seed royal 
of Judah after Ahaziah had been put 
to death by Jehu, he and his wife stole 
Joash from among the king’s sons and 
hid him for six years in the temple, and 
eventually replaced him on the throne 
of his ancestors. [Athaliah.] The 
destruction of Baal-worship and the 
restoration of the temple were among 
the great works effected by Jehoiada. 
He died after 813 b.c. He* is doubtless 
the one referred to later as representing 
the superiority of the priests over the 
prophets. Jer. 29:25-29. 

5. Son of Paseach, who assisted to re- 
pair the old gate of Jerusalem. Neh. 
3: 6. 

Jehoi'akim (j e-hoi' a-kim) ( Jehovah 
raises up), called Eliakim, son of Josiah 
and king of Judah. After deposing Je- 
hoahaz, Pharaoh-necho set Eliakim, his 
elder brother, upon the throne, and 
changed his name to Jehoiakim, b.c. 608- 
597. For four years Jehoiakim was 
subject to Egypt. When Nebuchadnez- 
zar defeated the Egyptians at Carche- 


mish, b.c. 605, Nebuchadnezzar entered 
Jerusalem, received the submission of 
Jehoiakim, and probably took some cap- 
tives and some of the precious vessels 
of the temple and carried them to the 
land of Shinar. Jehoiakim became 
tributary to Nebuchadnezzar after his 
invasion of Judah, and continued so for 
three years, but at the end of that time 
broke his oath of allegiance and re- 
belled against him. 2 Kings 24 : 1. 
Nebuchadnezzar sent against him nu- 
merous bands of Chaldeans, with Syr- 
ians, Moabites and Ammonites, 2 Kings 
24 : 2, who cruelly harassed the whole 
country. Either the Babylonian king 
himself or his forces entered Jerusalem, 
and bound Jehoiakim and placed him in 
a cage to carry him to Babylon. Prob- 
ably the purpose of taking him to Baby- 
lon was abandoned. Either in a skir- 
mish or by assassination by some of his 
own oppressed subjects Jehoiakim came 
to a violent end in the eleventh year of 
his reign. His body was cast out ig- 
nominiously on the ground, and then 
was dragged away and buried “ with 
the burial of an ass,” without pomp or 
lamentation, “beyond the gates of Jeru- 
salem.” Jer. 22:18, 19; 36:30. All the 
accounts we have of Jehoiakim concur 
in ascribing to him a vicious and irre- 
ligious character. 2 Kings 23 : 37 ; 24 : 
9; 2 Chron. 36: 5. It was he who burnt 
the roll of the prophecy of Jeremiah. 

Jehoi'arib (je-hoi'a-rib) ( Jehovah 
pleadeth), head of the first of the 
twenty-four courses of priests. 1 Chron. 
24: 7. 

Jehon'adab (je-hon'a-dab) ( whom 
Jehovah impels) and Jon'adab, the son 
of Rechab, founder of the Rechabites, 
an Arab chief. When Jehu was ad- 
vancing, after killing the king’s sons, 
on the city of Samaria, he was suddenly 
met by Jehonadab, who joined with 
him in “ slaying all that remained unto 
Ahab.” 2 Kings 10 : 15-17. 

Jehon'athan (je-hon'a-than) ( Jeho- 
vah has given). 1. Son of Uzziah; 
superintendent of certain of King 
David’s storehouses. 1 Chron. 27 : 25. 

2. One of the Levites who were sent 

by Jehoshaphat through the cities of 
Judah, with a book of the law, to teach 
the people. 2 Chron. 17 : 8. (b.c. 872.) 

3. A priest, Neh. 12:18, the represen- 
tative of the family of Shemaiah, ver. 
6, when Joiakim was high priest. ('B.c 
about 500.) 


JEH 


294 


JEH 


Jeho'ram (je-ho'ram) ( Jehovah is ex- 
alted). 1. Second son of Ahab king of 
Israel, who succeeded his brother Aha- 
ziah b.c. 853 and died b.c. 842. The al- 
liance between the kingdoms of Israel 
and Judah, commenced by his father 
and Jehoshaphat, was very close 
throughout his reign. We first find him 
associated with Jehoshaphat and the 
king of Edom in a war against the 
Moabites. The three armies were in 
the utmost danger of perishing for want 
of water. The piety of Jehoshaphat 
suggested an inquiry of Jehovah, 
through Elisha. After reproving Je- 
horam, Elisha, for Jehoshaphat’s sake, 
inquired of Jehovah, and received the 
promise of an abundant supply of water, 
and of a great victory over the Moab- 
ites ; a promise which was immediately 
fulfilled. The allies pursued them with 
great slaughter into their own land, 
which they utterly ravaged and de- 
stroyed most of its cities. Kir-haraseth 
alone remained, and there the king of 
Moab made his last stand. An attempt 
to break through the besieging army 
having failed, he resorted to the des- 
perate expedient of offering up his eld- 
est son, as a burnt offering, upon the 
wall of the city, in the sight of the 
enemy. Upon this the Israelites retired 
and returned to their own land. 2 
Kings 3. A little later, when war broke 
out between Syria and Israel, we find 
Elisha befriending Jehoram; but when 
the terrible famine in Samaria arose, the 
king immediately attributed the evil to 
Elisha, and determined to take away 
his life. The providential interposition 
by which both Elisha’s life was saved 
and the city delivered is narrated 2 
Kings 7, and Jehoram appears to have 
returned to friendly feeling toward 
Elisha. 2 Kings 8:4. It was soon 
after .these events that the revolution in 
Syria predicted by Elisha took place, 
giving Jehoram a good opportunity of 
recovering Ramoth-gilead from the Syr- 
ians. He accordingly made an alliance 
with his nephew Ahaziah, who had just 
succeeded Joram on the throne of Ju- 
dah, and the two kings proceeded to oc- 
cupy Ramoth-gilead by force. The ex- 
pedition was an unfortunate one. Je- 
horam was wounded in battle, and ob- 
liged to return to Jezreel to be healed 
of his wounds. 2 Kings 8 : 29 ; 9 : 14, 15. 
Jehu and the army under his command 
revolted from their allegiance to Je- 


horam, 2 Kings 9, and hastily marching 
to Jezreel, surprised Jehoram, wounded 
and defenceless as he was. Jehoram, 
going out to meet him, fell pierced by 
an arrow from Jehu’s bow on the very 
plot of ground which Ahab had wrested 
from Naboth the Jezreelite; thus ful- 
filling to the letter the prophecy of Eli- 
jah. 1 Kings 21 : 29. With the life, of 
Jehoram ended the dynasty of Omri. 

2. Eldest son of Jehoshaphat, suc- 
ceeded his father on the throne of Judah 
at the age of 32, and reigned eight 
years, from b.c. 851 to 843. As soon as 
he was fixed on the throne, he put his 
six brothers to death, with many of the 
chief nobles of the land. He then, 
probably at the instance of his wife 
Athaliah the daughter of Ahab, pro- 
ceeded to establish the worship of Baal. 
A prophetic writing from the aged 
prophet Elijah, 2 Chron. 21:12, failed 
to produce any good effect upon him. 
The remainder of his reign was a series 
of calamities. First the Edomites, who 
had been tributary to Jehoshaphat, re- 
volted from his dominion and estab- 
lished their permanent independence. 
Next Libnah, 2 Kings 19 : 8, rebelled 
against him. Then followed invasion 
by armed bands of Philistines and of 
Arabians, who stormed the king’s pal- 
ace, put his wives and all his children, 
except his youngest son Ahaziah, to 
death, 2 Chron. 22 : 1, or carried them 
into captivity, and plundered all his 
treasures. He died of a terrible disease. 
2 Chron. 21 : 19, 20. 

Jehoshab'e=ath (je-ho-shab'e-ath) 
2 Chron. 22:11. [See Jehosheba.] 

Jehosh'aphat (je-hosh'a-fat) ( Je- 
hovah ‘hath judged). 1. King of Ju- 
dah, son of Asa, succeeded to the 
throne b.c. 875, when he was 35 years 
old, and reigned 25 years. His history 
is to be found among the events re- 
corded in 1 Kings 15 : 24 — 2 Kings 8 : 
16, or in a continuous narrative in 2 
Chron. 17 : 1-21 : 3. He was contem- 
porary with Ahab, Ahaziah and Je- 
horam. He was one of the best, most 
pious and prosperous kings of Judah, 
the greatest since Solomon. At first he 
strengthened himself against Israel ; but 
soon afterward the two Hebrew kings 
formed an alliance. In his own king- 
dom Jehoshaphat ever showed himself 
a zealous follower of the command- 
ments of God : he tried to put down 
the high places and groves in which the 


JEH 


295 


JEH 


people of Judah burnt incense, and sent 
the wisest Levites through the cities and 
towns to instruct the people in true 
morality aiid religion. Riches and hon- 
ors increased around him. He received 
tribute from the Philistines and Ara- 
bians, and kept up a large standing 
army in Jerusalem. It was probably 
about the 16th year of his reign, b.c. 
854, when he became Ahab’s ally in the 
great battle of Ramoth-gilead, for which 
he was severely reproved by Jehu. 2 
Chron. 19 : 2. He built at Ezion-geber, 
with the help of Ahaziah, a navy de- 
signed to go to Tarshish or Ophir ; but 
it was wrecked at Ezion-geber. Later 
in his reign he was engaged in two 
additional wars. He was miraculously 
delivered from a threatened attack of the 
people of Ammon, Moab and Seir. Aft- 
er this, perhaps, must be dated the war 
which Jehoshaphat, in conjunction with 
Jehoram king of Israel and the king of 
Edom, carried on against the rebellious 
king of Moab. 2 Kings 3. In his de- 
clining years the administration of af- 
fairs was placed, probably b.c. 854, in 
the hands of his son Jehoram. 

2. Son of Ahilud, who filled the office 
of recorder or annalist in the courts of 
David, 2 Sam. 8 : 16, etc., and Solomon. 
1 Kings 4 : 3. 

3. One of the priests in David’s time. 
.1 Chron. 15 : 24. 

4. Son of Paruah ; one of the twelve 
purveyors of King Solomon. 1 Kings 
4: 17. 

5. Son of Nimshi and father of King 
Jehu. 2 Kings 9:2, 14. 

Jehosh'aphat (je-hosh'a-fat), Valley 
of ( valley of the judgment of Jehovah ), 
a valley mentioned by Joel only, as the 
spot in which, after the return of Judah 
and Jerusalem from captivity, Jehovah 
would gather all the heathen, Joel 3 : 2, 
and w r ould there sit to judge them for 
their misdeeds to Israel, ch. 3 : 12. The 
scene of “Jehovah’s judgment” has 
been localized, and the name has come 
down to us attached to that deep ravine 
which separates Jerusalem from the 
Mount of Olives, through which at one 
time the Kedron forced its stream. At 
what period the name “ valley of Je- 
hoshaphat ” was first applied to this spot 
is unknown. It is not mentioned in the 
Bible or Josephus, but is first encoun- 
tered in the middle of the fourth cen- 
tury. Both Moslems and Jews believe 
that the last judgment is to take place 


there. The steep sides of the ravine, 
wherever a level strip affords the op- 
portunity, are crowded — in places almost 
paved — by the sepulchres of the Mos- 
lems, or the simpler slabs of the Jew- 
ish tombs, alike awaiting the assembly 
of the last judgment. The name is gen- 
erally confined by travelers to the upper 
part of the glen. Others suppose that 
the name is only an imaginary one, “ the 
valley of the judgment of Jehovah ” re- 
ferring to some great victories of God’s 
people in which judgment was executed 
upon the heathen; or perhaps, as Keil, 
etc., to the end of the world. 

Jehosh'eba (je-hosh'e-ba) ( Jehovah 
is an oath), daughter of Joram king of 
Judah, and wife of Jehoiada the high 
priest. 2 Kings 11 : 2. She is called 
Jehoshabeath in Chronicles. She was 
instrumental in preserving the Davidic 
stock by concealing the infant Joash in a 
lumber-room of the palace. R. V. margin. 
She probably was the daughter, not of 
Athaliah, but of Joram by another wife. 
She is the only recorded instance of the 
marriage of a princess of the royal 
house with a high priest. 

Jehosh'ua (je-hosh'u-ah) ( Jehovah 
is salvation). In this form is given the 
name of Joshua in Num. 13 : 16. Once 
more only the name appears by mistake, 
as 

Jehosh'uah (je-hosh'u-ah), in the 
genealogy of Ephraim. 1 Chron. 7 : 27. 

Jeho'vah (/ am; the eternal living 
one). The Scripture appellation of the 
supreme Being, usually interpreted as 
signifying self-derived and permanent 
existence. The Jews scrupulously 
avoided every mention of this name of 
God, substituting in its stead one or 
other of the words with whose proper 
vowel-points it may happen to be writ- 
ten. This custom, which had its origin 
in reverence, was founded upon an er- 
roneous rendering of Lev. 24 : 16, from 
which it was inferred that the mere ut- 
terance of the name constituted a cap- 
ital offence. According to Jewish tra- 
dition, it was pronounced but once a 
year, by the high priest on the day of 
atonement when he entered the holy 
of holies ; but on this point there is 
some doubt. When Moses received his 
commission to be the deliverer of Israel, 
the Almighty, who appeared in the burn- 
ing bush, communicated to him the name 
which he should give as the credentials 
of his mission : “ And God said unto 


JEH 


296 


JEH 


Moses, I AM THAT I am, iTnfcntPK iTn« 

( ehyeh asher ehyeh ) ; and he said, 
Thus shalt thou say unto the children 
of Israel, I am hath sent me unto you.” 
That this passage is intended to indicate 
the etymology of Jehovah, as understood 
by the Hebrews, no one has ventured to 
doubt. While Elohim exhibits God dis- 
played in his power as the creator and 
governor of the physical universe, the 
name Jehovah designates his nature as 
he stands in relation to man, as the 
only almighty, true, personal, holy Being, 
a spirit and “the father of spirits,” 
Num. 16 : 22 ; comp. John 4 : 24, who re- 
vealed himself to his people, made a 
covenant with them, and became their 
lawgiver, and to whom all honor and 
worship are due. 

Jeho'vah=ji'reh (je-ho'vah-ji'reh) 

( Jehovah will see or provide), the name 
given by Abraham to the place on which 
he had been commanded to offer Isaac, 
to commemorate the interposition of the 
angel of Jehovah, who appeared to pre- 
vent the sacrifice, Gen. 22 : 14, and pro- 
vided another victim. 

Jeho'vah=nis'si (je-ho'vah-ms'si) 

( Jehovah is my banner), the name 
given by Moses to the altar which he 
built in commemoration of the discom- 
fiture of the Amalekites. Ex. 17 : 15. 

Jeho'vah=sha , lom(je-ho , vah-sha/lom) 
{Jehovah is peace). The altar ereeted 
by Gideon in Ophrah was so called in 
memory of the salutation addressed to 
him by the angel of Jehovah, “ Peace 
be unto thee.” Judges 6 : 24. 

Jehoz'abad ( je-hoz'a-bad) {Jehovah 
hath bestowed). 1. A Korhite Levite, 
second son of Obededom, and one of 
the porters of the south gate of the 
temple and of the storehouse there in 
the time of David. 1 Chron. 26 : 4, 15, 
compared with Neh. 12: 25. 

2. A Benjamite, a high military officer, 

said to be the captain of 180,000 armed 
men, in the days of King Jehoshaphat. 
2 Chron. 17 : 18. (b.c. 870.) 

3. Son of Shomer or Shimrith, a Mo- 

abitish woman, who with another con- 
spired against King Joash and slew him 
in his bed. 2 Kings 12:21; 2 Chron. 24 : 
26. (b.c. 796.) 

Jehoz'adak (je-hoz'a-dak) {Jehovah 
is righteous), usually called Jozadak or 
Josedech. He was the son of the high 
priest Seraiah. 1 Chron. 6 : 14, 15. 

When his father was slain at Riblah by 


order of Nebuchadnezzar, 2 Kings 25: 
18, 21, Jehozadak was led away captive 
to Babylon. 1 Chron.- 6 : 15. He him- 
self never attained the high priesthood, 
but he was the father of Jeshua the 
high priest, and ancestor of all his_ suc- 
cessors till the pontificate of Alcimus. 
Ezra 3:2; Neh. 12 : 26, etc. 

Je'hu (je'hu) {Jehovah is he). 1. 
The founder of the fifth dynasty of the 
kingdom of Israel, son of Jehoshaphat. 
2 Kings 9:2. He reigned over Israel 
28 years, b.c. 842-815. His first appear- 
ance in history is when he heard the 
warning of Elijah against the murderer 
of Naboth. 2 Kings 9 : 25. In the 
reigns of Ahaziah and Jehoram, Jehu 
arose to importance. He was, under 
the last-named king, captain of the host 
in the siege of Ramoth-gilead. During 
this siege he was anointed by Elisha’s 
servant, and told that he was appointed 
to be king of Israel and destroyer of the 
house of Ahab. 2 Kings 9:6, 7. The 
army at once proclaimed him king, and 
he set off full speed for Jezreel. Je- 
horam, who was lying ill in Jezreel, 
came out to meet him, as it happened 
on the fatal field of Naboth. 2 Kings 
9:21-24. Jehu' seized his opportunity, 
and shot him through the heart. 2 
Kings 9:24. Jehu himself advanced to 
the gates of Jezreel and fulfilled the di- 
vine warning on Jezebel as already on 
Jehoram. He then entered on a work 
of extermination hitherto unparalleled 
in the history of the Jewish monarchy. 
All the descendants of Ahab that re- 
mained in Jezreel, together with the 
officers of the court and the hierarchy 
of Astarte, were swept away. His next 
step was to secure Samaria. For the 
pretended purpose of inaugurating anew 
the worship of Baal, he called all the 
Baalites together at Samaria. The vast 
temple raised by Ahab, 1 Kings 16 : 32, 
was crowded from end to end. The 
chief sacrifice was offered, as if in the 
excess of his zeal, by Jehu himself. As 
soon as it was ascertained that all, and 
none but, the idolaters were there, the 
signal was given to eighty trusted 
guards, and a sweeping massacre re- 
moved at one blow the whole heathen 
population of the kingdom of Israel. 
This is the last public act recorded of 
Jehu. The remaining twenty-seven 
years of his long reign are passed over 
in a few words, in which two points 
only are material : — He did not destroy 


JEH 


297 


JEP 


the calf-worship of Jeroboam: — The 
transjordanic tribes suffered much from 
the ravages of Hazael. 2 Kings 10 : 29- 
33. He was buried in state in Sama- 
ria, and was succeeded by his son Je- 
hoahaz. 2 Kings 10 : 35. His name is 
the first Israelite king which appears in 
the Assyrian monuments. (See p. 280.) 

2. Jehu son of Hanani; a prophet of 
Judah, but whose ministrations were 
chiefly directed to Israel. His father 
was probably the seer who attacked 
Asa. 2 Chron. 16 : 7. He must have 
begun his career as a prophet when 
very young. He first denounced Baasha, 
1 Kings 16 : 1, 7, and then, after an 
interval of thirty years, reappeared to 
denounce Jehoshaphat for his alliance 
with Ahab. 2 Chron. 19 : 2, 3. He sur- 
vived Jehoshaphat and wrote his life, 
ch. 20 : 34. 

3. A man of Judah of the house of 
Hezron. 1 Chron. 2 : 38. 

4. A Simeonite, son of Josibiah. 1 
Chron. 4 : 35. 

5. Jehu the Antothite was one of the 
chief of the heroes of Benjamin who 
joined David at Ziklag. 1 Chron. 12: 3. 

Jehub'bah ( j e-hijb'bah ) , a man of 
Asher, son of Shamer or Shomer, of the 
house of Beriah. 1 Chron. 7 : 34. 

Jehu'cal (je-hu'kal) ( Jehovah is 
able), one of the two persons sent by 
King Zedekiah to Jeremiah to entreat 
his prayers and advice. Jer. 37:3. 

Je'hud (je'hud) {praise), one of the 
towns of the tribe of Dan, Josh. 19:45, 
named between Baalath and Bene-berak. 
It is probably the modern el-Y ehudiyeh 
8 miles from Joppa. 

Jehu'di (je-hu'di) ( a Jew), son of 
Nethaniah, a man employed by the 
princes of Jehoiakim’s court to fetch 
Baruch to read Jeremiah’s denunciation, 
Jer. 36 : 14, and then by the king to 
fetch the volume itself and read it to 
him, vs. 21, 23. (b.c. 605.) 

Jehudi'jah (je-hii-di'jah) {the Jew- 
ess). There is really no such name in 
the Hebrew Bible as that which our 
Authorized Version exhibits at 1 Chron. 
4: 18. If it is a proper name at all, it 
is Ha-jehudijah, like Hammelech, Hak- 
koz, etc. ; and it seems to be rather an 
appellative, “ the Jewess.” 

Je'hush (je'hush), son of Eshek, a 
remote descendant of Saul. 1 Chron. 
8 : 39. R. V. “ Jeush.” 

Jei'el (je-i'el) {treasure of God). 1. 


A Reubenite of the house of Joel. 1 
Chron. 5 : 7. 

2. A Merarite Levite, one of the gate- 
keepers to the sacred tent. 1 Chron. 15 : 
18. His duty was also to play the harp, 
ver. 21, or the psaltery and harp, 16 : 5, 
in the service before the ark. (b.c. 
1042.) 

3. A Gershonite Levite, one of the 
Bene-Asaph, forefather of Jahaziel in 
the time of King Jehoshaphat. 2 Chron. 
20 : 14. 

4. The scribe who kept the account of 
the numbers of King Uzziah’s irregular 
predatory warriors. 2 Chron. 26 : 11. 
(b.c. 760.) 

5. A Gershonite Levite, one of the 
Bene-Elizaphan. 2 Chron. 29 : 13. R. 
V. “ Jeuel.” 

6. One of the chiefs of the Levites in 
the time of Josiah. 2 Chron. 35 : 9. 
(b.c. 623.) 

7. One of the Bene-Adonikam who 
formed part of the caravan of Ezra 
from Babylon to Jerusalem. Ezra 8 : 13. 
R. V. “ Jeuel.” 

8. A layman of the Bene-Nebo, who 

had taken a foreign wife and had to re- 
linquish her. Ezra 10:43. (b.c. 458.) 

Jekab'ze=e! (je-kab'ze-el) {God gath- 
ers), a fuller form of the name of 
Kabzeel, the most remote city of Judah 
on the southern frontier. Neh. 11 : 25. 

Jekame'am (jelc-a-me'am) {who 
gathers the people together), a Levite 
in the time of King David ; one of the 
family of Hebron, the son of Kohath. 1 
Chron. 23 : 19 ; 24 : 23. 

Jekami'ah (jek-a-ml'ah) {may Je- 
hovah strengthen) , son of Shallum, in 
the line of Ahlai. 1 Chron. 2 : 41. 

Jeku'thiel (je-ku'thi-el), a man re- 
corded in the genealogies of Judah. 1 
Chron. 4 : 18. 

Jemi'ma (je-mi'ma) {dove), the eld- 
est of the three daughters born to Job 
after the restoration of his prosperity. 
Job 42 : 14. 

Jemu'el (jem-u'el) {day of God), the 
eldest son of Simeon. Gen. 46:10; Ex. 
6: 15. 

Jeph'thae (jef'-thae), Heb. 11 : 32, the 
Greek form of the name Jephthah. 

Jeph'thah (jef'thah) {he sets free), a 
judge about b.c. 1116-1110. His history 
is contained in Judges 11:1-12:8. He 
was a Gileadite, the son of Gilead and 
a concubine. Driven by the legitimate 
sons from his father’s inheritance, he 
went to Tob and became the head of a 


JEP 


298 


JER 


company of freebooters in a debatable 
land probably belonging to Ammon. 2 
Sam. 10 : 6. This land was east of the 
Jordan and its situation is very uncer- 
tain. It is perhaps in the Hauran. His 
fame as a bold and successful captain 
was carried back to his native Gilead ; 
and when the time was ripe for throw- 
ing off the yoke of Ammon, Jephthah 
consented to become the captain of the 
Gileadite bands, on the condition, sol- 
emnly ratified before the Lord in Miz- 
peh, that in the event of his success 
against Ammon he should still remain 
as their acknowledged head. Vowing 
his vow unto God, Judges 11 : 31, that 
he would offer up as a burnt offering 
whatsoever should come out to meet 
him if successful, he went forth to bat- 
tle. The Ammonites were routed with 
great slaughter; but as the conqueror 
returned to Mizpeh there came out to 
meet him his daughter, his only child, 
with timbrels and dancing. The father 
is heart-stricken ; but the maiden asks 
only for a respite of two months in 
which to prepare for death. When that 
time was ended’ she returned to her 
father, who “ did with her according to 
his vow.” The tribe of Ephraim chal- 
lenged Jephthah’s right to go to war 
as he had done, without their concur- 
rence, against Ammon. He first de- 
feated them, then intercepted the fugi- 
tives at the fords of Jordan, and there 
put forty-two thousand men to the 
sword. He judged Israel six years, and 
died. . It is generally conjectured that 
his jurisdiction was limited to the 
transjordanic region. That the daugh- 
ter of Jephthah was really offered up 
to God in sacrifice is a conclusion which 
it seems impossible to avoid. But there 
is no word of approval, as if such a 
sacrifice was acceptable to God. Jo- 
sephus well says that “ the sacrifice was 
neither sanctioned by the Mosaic ritual 
nor acceptable to God.” The vow and 
the fulfillment were the mistaken con- 
ceptions of a rude chieftain, not acts 
pleasing to God. 

Jephun'neh (je-fun'neh) (it will be 
prepared). 1. Father of Caleb the spy, 
appears to have belonged to an Edom- 
itish tribe called Kenezites, from Kenaz 
their founder. See Num. 13 : 6 , etc. ; 
32:12, etc.; Josh. 14:14, etc.; 1 Chron. 
4: 15. 

2. A descendant of Asher, eldest of 


the three sons of Jether. 1 Chron. 7: 

38. 

Je'rah (je'rah) (the moon), the 
fourth in order of the sons of Joktan. 
Gen. 10 : 26 ; 1 Chron. 1 : 20, and the 
progenitor of a tribe of southern Arabia.. 

Jerah'meel (je-rah-me-el) (may 
God have compassion). 1. First-born 
son of Hezron, the son of Pharez, the 
son of Judah, 1 Chron. 2 : 9, 25-27, 33, 
42, and founder of the family of Jerah- 
meelites. 1 Sam. 27 : 10. 

2. A Merarite Levite, the representa- 
tive of the family of Kish, the son of 
Mahli. 1 Chron. 24 : 29 ; comp. 23 : 21. 

3. Son of Hammelech, who was em- 

ployed by Jehoiakim to make Jeremiah 
and Baruch prisoners, after he had burnt 
the roll of Jeremiah’s prophecy. Jer. 
36:26. (b.c. 605.) 

Jerah'meelites (je-rah'me-el-Ites) 
(descendants of Jerahmeel), The, tribe 
descended from the first of the fore- 
going persons, 1 Sam. 27:10. They 
dwelt in the south of Judah. 

Je'red (je'red) (descent). 1. Son 
of Mahalaleel and father of Enoch. 1 
Chron. 1 : 2. 

2. One of the descendants of Judah 
signalized as the “ father ” — i. e. the 
founder — “ of Gedor.” 1 Chron. 4 : 18. 

Jer'emai (jer'e-mai), a layman, one 
of the Bene-Hashum, who was com- 
pelled by Ezra to put away his foreign 
wife. Ezra 10:33. (b.c. 458.) 

Jeremi'ah (jer-e-mi'ah) (whom Je- 
hovah appoints), was “the son of Hil- 
kiah of the priests that were in An- 
athoth.” Jer. 1 : 1. 

1. History. — He was called very 
young (b.c. 626) to the prophetic office, 
and prophesied forty-two years ; but we 
have hardly any mention of him during 
the eighteen years between his call and 
Josiah’s death, or during the short reign 
of Jehoahaz. During the reigns of Je- 
hoiakim and Jehoiachin, b.c. 607-597, he 
opposed the Egyptian party, then domi- 
nant in Jerusalem, and maintained that 
the only way of safety lay in accepting 
the supremacy of the Chaldeans. He 
was accordingly accused of treachery, 
and men claiming to be prophets had 
their “word of Jehovah” to set against 
his. Jer. 14: 13 ; 23 : 17. As the danger 
from the Chaldeans became more threat- 
ening, the persecution against Jeremiah 
grew, hotter, ch. 18. The people sought 
his life; then follows the scene in Jer. 


JER 


290 


JER 


19 : 10-13. He was set, however, “ as a 
fenced brazen wall,” ch. 15 : 20, and went 
on with his work, reproving king and 
nobles and people. The danger which 
Jeremiah had so long foretold at last 
came near. First Jehoiakim, and after- 
wards his successor Jehoiachin, were 
carried into exile, 2 Kings 24; but 
Zedekiah, b.c. 597-586, who was ap- 
pointed by Nebuchadnezzar, was more 
friendly to the prophet, though power- 
less to help him. The approach of an 
Egyptian army, and the consequent de- 
parture of the Chaldeans, made the 
position of Jeremiah full of danger, and 
he sought to effect his escape from the 
city; but he was seized and finally 
thrown into a prison-pit to die, but was 
rescued. On the return of the Chaldean 
army he showed his faith in God’s 
promises, and sought to encourage the 
people by purchasing the field at Ana- 
thoth which his kinsman Hanameel 
wished to get rid of. Jer. 32:6-9. At 
last the blow came. The city was taken, 
the temple burnt. The king and his 
princes shared the fate of Jehoiachin. 
The prophet gave utterance to his sor- 
row in the Lamentations. After the 
capture* of Jerusalem, b.c. 586, by the 
Chaldeans, we find Jeremiah receiving 
better treatment ; but after the death of 
Gedaliah, the people, disregarding his 
warnings, took refuge in Egypt, carry- 
ing the prophet with them. In captivity 
his words were sharper and stronger 
than ever. He did not shrink, even 
there, from speaking of the Chaldean 
king once more as “ the servant of Je- 
hovah.” Jer. 43:10. After this all is 
uncertain, but he probably died in 
Egypt. 

2. Character . — Canon Cook says of 
Jeremiah, “ His character is most inter- 
esting. We find him sensitive to a most 
painful degree, timid, shy, hopeless, de- 
sponding, constantly complaining and 
dissatisfied with the course of events, 
but never flinching from duty. . . . 

Timid in resolve, he was unflinching in 
execution ; as fearless when he had to 
face the whole world as he was dispir- 
ited and prone to murmuring when 
alone with God. Judged by his own es- 
timate of himself, he was feeble, and 
his mission a failure ; really, in the 
hour of action and when duty called 
him, he was in very truth ‘a defenced 
city,’ and an iron pillar, and brazen 


walls against the whole land,’ ch. 1 : 18. 
He was a noble example of the triumph 
of the moral over the physical nature.” 

It is not strange that he was despond- 
ing when we consider his circumstances. 
He saw the nation going straight to ir- 
remediable ruin, and turning a deaf ear 
to all warnings. “ A reign of terror had 
commenced (in the preceding reign), 
during which not only the prophets but 
all who were distinguished for religion 
and virtue were cruelly murdered.” 
“ The nation tried to extirpate the re- 
ligion of Jehovah;” “ Idolatry was open- 
ly established,” “ and such was the uni- 
versal dishonesty that no man trusted 
another, and society was utterly disor- 
ganized.” How could one who saw the 
nation about to reap the awful harvest 
they had been sowing, and yet had a 
vision of what they might have been and 
might yet be, help indulging in “ Lamen- 
tations ” ? 

Jeremi'ah (jer-e-rm'ah). Seven other 
persons bearing the same name as the 
prophet are mentioned in the Old Tes- 
tament: — 1. Jeremiah of Libnah, father 
of Hamutal wife of Josiah. 2 Kings 
23 : 31. 

2, 3, 4. Three warriors — two of the 
tribe of Gad — in David’s army. 1 
Chron. 12 : 4, 10, 13. 

5. One of the “ mighty men of valor ” 
of the transjordanic half-tribe of Ma- 
nasseh. 1 Chron. 5 : 24. 

6. A priest of high rank, head of the 
second or third of the twenty-one 
courses which are apparently enumerated 
in Neh. 10:2-8; 12: 1, 12. 

7. The father of Jazaniah the Rechab- 
ite. Jer. 35 : 3. 

Jeremiah, Book of. “There can be 
little doubt that the book of Jeremiah 
grew out of the roll which Baruch wrote 
down at the prophet’s mouth in the 
fourth year of Jehoiakim. ch. 36. This 
being destroyed by the king was imme- 
diately rewritten with additions. Ap- 
parently the prophets kept written rec- 
ords of their predictions, and collected 
into larger volumes such of them as 
were intended for permanent use.” 

In the present order we have two 
great divisions : — I. Chs. 1-45. Proph- 
ecies delivered at various times, directed 
mainly to Judah, or connected with Jere- 
miah’s personal history. II. Chs. 46- 
51. Prophecies connected with other 
nations. Looking more closely into each 


300 



THE DOUBLE LINE OF WALLS AT JERICHO. 

Excavated by the German Oriental Society 


JER 


301 


JER 


of these divisions, we have the follow- 
ing sections : 1. Chs. 1-21, including 

prophecies from the thirteenth year of 
Josiah to the fourth of Jehoiakim; ch. 
21 belongs to the later period. 2 Chs. 
22-25. Shorter prophecies, delivered at 
different times, against the kings of Ju- 
dah and the false prophets. Ch. 25 : 13, 
14 evidently marks the conclusion of a 
series of prophecies ; and that which fol- 
lows, ch. 25 : 15-38, the germ of the 
fuller predictions in chs. 46-49, has been 
placed here as a kind of completion to 
the prophecy of the seventy years and 
the subsequent fall of Babylon. 3. Chs. 
26-28. The two great prophecies of the 
fall of Jerusalem, and the history con- 
nected with them. 4. Chs. 29-31. The 
message of comfort for the exiles in 
Babylon. 5. Chs. 32-44. The history 
of the last two years before the capture 
of Jerusalem, and of Jeremiah’s work 
in them and in the period that followed. 
6. Chs. 46-51. The prophecies against 
foreign nations, ending with the great 
prediction against Babylon. 7. The 
supplementary narrative of ch. 52. 

Jeremi'as (jer-e-mi'as), the Greek 
form of the name -of Jeremiah the 
prophet. Matt. 16 : 14. 

Jer'emoth ( jer' e-moth) ( heights ). 

1. A Benjamite chief, a son of the 
house of Beriah of Elpaal. 1 Chron. 
8:14; comp. 12 to 18. 

2. A Merarite Levite, son of Mushi. 
1 Chron. 23 : 23. 

3. Son of Heman; head of the fif- 
teenth course of musicians in the di- 
vine service. 1 Chron. 25 : 22. 

4. One of the sons of Elam, and, 

5. One of the sons of Zattu, who had 
taken strange wives. Ezra 10 : 26, 27. 
(b.c. 458.) 

6. The name which appears in the 
same list as “ and Ramoth,” ver. 29. 

Jer'emy (jer'e-me), the prophet Jere- 
miah. Matt. 2 : 17 ; 27 : 9. 

Jeri'ah (je-ri'ah), a Kohathite Levite, 
chief of the great house of Hebron 
when David organized the service. 1 
Chron. 23 : 19 ; 24 : 23. The same man 
is mentioned again as Jerijah. 1 
Chron. 26 : 31. 

Jer'ibai (jer'i-bai) (contentious) , one 
of the Bene-Elnaam, named among the 
heroes of David’s guard. 1 Chron. 11 : 
46. 

Jer'icho (jer'T-ko) ( place of fra- 
grance), v a city of high antiquity, sit- 
uated in a plain traversed by the Jordan, 


and exactly over against where that 
river was crossed by the Israelites un- 
der Joshua. Josh. 3 : 16. It was five 
miles west of the Jordan and seven 
miles northwest of the Dead Sea. It 
had a king. Its walls were so consider- 
able that houses were built upon them, 
ch. 2 : 15. The spoil that was found in 
it betokened its affluence. Jericho is 
first mentioned as the city to which the 
two spies were sent by Joshua from 
Shittim. Josh. 2 : 1-21. It was assigned 
to Benjamin, and stood on the boundary 
between Ephraim and Benjamin, ch. 18 : 
21, and from this time a long interval 
elapses before Jericho appears again 
upon the scene. Its second foundation 
under Hiel the Bethelite is recorded in 
1 Kings 16 : 34. Once rebuilt, Jericho 
rose again slowly into consequence. In 
its immediate vicinity the sons of the 
prophets sought retirement from the 
world ; Elisha “ healed the spring of the 
waters and over against it, beyond 
Jordan, Elijah “went up by a whirl- 
wind into heaven.” 2 Kings 2 : 1-22. 
In its plains Zedekiah fell into the 
hands of the Chaldeans. 2 Kings 25 : 
5; Jer. 39:5. In the return under 
Zerubbabel the “children of Jericho,” 
345 in number, are comprised. Ezra 2 : 
34; Neh. 7: 36. Under Herod the Great 
it again became an important place. He 
fortified it and built a number of new 
palaces, which he named after his 
friends. If he did not make Jericho 
his habitual residence, he at last re- 
tired thither to die, and it was in the 
amphitheatre of Jericho that the news 
of his death was announced to the as- 
sembled soldiers and people by Salome. 
Soon afterward the palace was burnt 
and the town plundered by one Simon, 
slave to Herod; but Archelaus rebuilt 
the former sumptuously, and founded a 
new town on the plain, that bore his 
own name; and, most important of all, 
diverted water from a village called 
Neaera to irrigate the plain which he 
had planted with palms. Thus Jericho 
was once more “ a city of palms ” when 
our Lord visited it. Here he restored 
sight to the blind. Matt. 20 : 30 ; Mark 
10 : 46 ; Luke 18 : 35. Here the descend- 
ant of Rahab did not disdain the hos- 
pitality of Zacchaeus the publican. Fi- 
nally, between Jerusalem and Jericho 
was laid the scene of his story of the 
good Samaritan. The city was de- 
stroyed by Vespasian. The site of an- 


JER 


302 


JER 


cient (the first) Jericho is placed by 
Dr. Robinson in the immediate neigh- 
borhood of the fountain of Elisha; and 
that of the second (the city of the 
New Testament and of Josephus) at 
the opening of the Wady Kelt (Cher- 
ith), half an hour from the fountain. 


of the elder Caleb’s wives. 1 Chron. 2; 
18. 

Jerobo'am (jer-o-bo'am) ( whose 
people are many). 1. The first king of 
the divided kingdom of Israel, b.c. 987- 
915, was the son of an Ephraimite of 
the name of Nebat. He was raised by 



THE TELL OF JERICHO FROM THE WEST. 

Showing the excavations made by the German Oriental Society. 


The village identified with Jericho lies 
a mile and a half from the ancient site, 
and is called er Riha. It contains prob- 
ably 300 inhabitants, indolent and licen- 
tious, and about 40 houses. Dr. Olin 
says it is the “ meanest and foulest vil- 
lage of Palestine;” yet the soil of the 
plain is of unsurpassed fertility. 

Je'riel (je'ri-el) ( founded by God), 
a man of Issachar, one of the six heads 
of the house of Tola. 1 Chron. 7 : 2. 

Jeri'jah (je-ri'jah) {founded by Je- 
hovah). [See Jeriah.] 

Jer'imoth (jer'i-moth) {heights). 1. 
Son or descendant of Bela. 1 Chron. 
7 : 7. He is perhaps the same as 

2. who joined David at Ziklag. 1 

Chron. 12: 5. (b.c. 1057.) 

3. A son of Becher, 1 Chron. 7 : 8, and 
head of a Benjamite house. 

4. Son of Mushi, the son of Merari. 

1 Chron. 24: 30. [Jeremoth, 2.] 

5. Son of Heman, head of the fif- 
teenth ward of musicians. 1 Chron. 25 : 
4, 22. [Jeremoth, 3.] 

6. Son of Azriel, ruler of the tribe of 
Naphtali in the reign of David. 1 
Chron. 27 : 19. R. V. Jeremoth. 

7. Son of King David, whose daugh- 
ter Mahalath was one of the wives of 
Rehoboam, her cousin Abihail being the 
other. 2 Chron. 11 : 18. 

8. A Levite in the reign of Hezekiah. 

2 Chron. 31 : 13. 

Jer'ioth (jer'i-oth) {curtains), one 


Solomon to the rank of superintendent 
over the taxes and labors exacted from 
the tribe of Ephraim. 1 Kings 11 : 28. 
He made the most of his position, and 
at last was perceived by Solomon to be 
aiming at the monarchy. He was leav- 
ing Jerusalem, when he was met by 
Ahijah the prophet, who gave him the 
assurance that, on condition of obe- 
dience to his laws, God would estab- 
lish for him a kingdom and dynasty 
equal to that of David. 1 Kings 11 : 
29-40. The attempts of Solomon to 
cut short Jeroboam’s designs occasioned 
his flight into Egypt. There he was 
well received, found a patron in Shishak 
and married Ano, the elder sister of the 



A SEAL FOUND AT MEGIDDO. 

With the legend, “ Of Shema, servant of Jer- 
oboam ” (perhaps Jeroboam II). 

Egyptian queen Tahpenes. On hearing 
of the death of Solomon he returned 
to Shechem, where took place the con- 
ference with Rehoboam [Rehoboam], 



JER 


303 


JER 


and the final revolt which ended in the 
elevation of Jeroboam to the throne of 
the northern kingdom. Now occurred 
the fatal error of his policy. Fearing 
that the yearly pilgrimages to Jerusa- 
lem would undo all the work which he 
effected, he took the bold step of rend- 
ing the religious unity of the nation, 
which was as yet unimpaired, asunder. 
He caused two golden calves for the 
worship of Jehovah to be made and set 
up at the two extremities of his king- 
dom, one at Dan and the other at Bethel. 
It was while dedicating the altar at 
Bethel that a prophet from Judah sud- 
denly appeared, who denounced the altar, 
and foretold its desecration by Josiah, 
and violent overthrow. The king, 
stretching out his hand to arrest the 
prophet, felt it withered and paralyzed, 
and only at the prophet’s prayer saw 
it restored, and acknowledged his divine 
mission. Jeroboam was at constant war 
with the house of Judah, but the only 
act distinctly recorded is a battle with 
Abijah, son of Rehoboam, in which he 
was defeated. The calamity was se- 
verely felt ; he never recovered from 
the blow, and soon after died, in the 
22d year of his reign, 2 Chron. 13 : 20, 
and was buried in his ancestral sepul- 
chre. 1 Kings 14 : 20. 

2. Jeroboam II., the son of Joash, the 
fourth of the dynasty of Jehu. (b.c. 
782-741.) The most prosperous of the 
kings of Israel. He repelled the Syrian 
invaders, took their capital city Damas- 
cus, 2 Kings 14 : 28, and recovered the 
whole of the ancient dominion from 
Hamath to the Dead Sea, ch. 14 : 25. 
Ammon and Moab were reconquered, 
and the transjordanic tribes were re- 
stored to their territory, 2 Kings 13 : 5 ; 
1 Chron. 5 : 17-22 ; but it was merely 
an outward restoration. 

Jer'oham (jer'o-ham). 1. Father of 
Elkanah, the father of Samuel, of the 
house of Kohath. 1 Sam. 1 : 1 ; 1 Chron. 
6 : 27, 34. 

2. A Benjamite, and the founder of a 
family of Bene-Jeroham. 1 Chron. 8: 
27. Probably the same as 

3. Father (or progenitor) of Ibneiah. 
1 Chron. 9:8; comp. 3 and 9. 

4. A descendant of Aaron, of the 
house of Immer, the leader of the six- 
teenth course of priests; son of Pashur, 
and father of Adaiah. 1 Chron. 9 : 12. 
He appears to be mentioned again in 
Neh. 11 : 12. 


5. Jeroham of Gedor, some of whose 
sons joined David at Ziklag. 1 Chron. 
12: 7. 

6. A Danite, whose son or descendant 
Azareel was head of his tribe in the 
time of David. 1 Chron. 27 : 22. 

7. Father of Azariah, one of the “ cap- 
tains of hundreds ” in the time of Atha- 
liah. 2 Chron. 23 : 1. 

Jerub'ba=al (je-rub'ba-al), or Jerub= 
ba'al ( let Baal plead), the surname of 
Gideon, which he acquired in conse- 
quence of destroying the altar of Baal, 
when his father defended him from the 
vengeance of the Abi-ezrites. Judges 6: 
32. 

Jerub'besheth (je-rub'be-sheth) ( let 
shame plead), another name of Gideon. 
2 Sam. 11: 21. 

Jer'uel (jer'u-el) ( founded by God), 
The wilderness of, the place in which 
Jehoshaphat was informed by Jahaziel 
the Levite that he should encounter the 
hordes of Ammon, Moab and the Me- 
hunims. 2 Chron. 20 : 16. It was in 
the vicinity of En-gedi. 

Jerusalem ( the habitation of peace 
or the city of peace). The discussions 
of the meaning of the name have been 
superseded by the discovery among the 
Tel el-Amarna clay-tablet letters sent 
between Jerusalem and Egypt b.c. 1500, 
some of which show that the city at that 
time was called Jerusalem, sometimes 
shortened into Salem, and that Salem 
meant Peace. These letters, 7 or 8 in 
all, describe her condition in plaintive 
detail. 

Importance. Jerusalem stands first 
and supreme among all the cities of the 
world in its influence upon the hopes 
and destinies of mankind. Athens and 
Rome come next. The situation and 
surroundings of Jerusalem help us to 
understand much of her history as given 
in the Bible. 

Site and situation. Jerusalem 
stands in latitude 31° 46' 35" north, the 
same latitude as the northern end of 
the Dead Sea, and longitude 35° 13' 30" 
east of Greenwich. It is 32 miles dis- 
tant from the sea and 18 from the Jor- 
dan, 20 from Hebron and 36 from Sa- 
maria. 

“ It was on the ridge, the broadest 
and most strongly-marked ridge of the 
backbone of the complicated hills which 
extend through the whole country from 
the plain of Esdraelon to the desert." 

To convey an idea of the position of 


JER 


304 


JER 


Jerusalem, we may say, roughly, that 
the city occupies the southern termina- 
tion of a table-land which is cut off 
from the country round it on its west, 
south and east sides by ravines more 
than usually deep and precipitous. 
These ravines leave the level of the 
table-land, the one on the west and the 
other on the northeast of the city, and 
fall rapidly until they form a junction 
below its southeast corner. The eastern 
one — the valley of the Kedron, com- 
monly called the valley of Jehoshaphat 
— runs nearly straight from north to 
south. But the western one — the valley 


promontory thus encircled is itself di- 
vided by a longitudinal ravine running 
up it from south to north, called the 
valley of the Tyropoeon, rising grad- 
ually from the south, like the external 
ones, till at last it arrives at the level 
of the upper plateau, dividing the cen- 
tral mass into two unequal portions. Of 
these two, that on the west is the higher 
and more massive. 

Just north of the city the central pla- 
teau turns to the west, and a spur runs 
toward the east and thence southeast 
and south at about 2680 feet, culminating 
in the Mount of Olives, and thence 



JERUSALEM FROM THE NORTH. 


of Hinnom — runs south for a time, and 
then takes a sudden bend to the east 
until it meets the valley of Jehoshaphat, 
after which the two rush off as one to 
the Dead Sea. How sudden is their 
descent may be gathered from the fact 
that the level at the point of junction 
— about a mile and a quarter from the 
starting-point of each — is more than 600 
feet below that of the upper plateau 
from which they began their descent. 
So steep is the fall of the ravines, so 
trench-like their character, and so close 
do they keep to the promontory at whose 
feet they run, as to leave on the be- 
holder almost the impression of the 
ditch at the foot of a fortress rather 
than of valleys formed by nature. The 


southward into a hill traditionally known 
as the Hill of Evil Counsel. These are 
the “ mountains round about Jerusalem,” 
forming a rough triangle of which the 
main ridge forms the western side. 
“ The space they enclose is about 2% 
miles north and south, by 1% at its 
greatest breadth.” 

Defences of the city. Jerusalem 
was an almost impregnable Gibraltar. 
The steep sides of the ravines on the 
east, the south and the west provided 
bulwarks against siege. The north was 
the only direction from which a foe 
could attack the city under the condi- 
tions of ancient warfare. 

The city was situated outside of the 
great thoroughfares of Palestine 








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JER 


305 


JER 


through which passed the caravans of 
commerce and the march of armies be- 
tween Assyria and Egypt. 

Another peculiarity of the defence of 
Jerusalem is the fact that the city is 
supplied by water from its one peren- 
nial spring, and numerous cisterns and 
reservoirs receiving the rain-fall, the re- 
gion around it where a besieging army 
would encamp, furnishes to the be- 
siegers not much food, and scarcely any 
water. Geo. Adam Smith, in his Jeru- 
salem, says : “ The only point in the 

environs of the city where the lower, 
harder rocks now throw up water to the 
surface is in the Kidron valley imme- 
diately under the wall of Ophel; and 
this . supply, secured for the City even 
in times of siege by a tunnel through 
the rock, was supplemented by the reser- 
voirs for which Jerusalem has always 
been famous, and which were fed from 
the rain caught upon the multitude of 
her roofs. These . gave the City when 
blockaded an advantage over most of 
her besiegers, who found no springs in 
her immediate neighborhood, and in sev- 
eral cases were ignorant of any even 
at a distance. To which fact we may 
attribute the brevity and failure of sev- 
eral blockades, as well as the unwilling- 
ness of every great invader to come 
near to Jerusalem till he had made sure 
of his base of supplies in the lower 
country round about.” 

The accompanying section across 
Palestine from west to east through 
Jerusalem, will help one to understand 
her defensible position. 

The source of her greatness. Here 
was a city in a rocky out-of-the-way 
situation, with almost no commerce or 
business, with some natural resources, 
but bare of many of the necessaries of 
life, with some gardens and orchards, 
but with no rich surrounding farm- 
land, avoided by the great avenues of 
trade. What has made her so great? 
She was the chosen city of the one 
true God, the centre of His worship and 
laws and revelation, with a mission to 
reveal Him to the world; the one great 
light in a world of darkness. Here His 
prophets taught. Here was the temple 
that expressed His character and here 
was the training and the prophecies that 
led up to the great central fact of human 
history, the coming of Jesus Christ, the 
scene of His Life, His Passion, His 
Cross, and His Grave. “Jerusalem re- 
20 


z 

i 

1 




Outline showing the strong position of Jerusalem. 


JER 


306 


JER 


mained the religious centre of the earth, 
the home of faith, the goal of pilgrim- 
ages, the original of the Heavenly City 
which would one day descend from 
God among men.” 

Her experiences of affliction. 
“ The bare catalogue of the disasters 
which have overtaken Jerusalem is 
enough to paralyze her topographer. It 
is singular, says Robinson, how amid all 
the terrific earthquakes with which 
Syria has been afflicted for so many 
centuries, the city of Jerusalem has 


lapidation of prominent edifices ; about 
eighteen reconstructions, embellishments 
and large extensions; the additions of 
suburbs, and the abandonment of parts 
of the habited area. There were also 
two intervals of silence, after Nebuchad- 
nezzar and after Hadrian, during which 
the city lay almost, if not altogether 
desolate; five abrupt passages from one 
religion to another.” — George Adam 
Smith’s Jerusalem. 

Walls. The walls, built at different 
times, are some of them difficult to 



MOSQUE EL AKSA. 

In the precincts of the ancient temple. 


been comparatively spared. Still the 
immunity of Jerusalem was only com- 
parative. Besides being visited at ir- 
regular intervals by fits and starts of 
earthquake, the city has suffered several 
convulsions of disastrous magnitude. 
One of these happened in Uzziah’s 
reign. The account in Matthew’s gos- 
pel of what happened at the Crucifixion 
at least implies the liability of Jeru- 
salem to severe shocks during the first 
century of our era. 

“ Besides the earthquakes, the City has 
endured nearly twenty sieges and as- 
saults of the utmost severity, some in- 
volving considerable, others a total de- 
struction of her walls and buildings; 
almost twenty more blockades or mili- 
tary occupations, with the wreck or di- 


trace. But the three great walls can 
best be understood by the accompanying 
plan. 

Zion or Sion. The hill on the east, 
called Mount Moriah in 2 Chron. 3 : 1, 
the threshing floor which David bought 
of Oman the Jebusite, became the Tem- 
ple Mount. The southern part was 
called Ophel. Most scholars now re- 
gard this or the whole Temple hill as 
the famous hill of Zion, David’s city, 
his original fortress which he captured 
from the Jebusites. Till a few years 
ago it was the general opinion that the 
southwest hill, the most massive and 
dominant of the heights of Jerusalem, 
was Zion, but the trend of opinion is 
now decidedly toward the whole or the 
southern part of the Temple hill. How- 



JER 


307 


JER 


ever, Hon. Selah Merrill, our Consul 
in Jerusalem for many years, in his 
book on Jerusalem, published in 1908, 
locates Zion on the western hill. Zion 
became . also a general name for the 
whole city of Jerusalem, and the daugh- 
ter of Zion was the personified city and 
her population. 

The Ccenaculum or Upper Room, 
where the last supper was held, where 
the disciples met after the resurrection 
of Jesus, and where were the first scenes 
of the day of Pentecost, probably the 


of London. The city receives this with- 
in seven months of the year, a quarter 
of it in January. 

The private citizens had cisterns, 
which were supplied by the rain from 
the roofs; and the city had a water sup- 
ply “perhaps the most complete and 
extensive ever undertaken by a city/’ 
and which would enable it to endure 
a long siege. These great reservoirs, 7 
miles from Jerusalem, were a part of the 
water supply of the city. They are 
known as Solomon’s Pools. The largest 



APPROACH TO JERUSALEM. 

From the railroad station on the southwest. 


house of Mary, the mother of Mark. 
Sanday feels very certain that the place 
on the western hill, now occupied by 
Moslem buildings, is the site of the an- 
cient Ccenaculum, surrounded by seven 
synagogues, and where “ The Little 
Church ” was formed. It was then in 
the most fashionable part of Jerusalem. 

The Water Supply. Jerusalem has 
only one natural perennial spring, the 
Fountain of the Virgin. All other 
sources of supply came from the rain- 
fall, stored in private cisterns, public 
reservoirs, and three aqueducts. The 
average rainfall of Jerusalem is rather 
over 25 inches, about as much as that 


is 200 yards long, 60 yards wide and 50 
feet deep. To-day they are useless. It 
is not probable that they date back to 
the time of Solomon, and are generally 
considered Roman works. 

The accompanying plan of Jerusalem, 
will be the best guide to the reservoirs 
of the city. 

The Pool of Bethesda is generally 
regarded as situated near the Church 
of St. Anne, in the northeast, while 
others are equally strenuous in favor of 
the Virgin’s Fountain with its inter- 
mittent flow. 

Burial-grounds. — The main cemetery 
of the city seems from an early date to 




308 



JERUSALEM. 

The Jaffa Gate. 





JER 


309 


JER 


'have been where it is still — on the steep 
slopes of the valley of the Kedron. The 
site of the Tombs of the Kings is still 
disputed. The royal sepulchres were 
probably chambers containing separate 
recesses for the successive kings. 

Gardens . — The king’s gardens of 
David and Solomon seem to have been 
in the bottom formed by the confluence 
of the Kedron and Hinnom. Neh. 3 : 15. 
The Mount of Olives, as its name and 
the names of various places upon it 
seem to imply, was a fruitful spot. At 


26 : 9 ; Jer. 31 : 38 ; Zech. 14 : 10. 4. Gate 
of Joshua, governor of the city. 2 
Kings 23 : 8. 5. Gate between the two 
walls. 2 Kings 25:4; Jer. 39:4. 6. 
Horse gate. Neh. 3:28; 2 Chron. 23: 
15; Jer. 31:40. 7. Ravine gate (i. e. 

opening on ravine of Hinnom). 2 
Chron. 26:9; Neh. 2:13, 15; 3:13. 8. 
Fish gate. 2 Chron. 33:14; Neh. 3:3; 
Zeph. 1:10. 9. Dung gate. Neh. 2: 
13; 3:13. 10. Sheep gate. Neh. 3:1, 

32; 12:39. 11. East gate. Neh. 3: 29. 

12. Miphkad. Neh. 3:31. 13. Fountain 



FORTRESS OF ANTONIA. 

Site of the palace of Pilate. 


its foot was situated the garden of 
Gethsemane. At the time of the final 
siege the space north of the wall of 
Agrippa was covered with gardens, 
groves and plantations of fruit trees, 
enclosed by hedges and walls; and to 
level these was one of Titus’ first opera- 
tions. We know that the gate Gen- 
nath (i. e. “ of gardens ”) opened on 
this side of the city. 

Gates . — The following is a list of the 
gates named in the Bible and by Jo- 
sephus, with the references to their oc- 
currence : — 1. Gate of Ephraim. 2 
Chron. 25:23; Neh. 8:16; 12:39.. This 
is probably the same as the — 2. Gate of 
Benjamin. Jer. 20 : 2 ; 37 : 13 ; Zech. 14 : 
10. If so, it was 400 cubits distant from 
the — 3. Corner gate. 2 Chron. 25 : 23 ; 


gate (Siloam?). Neh. 12:37. 14. 

Water gate. Neh. 12: 37. 15. Old gate. 

Neh. 12:39. 16. Prison gate. Neh. 12: 
39. 17. Gate Harsith (perhaps the Sun; 

Authorized Version East gate). Jer. 
19 : 2. 18. First gate. Zech. 14 : 10. 19. 

Gate Gennath (gardens). Jos. B. J. v. 
4, § 4. 20. Essenes’ gate. Jos. B. J. 4, 
§ 2. To these should be added the 
following gates of the temple : — Gate 
Sur, 2 Kings 11:6; called also gate of 
foundation. 2 Chron. 23 : 5. Gate of 
the guard, or behind the guard, 2 Kings 
11 : 6, 19 ; called the high gate. 2 Kings 
15:35; 2 Chron. 23:20; 27:3. Gate 
Shallecheth. 1 Chron. 26 : 16. At pres- 
ent the chief gates are — 1. The Zion’s 
gate and the dung gate, in the south 
wall; 2. St. Stephen’s gate and the gol- 



JER 


310 


JER 


den gate (now walled up), in the east 
wall ; 3. The Damascus gate and 4. Her- 
od’s gate, in the north wall ; and 5. The 
Jaffa gate, in the west wall. 

■Population .— The ordinary population 
of Jerusalem in Christ’s time was doubt- 
less about 25,000 to 30,000. During the 
festivals the number was greatly in- 
creased. There would be supposedly 
some 60,000 to 70,000 in the city when 
Titus came against it, as in consequence 
of the Passover, and of the Idumeans 
being admitted, the city was densely pop- 
ulated. Josephus says that at the siege 
of Jerusalem the population was 3,000,- 
000; but Tacitus’ statement that it was 
600,000 is nearer the truth. This last 



THE TRADITIONAL VIA DOLOROSA. 

By which Jesus was led to his crucifixion. 

is certainly within the limits of possi- 
bility. 

Streets, houses, etc . — Of the nature of 
these in the ancient city we have only 
the most scattered notices.' The word 


“street” in the A. V. of 2 Chron. 29: 
4; 32:6; Ezra 10:9; Neh. 8:1, 3, 16, 
in all cases translated in the Revised 
Version “ the broad place ” ; and the 
“ open place of the first gate toward 
the east,” must have been not “ streets,” 
in our sense of the word, so much as 
the open spaces found in eastern towns 
round the inside of the gates. Streets, 
properly so called, there were, Jer. 5:1; 
11:13, etc.; but the name of only one, 
“the bakers’ street,” Jer. 37:21, is pre- 
served to us. The Via Dolorosa, or 
street of sorrows, is a part of the street 
through which Christ is supposed to 
have been led on his way to his cruci- 
fixion. To the houses we have even 
less clue ; but there is no reason to sup- 
pose that in either houses or streets 
the ancient Jerusalem differed very ma- 
terially from the modern. 

Annals of the city. — If, as is probable, 
Salem is the same as Jerusalem, the 
first mention of Jerusalem is in Gen. 
14 : 18, about b.c. 1900. It is next men- 
tioned in Josh. 10 : 1, b.c. 1451. The 
first siege appears to have taken place 
almost immediately after the death of 
Joshua — about 1427 b.c. Judah and 
Simeon “ fought against it and took it, 
and smote it with the edge of the sword, 
and set the city on fire.” Judges 1:8. 
In the fifteen centuries which elapsed 
between this siege and the siege and 
destruction of the city by Titus, a.d. 
70, the city was besieged no fewer 
than seventeen times ; twice it was razed 
to the ground, and on two other occa- 
sions its walls were levelled. In this re- 
spect it stands -without a parallel in any 
city, ancient or modern. David captured 
the city very soon after becoming king 
of all Israel, and made it his capital, for- 
tified and enlarged it. Solomon adorned 
the city with beautiful buildings, includ- 
ing the temple, but made no additions to 
its walls. The city was taken by the 
Philistines and Arabians in the reign 
of Jehoram, b.c. 844, and by the Israel- 
ites in the reign of Amaziah, b.c. 782. 
It was thrice taken by Nebuchadnezzar, 
in the years b.c. 607, 597 and 586, in the 
last of which it was utterly destroyed. 
Its restoration commenced under Cyrus, 
b.c. 538, and was completed under Arta- 
xerxes I., who issued commissions for 
this purpose to Ezra, b.c. 457, and Ne- 
hemiah, b.c. 445. In B.c. 332 it was cap- 
tured by Alexander the Great. Under 
the Ptolemies and the Seleucidae the 



JER 


311 


JER 


town was prosperous, until Antiochus 
Epiphanes sacked it, B.c. 170. In conse- 
quence of his tyranny, the Jews rose 
under the Maccabees, and Jerusalem be- 
came again independent, and retained 
its position until its capture by the Ro- 
mans under Pompey, b.c. 63. The tem- 
ple was subsequently plundered by 
Crassus, b.c. 54, and the city by the 
Parthians, b.c. 40. Herod took up his 


a church on the supposed site of the 
holy sepulchre, a.d. 336. Justinian 
added several churches and hospitals 
about a.d. 532. It was taken by the 
Persians under Chosroes II. in a.d. 614. 
The dominion of the Christians in the 
holy city was now rapidly drawing to 
a close. In a.d. 637 the patriarch So- 
phronius surrendered to the khalif Omar 
in person. With the fall of the Abas- 



THE SO-CALLED TOWER OF DAVID. 


residence there as soon as he was ap- 
pointed sovereign, and restored the tem- 
ple with great magnificence. On the 
death of Herod it became the residence 
of the Roman procurators, who occupied 
the fortress of Antonia. The greatest 
siege that it sustained, however, was at 
the hands of the Romans under Titus, 
when it held out nearly five months, and 
when the town was completely destroyed, 
a.d. 70. Hadrian restored it as a Roman 
colony, a.d. 136, and among other build- 
ings erected a temple of Jupiter Cap- 
itolinus on the site of the temple. He 
gave to it the name of yElia Capitolina, 
thus combining his own family name 
with that of the Capitoline Jupiter. The 
emperor Constantine established the 
Christian character by the erection of 


sides the holy city passed into the hands 
of the Fatimite dynasty, under whom 
the sufferings of the Christians in Jeru- 
salem reached their height. About 1077 
it fell into the hands of the Seljuk 
Turks, and the cruelty of these rulers 
led to the Crusades. It was taken by 
the Crusaders in 1099, and for eighty- 
eight years Jerusalem remained in the 
hands of the Christians. During this 
time the city increased greatly in pros- 
perity, and was filled with churches and 
palaces, many' of which still remain. 
In 1187 it was retaken by Saladin after 
a siege of several weeks. From 1229 
to 1247 it was at least nominally in 
the possession of the Christians, but 
from 1247 to 1517 it was subject to the 
Sultan of Egypt. In 1517 it passed un- 



JER 


312 


JER 




der the sway of the Ottoman sultan 
Selim I., whose successor Suliman built 
the present walls of the city in 1542. 
In 1825 there was a revolt against Tur- 
kish rule in the city. In 1832 it was 


taken by Mohammed Ali from Egypt, 
and in 1840, after the bombardment of 
Acre-, it was again restored to the 
Turks. 


CHURCH OF THE HOLY SEPULCHRE, 

Modern Jerusalem, called by the 
Arabs el Khuds, is built upon the ruins 
of ancient Jerusalem. The accumulated 
rubbish of centuries is very great, there 


being an average depth of 30 to 40 feet 
throughout the whole town, while east 
of the temple in one place the shaft 
was sunk 120 feet before reaching the 
original rock. The modern wall, built 
in 1542, forms an irregular 
quadrangle about 2% miles 
in circuit, with seven gates 
and 34 towers. It varies in 
height from 20 to 60 feet. 
In the older parts of the 
city especially the streets 
are narrow, ungraded, 
crooked, and often filthy. 
The houses are of hewn 
stone, with flat roofs and 
frequent domes. There are 
few windows toward the 
street. 

The most beautiful part 
of modern Jerusalem is the former 
temple area (Mount Moriah), “with its 
lawns and cypress trees, and its noble 
dome rising high above the wall.” This 
enclosure, now called Ha- 
ram esh-Sherif, is 35 acres 
in extent, and is nearly a 
mile in circuit. 

On the site of the an- 
cient temple stands the 
Mosque of Omar, “perhaps 
the very noblest specimen 
o f building-art i n Asia.” 
“ It is the most prominent 
as well as the most beau- 
tiful building in the whole 
city.” The mosque is an 
octagonal building, each 
side measuring 66 feet. It 
is surmounted by a dome, 
whose top is 170 feet from 
the ground. 

The Church of the Holy 
Sepulchre, which is claimed, 
but without sufficient rea- 
son, to be upon the site of 
Calvary, is “a collection 
of chapels and altars o f 
different ages and a unique 
museum o f religious curi- 
osities from Adam to 
Christ.” 

There has been a great 
change in Jerusalem during 
the past 30 years. Great 
progress has been made in 
excavation and exploration to clear up 
disputed questions, but much still re- 
mains to be accomplished. “ The city 
has so largely increased in size and 


COIN TO COMMEMORATE THE CAPTURE OF JUDEA, A. D. 70. 









JER 


313 


je; 


population on account of Jewish and 
European settlers building houses out- 
side the walls that only the most recent 
plans give an idea of the city. The 
Mount of Olives is covered with houses, 
and settlements are found in almost 
every direction. In 1838 there were 
probably aboyt 3000 Jews in the city. 
In 1880 the population of 20,000 in- 
cluded about 8000 Jews. In 1906 the 
permanent population was about 65,000. 
The railway from Jaffa to Jerusalem 
was completed in 1892, and the increase 
in travel has given rise to much more 
modern building in the city. 

Jeru'sha (je-ru'sha) ( possessed ), 
daughter of Zadok and queen of Uz- 
ziah. 2 Kings 15 : 33. 

Jeru'shah (je-ru'shah) ( possessed ). 
2 Chron. 27 : 1. The same as the pre- 
ceding. 

Jesaiah (je-sa'yah) {salvation of 
Jehovah). 1. Son of Hananiah, brother 
of Pelatiah and grandson of Zerub- 
babel. 1 Chron. 3 : 21. 

2. A Benjamite. Neh. 11 : 7. 

Jesha'iah (je-sha'yah) {salvation of 
Jehovah). 1. One of the six sons of 
Jeduthun. 1 Chron. 25 : 3, 15. 

2. A Levite in the reign of David, eld- 
est son of Rehabiah, a descendant of 
Amram through Moses. 1 Chron. 26: 
25. [Isshiah.] 

3. The son of Athaliah, and chief of 

the house of the Bene-Elam who re- 
turned with Ezra. Ezra 8 : 7. (b.c. 

458.) 

4. A Merarite who returned with 
Ezra. Ezra 8 : 19. 

Jesh'anah (jesh'a-nah) {old), a 
town which, with its dependent vil- 
lages, was one of the three taken from 
Jeroboam by Abijah. 2 Chron. 13:19. 
Probably the modern Ain Sinia, 3*4 
miles north of Bethel. 

Jeshare'lah (je-shar-e'lah), son of 
Asaph, and head of the seventh of the 
twenty-four wards into which the musi- 
cians of the Levites were divided. 1 
Chron. 25 : 14. [Asarelah.] 

Jesheb'eab (je-sheb'e-ab) {father’s 
seat), head of the fourteenth course of 
priests. 1 Chron. 24 : 13. 

Je'sher (je'sher) {uprightness), one 
of the sons of Caleb the son of Hezron 
by his wife Azubah. 1 Chron. 2 : 18. 

Jesh'imon (jesh'i-mon) {a wilder- 
ness), a name which occurs in Num. 21: 
20 and 23 : 28, in designating the posi- 
tion of Pisgah and Peor; both described 


as “ facing the Jeshimon.” Perhaps the 
dreary, barren waste of hills lying im- 
mediately on the west of the Dead 
Sea. 

Jeshish'ai (je-shish'a-I) {an old 
man), one of the ancestors of the Gad- 
ites who dwelt in Gilead. 1 Chron. 5 : 

14. 

Jeshoha'iah (jesh-6-ha'yah), a chief 
of the Simeonites, descended from 
Shimei. 1 Chron. 4 : 36. 

Jesh'ua (jesh'u-a) {Jehovah is sal- 
vation), another form of the name 
Joshua or Jesus. 1. Joshua the son of 
Nun. Neh. 8 : 17. [Joshua.] 

2. A priest in the reign of David, to 
whom the ninth course fell by lot. 1 
Chron. 24 : 11. 

3. One of the Levites in the reign of 
Hezekiah. 2 Chron. 31 : 15. 

4. Son of Jehozadak, first high priest 
after the Babylonish captivity, b.c. 536. 
Jeshua was probably born in Babylon, 
whither his father Jehozadak had been 
taken captive while young. 1 Chron. 6 : 

15, Authorized Version. He came up 
from Babylon in the first year of Cyrus, 
with Zerubbabel, and took a leading part 
with him in the rebuilding of the temple 
and the restoration of the Jewish com- 
monwealth. The two prophecies con- 
cerning him in Zech. 3 and 6 : 9-15 point 
him out as an eminent type of Christ. 

5. Head of a Levitical house, one of 
those which returned from the Babylon- 
ish captivity. Ezra 2 : 40 ; 3:9; Neh. 3 : 
19 ; 8 : 7 ; 9 : 4, 5 ; 12 : 8, etc. 

6. A branch of the family of Pahath- 
moab, one of the chief families, prob- 
ably, of the tribe of Judah. Neh. 10: 
14 ; 7 : 11, etc. ; Ezra 2:6; 10 : 30. 

Jesh'ua (jesh'u-a) {Jehovah is sal- 
vation), one of the towns inhabited by 
the people of Judah after the return 
from captivity. Neh. 11:26. It is not 
mentioned elsewhere. 

Jesh'uah (jesh'u-ah), a priest in the 
reign of David, 1 Chron. 24 : 11, the 
same as Jeshua, No. 2. 

Jesh'urun (jesh'u-run) {the upright 
one), and once by mistake in Author- 
ized Version Jesurun, Isa. 44 : 2, a sym- 
bolical name for Israel in Deut. 32 : 15 ; 
33 : 5, 26 ; Isa. 44 : 2. “ The word is a 
name of endearment used in poetry for 
the nation of Israel with reference to 
the moral character which they were 
created to exhibit.” It was formerly 
explained as “ blessed ” but with an idea 
of uprightness. 


JES 


314 


JES 


Jesi'ah (je-si'ah) ( Jehovah lends). 
1. A Korhite, one of the mighty men 
who joined David’s standard at Ziklag. 
lChron. 12:6. (b.c. 1057.) . 

2. The second son of Uzziel, the son 
of Kohath. 1 Chron. 23 : 20. 

Jesim'iel (je-sim'i-el) ( God setteth 
up), a Simeonite chief of the family 
of Shimei. 1 Chroh. 4 : 36. 

Jes'se (jes'se) {wealthy), the father 
of David, was the son of Obed, who 
again was the fruit of the union of 
Boaz and the Moabitess Ruth. His 
great-grandmother was Rahab the Ca- 
naanite, of Jericho. Matt. 1:5. Jesse’s 
genealogy is twice given in full in the 
Old Testament, viz., Ruth 4:18-22 and 
1 Chron. 2 : 5-12. He is commonly des- 
ignated as “ Jesse the Bethlehemite,” 1 
Sam. 16 : 1, 18 ; 17 : 58 ; but his full title 
is “ the Ephrathite of Bethlehem Ju- 
dah,” ch. 17 : 12. He is an “ old man ” 
when we first meet with him, 1 Sam. 
17:12, with eight sons, ch. 16:10; 17: 
12, residing at Bethlehem, ch. 16 : 4, 5. 
Jesse’s wealth seems to have consisted 
of a flock of sheep and goats, which 
were under the care of David, ch. 16 : 
11 ; 17 : 34, 35. After David’s rupture 
with Saul he took his father and his 
mother into the country of Moab and 
deposited them with the king, and there 
they disappear from our view in the 
records of Scripture. We are not told 
who the wife of Jesse was. 

Jes'ui (jes'u-I), the son of Asher, 
whose descendants the Jesuites were 
numbered in the plains of Moab at the 
Jordan of Jericho. Num. 26:44. He 
is elsewhere called Isui, Gen. 46 : 17, 
and . Ishuai. 1 Chron. 7 : 30. R. V. 
Ishvi. 

Jes'uites (jes'u-Ites) {the posterity 
of Jesui), The, a family of the tribe 
of Asher. Num. 26 : 44. 

Jes'urun (jes'u-run). [Jeshurun.] 

Je'sus {Jehovah is salvation). The 
Greek form of the name Joshua or 
Jeshua. It is used of — 1. Joshua the 
son of Nun. Acts 7:45; Heb. 4 : 8. 

2. Jeshua the high priest contemporary 
with Zerubbabel. 1 Es. 5:5, 8, etc. 

Je'sus (je'sus), the son of Sirach. 
[Ecclesiasticus.] 

Je'sus (je'sus), called Justus, a 
Christian who was with St. Paul at 
Rome. Col. 4:11. (a.d. 60.) 

Je'sus Christ. “The life and char- 
acter of Jesus Christ,” says Dr. Schaff, 
“ is the holy of holies in the history of 


the world.” 1 . Name. — The name Jesus 
signifies Jehovah is salvation. It is the 
Greek form of Jehoshua (Joshua). 
The name Christ signifies anointed. 
Jesus was both priest and king. Among 
the Jews priests were anointed, as their 
inauguration to their office. 1 Chron. 
16: 22. In the New Testament the name 
Christ is used as equivalent to the He- 
brew Messiah {anointed), John 1:41, 
the name given to the long-promised 
Prophet and King whom the Jews had 
been taught by their prophets to expect. 
Matt. 11:3; Acts 19:4. The use of 
this name, as applied to the Lord, has 
always a reference to the promises of 
the prophets. The name of Jesus is 
the proper name of our Lord, and that 
of Christ is added to identify him with 
the promised Messiah. Other names 
are sometimes added to the names Jesus 
Christ, thus, “ Lord,” “ a king,” “ King 
of Israel,” “ Emmanuel,” “ Son of 
David,” “ chosen of God.” 

II. Birth. — Jesus Christ was born of 
the Virgin Mary, God being his father, 
at Bethlehem of Judea, six miles south 
of Jerusalem. The date of his birth 
was most probably in December, b.c. 5, 
four years before the era from which 
we count our years. That era was not 
used till several hundred years after 
Christ. The calculations were made by 
a learned monk, Dionysius Exiguus, in 
the sixth century, who made an error 
of four years; so that to get the exact 
date from the birth of Christ we must 
add four years to our usual dates ; i. e. 
a.d. 1911 is really 1915 years since the 
birth of Christ. It is also more than 
likely that our usual date for Christmas, 
December 25, is not far from the real 
date of Christ’s birth. Since the 25th 
of December comes when the longest 
night gives way to the returning ’sun on 
his triumphant march, it makes an ap- 
propriate anniversary to mark the birth 
of him who appeared in the darkest 
night of error and sin as the true Light 
of the world. At the time of Christ’s 
birth Augustus Caesar was emperor of 
Rome, and Herod the Great king of 
Judea, but subject to Rome. God’s pro- 
vidence had prepared the world for the 
coming of. Christ, and this was the fit- 
test time in all its history. 1. All the 
world was subject to one government, 
so that the apostles could travel every- 
where : the door of every land was open 
for the gospel. 2. The world was at 


JES 


315 


JES 


peace, so that the gospel could have 
free course. 3. The Greek language was 
spoken everywhere with their other lan- 
guages. 4. The Jews were scattered 
everywhere with synagogues and the 
Holy Scriptures, — the Old Testament. 

III. Early life. — Jesus, having a man- 
ger at Bethlehem for his cradle, re- 
ceived a visit of adoration from the 
three wise men of the East. At forty 
days old he was taken to the temple at 
Jerusalem; and returning to Bethlehem, 
was soon taken to Egypt to escape 
Herod’s massacre of the infants there. 
After a few months stay there, Herod 
having died in April, b.c. 4, the family 
returned to their Nazareth home, where 
Jesus lived till he was about thirty 
years old, subject to his parents, and 
increasing “ in wisdom and stature, and 
in favor with God and man.” The only 
incident recorded, of his early life is his 
going up to Jerusalem to attend the 
passover when he was twelve years old, 
and his conversation with the learned 
men in the temple. But we can under- 
stand the childhood and youth of Jesus 
better when we remember the surround- 
ing influences amid which he grew. 1. 
The natural scenery was rugged and 
mountainous, but full 'of beauty. He 
breathed the pure air. He lived in a 
village,' not in a city. 2. The Roman 
dominion was irksome and galling. The 
people of God were subject to a foreign 
yoke. The taxes were heavy. Roman 
soldiers, laws, money, ever reminded 
them of their subjection, when they 
ought to be free and themselves the 
rulers of the world. When Jesus was 
ten years old, there was a great insur- 
rection, Acts 5 : 37, in Galilee. He who 
was to be King of the Jews heard and 
felt all this. 3. The Jewish hopes of a 
Redeemer, of throwing off their bond- 
age, of becoming the glorious nation 
promised in the prophets, were in the 
very air he breathed. The conversation 
at home and in the streets was full of 
them. 4. Within his view, and his boy- 
ish excursions, were many remarkable 
historic places, — rivers, hills, cities, 
plains, — that would keep in mind the 
history of his people and God’s dealings 
with them. 5. His school training. 
From about b.c. 75 attendance on the 
elementary schools became compulsory. 
These schools were always in in- 
timate connection with the synagogue, 
which was found in every considerable 


village in the land. Here are a few 
of the innumerable popular sayings of 
the period: “Jerusalem was destroyed 
because the instruction of the young 
was neglected.” “ The world is only 
saved by the breath of the school-chil- 
dren.” “ Even for the rebuilding of the 
temple the schools must not be inter- 
rupted.” 6. His home training. A 
child’s first school was his home and 
his first teachers his parents. The boy 
was under the care of his mother till 
he was five years old. At five or six 
he was sent to the elementary school, 
where he was to learn the law, at first 
by extracts written on scrolls of the 
more important passages, the Shema or 
creed of Deut. 6 : 4, the Hallel or festi- 
val psalms, Ps. 114, 118, 136, and by 
catechetical teaching in school. At 
twelve he became more directly respon- 
sible for his obedience to the law; and 
on the day when he attained the age 
of thirteen, put on for the first time 
the phylacteries which were worn at the 
recital of his daily prayer. In addi- 
tion, to this, Jesus no doubt learned the 
carpenter’s trade of his reputed father 
Joseph, and, as Joseph probably died 
before Jesus began his public ministry, 
he may have contributed to the support 
of his mother. 

IV. Public ministry. — All the leading 
events recorded of Jesus’ life are given 
in the Chronological Table of the Life 
of Christ, in the Appendix at the end of 
this volume; it is necessary only that 
here should be given a general survey. 

Jesus began to enter upon his ministry 
when he was “ about thirty years old ;” 
that is, he was not very far from thirty, 
older or younger. He is regarded as 
nearly thirty-one, in the tables of chron- 
ology referred to above and by most 
others. Having been baptized by John 
early in the winter of 26-27, he spent 
the larger portion of his first year in 
Judea and about the lower Jordan, till 
in December he went northward to Gal- 
ilee through Samaria. The next year 
and a half, from December, a.d. 27, to 
October or November, a.d. 29, was spent 
in Galilee and northern Palestine, chiefly 
in the vicinity of the Sea of Galilee. In 
November, 29, Jesus made his final de- 
parture from Galilee, and the rest of his 
ministry was in Judea and Perea, be- 
yond Jordan, till his crucifixion, April 7, 
a.d. 30. After three days he proved his 
divinity by rising from the dead; and 


JET 


316 


JEW 


after appearing on eleven different oc- 
casions to his disciples during forty- 
days, he finally ascended to heaven, 
where he is the living, ever-present, all- 
powerful Saviour of his people. 

Jesus Christ, being both human and 
divine, is fitted to be the true Saviour of 
men. In this, as in every action and 
character, he is shown to be “ the wis- 
dom and power of God unto salvation.” 
As human, he reaches down to our na- 
tures, sympathizes with us, shows us 
that God knows all our feelings, and 
weaknesses and sorrows and sins, brings 
God near to us, who otherwise could 
not realize the Infinite and Eternal as a 
father and friend. He is divine, in or- 
der that he may be an all-powerful, all- 
loving Saviour, able and willing to de- 
fend us from every enemy, to subdue 
all temptations, to deliver from all sin, 
and to bring each of his people, and the 
whole Church, into complete and final 
victory. 

Jesus Christ is the centre of the 
world’s history, as he is the centre of 
the Bible history and teachings. 

Je'ther (je'ther) ( abundance ). 1. 
Used for Jethro, the father-in-law of 
Moses. Ex. 4 : 18. Margin. 

2. The first-born of Gideon’s seventy 
sons. Judges 8 : 20. 

3. The father of Amasa, captain-gen-* 
eral of Absalom’s army. 1 Kings 2 : 5. 
Jether is another form of Ithra. 2 
Sam. 17 : 25. He is described in 1 
Chron. 2 : 17 as an Ishmaelite, which 
again is more likely to be correct than 
the “ Israelite ” of the Hebrew in 2 
Sam. 17. 

4. The son of Jada, a descendant of 
Hezron, of the tribe of Judah. 1 Chron. 
2 ’ 32 

5. The son of Ezra. 1 Chron. 4 : 17. 

6. The chief of a family of warriors 
of the line of Asher, and father of Je- 
phunneh. 1 Chron. 7 : 38. He is prob- 
ably the same as Ithran in the preced- 
ing verse. 

Je'theth (je'theth), one of the 
“ dukes ” who came of Esau. Gen. 36 : 
40 ; 1 Chron. 1 : 51. 

Jeth'lah (jeth'lah), one of the cities 
of the tribe of Dan. Josh. 19: 42. 

Jeth'ro (jeth'ro) ( his excellence ) was 
priest or prince of Midian. Moses mar- 
ried his daughter Zipporah. (b.c. 1530.) 
On account of his local knowledge his 
son was entreated to remain with the 


Israelites throughout their journey to 
Canaan. Num. 10 : 31, 33. He is called 
Reuel in Ex. 2 : 18, and Raguel in Num. 
10 : 29, the same word in the original for 
both. Reuel is probably his proper 
name, and Jethro his official title. 

Je'tur (je'tur). Gen. 25 : 15 ; 1 Chron. 
1:31; 5 : 19. [Itur^ea.] 

Jeu'el (je-u'el), a chief man of Ju- 
dah, one of the Bene-Zerah. 1 Chron. 
9:6; comp. 2. [Jeiel.] 

Je'ush (je'ush). 1. Son of Esau by 
Aholibamah the daughter of Anah, the 
son of Zebeon the Hivite. Gen. 36 : 6, 
14, 18 ; 1 Chron. 1 : 35. 

2. A Benjamite, son of Bilhan. 1 
Chron. 7 : 10, 11. 

3. A Gershonite Levite, of the house 
of Shimei. 1 Chron. 23:10, 11. 

4. Son of Rehoboam king of Judah. 
2 Chron. 11 : 18, 19. 

Je'uz (je'uz), head of a Benjamite 
house. 1 Chron. 8 : 10. 

Jew (a man of Judah). This name 
was properly applied to a member of the 
kingdom of Judah after the separation 
of the ten tribes. The term first makes 
its appearance just before the captivity 
of the ten tribes. 2 Kings 16 : 6. After 
the return the word received a larger 
application. Partly from the predomi- 
nance of the members of the old king- 
dom of Judah among those who re- 
turned to Palestine, partly from the 
identification of Judah with the religious 
ideas and hopes of the people, all the 
members of the new state were called 
Jews (Judeans), and the name was ex- 
tended to the remnants of the race scat- 
tered throughout the nations. Under 
the name of “Judeans” the people of 
Israel were known to classical writers. 
(Tac. H. v. 2, etc.) In John’s gospel 
the name “Jew” is used especially as 
antagonistic to our Lord. In this sense 
they were the blind followers of the 
Pharisees, scrupulous about traditions, 
but careless about those things Jesus 
taught as essentials. Everywhere in the 
New Testament it is also used in oppo- 
sition to the Gentiles, proselytes or Sa- 
maritans. Mark 7:3; John 2:6, 13; 5: 
1, 7:2; etc. Also Rom. 1:16; '2: 9, 10; 
Col. 3 : 11, etc. It was at the same time 
less expressive than Israelite , which 
brought out with especial clearness the 
privileges and hopes of the children of 
Jacob. 2 Cor. 11:22; John 1:47. 

Jewel. [Stones, Precious.] 

Jew'ess, a woman of Hebrew birth, 


JEW 


317 


JEZ 


without distinction of tribe. Acts 16 : 
1; 24:24. 

Jewish, of or belonging to Jews; an 
epithet applied to their rabbinical leg- 
ends. Titus 1:14. 

Jew'ry, the same word elsewhere 
rendered Judah and Judea. It occurs 
several times in the Apocrypha and the 
New Testament, but once only in the 
Old Testament — Dan. 5:13. Jewry is 
of frequent occurrence in Old English. 

Jezani'ah (jez-a-nl'ah) ( Jehovah 
doth hearken ), the son of Hoshaiah 
the Maachathite, and one of the cap- 
tains of the forces who had escaped 
from Jerusalem during the final attack 
of the beleaguering army of the Chal- 
deans. (b.c. 586.) When the Baby- 
lonians had departed, Jezaniah, with the 
men under his command, was one of the 
first who returned to Gedaliah at Miz- 
pah. In the events which followed the 
assassination of that officer Jezaniah 
took a prominent part. 2 Kings 25 : 23 ; 
Jer. 40: 8; 42:1: 43:2. 

Jez'ebel (jez'e-bel) ( unmarried ), 
wife of Ahab king of Israel. She was 
a Phoenician princess, daughter of 
Ethbaal king of the Zidonians. In her 
hands her husband became a mere pup- 
pet. 1 Kings 21 : 25. The first effect of 
her influence was the immediate estab- 
lishment of the Phoenician worship on 
a grand scale in the court of Ahab. 
At her table were supported no less 
than 450 prophets of Baal and 400 of 
Astarte. 1 Kings 16 : 31, 32 ; 18 : 19. 

The prophets of Jehovah were attacked 
by her orders and put to the sword. 1 
Kings 18 : 13 ; 2 Kings 9:7. At last the 
people, at the instigation of Elijah, rose 
against her ministers and slaughtered 
them at the foot of Carmel. When she 
found her husband cast down by his 
disappointment at being thwarted by 
Naboth, 1 Kings 21 : 7, she wrote a war- 
rant in Ahab’s name, and sealed it with 
his seal. To her, and not to Ahab, was 
sent the announcement that the royal 
wishes were accomplished, 1 Kings 21 : 
14, and on her accordingly fell the 
prophet’s curse, as well as on her hus- 
band, 1 Kings 21 : 23 ; a curse fulfilled 
so literally by Jehu, whose chariot- 
horses trampled out her life. 2 Kings 
9 : 30-37. 

Je'zer (je'zer) (form), the third son 
of Naphtali, Gen. 46:24; Num. 26:49; 
1 Chron. 7 : 13, and father of the family 
of Jezerites. 


Jezi'ah (je-zi'ah), a descendant of 
Parosh, who had married a foreign 
wife. Ezra 10 : 25. 

Je'ziel (je'zi-el) (assembly of God), 
a Benjamite who joined David at Ziklag. 
1 Chron. 12:3. (b.c. 1057.) 

Jezli'ah (jez-li'ah), a Benjamite of 
the sons of Elpaal. 1 Chron. 8:18. 

Jezo'ar (je-zo'ar), the son of Helah, 
one of the wives of Asher. 1 Chron. 
4:7. 

Jezrahi'ah (jezra-hi'ah) (Jehovah 
will shine), a Levite, the leader of the 
choristers at the solemn dedication of 
the wall of Jerusalem under Nehemiah. 
Neh. 12:42. (b.c. 446.) 

Jez'reel (jez're-el) (God soweth). 
1. A descendant of the father or founder 
of Etam, of the line of Judah. 1 Chron. 
4:3. 

2. The eldest son of the prophet 
Hosea. Hos. 1 : 4. 

Jez're=el (jez're-el). 1. A city sit- 
uated in the plain of the same name 
between Gilboa and Little Hermon, now 
generally called Esdraelon. [Esdrae- 
lon.] It appears in Josh. 19 : 18, but 
its historical importance dates from the 
reign of Ahab, b.c. 876-854, who chose 
it for his chief residence. The situation 
of the modern village of Zerin still re- 
mains to show the fitness of his choice. 
In the neighborhood, or within the town 
probably, was a temple of Astarte, with 
an establishment of 400 priests sup- 
ported by Jezebel. 1 Kings 16:33; 2 
Kings 10 : 11. The palace of Ahab,. 1 
Kings 21:1; 18 : 46, probably containing 
his “ ivory house,” 1 Kings 22 : 39. was 
on the eastern side of the city, the 
harem being close by the gate, with 
windows overlooking the road thither. 
Comp. 1 Kings 21 : 1 ; 2 Kings 9 : 25, 30, 
33. The vineyard of Naboth was here, 
and his execution t took p^ace here, or 
perhaps at Samaria. Still in the same 
eastern direction are two springs, “ the 
dead spring” and Ain Jelud, both co- 
pious and good. The latter, probably 
from both its size and its situation, 
was known as “the fountain that was 
in Jezreel.” 1 Sam. 29:1. With the 
fall of the house of Ahab the glory of 
Jezreel departed. 

2. A town in Judah, in the neighbor- 
hood of the southern Carmel. Josh. 15 : 
56. Here David in his wanderings took 
Ahinoam the Israelitess for his first wife. 
1 Sam. 27 : 3 ; 30:5. 

Jez'reelitess (jez're-el-Ttess), a 


JIB 


318 


JOA 


woman of Jezreel. 1 Sam. 27 : 3 ; 30:5; 
2 Sam. 2:2; 3:2; 1 Chron. 3 : 1. 

Jib'sam (jib'sam) (fragrant ) , one of 
the sons of Tola, the son of Issachar. 
1 Chron. 7:2. 

Jid'laph (jid'laf) (he weepeth), a 
son of Nahor. Gen. 22:22. 

Jim'na (jim'na), the first-born of 
Asher. Num. 26 : 44. He is elsewhere 
called in the Authorized Version Jim- 
nah, Gen. 46 : 17, and Imnah. 1 Chron. 
7:30. 

Jim'nah = Jimna == Imnah. Gen. 46 : 
17. 

Jim'nites, The, descendants of the 
preceding. Num. 26 : 44. 

Jiph'tah (jif'tah) (he setteth free), 
one of the cities of Judah in the mari- 
time lowland, or Shefelah. Josh. 15 : 
43. It has not yet been met with. 

Jiph'thah=el (jif'thah-el), The val=* 
ley of, a valley which served as one 
of the landmarks for the boundary of 
both Zebulun, Josh. 19 : 14, and Asher. 
Josh. 19 : 27. Dr. Robinson suggests 
that Jiphthah-el was identical with Jota- 
pata, which survives in the modern 
Jefat, a village in the mountains of Gal- 
ilee, halfway between the Bay of Acre 
and the Lake of Gennesareth, but many 
modern scholars dispute it. 

Jo'ab (jo'ab) (Jehovah is father), 
the most remarkable of the three neph- 
ews of David, the children of Zeruiah, 
David’s sister, (b.c. 1053-1012.) Joab 
first appears after David’s accession to 
the throne at Hebron. Abner slew in 
battle Asahel, the youngest brother of 
Joab; and when David afterward re- 
ceived Abner into favor, Joab treacher- 
ously murdered him. [Abner.] There 
was now no rival left in the way of 
Joab’s advancement, and at the siege of 
Jerusalem he was appointed for his 
prowess commander-in-chief — “ captain 
of the host.” In the wide range of 
wars which David undertook, Joab was 
the acting general. He was called by 
the almost regal title of “ lord,” 2 Sam. 
11 : 11. In the entangled relations which 
grew up in David’s domestic life he 
bore an important part, successfully re- 
instating Absalom in David’s favor after 
the murder of Amnon. 2 Sam. 14 : 1- 
20. When the relations between father 
and son were reversed by the revolt of 
Absalom, Joab remained true to the 
king, taking the rebel prince’s dangerous 
life in spite of David’s injunction to 
spare him, and when no one else had 


courage to act so decisive a part. 2 
Sam. 18:2, 11-15. (b.c. 1023). The 

king transferred the command to Ama- 
sa, which so enraged Joab that he 
adroitly assassinated Amasa when pre- 
tending to welcome him as a friend. 2 
Sam. 20 : 10. Friendly relations between 
himself and David seem to have existed 
afterward, 2 Sam. 24 : 2 ; but at the close 
of his long life, his loyalty, so long un- 
shaken, at last wavered. “ Though he 
had not turned after Absalom, he turned 
after Adonijah.” 1 Kings 2:28. This 
probably filled up the measure of the 
king’s long-cherished resentment. It is 
not, however, certain that he had the 
slightest thought of disloyalty to David 
himself. The revival of the pretensions 
of Adonijah after David’s death was 
sufficient to awaken the suspicions of 
Solomon. Joab fled to the shelter of 
the altar at Gibeon, and was there slain 
by Benaiah. 

2. One of the descendants of Kenaz. 

1 Chron. 4 : 14. . 

3. The name of a family which re- 
turned with Zerubbabel and Ezra. Ezra 
2:6; 8:9; Neh. 7: 11. 

Jo'ah (Jo'ah) (Jehovah is brother). 

1. The son of Asaph, and chronicler or 
keeper of the records to Hezekiah. Isa. 
36 : 3, 11, 22. 

2. The son or grandson of Zimmah, a 
Gershonite. 1 Chron. 6 : 21. 

3. The third son of Obed-edom, 1 
Chron. 26:4, a Korhite, and one of the 
doorkeepers appointed by David. 

4. A Gershonite, the son of Zimmah 
and father of Eden. 2 Chron. 29 : 12. 
Very possibly the same as 2. 

5. The son of Joahaz, and annalist or 

keeper of the records to Josiah. 2 
Chron. 34: 8. (b.c. 623.) 

Jo'ahaz (jo'a-haz) (Jehovah holds), 
the father of Joah, the chronicler or 
keeper of the records to King Josiah. 

2 Chron. 34 : 8. 

Joanan (jo-a'nan). In Revised 
Version for Joanna, 1. Luke 3 : 27. 

Joan'na (jo-an'na) (Jehovah hath 
been gracious) (in Revised Version 
spelled Joanan. 1. Son of Rhesa, ac- 
cording to the text of Luke 3 : 27, and 
one of the ancestors of Christ; but prob- 
ably Rhesa is a title of Zerubbabel which 
has crept into the text, making Joanan, 
son of Zerubbabel, and the same as 
Hananiah in 1 Chron. 3 : 19. 

2. The name of a woman, occurring 
twice in Luke (8:3; 24:10), but evi- 


JOA 


319 


JOB 


dently denoting the same person, (a.d. 
28-30.) In the first passage she is ex- 
pressly stated to have been “ wife of 
Chuza, steward of Herod,” that is, An- 
tipas, tetrarch of Galilee. 

Jo'ash (jo'ash) ( Jehovah is strong ), 
contracted from Jehoash. 1 . Son of 
Ahaziah king of Judah (b.c. 843), and 
the only one of his children who es- 
caped the murderous hand of Athaliah. 
After his father’s sister Jehoshabeath, 
the wife of Jehoiada the high priest, 
had stolen him from among the king’s 
sons, he was hidden for six years in 
the chambers of the temple. In the 
seventh year of his age and of his con- 
cealment, a successful revolution, con- 
ducted by Jehoiada, placed him on the 
throne of his ancestors, and freed the 
country from the tyranny and idolatries 
of Athaliah. For at least twenty-three 
years, while Jehoiada lived, his reign 
was very prosperous; but after the death 
of Jehoiada, Joash fell into the hands 
of bad advisers, at whose suggestion 
he revived the worship of Baal and Ash- 
taroth. When he was rebuked for this 
by Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada, Joash 
caused him to be stoned to death in 
the very court of the Lord’s house. 
Matt. 23 : 35. That very year Hazael 
king of Syria came up against Jeru- 
salem, and carried off a vast booty as 
the price of his departure. Joash had 
scarcely escaped this danger when he fell 
into another and fatal one. Two of his 
servants conspired against him and slew 
him in his bed in the fortress of Millo. 
Joash’s reign lasted forty years, from 
836 to 796 B.c. 

2. Son and successor of Jehoahaz on 
the throne of Israel from b.c. 798 to 782, 
and very possibly co-regent with his 
father before that time. 2 Kings 13 : 1, 
comp, with 12 : 1 ; 13 : 10. When he suc- 
ceeded to the crown the kingdom was 
in a deplorable state from the devasta- 
tions of Hazael and Ben-hadad, kings 
of Syria. On occasion of a friendly 
visit paid by Joash to Elisha on his 
death-bed, the prophet promised him 
deliverance from the Syrian yoke in 
Aphek. 2 Kings 13 : 14-19. He then 
bade him smite upon the ground, and 
the king smote thrice and then stayed. 
The prophet rebuked him for staying, 
and limited to three his victories over 
Syria. Accordingly Joash did defeat 
Ben-hadad three times on the field of 
battle, and recovered from him the’ 


cities which Hazael had taken from Je- 
hoahaz. The other great military event 
of Joash’s reign was the successful war 
with Amaziah king of Judah. He died 
in the fifteenth year of Amaziah king of 
Judah. 

3. The father of Gideon, and a 
wealthy man among the Abi-ezrites. 
Judges 6 : 11. 

4. Apparently a younger son of Ahab, 

who held a subordinate jurisdiction in 
the lifetime of his father. 1 Kings 22 : 
26; 2 Chron. 18:25. (b.c. 854.) 

5. A descendant of Shelah the son of 
Judah, but the passage naming him is 
not clear. 1 Chron. 4 : 22. 

6. A Benjamite, son of Shemaah of 
Gibeah, 1 Chron. 12 : 3, who resorted to 
David at Ziklag. 

7. One of the officers of David’s 
household. 1 Chron. 27 : 28. 

8. Son of Becher and head of a Ben- 
jamite house. 1 Chron. 7:8. 

Jo'atham ( jb'a-tham) = Jotham the 
son of Uzziah. Matt. 1 : 9. 

Job (job) (R. V. lob), the third son 
of Issachar, Gen. 46 : 13. Probably a 
copyist’s error for the name Jashub 
which appears in another genealogy. 1 
Chron. 7 : 1. 

Job, the book of, stands as “the 
greatest poem in the world’s great lit- 
eratures.” 

Its purpose is to throw light upon 
the world-wide problem of the mystery 
of suffering in a world governed by 
the good God, — both in its relation to 
God, and its relation to man. 

Its literary form is a dramatic poem 
in an epic story. Genung calls it “ The 
Epic of the Inner Life.” 

. It is almost universally agreed that the 
basis of the Book of Job was an his- 
torical fact; that Job was a real man 
who underwent such severe trials and 
disasters that they made a lasting im- 
pression upon his age, and the ages fol- 
lowing. Ezekiel 14: 14 and James 5: 11, 
both mention Job. 

The sad experience of Job, his conflict 
and his final victory were the most per- 
fect and fitting groundwork for teaching 
in the most effective way the great di- 
vine truths about the darkest problem 
that faces mankind. 

As the parable of the Prodigal Son 
has had vastly more power than the 
same truths told in a didactic way, and 
is a perfect vehicle of divine inspiration ; 
so when we realize that the Book of 


JOB 


320 


JOB 


Job is a divinely inspired poem, drama 
or epic, founded on fact, and true to 
fact, to life, and to God, the whole book 
is lifted to a higher sphere, and given a 
more effective power. 

The first two chapters and the last 
(from verse 7) are in prose; the rest of 
the book is poetic in form and expres- 
sion. 

Age and date. The period when Job 
lived, to which his personal story be- 
longs, the scene of the drama, is almost 
universally understood to be the age of 
the patriarchs some two thousand years 
before Christ. But this gives no infor- 
mation as to the time when the book was 
written, any more than the date of 
“ King Lear ” or of “ Julius Caesar ” tells 
us when Shakespeare wrote his plays. 

The date of writing is placed by many 
modern scholars somewhere between 
Solomon and the Exile. But the whole 
atmosphere of the book, like that of 
Genesis, belongs to the days of the 
patriarchs. And there is not a single 
allusion or reference to anything that 
might not have existed in those early 
days. 

The Author is unknown. 

Unity. There are two views as to 
the unity of the book according as the 
student looks upon it — 

1. From the literary and ethical stand- 
point the book is one complete and 
beautiful whole, by one inspired author 
of consummate genius, so Genung says — 

“ As a whole, the Book of Job is in- 
telligible, and, indeed, easily intelligible; 
as a piece of patchwork it defies explana- 
tion.” 

2. From the critical standpoint, many 
scholars regard it as a composite work, 
by various writers at different times. 

Its structure. The book consists of 
five parts or divisions, each of which 
presents one of the five possible solu- 
tions of the problem. Jesus Christ 
brought life and immortality to light, but 
so far as this problem is concerned, his 
message flows . in these five channels. 
What in Job is twilight, in Jesus be- 
comes the morning sun. 

Part I. Chapters i and ii; the prose 
story on which the rest of the book is 
founded. Job is at home prosperous, 
good, peaceful. There are five scenes 
changing from earth to heaven. The 
persons are Jehovah, sons of God, the 
Adversary, Job, Job’s wife and four 
messengers. The time is several weeks. 


Job loses his property and his children, 
and is afflicted with a painful disease, 
and sits on the city ash heap outside 
the walls. The visions of heaven reveal 
the meaning of his misfortunes and the 
first solution of the problem, that some- 
times afflictions are sent as a test of 
character. 

Part II. Chapters iii-xxxi, in poetic 
form presents the great debate between 
Job and his three friends. Job sick and 
poor is on the ash mound, around which 
is an audience of neighbors, citizens, 
relatives, visitors, children ; and a rabble. 
Three chiefs come to condole with Job, 
Eliphaz from Teman south of the Dead 
Sea, 200 miles from Uz. He was the 
oldest and wisest of the three, of dig- 
nified and noble character. Bildad, 
from Shuah near the Euphrates, a sage, 
of literary culture, quoting proverbs and 
traditions of the fathers. Zophar from 
Naamah 60 miles south of the Dead 
Sea, the ordinary good man of the day, 
uttering common thoughts in a common- 
place way, somewhat sharp and bigoted. 

There were three cycles of debate. 
The friends argue that Job’s afflictions 
prove him to be a bad man, for a good 
God could not inflict such disasters on 
a righteous man. Job denies that he is 
bad. The friends regard this as a denial 
that God is good. They defend God at 
the expense of Job. 

The second solution is that sometimes 
suffering is the fruit and punishment of 
sin; but that no one knows enough to 
judge his fellow man, and to decide 
from the suffering how much, if any, 
is due to wrong-doing. 

Part III. The oration of Elihu. 
Chapters xxxii-xxxvii. Poetic form 
except 32 : 1-5. Elihu was a young man 
who had been present during the dis- 
cussion. He adds little that is new, 
but brings out into clear, shining vision 
what the friends only hinted at as 
subordinate to their main argument. 
Elihu shows that trouble and suffering 
are a discipline, one of the lessons in 
the school of life by which we are ed- 
ucated and trained in heavenly character. 

His solution is that suffering is a 
means of discipline even when sent or 
permitted for other ends, as for a test 
and punishment. 

Note that during the latter part of 
Elihu’s oration there are signs of the 
coming of a storm, with wind, hail, 
snow, thunder and lightning, increasing 


JOB 


321 


JOE 


in violence, till the storm has become 
a whirlwind, compelling Elihu to cease 
speaking, while Jehovah’s presence is 
manifested by a brightness shining on 
the dark background of the storm, and 
out of the whirlwind comes a voice. 

Part IV. The voice from the whirl- 
wind. Chapters xxxvii-xli. The voice 
describes. the wonderful works of God, 
showing his infinite power, knowledge, 
wisdom and goodness, and that there- 
fore man can trust him, even when he 
cannot understand the reasons for his 
doings. It is a training in faith. The 
fourth solution is there are some trou- 
bles which are an insoluble mystery, but 
God has revealed Himself as so good, 
so wise, so powerful, such a loving 
Father, that we can rest our souls on 
him in perfect peace and faith and 
love. 

Part V. The restoration of Job. 
Chapter xlii, vs. 1-6, poetry; 7-17, prose. 
Job comes to the right mind and heart, 
is approved of God, and is restored to 
a larger, fuller, nobler life, with larger 
means for usefulness. The outward 
prosperity was a symbol and expression 
of his spiritual life and success, just 
as a perfect outward heaven is the nat- 
ural place for those who have the perfect 
heavenly life. The fifth solution is 
that every good man’s life in the end 
is a success. With God’s children there 
are no life-tragedies. There are dramas 
and lyric songs and epics, but no trage- 
dies. 

Jo'bab (jo'bab) (a desert). 1. One 
of the sons of Joktan. Gen. 10 : 29 ; 1 
Chron. 1 : 23. 

2. One of the “ kings ” of Edom. Gen. 
36 : 33, 34 ; 1 Chron. 1 : 44, 45. 

3. King of Madon; one of the north- 
ern chieftains who attempted to oppose 
Joshua’s conquest, and were routed by 
him at the waters of Merom. Josh. 11: 
1 only. 

4. Head of a Benjamite house. 1 
Chron. 8 : 9. 

Joch'ebed (jok'e-bed) ( Jehovah is 
glory), the wife and at the same time 
the aunt of Amram and the mother of 
Moses and Aaron. Ex. 2:1; 6 : 20 ; 
Num. 26 : 59. 

Jo'da (jo'da), in Revised Version for 
Juda. Luke 3:26. 

Jo'ed (jo'ed), a Benjamite, the son 
of Pedaiah. Neh. 11:7. 

Jo'el (jo'el) ( Jehovah is God). 1. 
Eldest son of Samuel the prophet, 1 
21 


Sam. 8 : 2 ; 1 Chron. 6:33; 15 : 17, and 
father of Heman the singer. 

2. In 1 Chron. 6 : 36, Authorized Ver- 
sion, Joel seems to be merely a cor- 
ruption of Shaul in ver. 24. 

3. A Simeonite chief. 1 Chron. 4 : 35. 

4. A descendant of Reuben. 1 Chron. 
5:4. 

5. Chief of the Gadites, who dwelt in 
the land of Bashan. 1 Chron. 5 : 12. 

6. The son of Izrahiah, of the tribe of 
Issachar. 1 Chron. 7 : 3. 

7. The brother of Nathan of Zobah, 

1 Chron. 11 : 38, and one of David’s 
guard. 

8. The chief of the Gershonites in the 
reign of David. 1 Chron. 15 : 7, 11. 

9. A Gershonite Levite in the reign of 
David, son of Jehiel, a descendant of 
Laadan, and probably the same as the 
preceding. 1 Chron. 23 : 8 ; 26 : 22. 

10. The son of Pedaiah, and a chief 
of the half-tribe of Manasseh west of 
Jordan, in the reign of David. 1 Chron. 
27 : 20. 

11. A Kohathite Levite in the reign of 
Hezekiah. 2 Chron. 29 : 12. 

12. One of the sons of Nebo, who had 
married a foreign wife. Ezra 10 : 43. 
(b.c. 458.) 

13. The son of Zichri, a Benjamite. 
Neh. 11 : 9. 

14. The second of the twelve minor 
prophets, the son of Pethuel, who 
prophesied in Judah. His date is un- 
certain. The book of Joel contains a 
grand outline of the whole terrible scene, 
which was to be depicted more and 
more in detail by subsequent prophets. 
The proximate event to which the proph- 
ecy related was a public calamity, then 
impending on Judah, of a two-fold char- 
acter — want of water, and a plague of 
locusts — and continuing for several 
years. The prophet exhorts the people 
to turn to God with penitence, fasting 
and prayer ; and then, he says, the 
plague shall cease, and the rain descend 
in its season, and the land yield her 
accustomed fruit. Nay, the time will 
be a most joyful one; for God, by the 
outpouring of his Spirit, will extend 
the blessings of true religion to heathen 
lands. The prophecy is referred to in 
Acts 2. 

Joe'lah (jo-e'lah), son of Jeroham 
of Gedor. 1 Chron. 12:7. 

Joe'zer (jd-e'zer) ( Jehovah is help ) , 
a Korhite, one of David’s captains. 1 
Chron. 12:6. (b.C. 1057.) 


JOG 


322 


JOH 


Jog'behah (lofty), one of the cities 
on the east of Jordan which were built 
and fortified by the tribe of Gad when 
they took possession of their territory. 
Num. 32:35. Now Jubeihah. 

Jog'li ( led into exile), the father of 
Bukki, a Danite chief. Num. 34 : 22. 

Jo'ha. 1. One of the sons of Beriah 
the Benjamite. 1 Chron. 8 : 16. 

2. The Tizite, one of David’s guard. 
1 Chron. 11 : 45. 

Joha'nan (jo-ha'nan) (Jehovah is 
gracious). 1. Son of Azariah (1) and 
grandson of Ahimaaz the son of Zadok, 
and father of Azariah, 6. 1 Chron. 6: 

9, 10, Authorized Version. 

2. Son of Elioenai, the son of Nea- 
riah, the son of Shemaiah, in the line 
of Zerubbabel’s heirs. 1 Chron. 3 : 24. 

3. The son of Kareah, and one of 
the captains of the scattered remnants 
of . the army of Judah, who escaped in 
the final attack upon Jerusalem by the 
Chaldeans, (b.c. 586.) After the mur- 
der of Gedaliah, Johanan was one of 
the foremost in the pursuit of his as- 
sassin, and rescued the captives he had 
carried off from Mizpah. Jer. 41:11- 
16. Fearing the vengeance of the Chal- 
deans, the captains, with Johanan at 
their head, notwithstanding the warn- 
ings of Jeremiah, retired into Egypt. 

4. The first-born son of Josiah king 
of Judah. 1 Chron. 3 : 15. 

5. A valiant Benjamite who joined 

David at Ziklag. 1 Chron. 12 : 4. (b.c. 

1057.) 

6. A Gadite warrior who followed 
David. 1 Chron. 12 : 12. 

7. The father of Azariah (15), an 
Ephraimite in the time of Ahaz. 2 
Chron. 28 : 12. 

8. The son of Hakkatan, and chief of 
the Bene-Azgad who returned with 
Ezra. Ezra 8 : 12. 

9. The son or more probably grandson 
of Eliashib, one of the chief Levites. 
Ezra 10:6; Neh. 12:23. R. V. Jehoha- 
nan. 

10. The son of Tobiah the Ammonite. 
Neh. 6:18. R. V. Jehohanan. 

John, the same name as Johanan, a 
contraction of Jehohanan. 1. One of 
the high priest’s family, who, with An- 
nas and Caiaphas, sat in judgment upon 
the apostles Peter and John. Acts 4: 
6 . 

2. The Hebrew name of the evangelist 
Mark. Acts 12 : 12, 25 ; 13 : 5, 13 ; 15 : 37. 

John the apostle. The two sources 


of knowledge concerning him are: (1) 
The New Testament; (2) traditions. 

His family descent. His father’s 
name was Zebedee, whose business was 
fishing in the Sea of Galilee. He seems 
to have been in comfortable circum- 
stances, for he owned a boat and em- 
ployed men to assist him (Matt. 4:21; 
Mark 1:20), and Salome, his wife, the 
mother of John, was one of the band of 
women who ministered to Jesus (Mark 
15: 40; 16: 1). 

His birthplace and early home was 
Bethsaida (house of fish, hshtown), on 
the northern shore of the lake, near 
where the Jordan flows into it. Busi- 
ness led them often to be at Capernaum, 
the populous commercial emporium 
(Luke 5: 10; John 1: 44). 

Date of birth. The exact date is un- 
known, but he is generally regarded as 
younger than Jesus. Probably he was 
born between a.d. 1 and 5. 

Period of his life. From the early 
fathers, who lived not far from his time, 
as Irenaeus and Jerome, we learn that 
he lived to be 90 or 95 years old, and 
died in the early part of the reign of 
the Emperor Trajan, who began to reign 
a.d. ,98. So that John’s life extended 
over nearly the whole of the first cen- 
tury of the Christian era. 

The events of his life. He had an 
elder brother, James, who was the first 
Christian martyr. During his early 
manhood he was a Galilean fisherman 
with his father. He was one of the first 
disciples of Jesus. He was one of the 
most prominent of the disciples during 
Christ’s life, and during the early rec- 
ords of the church in the Acts. He 
was on friendly terms with the high 
priest (John 18: 15). The latter part of 
the Acts concerns chiefly the work of 
St. Paul, but John was also doing his 
unrecorded work. “ Tradition fixes on 
Ephesus as the scene of his later minis- 
trations, and it is probable that the 
seven churches of Asia (in the vicinity 
of Ephesus) enjoyed his care (Rev. 1: 
11 ).” 

Writings. Five books of the New 
Testament are ascribed to him: The 
fourth Gospel, three Epistles, and the 
Book of Revelation. 

Character. “ It has become,” says 
Canon Bentham, “ a conventional rule 
in sacred art that because St. John 
speaks more about Love than the other 
apostles, and was specially beloved by 


JOH 


323 


JOH 


his Master, he must have had a soft, 
feminine, sentimental countenance, with- 
out the wrinkles of age, betraying no 
conflict. Such a fancy is strangely con- 
tradicted by facts.” 

John was indeed the apostle of Love, 
but Love is “ the greatest thing in the 
world,” the most difficult, the most di- 
vine, the most manly and virile. 

Jesus named John and his brother 
James, Boanerges ( sons of thunder), 
because, according to Muir in Hastings’ 
Bible Diet., the name is “ both descrip- 
tive and prophetic of the union of the 
passionate and vehement with the gentle 
and loving in their character, and the 
fact that once and again tempests of 
long-restrained emotion would burst 
forth out of the deep stillness of their 
strong, reserved natures.” It is John’s 
passionate affection that made him so in- 
dignant at the Samaritans who refused 
to receive Jesus that he would call 
down heaven’s lightnings to blast them 
(Luke 9:54), that, in large part, made 
him ambitious to sit close to Jesus in his 
kingdom (Mark 10:37), and made him 
so courageous in the high priest’s palace, 
while Peter the bold was denying his 
Lord. 

“ His natural vehemence, chastened by 
grace, became an element of strength 
and a glory.” He blended the gentle- 
ness of the dove with the sublime force 
and vision of the eagle. 

The lesson of John’s character lies in 
the change wrought by Jesus in the ex- 
pression and control of the strong forces 
of his soul, as they were gradually 
changed into his image from glory to 
glory, “ the glory of the only begotten 
Son of God.” All the tempestuousness, 
the threats, the ambitions, the narrow- 
ness are consumed in the perfectness of 
love. 

John the Baptist' was of the priestly 
race by both parents, for his father, 
Zacharias, was himself a priest of the 
Icourse of Abia or Abijah, 1 Chron. 24: 
10, and Elisabeth was of the daughters 
of Aaron. Luke 1 : 5. His birth was 
foretold by an angel sent from God, and 
is related at length in Luke 1. The 
birth of John preceded by six months 
that of our Lord. John was ordained 
to be a Nazirite from his birth. Luke 
1 : 15. Dwelling by himself in the wild 
and thinly-peopled region westward of 
the Dead Sea, he prepared himself for 
the wonderful office to which he had 


been divinely called. His dress was that 
of the old prophets — a garment woven 
of camel’s hair, 2 Kings 1:8, attached 
to the body by a leathern girdle. His 
food was such as the desert afforded — 



THE JORDAN. 

At the traditional site of Christ’s baptism. 

locusts, Lev. 11 : 22, and wild honey. 
Ps. 81 : 16. And now the long-secluded 
hermit came forth to the discharge of 
his office. His supernatural birth, his 
life, and the general expectation that 
some great one was about to appear, 
were sufficient to attract to him a great 
multitude from “ every quarter.” Matt. 
3 : 5. Many of every class pressed for- 
ward to confess their sins and to be 
baptized. Jesus himself came from 
Galilee to Jordan to be baptized of John. 
[Jesus.] From incidental notices we 
learn that John and his disciples con- 
tinued to baptize some time after our 
Lord entered upon his ministry. See 
John 3 : 23 ; 4 : 1 ; Acts 19 : 3. We gather 
also that John instructed his disciples in 
certain moral and religious duties, as 
fasting, Matt. 9:14; Luke 5:33, and 
prayer. Luke 11:1. _ But shortly after 
he had given his testimony to the Mes- 
.siah, John’s public ministry was brought 
to a close. In daring disregard of the 
divine laws, Herod Antipas had taken 
to himself Herodias, the wife of his 
brother Philip; and when John reproved 
him for this, as well as for other sins, 
Luke 3 : 19, Herod cast him into prison. 
(March, a.d. 28.) The place of his con- 
finement was the castle of Machaerus, a 
fortress on the eastern shore of the 



JOH 


324 


JOH 


Dead Sea. It was here that reports 
reached him of the miracles which our 
Lord was working in Judea. Nothing 
but the death of the Baptist would sat- 
isfy the resentment of Herodias. A 
court festival was kept at Machaerus in 
honor of the king’s birthday. After sup- 
per the daughter of Herodias came in 
and danced before the company, and so 
charmed was the king by her grace that 
he promised with an oath to give her 
whatsoever she should ask. Salome, 
prompted by her abandoned mother, de- 
manded the head of John the Baptist. 
Herod gave instructions to an officer of 
his guard, who went and executed John 
in the prison, and his head was brought 
to feast the eyes of the adulteress whose 
sins he had denounced. His death is 
supposed to have occurred just before 
the third passover, in the course of the 
Lord’s ministry. (March, a.d. 29.) 

John, The Gospel of. The Books of 
John in the New Testament may be 
classed with the Book of Deuteronomy 
in the Old Testament, as “ the storm 
centers of modern controversy.” The 
questions at issue of date, authorship, 
and composition have no place in the 
ordinary uses of these writings, and 
hence are left for the large Bible Dic- 
tionaries. The majority of scholars 
favor the views given below. 

I. Author. The Apostle John. 

II. Language. It was written in 
Greek, then known over the whole civ- 
ilized world. 

III. Place. Tradition is uniform, 
and generally accepted that it was writ- 
ten at Ephesus. 

IV. Date of Writing. The exact 
date is unknown, but it is generally re- 
garded as written somewhere between 
a.d. 80 and 95. Plummer in the Cam- 
bridge Bible thinks that the first twenty 
chapters were written a considerable 
time before the Gospel was published, 
and that the last chapter was added 
some years later, and then the whole 
given to the church. 

V. Sources. It was probably the 
record of the story of Jesus as preached 
by John for many years. John was the 
most intimate earthly friend of Jesus, so 
that on longer reflection and deeper ex- 
perience, he saw the truth with new 
and truer light than was possible at the 
time the events took place. 

VI. Characteristics. 1 . The object 
is expressed in John 20: 31, to lead men 


to believe in Jesus (1) as the Messiah 
foretold in the Old Testament; and (2) 
as the eternal Son of God manifesting 
the Father in heaven. 

2. It is the latest of the Gospels, taking 
the others for granted. 

The contrast between John and the 
other three Gospels (called synoptics; 
i. e., those which have a “ general view ” 
of the life of Christ) is plain even at 
the first glance. 

The synoptic Gospels seem to have 
been the sifted and perfected record of 
the preaching of the apostles. They told 
the story over and over again as they 
preached. It was written at various 
times by several different persons as we 
learn from Luke. This statement of 
facts was the great need of the early 
church, till the facts were wrought into 
the hearts and memories and lives of the 
early Christians. 

In time there came another need, both 
among the Jews and among the peoples 
permeated with Greek learning. Ques- 
tions arose, errors would be promul- 
gated, difficulties would arise. For in- 
stance, the Jews, as well as Christians, 
were very tenacious of the unity of God, 
but the question immediately arose how 
it was possible for Jesus to be the divine 
Son of God, and yet God be but one. 

John states the fact so that all can 
see the truth. He proclaims the same 
truths taught by the other Gospels, but 
in different language for a different peo- 
ple. He who lived nearest the heart of 
Jesus recalls many of his teachings not 
reported by the others. John does not 
at this late day write a new Gospel, or 
new words of Jesus, but writes down 
what he had been preaching for more 
than half a century. It was this fact 
which made the wonderful perfection of 
the style and language of this Gospel, 
as well as its accuracy. It is said that 
Whitefield’s sermons did not attain 
their perfect form till he had preached 
them forty times. 

3. Its method is that of signs and 
witness. St. John selects only such 
miracles as were spiritual signs, not 
only helping the sick and needy ones, 
but illustrating and exhibiting some 
spiritual truth. His sayings are all of 
the nature of “ Witness.” 

4. It is preeminently the gospel of the 
Teaching of Christ. It is a study 
rather than a biography. “ Matthew 
shows the fact, John reveals the truth’ 1 


JOH 


325 


JON 


The word “ Father ” occurs 140 times 
in this Gospel. 

The name “ Jesus ” is found in John 
242 times, 99 times more than in Mat- 
thew, and 158 times more than in Luke, 
showing how closely John keeps to his 
object of writing of the person of Jesus. 
He also uses other names of Jesus, as 
“ the Son ” 19 times, “ the Son of God ” 
9 times, “the Son of man” 13 times, 
“ the Life ” 22 times, and “ the Light ” 
25 times, besides the names “ the Holy 
One of God,” “ the Lamb of God,” and 
“ the King of Israel.” 333 times in all. 

John, The First Epistle General of, 
is evidently by the author of the Fourth 
Gospel, having the same characteristic 
phraseology, and implying that his 
readers were acquainted with his Gos- 
pel. It was probably written from 
Ephesus, and most likely at the close 
of the first century. In the introduction, 
ch. 1 : 1-4, the apostle states the purpose 
of his epistle : it is to declare the word 
of life to those whom he is addressing, 
in order that he and they might be 
united in true communion with each 
other, and with God the Father and his 
Son Jesus Christ. His lesson through- 
out is that the means of union with 
God are, on the part of Christ, his 
atoning blood, ch. 1:7, 2:2, 3:5, 4 : 10, 
14, 5 : 6, and advocacy, ch. 2:1; on the 
part of man, holiness, ch. 1 : 6, obedience, 
ch. 2 : 3, purity, ch. 3 : 3, faith, ch. 3:23; 
4:3; 5:5, and above all love. ch. 2:7; 
3: 14; 4: 7; 5:1. 

John, The Second and Third Epis= 
ties of. The second epistle is ad- 
dressed to an individual woman. One 
who had children, and a sister and 
nieces, is clearly indicated. According 
to one interpretation she is “the Lady 
Electa,” to another, “ the elect Kyria,” 
to a third, “ the elect Lady.” The third 
epistle is addressed to Gaius. He was 
probably a convert of St. John, Epist. 3, 
4, and a layman of wealth and distinc- 
tion, Epist. 5, 6, in some city near Eph- 
esus. The object of St. John in writing 
the second epistle was to warn the lady 
to whom he wrote against abetting the 
teaching known as that of Basilides and 
his followers, by perhaps an undue kind- 
ness displayed by her toward the preach- 
ers of the false doctrine. The third 
epistle was written for the purpose of 
commending to the kindness and hospi- 
tality of Gaius some Christians who 
were strangers in the place where he 


lived. It is probable that these Chris- 
tians carried this letter with them to 
Gaius as their introduction. 

Joi'ada (joi'a-da) ( Jehovah hath 
known), high priest after his father 
Eliashib. Neh. 13 : 28. 

Joi'akim (joi'a-kim), a high priest, 
son of the renowned Jeshua. Neh. 12: 
10 . 

Joi'arib (joi'a-rib). 1. A teacher 
who returned from Babylon with Ezra. 
Ezra 8 : 16. (b.c. 458.) 

2. The founder of one of the courses 
of priests, elsewhere called in full Je- 
hoiarib. Neh. 12:6, 19. 

3. A Shilonite — i. e. probably a de- 
scendant of Shelah the son of Judah. 
Neh. 11 : 5. 

Jok'deam (jok'de-am), a city of 
Judah, in the mountains, Josh. 15 : 56. 

Jo'kim (jo'kim), one of the sons of 
Shelah the son of Judah. 1 Chron. 4: 
22 . 

Jok'meam (jok'me-am) ( the people 
is gathered) , a city of Ephraim, given 
with its suburbs to the Kohathite Le- 
vites. 1 Chron. 6 : 68. The situation of 
Jokmeam (in Authorized Version Jok- 
neam) is to a certain extent indicated 
in 1 Kings 4 : 12, where it is named 
with places which we know to have been 
in the Jordan valley at the extreme east 
boundary of the tribe. 

Jok'neam (jok'ne-am) {let the peo- 
ple possess), a city of the tribe of Zeb- 
ulun, allotted with its suburbs to the 
Merarite Levites. Josh. 21:34. Its 
modern site is T ell Keimun, an eminence 
which stands just below the eastern 
termination of Carmel. 

Jok'shan (jok'shan) (fowler), a son 
of Abraham and Keturah, Gen. 25 : 2, 3 ; 
1 Chron. 1:32, whose sons were Sheba 
and Dedan. 

Jok'tan (jok'tan) (small), son of 
Eber, Gen. 10 : 25 ; 1 Chron. 1 : 19, and 
the father of the Joktanite Arabs. Gen. 
10 : 30. 

Jok'theel (jok'the-el) ( subdued by 
God). 1. A city in the low country of 
Judah, Josh. 15:38, named next to 
Lachish. 

2. “ God-subdued,” the title given by 
Amaziah to the cliff (Authorized Ver- 
sion Selah) — the stronghold of the 
Edomites, now Petra — after he had cap- 
tured it from them.. 2 Kings 14:7. 
The parallel narrative of. 2 Chron. 25 : 
11-13 supplies fuller details. 

Jo'na (jo'na) (a dove) (Greek form 


JON 


326 


JON 


of Jonah), the father of the apostle 
Peter, John 1:42, who is hence ad- 
dressed as Simon Bar-jona ( i . e. son of 
Jona) in Matt. 16 : 17, A. V., in R. V. 
the form Jonah is used. In the R. V. 
of John the name John is substituted, 
on the authority of manuscripts. 

Jon'adab (jon'a-dab). 1. Son of 
Shimeah and nephew of David. He is 
described as “ very subtil.” 2 Sam. 13 : 
3. His age naturally made him the 
friend of his cousin Amnon, heir to the 
throne. 2 Sam. 13 : 3. He gave him 
the fatal advice for ensnaring his sister 
Tamar, ch. 13 : 5, 6. Again, when, in a 
later stage of the same tragedy, Amnon 
was murdered by Absalom, and the ex- 
aggerated report reached David that all 
the princes were slaughtered, Jonadab 
was either already aware of or easily 
grasped the real state of the case. 2 
Sam. 13 : 32, 33. 

2. Jer. 35 : 6, 8, 10, 14, 16, 18, 19. [Je- 

HONADAB.] 

Jo'nah (jo'nah) {dove), the fifth of 
the minor prophets, was the son of 
Amittai, and a native of Gath-hepher. 
2 Kings 14 : 25. He flourished before 
the close of the reign of Jeroboam II 
(832-770). He foretold in a time of 
bitter affliction, the recovery of the bor- 
ders 'of Israel from Hamath in Syria 
to the Dead Sea ; which was accom- 
plished by Jeroboam, restoring Israel’s 
territory to what it was in the golden 
days of Solomon. Beyond this we have 
no knowledge of him except the state- 
ments found in the book concerning him. 

Jonah, the Book of, may be so 
named, not because he is the author, 
but because it is written concerning him, 
whoever is the author. 

The date of the story belongs to the 
reign of Jeroboam II. — about 800 b.c., 
whatever the date of writing. 

There are two views among scholars, 
each with variations, as to the literary 
nature of the book. I. By many modern 
scholars it is regarded as “ a prophetic 
story,” an allegory or parable founded 
on fact, “ linked to the name of a 
prophet of an earlier date, and com- 
posed in order to inculcate the lesson 
with which the narrative concludes.” In 
this case the date of writing is supposed 
to be after the Exile. The reasons given 
are, — (1). The use of the past tense. 
“ Nineveh was an exceeding great city” 
and therefore Nineveh was not in exist- 
ence at the time the book was written. 


(2) The use of late forms of language. 

(3) Nineveh remained in fact an idola- 
trous city to the end. (4) This theory 
avoids the difficulties arising from a 
man’s living within a sea-monster’s 
stomach for three days, from the 
mourning and fasting of a whole city 
at the word of a stranger, while it 
teaches the same lessons as the historical 
facts. 

II. The general view till of late, and 
still held by scholars, is that the book 
is historical, teaching by actual facts 
the lessons to be inculcated. The story 
on the face of it appears to be historical. 
The miraculous element is not impos- 
sible, and the occasion was worthy of it. 
The date of the events is not neces- 
sarily, nor usually, the date of the writ- 
ing, so that the past tense “ was,” and 
late forms of language are no certain 
argument against the truth of the nar- 
rative. The time when Jonah lived was 
one of Assyrian decadence and weak- 
ness. There is no convincing or un- 
answerable argument against the his- 
toricity of the book. 

Note that neither view denies the di- 
vine inspiration of the book. The 
Spirit can inspire a parable as well as 
a historical fact and its statement. Even 
the reference to Jonah by Jesus does 
not decide the question, any more than 
any preacher’s reference to Hamlet or 
to giant Despair, prove whether they are 
historical or not. 

Its teachings. Jehovah was the 
rightful God of all nations, as He 
taught Abraham, and the Jews were 
God’s chosen instrument to make Him 
known, ! — a duty they too often forgot. 
It is a missionary book. It shows that 
no nation can safely refuse its mission, 
to bring all men into the kingdom of 
God. The divine compassion of God 
enfolds all men in its loving arms. 

Jo'nam (jo'nam) {Jehovah hath been 
gracious), the form given to Jonan in 
the Revised Version of Luke 3: 30. 

Jo'nan (jo'nan) (perhaps a contrac- 
tion of Johanan, Jehovah hath been gra- 
cious), son of Eliakim, in the genealogy 
of Christ. Luke : 30. 

Jo'nas (jo'nas) {a dove). 1 . The 
prophet Jonah. Matt. 12:39, 40, 41; 16: 
4. 

2. Father of Peter. John 21:15-17. 
[Jona.] R. V. translates John. 

Jon'athan ( jon'a-than), that is, tc Je- 
hovah hath given,” the eldest son of 


327 



JAFFA (JOPPA; FROM THE SEA, 







JON 


328 


JOR 


King Saul, and a young man when his 
father became king. He was a man of 
great strength and activity. 2 Sam. 1: 
23. He was also famous as a warrior, 
as is shown by the courage he showed 
in attacking the garrison of the Philis- 
tines, in company with his armor-bearer 
only, slaying twenty men and putting an 
army to flight. 1 Sam. 14 : 6-16. Dur- 
ing the pursuit, Jonathan, who had not 
heard of the rash curse, ch. 14 : 24, which 
Saul invoked on any one who ate before 
the evening, tasted the honey which lay 
on the ground. Saul Would have sacri- 
ficed him; but the people interposed in 
behalf of the hero of that great day, and 
Jonathan was saved, ch. 14:24-45. The 
chief interest of Jonathan’s career is 
derived from the friendship with David, 
which began on the day of David’s re- 
turn from the victory over the champion 
of Gath, and continued till his death. 
Their last meeting was in the forest of 
Ziph, during Saul’s pursuit of David. 
1 Sam. 23: 16-18. From this time forth 
we hear no more till the battle of Gil- 
boa. In that battle he fell. 1 Sam. 31 : 
2, 8. (b.c. 1055.) His ashes were 

buried first at Jabesh-gilead, ch. 31 : 13, 
but were afterward removed with those 
of his father to Zelah in Benjamin. 2 
Sam. 21 : 12. The news of his death oc- 
casioned the celebrated elegy of David. 
He left a son, Mephibosheth. [Mephib- 
osheth.] 

2 A nephew of David. 2 Sam. 21 : 
21 ; 1 Chron. 20 : 7. He engaged in sin- 
gle combat with and slew a gigantic 
Philistine of Gath. 2 Sam. 21:21. 

3. The son of Abiathar, the high 

priest, is the last descendant of Eli of 
whom we hear anything. 2 Sam. 15 : 36 ; 
17 : 15-21 ; 1 Kings 1 : 42, 43. (b.c. 1023.) 

4. One of David’s heroes. 2 Sam. 23 : 
32 ; 1 Chron. 11 : 34. 

5. The son or descendant 6f Gershom 
the son of Moses. Judges 18:30. 

6. One of the Bene-Adin. Ezra 8 : 6. 

7. A priest, the son, of Asahel, in the 

time of Ezra. Ezra 10:15. (b.c. 458.) 

8. A priest of the family of Melicu. 
Neh. 12 : 14. 

9. One of the sons of Kareah, and 
brother of Johanan. Jer. 40:8. (b.c 
586.) 

10. Son of Joiada, and his successor 
in the high priesthood. Neh. 12 : 11, 22, 
23. 

11. Father of Zechariah, a priest who 


blew the trumpet at the dedication of 
the wall. Neh. 12:35. 

Jo'nath=eiem=recho'kim ( j o'nath-e'- 
lem-re-ko'kim) ( the silent dove of them 
that are afar off), a phrase found once 
only in the Bible, as a heading to the 
56th psalm. Modern scholars regard 
this as in all probability the name of a 
melody to which this psalm is to be 
sung. 

Jop'pa (jop'pa), or Japho (jaf'o) 
{beauty), now Jaffa, a town on the 
southwest coast of Palestine, in the por- 
tion of Dan. Josh. 19:46. Having a 
harbor attached to it — though always, 
as still, a dangerous one — it became the 
port of Jerusalem in the days of Sol- 
omon, and has been ever since. Here 
Jonah “took ship to flee from the pres- 
ence of his Maker.” Here, on the 
house-top of Simon the tanner, “ by 
the seaside,” St. Peter had his vision 
of tolerance. Acts 11 : 5. The existing 
town contains a population of over 35,- 
000 and is a very important town, partly 
from its trade and still more from the 
large number of pilgrims passing 
through every year to Jerusalem. It is 
the western terminus of the railroad to 
that city. 

Jo'rah (jo'rah) {autumn rain), the 
ancestor of a family of 112 who re- 
turned from Babylon with Ezra. Ezra 
2:18. In Neh. 7:24 he appears under 
the name Hariph, or more correctly 
the same family are represented as the 
Bene-Hariph, this being probably the 
true form. 

Jor'ai (jo'rai) {whom Jehovah 
teaches), one of the Gadites dwelling 
at Gilead in Bashan. 1 Chron. 5 : 13. 

Jo'ram (jo'ram) {Jehovah is ex- 
alted). 1. Son of Ahab king of Israel. 
2 Kings 8 : 16, 25, 28, 29 ; 9 : 14, 17, 21- 
23, 29. [Jehoram, 1.] 

2. Son of Jehoshaphat; king of Judah. 
2 Kings 8 : 21, 23, 24 ; 1 Chron. 3 : 11 ; 2 
Chron. 21: 5. Matt. 1: 8. [Jehoram, 2.] 

3. A priest in the reign of Jehosha- 
phat. 2 Chron. 17 : 8. 

4. A Levite, descendant of Eliezer, in 
the time of David. 1 Chron. 26 : 25. 

5. Son of Toi king of Hamath. 2 
Sam. 8:10. [Hadoram.] 

Jor'dan (jor'dan) {the descender) , 
is the one river of the “ great plain ” 
of Palestine — the “descender,” if not 
“ the river of God ” in the book of 
Psalms, at least that of his chosen peo- 
ple throughout their history. There 


JOR 


329 


JOR 


were very many fords in the northern 
portion, but south of the plain of Es- 
draelon there were few. There were 
fords over against Jericho, to which 
point the men of Jericho pursued the 
spies. Josh. 2:7; comp. Judges 3 : 28. 
Higher up were the fords or passages 
of Bethbarah, where Gideon lay in wait 
for the Midianites, Judges 7 : 24, and 
where the men of Gilead slew the 
Ephraimites, ch. 12:6. Jacob crossed 
the Jordan at some ford, Gen. 32:10. 
The question as to the positions of the 
various fords mentioned in the Bible is 
a disputed one. There were several 
well-known fords, in its lower portion. 
From their vicinity to Jerusalem these 
lower fords were much used. David, it 
is probable, passed over them in one 
instance to fight the Syrians. 2 Sam. 
10 : 16, 17. Thus there were two cus- 
tomary places at which the Jordan was 
fordable ; and it must have been at one 
of these, if not at both, that baptism 
was afterward administered by St. John 
and by the disciples of our Lord. The 
fords were rendered so much more pre- 
cious in those days from two circum- 
stances. First, it does not appear that 
there were then any bridges thrown over 
or boats regularly established on the 
Jordan; and secondly, because “Jordan 
overflowed all his banks all the time of 
harvest.” Josh. 3 : 15. The channel or 
bed of the river became brimful, so that 
the level of the water and of the banks 
was then the same. Bridges were built 
in Roman times at several places, but 
there were probably none before that 
time, — at least none were mentioned. 
Dr. Selah Merrill speaks of a fine bridge 
near Tarichaea, just below the point 
where the Jordan leaves the lake of 
Galilee which doubtless existed in 
Christ’s time. The last feature which 
remains to be noticed in the scriptural 
account of the Jordan is its frequent 
mention as a boundary : “ over Jordan,” 
“ this ” and “ the other side,” or “ beyond 
Jordan,” were expressions as familiar 
to the Israelites as “ across the water,” 
“ this ” and “ the other side of the Chan- 
nel ” are to English ears. In one sense' 
indeed, that is, in so far as it was the 
eastern boundary of the land of Canaan, 
it was the eastern boundary jof the 
promised land. Num. 34:12. The Jor- 
dan rises from several sources near 
Panium ( Banias ), and passes through 
the lakes of Merom ( Huleh ) and Gen- 


nesaret. The two principal features in 
its course are its descent and its wind- 
ings. From the Lake of the Tiberias 
to the Dead Sea is about 65 miles; but 
if all the windings of the river are 
counted it reaches a total of 200 miles. 
From its fountain heads to the Dead 
Sea it rushes down one continuous in- 
clined plane, only broken by a series of 
rapids or precipitous falls. Between the 



THE JORDAN NEAR DAN. 


Lake of Gennesaret and the Dead Sea 
there are about 27 rapids apart from 
whirlpools. The depression of the Lake 
of Gennesaret below the level of the 
Mediterranean is 682 feet, and that of 
the Dead Sea 1292 feet. The whole de- 
scent from its source to the Dead Sea 
is 2492 feet. Its width and depth vary 
exceedingly not only with the portion 
under consideration, but also with the 
season of the year. For this reason we 
find all varieties of estimates in different 
authorities. The only important trib- 
utaries to the Jordan below Gennesaret 
are the Yarmuk (Hieromax) and the 
Zerka (Jabbok). Not a single city ever 
crowned the banks of the Jordan. Still 
Bethshan and Jericho to the west, Ge- 
rasa, Pella and Gadara to the east of it 
were important cities, and caused a good 
deal of traffic between the two opposite 



JOR 


330 


JOS 


banks. The physical features of the 
Ghor, through which the Jordan flows, 
are treated of under Palestine. 

Jo'rim (jo' rim), son of Matthat, in 
the genealogy of Christ. Luke 3 : 29. 

Jor'koam (jor'ko-am), either a de- 
scendant of Caleb the son of Hezron, 
or the name of a place in the tribe of 
Judah. 1 Chron. 2 : 44. 

Jos'abad (jos'a-bad), properly Joza- 
bad the Gederathite, one of the warriors 
of Benjamin who joined David at Zik- 
lag. 1 Chron. 12:4. (b.c. 1057.) 

Jos'aphat (jos'a-fat)== Jehoshaphat 
king of Judah. Matt. 1 : 8. 

Jo'se (jo'se) (another form of 
Joses), son of Eliezer, in the genealogy 
of Jesus Christ. Luke 3:29. R. V. 
Jesus . 

Jo'sech, the form of name given in 
the Revised Version for Joseph, in Luke 
3 : 26. It is not found in the Old Testa- 
ment. 

Jos'edech (j6s'e-dek) = Jehozadak 
(the father of Jeshua the high priest). 
Hag. 1:1, 12, 14 ; 2:2, 4 ; Zech. 6 : 11. 

Jo'seph (jo'sef) ( may he add). 1. 
The elder of the two sons of Jacob by 
Rachel. He was born in Padan-aram 
(Mesopotamia), about b.c. 1746 (Us- 
sher). He is first mentioned when a 
youth, seventeen years old. Joseph 
brought the evil report of his brethren 
to his father, and they hated him be- 
cause his father loved him more than 
he did them, and had shown his pref- 
erence by making him a dress which 
appears to have been a long .tunic with 
sleeves, worn by youths and maidens 
of the richer class. Gen. 37 : 2, 3. He 
dreamed a dream foreshadowing his 
future power, which increased the ha- 
tred of his brethren. Gen. 37 : 5-7. He 
was sent by his father to visit his 
brothers, who were tending flocks in the 
fields of Dothan. They resolved to kill 
him, but he was saved by Reuben, who 
persuaded the brothers to cast Joseph 
into a dry pit, to the intent that he 
might restore him to Jacob. The ap- 
pearance of the Ishmaelites suggested 
his sale for “ twenty pieces of silver,” 
ver. 28. Sold into Egypt to Poti- 
phar, Joseph prospered and was soon 
set over Potiphar’s house, and “ all he 
had he gave into his hand but in- 
curring the anger of Potiphar’s wife, ch. 
39 : 7-13, he was falsely accused and 
thrown into prison, where he remained 


at least two years, interpreting during 
this time the dreams of the cupbearer 
and the baker. Finally Pharaoh him- 
self dreamed two prophetic dreams. 
Joseph, being sent for, interpreted them 
in the name of God, foretelling the seven 
years of plenty and the seven years of 
famine. Pharaoh at once appointed 
Joseph not merely governor of Egypt, 
but second only to the sovereign, and 
also gave him to wife Asenath, daughter 
of Potipherah priest of On (Hieropolis), 
and gave him a name or title, Zaphnath- 
paaneah. Joseph’s first act was to go 
throughout all the land of Egypt. Dur- 
ing the seven plenteous years there was 
a very abundant produce, and he gath- 
ered the fifth part and laid it up. When 
the seven good years had passed, the 
famine began. Gen. 41 : 54-57. [Fam- 
ine.] 

After the people had consumed all the 
grain they had stored themselves they 
were supplied by Joseph from the store- 
houses he had filled. First they gave 
money in return, when that was ex- 
hausted they gave away their cattle and 
finally themselves and their land. As a 
result all the land in Egypt, except that 
of the priests, became the property of 
the Pharaoh who received an annual rent 
of one-fifth of the produce from the for- 
mer owners, who had thus become his 
tenants. (Gen. 47 : 13-26.) Now Jacob, 
who had suffered also from the effects 
of the famine, sent Joseph’s brothers 
to Egypt for corn. The whole story of 
Joseph’s treatment of his brethren is so 
graphically told in Gen. 42-45, and is so 
familiar, that it is unnecessary here to 
repeat it. On the death of Jacob in 
Egypt, Joseph carried him to Canaan, 
and laid him in the cave of Machpelah, 
the burying-place of his fathers. Joseph 
lived “ a hundred and ten years,” hav- 
ing been more than ninety in Egypt. 
Dying, he took an oath of his brethren 
that they should carry up his bones to 
the land of promise : thus showing in 
his. latest action the faith, Heb. 11 : 22, 
which had guided his whole life. Like 
his father he was embalmed, “ and he 
was put in a coffin in Egypt.” Gen. 50 : 
26. His trust Moses kept, and laid the 
bones of Joseph in his inheritance in 
Shechem, in the territory of Ephraim 
his offspring. His tomb is, according to 
tradition, about a stone’s throw from 
Jacob’s well. 

2. Father of Igal, who represented the 


JOS 


331 


JOS 


tribe of Issachar among the spies. Num. 
13: 7. 

3. An Israelite who had married a 

foreign wife. Ezra 10:42. (b.c. 458.) 

4. A representative of the priestly 
family of Shebaniah. Neh. 12 : 14, in 
the days of Joiakim, about b.c. 500. 

5. One of the ancestors of Christ, 
Luke 3 : 30, son of Jonan. 

6. Another ancestor of Christ, son of 
Judah. Luke 3: 26. In R. V. Josech. 

7. Another, son of Mattathias. Luke 
3 : 24. 

8. Son of Heli, and reputed father of 
Jesus Christ. All that is told us of Jo- 
seph in the New Testament may be 
summed up in a few words. He was a 
just man, and of the house and lineage 
of David. He lived at Nazareth in Gal- 
ilee. He espoused Mary, and before he 
took her home as his wife received the 
angelic communication recorded in Matt. 
1:20. When Jesus was twelve years 
old Joseph and Mary took him with 
them to keep the passover at Jerusalem, 
aitd when they returned to Nazareth he 
continued to act as a father to the child 
Jesus, and was reputed to be so indeed. 
But here our knowledge of Joseph ends. 
That he died before our Lord’s cruci- 
fixion is indeed tolerably certain, by 
what is related John 19 : 27, and perhaps 
Matt. 12 : 46 may imply that he was then 
dead. Probably the usual opinion is 
right, that he died before the beginning 
of Jesus’ ministry. But where, when or 
how he died we know not. 

9. Joseph of Arimathaea, a rich Israel- 
ite, probably a member of the Great 
Council or Sanhedrin. He is further 
characterized as “ a good man and a 
just.” Luke 23 : 50. He was Jesus’ dis- 
ciple, “ but secretly for fear of the 
Jews.” John 19:38. We are expressly 
told that he did not “ consent to the 
counsel and deed ” of his colleagues in 
conspiring to bring about the death of 
Jesus; but he seems to have lacked the 
courage to protest against their judg- 
ment. On the very evening of the cruci- 
fixion, when the triumph of the chief 
priests and rulers seemed complete, Jo- 
seph “ went in boldly unto Pilate and 
craved the body of Jesus.” Pilate con- 
sented. Joseph and Nicodemus then, 
having enfolded the sacred body in the 
linen shroud which Joseph had bought, 
consigned it to a tomb hewn in a rock, 
in a garden belonging to Joseph, and 
close to the place of crucifixion. 


10. Joseph, called Barsabas, and sur- 
named Justus; one of the two persons 
chosen by the assembled church, Acts 
1 : 23, as worthy to fill the place in the 
apostolic company from which Judas 
had fallen. 

Jo'ses. 1. Son of Eliezer in the gen- 
ealogy of Christ, Luke 3 : 29. The 
A. V. by mistake Jose. The R. V. ac- 
cepts another reading “Jesus.” 

2. One of the Lord’s brethren. Matt. 
13 : 55 ; Mark 6 : 3. 

3. Joses Barnabas. Acts 4: 36. [Bar- 
nabas.] 

Jo'shah (jo'shah), a prince of the 
house of Simeon. 1 Chron. 4 : 34, 38-41. 

Josh'aphat (josh'a-fat) ( Jehovah 
hath judged ), the Mithnite, one of 
David’s guard. 1 Chron. 11 : 43. 

Joshavi'ah ( josh-a-vi'ah), the son of 
Elnaam, and one of David’s guard. 1 
Chron. 11 : 46. 

Joshbeka'shah (josh-bek-a'shah), son 
of Heman, head of the seventeenth 
course of musicians. 1 Chron. 25 : 4, 24. 

Josh'ua (josh'u-a) ( Jehovah is sal- 
vation). His name appears in the vari- 
ous forms of Hoshea, Oshea, Jehosh- 
ua, Jeshua and Jesus. 1. The son of 
Nun, of the tribe of Ephraim. 1 Chron. 
7 : 27. He must have been born in 
Goshen, Egypt, where his parents were 
in slavery. He was nearly forty years 
old when he shared in the hurried tri- 
umph of the exodus. He is mentioned 
first in connection with the fight against 
Amalelc at Rephidim, when he was 
chosen by Moses to lead the Israelites. 
Ex. 17 : 9. Soon afterward he was one 
of the twelve chiefs who were sent, 
Num. 13 : 17, to explore the land of 
Canaan, and one of the two, ch. 14 : 6, 
who gave an encouraging report of their 
journey. Moses, shortly before his 
death, was directed, Num. 27 : 18, to in- 
vest Joshua with authority over the peo- 
ple. God himself gave Joshua a charge 
by the mouth of the dying lawgiver. 
Deut. 31 : 14, 23. Under the direction of 
God again renewed, Josh. 1:1, Joshua 
assumed the command of the people at 
Shittim, sent spies into Jericho, crossed 
the Jordan, fortified a camp at Gilgal, 
circumcised the people, kept the pass- 
over, and was visited by the Captain of 
the Lord’s host. The unexpectedness of 
the fall of Jericho made it more terrible 
to the Canaanites. In the great battle 
of Beth-horon the Amorites were sig- 
nally routed, and the south country was 


JOS 


332 


JOT 


open to the Israelites. Joshua returned 
to the camp at Gilgal, master of half of 
Palestine. He defeated the Canaanites 
under Jabin king of Hazor. In six 
years, six tribes, with thirty-one petty 
chiefs, were conquered. Joshua, now 
stricken in years, proceeded to make the 
division of the conquered land. Tim- 
nath-serah in Mount Ephraim was as- 
signed as Joshua’s peculiar inheritance. 
After an interval of rest, Joshua con- 
voked an assembly from all Israel. He 
delivered two solemn addresses, re- 
corded in Josh. 23, 24. He died at the 
age of 110 years, and was buried in his 
own city, Timnath-serah. 

2. An inhabitant of Beth-shemesh, in 
whose field was the stone at which the 
milch-kine stopped when they drew 
the ark of God with the offerings of the 
Philistines from Ekron to Beth-shemesh. 
1 Sam. 6 : 14, 18. 

3. A governor of the city who gave 
his name to a gate of Jerusalem. 2 
Kings 23:8. (In the reign of Josiah, 
B.c. 628.) 

4. Jeshua the son of Jozadak. Hag. 
1 : 1, 12, 14 ; Zech. 3 : 1, etc. 

Josh'ua, Book of. Named from 
Joshua the son of Nun, who is the prin- 
cipal character in it. This book as the 
continuance of the history, is now joined 
by most modern scholars to the Penta- 
teuch, and the whole six are termed the 
Hexateuch. They find the same inter- 
woven threads in Joshua as in the 
earlier books. 

It is probable that the book includes 
documents written by Joshua, since it is 
expressly stated of some portions that 
Joshua wrote “ these words.” The last 
verses, ch. 24 : 29-33, were obviously 
added at a later time. Some events, 
such as the capture of Hebron and Debir, 
Josh. 15: 13-19 (see Judges 1: 10-15), of 
Leshem, Josh. 19: 47 (see Judges 18: 7), 
and the joint occupation of Jerusalem, 
Josh. 15:63 (see Judges 1:21) probably 
did not occur till after Joshua’s death. 

The book consists of three parts : 1. 

The Conquest of Canaan (chs. 1-12), 
with - its various campaigns, and the con- 
firmation of the covenant on Mt. Ebal. 
2. The Settlement of Canaan (chs. 13- 
22), with a description of the land and 
its allotment to the tribes. 3. Joshua’s 
Farewell address (chs. 23, 24). 

Josi'ah (jo-si'ah) ( Jehovah sup- 
ports). 1 . The son of Amon and Jedi- 
dah, succeeded his father b.c. 639, in the 


eighth year of his age, and reigned 31 
years. His history is contained in 2 
Kings 22 : 1-24 : 30 ; 2 Chron. 34, 35 ; and 
the first twelve chapters of Jeremiah 
throw much light upon the general char- 
acter of the Jews in his day. The gen- 
eral keeper of his conscience during his 
youth seems to have been the high 
priest Hilkiah, but Josiah seems to have 
been a willing pupil. It says in 2 Chron. 
that he began in the eighth year of his 
reign to seek the Lord ; and in his 
twelfth year began to destroy every- 
where high places, groves, images and all 
outward signs and relics of idolatry. 
In his eighteenth year began the real 
reformation of his reign. The temple 
was restored under a special commis- 
sion ; and in the course of the repairs 
Hilkiah the priest found that book of 
the law of the Lord which quickened so 
remarkably the ardent zeal of the king. 
He was aided by Jeremiah the prophet 
in spreading through his kingdom the 
knowledge and worship of Jehovah. 
The great day of Josiah’s life was the 
day of the passover in the eighteenth 
year of his reign. After this his en- 
deavors to abolish every trace of idol- 
atry and superstition were still carried 
on ; but of the actual events of the 
next thirteen years we know nothing. 
When Pharaoh-necho went from Egypt 
to Carchemish to carry on his war 
against Assyria, Josiah opposed his 
march along the seacoast. Necho re- 
luctantly paused and gave him battle in 
the valley of Esdraelon. Josiah was 
mortally wounded, and died before he 
could reach Jerusalem. He was buried 
with extraordinary honors. 

2. The son of Zephaniah, at whose 
house took place the solemn and sym- 
bolical crowning of Joshua the high 
priest. Zech. 6 : 10. 

Josi'as (jo-si'as). Josiah, king of 
Judah. .Matt. 1:10, 11. 

Josibi'ah ( jos-i-bi'ah) ( Jehovah 
causes to dwell), the father of Jehu, 
a Simeonite. 1 Chron. 4 : 35. 

Josiphi'ah (jos-i-fi'ah) ( Jehovah 
adds), the father or ancestor of Shelo- 
mith, who returned with Ezra. Ezra 8 : 
10 . 

Jot, the English form of the Greek 
iota, i. e., the smallest letter of the Greek 
alphabet. The Hebrew is yod, or y 
formed like a comma (’). It is used 
metaphorically to express the minutest 
thing. 


TOT 


333 


JUB 


Jot'bah (jot'bah) (pleasantness) , the 
native place of Meshullemeth, the queen 
of Manasseh. 2 Kings 21 : 19. 

Jot'bath (jot'bath) or Jot'bathah 
(jot'ba-tha) (goodness), Deut. 10:7; 
Num. 33:33, a desert station of the 
Israelites. 

Jo'tham (jo'tham) (Jehovah is per- 
fect). 1. The youngest son of Gideon, 
Judges 9 : 5, who escaped from the mas- 
sacre of his brethren. His parable of 
the reign of the bramble is the earliest 
example of the kind. 

2. The son of King Uzziah or Azariah 
and Jerushah. He was regent of the 
kingdom for some years during his 
father’s leprosy, and sole king for about 
two years — b.c. 736-735. He was con- 
temporary with Pekah and with the 
prophet Isaiah. His history is con- 
tained in 2 Kings 15 and 2 Chron. 27. 

3. A descendant of Judah, son of Jah- 
dai. 1 Chron. 2 : 47. 

Joz'abad (joz'a-bad) (Jehovah has 
bestowed) . 1. A captain of the thou- 

sands of Manasseh, who deserted to 
David before the battle of Gilboa. 1 
Chron. 12:20. (b.c. 1055.) 

2. A hero of Manasseh, like the pre- 
ceding. 1 Chron. 12 : 20. 

3. A Levite in the reign of Hezekiah. 
2 Chron. 31 : 13. 

4. A chief Levite in the reign of 
Josiah. 2 Chron. 35 : 9. 

5. A Levite, son of Jeshua, in the days 

of Ezra. Ezra 8: 33. (b.c. 458.) Prob- 

ably identical with No. 7. 

6. A priest of the sons of Pashur, who 
had married a foreign wife. Ezra 10: 
22 . 

7. A Levite among those who had 

married foreign wives, Ezra 10 : 23. He 
is probably identical with Jozabad the 
Levite, Neh. 8 : 7, and with Jozabad 
who presided over the outer work of the 
temple. Neh. 11 : 16. (b.c. 458.) 

Joz'achar (joz'a-kar) (Jehovah has 
remembered) , one of the murderers of 
Joash king of Judah. 2 Kings 12:21. 
The writer of the Chronicles, 2 Chron. 
24:26, calls him Zabad. (b.c. 796.) 

Joz'adak (joz'a-dak) (Jehovah is 
righteous) . Ezra 3:2, 8 ; 5:2; 10 : 18 ; 
Neh. 12:26. The contracted form of 
Jehozadak. 

Ju'bal (ju'bal), a son of Lamech by 
Adah, and the inventor of the “harp 
and organ.” Gen. 4 : 21. 

Jubilee (ju'bl-le), The year of. 1. 
The name, — The name jubilee or jubile 


is derived from the Hebrew job el, the 
joyful shout or clangor of trumpets, by 
which the year of jubilee was announced. 

2. The time of its celebration . — It was 
celebrated every fiftieth year, marking 
the half century; so that it followed the 
seventh sabbatic year, and for two years 
in succession the land lay fallow. It was 
announced by the blowing of trumpets 
on the day of atonement (about the 1st 
of October), the tenth day of the first 
month of the Israelites’ civil year (the 
seventh of their ecclesiastical year). 

3. The laws connected with the jubilee. 
— These embrace three points: (1) Rest 
for the soil. Lev. 25 : 11, 12. The land 
was to lie fallow, and there was to be no 
tillage as on the ordinary sabbatic year. 
The land was not to be sown, nor the 
vineyards and oliveyards dressed ; and 
it was implied that neither the spon- 
taneous fruits of the soil nor the pro- 
duce of the vine and olive was to be 
gathered, but all was to be left for the 
poor, the slave, the stranger and the 
cattle. Ex. 23 : 10, 11. The law was ac- 
companied by a promise of treble fer- 
tility in the sixth year, the fruit of 
which was to be eaten till the harvest 
sown in the eighth year was reaped in 
the ninth. Lev. 25 : 20-22. But the peo- 
ple were not debarred from other 
sources of subsistence, nor was the year 
to be spent in idleness. They could fish 
and hunt, take care of their bees and 
flocks, repair their buildings and furni- 
ture, and manufacture their clothing. 

(2) Reversion of landed property. The 
freehold of agricultural land could not 
be sold outright for in the jubilee every 
piece sold reverted to the owner or his 
heirs. The nominal sale amounted to 
a lease for the number of years to elapse 
before the next jubilee year, for the 
price was to be in proportion to the 
time. This applied to fields and houses 
in the country and to houses of the 
Levites in walled cities ; but other 
houses in such cities, if not redeemed 
within a year from their sale, remained 
the perpetual property of the buyer. 

(3) The manumission of those Israelites 
who had become slaves for any reason 
and either had not served the six years 
after which they were by law allowed 
their freedom (Ex. 21 : 2-6) or had 
elected to remain with their masters 
after the expiration of the. legal period. 

4. The reasons for the institution of 
the jubilee.— It was to be a remedy for 


JUB 


334 


JUD 


those evils which accompany human so- 
ciety and human government; and had 
these laws been observed, they would 
have made the Jewish nation the most 
prosperous and perfect that ever existed. 
(1) The jubilee tended to abolish pov- 
erty. It prevented large and permanent 
accumulations of wealth. It gave unfor- 
tunate families an opportunity to begin 
over again with a fair start in life. It 
particularly favored the poor, without 
injustice to the rich. (2) It tended to 
abolish slavery, and in fact did abolish 
the slavery of the poorer Hebrews them- 
selves; and it greatly mitigated it while 
it existed by removing at once the “ ter- 
rible incubus of a life-long bondage,” 
with its accompanying hopelessness. 
(3) “As an agricultural people, they 
would have much leisure ; they would 
observe the sabbatic spirit of the year 
by using its leisure for the instruction 
of their families in the law, and for 
acts of devotion ; and in accordance with 
this there was a solemn reading of the 
law to the people assembled at the feast 
of tabernacles.” — Smith’s larger Dic- 
tionary. (4) “This law of entail, by 
which the right heir could never be ex- 
cluded, was a provision of great wisdom 
for preserving families and tribes per- 
fectly distinct, and their genealogies 
faithfully recorded, in order that all 
might have evidence to establish their 
right to the ancestral property. Hence 
the tribe and family of Christ were 
readily discovered at his birth.” 

5. Mode of celebration. — “ The Bible 
says nothing of the mode of celebration, 
except that it was to be proclaimed by 
trumpets, and that it was to be a sabbatic 
year. Tradition tells us that every Is- 
raelite blew nine blasts, so as to make 
the trumpet literally ‘ sound throughout 
the land/ and that from the feast of 
trumpets or new year till the day of 
atonement (ten days after), the slaves 
were neither manumitted to return to 
their homes, nor made use of by their 
masters, but ate, drank and rejoiced; 
and when the day of atonement came, 
the judges blew the trumpets, the slaves 
were manumitted to go to their homes, 
and the fields were set free.” — McClin- 
tock and Strong. 

6. How long observed . — Though very 
little is said about its observance in the 
Bible history of the Jews, yet it is re- 
ferred to, and was no doubt observed 


with more or less faithfulness, till the 
Babylonish captivity. 

Ju'cal (ju'kal) {Jehovah is able), son 
of Shelemiah. Jer. 38 : 1. 

Ju'da (ju'da) ( praised ). 1. Son of 

Joseph, in the genealogy of Christ. 
Luke 3 : 30. 

2. Son of Joanna, or Hananiah. [Ha- 
naniah, 8.] Luke 3 : 26. R. V. Joda. 

3. One of the Lord’s brethren, enu- 
merated in Mark 6 : 3: R. V. Judas. 

4. The patriarch Judah. Sus. 56; 
Luke 3 : 33 ; Heb. 7 : 14 ; Rev. 5:5; 7:5. 

Judaea (ju-de'a) or Jude'a (from 
Judah), a territorial division first men- 
tioned after the captivity. It is found 
in Dan. 5 : 13, Authorized Version 
“Jewry,” and is alluded to in Neh. 11: 
3 (Authorized Version “Judah”). In 
the apocryphal books the word “ prov- 
ince ” is dropped, and throughout them 
and the New Testament the expressions 
are “the land of Judea,” “Judea.” In 
a wider sense, the term Judea was some- 
times extended to the whole country of 
the Canaanites, its ancient inhabitants; 
and even in the Gospels we read of the 
coasts of Judea “beyond Jordan.” Matt. 
19 : 1 ; Mark 10 : 1. In Mark, however, 
the R. V. has “ the borders of Judea 
and beyond Jordan.” Judea was, in 
strict language, the name of the third 
district, west of the Jordan and south 
of Samaria. It was made a portion of 
the Roman province of Syria upon the 
deposition of Archelaus, the ethnarch of 
Judea, in a.d. 6, and was governed by a 
procurator, who was subject to the gov- 
ernor of Syria. 

Ju'dah (ju'da) {praised), the fourth 
son of Jacob and the fourth of Leah. 
Of Judah’s personal character more 
traits are preserved than of any other 
of the patriarchs, with the exception of 
Joseph, whose life he in conjunction 
with Reuben saved. Gen. 37 : 26-28. 
During the second visit to Egypt for 
corn it was Judah who undertook to 
be responsible for the safety of Ben- 
jamin, ch. 43:3-10; and when, through 
Joseph’s artifice, the brothers were 
brought back to the palace, he is again 
the leader and spokesman of the band. 
So .too it is Judah who is sent before 
Jacob to smooth the way for him in the 
land of Goshen, ch. 46:28. This as- 
cendency over his brethren is reflected 
in the last words addressed to him by 
his father. The families of Judah 0 Q- 


335 



f 


SCENE IN THE WILDERNESS OF JUDAH. 

According to legend this mountain was the place of the Forty Days 

Temptation of the Saviour. 






JUD 


336 


JUD 


cupy a position among the tribes sim- 
ilar to that which their progenitor had 
taken among the patriarchs. The num- 
bers of the tribe at the census at Sinai 
were 74,600. Num. 1 : 26, 27. On the 
borders of the promised land they were 
76,500. Num. 26 : 22. The boundaries 
and contents of the territory allotted to 
Judah are narrated at great length, and 
with greater minuteness than the others, 
in Josh. 15 : 20-63. The north boundary, 
for the most part coincident with the 
south boundary of Benjamin, began at 
the embouchure of the Jordan and 
ended on the west at Jabneel on the 
coast of the Mediterranean, four miles 
south of Joppa. On the east the Dead 
Sea, and on the west the Mediterranean, 
formed the boundaries. The southern 
line is hard to determine, since it is de- 
noted by places many of which have 
not been identified. It left the Dead 
Sea at its extreme south end, and joined 
the Mediterranean at the Wady el-Arish. 
This territory is in length from north 
to south from 50 to 95 miles, and in 
breadth about 45. 

Judah, Kingdom of. Extent . — 
When the disruption of Solomon’s king- 
dom took place at Shechem, b.c. 937, 
only the tribe of Judah followed David, 
but almost immediately afterward the 
larger part of Benjamin joined Judah. 
A part, if not all, of the territory of 
Simeon, 1 Sam. 27:6; 1 Kings 19:3, 
comp. Josh. 19 : 1, 2, and of Dan, 2 Chron. 
11 : 10, comp. Josh. 19 : 41, 42, was rec- 
ognized as belonging to Judah; and in 
the reigns of Abijah and Asa the south- 
ern kingdom was enlarged by some ad- 
ditions taken out of the territory of 
Ephraim. 2 Chron. 13:19; 15 : 8 ; 17 : 2. 

Advantages . — The kingdom of Judah 
possessed many advantages which se- 
cured for it a longer continuance than 
that of Israel. A frontier less exposed 
to powerful enemies, a soil less fertile, a 
population hardier and more united, a 
fixed and venerated centre of adminis- 
tration and religion, a hereditary aris- 
tocracy in the sacerdotal caste, an army 
always subordinate, a succession of 
kings which no revolution interrupted ; 
so that Judah survived her more pop- 
ulous and more powerful sister kingdom 
by 135 years, and lasted from b.c. 937 to 
b.c. 586. 

History . — The first three kings of Ju- 
dah seem to have cherished the hope of 
re-establishing their authority over the 


ten tribes; for sixty years there was 
war between them and the kings of 
Israel. The victory achieved by the dar- 
ing Abijah brought to Judah a tem- 
porary accession of territory. Asa ap- 
pears to have enlarged it still further. 
Hanani’s remonstrance, 2 Chron. 16 : 7, 
prepares us for the reversal by Jehosh- 
aphat of the policy which Asa pursued 
toward Israel and Damascus. A close 
alliance sprang up with strange rapidity 
between Judah and Israel. Jehoshaphat, 
active and prosperous, commanded the 
respect of his neighbors ; but under Am- 
aziah Jerusalem was entered and plun- 
dered by the Israelites. Under Uzziah 
and Jotham, Judah long enjoyed pros- 
perity, till Ahaz became the tributary 
and vassal of Tiglath-pileser. Already 
in the fatal grasp of Assyria, Judah was 
yet spared for a checkered existence of 
almost another century and a half after 
the termination of the kingdom of Israel. 
The consummation of the ruin came 
upon its people in the destruction of 
the temple by the hand of Nebuzaradan, 
the “ captain of the guard ” of Nebu- 
chadnezzar. B.c. 586. 2 Kings 25 : 8-21. 

There were 19 kings, all from the family 
of David. 

Ju'das, the Greek form of the Hebrew 
name Judah, occurring in the LXX. and 
the New Testament. 1. The patriarch 
Judah. Matt. 1:2, 3. 

2. A man residing at Damascus, in 
“the street which is called Straight,” in 
whose house Saul of Tarsus lodged 
after his miraculous conversion. Acts 
9: 11. 

Ju'das, surnamed Barsabas, a lead- 
ing member of the apostolic church at 
Jerusalem, Acts 15:22, endued with the 
gift of prophecy, ver. 32, chosen with 
Silas to accompany Paul and Barnabas 
as delegates to the church at Antioch. 
(a.d. 50.) Later, Judas went back to 
Jerusalem. 

Ju'das of Galilee, the leader of a 
popular revolt “in the days of the tax- 
ing” ( i . e. the census, under the pre- 
fecture of P. Sulp. Quirinius, a.d. 6, or 
7), referred to by Gamaliel in his speech 
before the Sanhedrin. Acts 5 : 37. Ac- 
cording to Josephus, Judas was a Gau- 
lonite of the city of Gamala; taking his 
name of Galilean either from his insur- 
rection having had its rise in Galilee or 
because Gaulonitis was loosely attached 
to Galilee. The Gaulonites, as his fol- 
lowers were called, may be regarded as 


JUD 


337 


JUD 


the doctrinal ancestors of the Zealots 
and Sicarii of later days. 

Ju'das Iscar'iot ( Judas of Kerioth ). 
He is sometimes called “ the son of Si- 
mon,” John 6:71; 13:2, 26, but more 
commonly Iscariotes. Matt. 10:4; 
Mark 3 : 19 ; Luke 6 : 16, etc. The name 
Iscariot has received many interpreta- 
tions more or less conjectural; but the 
question is now practically settled as be- 
ing from Ish Kerioth, i. e. “ man of 
Kerioth,” a town in the tribe of Judah. 
Josh. 15:25. Of the life of Judas be- 
fore the appearance of his name in the 
lists of the apostles we know absolutely 
nothing. What that appearance implies, 
however, is that he had previously de- 
clared himself a disciple. He was 
drawn, as the others were, by the preach- 
ing of the Baptist, or his own Messianic 
hopes, or the “ gracious words ” of the 
new Teacher, to leave his former life, 
and to obey the call of the Prophet of 
Nazareth. The choice was not made, 
we must remember, without a prevision 
of its issue. John 6: 64. The germs of 
the evil, in all likelihood, unfolded 
themselves gradually. The rules to 
which the twelve were subject in their 
first journey, Matt. 10:9, 10, sheltered 
him from the temptation that would 
have been most dangerous to him. The 
new form of life, of which we find the 
first traces in Luke 8 : 3, brought that 
temptation with it. As soon as the 
twelve were recognized as a body, trav- 
elling hither and thither with their 
Master, receiving money and other 
offerings, and redistributing what they 
received to the poor, it became necessary 
that some one should act as the steward 
and almoner of the small society, and 
this fell to Judas. John 12:6; 13:29. 
The Galilean or Judean peasant found 
himself entrusted with larger sums of 
money than before, and with this there 
came covetousness, unfaithfulness, em- 
bezzlement. Several times he showed 
his tendency to avarice and selfishness. 
This, even under the best of influences, 
grew worse and worse, till he betrayed 
his Master for thirty pieces of silver. 

Why was such a man chosen to be one 
of the twelve ? — (1) There was needed 
among the disciples, as in the Church 
now, a man of just such talents as Judas 
possessed, — the talent for managing 
business affairs. (2) Though he prob- 
ably followed Christ at first from mixed 
motives, as did the other disciples, he 
22 


had the opportunity of becoming a good 
and useful man. (3) It doubtless was 
included in God’s plans that there 
should be thus a standing argument for 
the truth and honesty of the gospel; 
for if any wrong or trickery had been 
concealed, it would have been revealed 
by the traitor in self-defence. (4) Per- 
haps to teach the Church that God can 
bless and the gospel can succeed even 
though some bad men may creep into 
the fold. 

What was Judas ' motive in betraying 
Christ ? — (l) Anger at the public rebuke 
given him by Christ at the supper in the 
house of Simon the leper. Matt. 26 : 6- 
14. (2) Avarice, covetousness, the 

thirty pieces of silver. John 12: 6. (3) 

The reaction of feeling in a bad soul 
against the Holy One whose words and 
character were a continual rebuke, and 
who knew the traitor’s heart. (4) A 
much larger covetousness, — an ambition 
to be the treasurer, not merely of a 
few poor disciples, but of a great and 
splendid temporal kingdom of the Mes- 
siah. He would hasten on the coming 
of that kingdom by compelling Jesus 
to defend himself. (5) Perhaps disap- 
pointment because Christ insisted on 
foretelling his death instead of receiving 
his kingdom. He began to fear that 
there was to be no kingdom, after all. 
(6) Perhaps, also, Judas “ abandoned 
what seemed to him a failing cause, and 
hoped by his treachery to gain a posi- 
tion of honor and influence in the 
Pharisaic party.” 

The end of Judas. — (1) Judas, when 
he saw the results of his betrayal, “ re- 
pented himself.” Matt. 27 : 3-10. He 
saw his sin in a new light, and “ his 
conscience bounded into fury.” (2) He' 
made ineffectual struggles to escape, by 
attempting to return the reward to the 
Pharisees ; and when they would not 
receive it, he cast it down at their feet 
and left it. Matt. 27 : 5. But (a) res- 
titution of the silver did not undo the 
wrong; (b) it was restored in a wrong 
spirit, — a desire for relief rather than 
hatred of sin; ( c ) he confessed to the 
wrong party, or rather to those who 
should have been secondary, and who 
could not grant forgiveness; (d) “com- 
punction is not conversion.” (3) The 
money was used to buy a burial-field 
for poor strangers. Matt. 27 : 6-10. (4) 

Judas himself, in his despair, went out 
and hanged himself. Matt. 27: 5, at Acel- 


JUD 


338 


JUD 


dama, on the southern slope of the val- 
ley of Hinnom, near Jerusalem, and in 
the act he fell down a precipice and was 
dashed into pieces. Acts 1 : 18. “ And 

he went to his own place.” Acts 1 : 25. 
“ A guilty conscience must find either 
hell or pardon.” (5) Judas’ repentance 
may be compared to that of Esau. Gen. 
27 : 32-38 ; Heb. 12 : 16, 17. It is con- 
trasted with that of Peter. Judas 
proved his repentance to be false by im- 
mediately committing another sin, sui- 
cide. Peter proved his to be true by 
serving the Lord faithfully ever after. 

Ju'das Maccabas'us. [Maccabees.] 

Ju'das, or Jude, called also Lebbeus 
and Thaddeus, one of the twelve apos- 
tles. Matt. 10:3; Mark 3 : 18 • Luke 6 : 
16 ; John 14 : 22 ; Acts 1 : 13. The A. V. 
in Luke and Acts have “Judas the 
brother of James.” The R. V. text 
changes this to “ the son,” though re- 
taining the other reading in the margin. 
Nothing is certainly known of the later 
history of the apostle. Tradition con- 
nects him with the foundation of the 
church at Edessa. 

Ju das, the Lord’s brother. Among 
the brethren of our Lord mentioned by 
the people of Nazareth. Matt. 13 : 55 ; 
Mark 6 : 3. 

Jude, Epistle of. Its author was 
probably Jude, i. e. Judas, one of the 
brethren of Jesus. There are no clear 
data from which to determine its date or 
place of writing, but Hastings places it 
between a.d. 63 and 80, and thinks it 
was composed at Jerusalem, or at least 
in Palestine, and written to the church 
'in Antioch of Syria. The object of the 
epistle is plainly enough announced ver. 
3 ; the reason for this exhortation is 
given ver. 4. The remainder of the 
epistle is almost entirely occupied by a 
minute depiction of the adversaries of 
the faith. The epistle closes by briefly 
reminding the readers of the oft-re- 
peated prediction of the apostles — 
among whom the writer seems not to 
rank himself — that the faith would be 
assailed by such enemies as he has de- 
picted, vs. 17-19, exhorting them to 
maintain their own steadfastness in the 
faith, vs. 20, 21, while they earnestly 
sought to rescue others from the cor- 
rupt example of those licentious livers, 
vs. 22, 23, and commending them to the 
power of God in language which forci- 
bly recalls the closing benediction of the 
epistle to the Romans, vs. 24, 25; cf. 


Rom. 16 : 25-27. This epistle presents 
one peculiarity, which, as we learn from 
St. Jerome, caused its authority to* be 
impugned in very early times — the sup- 
posed citation of apocryphal writings, 
vs. 9, 14, 15. The larger portion of this 
epistle, vs. 3-16, is almost identical in 
language and subject with a part of the 
Second Epistle of Peter. 2 Pet. 2:1- 
19. 

Judges. The judges were temporary 
and special deliverers, sent by God to de- 
liver the Israelites from their oppres- 
sors ; not supreme magistrates, succeed- 
ing to the authority of Moses and 
Joshua. Their power only extended over 
portions of the country, and some of 
them were contemporaneous. The judge 
was not only the vindicator, the pun- 
isher, but also the defender, the de- 
liverer. And “ as the administration of 
justice was, in times of peace, the most 
important function of the chieftain or 
king, the noun is sometimes equivalent 
to ruler. ... It is clear that the 
writer regarded these judges as a suc- 
cession of chiefs, who arose in different 
parts of the land, ruling with an au- 
thority which was personal and not 
hereditary.” — Prof. Geo. F. Moore, D.D. 

“ They were more like Peter the Her- 
mit and Jeanne d’Arc than like Roman 
dictators.” 

The nation had no fixed political 
capital, and the judge selected his own 
place of residence (Judg. 4:5; 10 : 1, 
2). “He was surrounded by but little 
splendor, having no royal court, in the 
proper sense of the term.” — Johnson. 
Even while the administration of Sam- 
uel gave something like a settled gov- 
ernment to the south, there was scope 
for the irregular exploits of Samson 
on the borders of the Philistines ; and 
Samuel at last established his authority 
as judge and prophet, but still as the 
servant of Jehovah, only to see it so 
abused by his sons as to exhaust the 
patience of the people, who at length de- 
manded a king, after the pattern of the 
surrounding nations. A list of the 
judges, whose history is given under 
their respective names will be found in 
the Appendix under Chronology. 

Judges, Book of. The name. This 
book is so named because it is the record 
of the exploits of some of the leaders, 
heroes, champions, and deliverers of 
Israel during one marked period of 
their history, extending from the Con- 


JUD 


339 


JUD 


quest of Palestine to the period of the 
kings. 

Number. There were fifteen judges 
in all. Eight were military heroes, five 
seem to have led more peaceful lives; 
while Eli the high priest and Samuel 
the prophet stand apart with peculiar 
missions. 

The period of the judges. Accord- 
ing to 1 Kings 6 : 1, there were 480 years 
between the Exodus and the commence- 
ment of the Temple in the fourth year 
of Solomon’s reign. Deducting from 
this the 40 years in the wilderness, 25 
years of Joshua in Canaan, and 20 or 
40 for Saul’s reign, 40 for David’s reign, 
and 3 years of Solomon’s reign, the 
period of the judges would be 480 — 148 
= 332 years (or 480 — 128 = 352 years), 
including the judgeships of Eli and Sam- 
uel up to the beginning of the reign of 
Saul. Of this about 280 years belong to 
the book of Judges. But if we add to- 
gether the numbers given in Judges they 
amount to 410 years. For this and other 
reasons it is entirely probable that “ the 
oppressions and deliverances were not 
successive, but, in part, synchronous. 
They were, in fact, without exception, 
local struggles; and it is not only con- 
ceivable, but highly probable, that while 
one part of the land was enjoying se- 
curity under its judge, other tribes were 
groaning under the foreign yoke.” — . 
Professor Moore. While several of the 
events were thus occurring at the same 
time in different parts of the land, in 
other cases the judges ruled practically 
over the whole. “ The judges formed 
temporary heads in particular centers, 
or over particular groups of tribes, — 
Barak, in the north of Israel, Gideon, in 
the center, Jejihthah, on the east of Jor- 
dan, Samson, in the extreme southwest.” 
— Driver. 

The construction of the book of 
judges. The book of the Judges con- 
sists of three parts : — 

1. Judg. 1-2 : 5, giving a brief review 
of the wars immediately after the death 
of Joshua. Professors 'Driver, Moore, 
and others regard this period as a re- 
sume of the conquest under Joshua, 
making the first statement, “After the 
death of Joshua it came to pass,” to be 
a later addition, referring not to the 
immediately following events, but to the 
period of the judges as a whole. And 
they find many contradictions between 
the two accounts. But it seems more 


scientific to take the account as it stands, 
and use the facts as given to us, and 
then there is no contradiction, but 
merely the differences of fact in two 
different periods. 

2. From Judg. 2:6-16:31 we have a 
history of successive oppressions and de- 
liverances by judges, not probably all in 
chronological order, but selected from 
the history to teach great religious les- 
sons for the good of the nations. 

3. Judg. 17-21 are an appendix throw- 
ing light on the social and religious life 
of the times; to which should be added 
the book of Ruth, which sheds a more 
beautiful and pleasing light over all. 

A distinction must be made between 
the date of the events, the date of the 
first records of these events, and the 
date when the books were put into their 
present shape. There are the same dif- 
ferences in modern history. English 
history has been written over many 
times, and the latest historians use their 
predecessor’s work as well as the earliest 
contemporary documents, and the his- 
tory is, doubtless, the more exactly true 
on that account, and are readable by us, 
while the earlier ones could not well be 
read on account of the changes in lan- 
guage. 

Date. It is uncertain at what date 
the book of Judges was completed in its 
present form. Professor Moore thinks 
it was not till after the exile. But there 
were certainly earlier records, and, 
doubtless, written histories of these 
events not far from the time of their 
occurrence. 

General prosperity mingled with ad- 
versity. “ It would be a mistake to sup- 
pose that there was nothing, during all 
the centuries covered by this book, but 
an unbroken series of apostasies and 
judgments. It would be as correct to 
infer from a modern criminal calendar 
that there were none but law-breakers in 
the country .” — Professor Green. From 
a hasty glance at the records we get an 
impression, as we used to do from the 
histories of a generation ago, that most 
of the years were filled with wars and 
oppressions. But a careful study and a 
glance at the chronological chart, in the 
Appendix, shows that the times of peace 
and prosperity were much longer than 
the times of war and oppression. The 
intervals of peace naturally take up less 
space in the history than do the severer 
epochs of war and oppression, which 


JUD 


340 


JUT 


mark sudden steps in the discipline of 
the people. 

Judgment hall. The word prceto- 
rium is so translated five times in the 
Authorized Version of the New Testa- 
ment, and in those five passages it de- 
notes two different places. 1. In John 
18 : 28, 33 ; 19 : 9, it is the residence 
which Pilate occupied when he visited 
Jerusalem. The site of Pilate’s praeto- 
rium in Jerusalem has given rise to 
much dispute, some supposing it to be 
the palace of King Herod, .others the 
tower of Antonia, which was then and 
long afterward the citadel of Jerusalem. 
2. In Acts 23 : 35 Herod’s judgment hall 
or praetorium in Caesarea was doubtless 
a part of that magnificent range of 
buildings the erection of which by King 
Herod is described in Josephus. The 
word “ palace,” or “ Caesar’s court,” in 
the Authorized Version of Philip. 1: 
13, is a translation of the same word 
praetorium. It may here have denoted 
the quarters of that detachment of the 
praetorian guards which was in imme- 
diate attendance upon the emperor, and 
had barracks in Mount Palatine at Rome. 
The R. V. rendering here is “ throughout 
the whole praetorian guard.” 

Ju'dith (ju'dith) ( object of praise ). 
1. The daughter of Beeri the Hittite, 
and wife of Esau. Gen. 26 : 34. 

2. The heroine of the apocryphal book 
which bears her name, who appears as 
an ideal type of piety, Judith 8 : 6, beau- 
ty, ch. 11 : 21, courage and chastity, ch. 
16 : 22 fif. 

Ju'dith, The book of, one of the 

books of the Apocrypha, belongs to the 
earliest specimens of historical fiction. 
As to its authorship it probably belongs 
to the Maccabaean period, b.c. 175-135. 

Ju'lia (ju'lia) (feminine of Julius), 
a Christian woman at Rome, possibly 
the wife of Philologus, in connection 
with whom she is saluted by St. Paul. 
Rom. 16 : 15. (a.d. 57.) 

Ju'lius (ju'li-us), the centurion of 
“Augustus’ band,” to whose charge St. 
Paul was delivered when he was sent 
prisoner from Caesarea to Rome. Acts 
27:1,3. (a.d. 60.) 

Ju'nia (ju'nia), a Christian at Rome, 
mentioned by St. Paul as one of his 
kinsfolk and fellow prisoners, of note 
among the apostles, and in Christ before 
St. Paul. Rom. 16: 7. (a.d. 57.) 

Ju'nias (ju'ni-as), Revised Version 


for Junia. It is the more literal form. 

Juniper, 1 Kings 19:4, 5; Job 30: 
4; Ps. 120:4, the Hebrew rothem does 
not mean the cone-bearing tree known 
as juniper; but a sort of broom, doubt- 
less the Arabic ratam or the Retama 
Retem. It is very abundant in the 
desert of Sinai, and affords shade and 
protection, in both heat and storm, to 
travelers. The rothem is a leguminous 
plant, and bears a white flower. It is 
found also in Spain, Portugal and 
Palestine. It grows like willow bushes 
along the shores of Spain. It is an 
erect shrub, with no main trunk, but 
many wand-like, slender branches, and 
is sometimes twelve feet high. Its use 
is very great in stopping the sand. 

Ju'piter (ju'pi'ter), the name of the 
supreme god of the Romans, corre- 
sponding to the Greek Zeus. The Olym- 
pian Zeus was the national god of the 
Hellenic race, as well as the supreme 
ruler of the heathen world, and as such 
formed the true opposite to Jehovah. 
Jupiter or Zeus is mentioned in two pas- 
sages of the New Testament, on the oc- 
casion of St. Paul’s visit to Lystra, Acts 
14: 12, 13, where the expression “Jupiter, 
which was before their city,” means that 
his temple was outside the city. This 
god is said by some scholars to be a 
native Lycaonian god, whose Lycaonian 
name was represented in Greek by Zeus. 
Also in Acts 19 : 35. Where the R. V. 
margin gives “ heaven.” 

Ju'shab=he'sed (ju'shab-he'sed) ( lov- 
ing kindness is returned) , son of Zerub- 
babel. 1 Chron. 3 : 20. 

Jus'tus (jus'tus) (just). 1 . A sur- 
name of Joseph, called Barsabas. Acts 
1.23. (a.d. 30.) 

2. A Christian at Corinth, with whom 

St. Paul lodged. Acts 18:7. (a.d. 51.) 

His name is given in full in the Revised 
Version as Titus Justus and attempts 
have been made to identify him with 
the traveling companion of Paul. It is 
not generally accepted, however, and 
some MSS. have Titius in place of 
Titus. 

3. A surname of Jesus, a friend of St. 

Paul. Col. 4 : 11. (a.d. 62.) 

Jut'tah (jut'tah) (stretched out), a 
city in the mountain region of Judah, 
in the neighborhood of Maon and Car- 
mel. Josh. 15 : 55. The place is now 
known as Yutta. 


Kab'zeel (kab'ze-el) ( gathered by 
God), one of the “cities” of the tribe 
of Judah, Josh. 15:21, the native place 
of the great hero Benaiah ben-Jehoiada. 
2 Sam. 23 : 20 ; 1 Chron. 11 : 22. After 
the captivity it was reinhabited by the 
Jews, and appears as Jekabzeel. 

Ka'desh, Ka'desh=bar'ne=a (ka'desh- 
bar'ne-a), ( Kadesh means consecrated, 
but there is no clue to the meaning of 
the word Barnea.) This place, the 
scene of Miriam’s death, was the farth- 
est point which the Israelites reached 
in their direct road to Canaan; it was 
also that whence the spies were sent, 
and where, on their return, the people 
broke out into murmuring, upon which 
their strictly penal term of wandering 
began. Num. 13:3, 26; 14:29-33; 20: 
1 ; Deut. 2 : 14. In Gen. 14 : 7, Kadesh 
is identified with En-mishpat, the 
“ fountain of judgment.” It has been 
supposed, from Num. 13 : 21, 26, and 
Num. 20, that there were two places 
of the name of Kadesh, one in the wil- 
derness of Paran and the other in that 
of Zin ; but it is more probable that 
only one place is meant, and that either 
the wilderness of Zin is a part of the 
larger one of Paran, or else that they 
run into each other without any precise 
boundary. There has been much doubt 
as to the exact site of Kadesh ; but Rev. 
H. Clay Trumbull of Philadelphia, vis- 
iting the spot in 1881, succeeded in ren- 
dering almost certain that the site of 
Kadesh is Ain Kadis (spelled also Gadis 
and Quadis) ; “ the very same name, 
letter for letter in Arabic and Hebrew, 
with the scriptural fountain of Kadesh — 
the ‘ holy fountain/ as the name means 
— which gushed forth when Moses smote 
the rock.” It lies 40 miles south of 
Beersheba and 165 northeast of Horeb, 
immediately below the southern border 
of Palestine. It was discovered in 1842 
by the Rev. J. Rowlands of Queen’s 
College, Cambridge, England, whose dis- 


covery was endorsed by the great Ger- 
man geographer Ritter, by E. S. Palmer 
in his “ Desert of the Exodus,” and by 
the “ Imperial Bible Dictionary.” Dr. 
Trumbull thus describes it: — “It is an 
extensive oasis, a series of wells, the 
water of which flows out from under 
such an overhanging cliff as is mentioned 
in the Bible story; and it opens into a 
vast plain or wadi large enough to have 
furnished a camping-ground for the 
whole host of Israel. Extensive primi- 
tive ruins are on the hills near it. The 
plain or wadi, also called Quadis, is shut 
in by surrounding hills so as to make 
it a most desirable position for such a 
people as the Israelites on the borders 
of hostile territory — such a position as 
leaders like Moses and Joshua would 
have been likely to select. It was car- 
peted with grass and flowers. Fig trees 
laden with fruit were against its lime- 
stone hillsides. Shrubs in richness and 
variety abounded. Standing out from 
the mountain range at the northward of 
the beautiful oasis amphitheatre was the 
* large single mass or small hill of solid 
rock ’ which Rowlands looked at as the 
cliff (sela) smitten by Moses to cause it 
to ‘ give forth its water ’ when its flow- 
ing had ceased. From beneath this cliff 
came the abundant stream. A well, 
walled up with time-worn limestone 
blocks, was the first receptacle of the 
water. Not far from this was a second 
well similarly walled, supplied from the 
same source. Around both these, wells 
were ancient watering-troughs of lime- 
stone. Several pools, not walled up, 
were also supplied from the stream. 
The water was clear and sweet and 
abundant. Two of the pools were ample 
for bathing.” 

Kad'miel (kad'mi-el) ( God is of 
old), one of the Levites who with his 
family returned from Babylon with 
Zerubbabel. Ezra 2 : 40 ; Neh. 7 : 43. He 
and his house are mentioned in history 


341 


KAD 


342 . 


KED 


on three occasions — Ezra 3:9; Neh. 9 : 
4, 5 ; 10 : 9. 

Kad'monites (kad'mon-ites) ( men of 
the East), The, a people named in Gen. 
15:19 only; one of the nations who at 
that time occupied the land (Canaan) 
promised to the descendants of Abram. 
The name is probably a synonym for the 
Bene-Kedem — the “ children of the 
East,” with no definite signification. 

KaMai (kal'la-i) (swift), a priest in 
the days of Joiakim the son of Jeshua. 
He represented the family of Sallai. 
Neh. 12 : 20. (b.c. about 500.) 

Ka'nah (ka'nah) (a place of reeds). 

I. One of the places which formed the 
landmarks of the boundary of Asher; 
apparently next to Zidon-rabbah, or 
“ great Zidon.” Josh. 19 : 28. Probably 
the modern Kana, a few miles southeast 
of Tyre. 

2. The river, a stream falling into the 
Mediterranean, which formed the divi- 
sion between the territories of Ephraim 
and Manasseh, the former on the south, 
the latter on the north. Josh. 16:8; 17 : 

9. 

Kare'ah (kare'ah) (bald), the father 
of Johanan and Jonathan, who sup- 
ported Gedaliah’s authority and avenged 
his murder. Jer. 40:8, 13, 15, 16; 41: 

II, 13, 14, 16; 42: 1, 8; 43 : 2, 4, 5. 
Kar'kaa (kar'ka-a) or Karka'a, one 

of the landmarks on the south bound- 
ary of the tribe of Judah. Josh. 15 : 3. 
Its site is unknown. R. V. Karka. 

Kar'kor (kar'kor) (foundation), the 
place in which Zebah and Zalmunna 
were again routed by Gideon, Judges 8 : 

10, must have been on the east of Jor- 
dan. 

Kar'tah (kar'tah) (city), a town of 
Zebulun, allotted to the Merarite Lev- 
ites. Josh. 21:34. 

Kar'tan (kar'tan) (double city), a 
city of Naphtali, allotted to the Ger- 
shonite Levites. Josh. 21 : 32. In the 
parallel list of 1 Chron. 6 the name ap- 
pears, ver. 76, in the more expanded 
form of Kirjathaim. 

Kat'tath (kat'tath), one of the cities 
of the tribe of Zebulun. Josh. 19 : 15. 
Sometimes identified with Kartah and 
sometimes with Kitron. 

Ke'dar (ke'dar), the second in order 
of the sons of Ishmael, Gen. 25 : 13 ; 1 
Chron. 1 : 29, and the name of a great 
tribe of Arabs settled on the northwest 
of the peninsula and on the confines of 
Palestine. The name is unknown to 


Arabic traditions, but it is said to be 
preserved in inscriptions found in 
Arabia, and it appears in the inscrip- 
tions of Assur-banipal. The “ glory of 
Kedar ” is recorded by the prophet 
Isaiah, Isa. 21 : 13-17, in the burden upon 
Arabia ; and its importance may also be 
inferred from the “ princes of Kedar ” 
mentioned by Ezekiel, Ezek. 27 : 21, as 
well as the pastoral character of the 
tribe. They appear also to have been, 
like the wandering tribes of the present 
day, “ archers ” and “ mightv men.” Isa. 
21 : 17 ; comp. Ps. 120 : 5. That they also 
settled in villages or towns we find from 
Isaiah. Isa. 42:11. The tribe seems to 
have been one of the most conspicuous 
of all the Ishmaelite tribes, and hence 
the rabbins call the Arabians universally 
by this name. 

Ked'emah (ked'e-mah) (eastward), 
the youngest of the sons of Ishmael. 
Gen. 25:15; 1 Chron. 1:31. 

Ked'emoth (ked'e-moth) (begin- 
nings), one of the towns in the district 
east of the Dead Sea allotted to the 
tribe of Reuben, Josh. 13 : 18 ; given to 
the Merarite Levites. Josh. 21:37; 1 
Chron. 6:79. It possibly conferred its 
name on the “ wilderness,” or uncul- 
tivated pasture land, “ of Kedemoth.” 
Num. 21 : 23 ; Deut. 2 : 26, 27, etc. 

Ke'desh (ke'desh) (a sanctuary). 1. 
In the extreme south of Judah, Josh. 15 : 
23 ; probably not the same as Kadesh and 
Kadesh-barnea, although formerly so 
supposed. 

2. A city of Issachar, allotted to the 
Gershonite . Levites. 1 Chron. 6 : 72. 
Very possibly an error for Kishion 
which is found in the parallel passage 
Jos. 21 : 28. A. V. Kishon. 

3. Kedesh ; also Kedesh in Galilee ; 
and once, Judges 4:6, Kedesh-naphtali, 
one of the fortified cities of the tribe 
of Naphtali, Josh. 19:37; appointed as 
a city of refuge, and allotted with its 
“suburbs” to the Gershonite Levites. 
Josh. 20:7; 21:32; 1 Chron. 6:76. It 
is mentioned among the cities whose 
kings were slain by Joshua, Josh. 12: 
22. It was the residence of Barak, 
Judges 4 : 6, and there he and Deborah 
assembled the tribes of Zebulun and 
NaphtaH before the conflict, being prob- 
ably, as its name implies, a “ holy place ” 
of great antiquity. It was taken by Tig- 
lath-pileser in the reign of Pekah. 2 
Kings 15 : 29. It is identified with the 
village Kades, which lies four miles to 


KED 


343 


KET 


the northwest of the upper part of the 
waters of Merom. 

Ked'ron (ked'ron), properly Kidron. 
[Kidron.] 

Kehel'athah (ke-hel'a-thath) ( assem- 
bly ), a desert encampment of the Israel- 
ites, Num. 33 : 22, of which nothing is 
known. 

Kei'lah (kei'lah), a city of the She- 
felah, or lowland district of Judah. 
Josh. 15 : 44. Its main interest consists 
in its connection with David. 1 Sam. 
23 : 7-13. The two halves of the “ dis- 
trict of Keilah ” were represented in 
Nehemiah’s work of building the wall. 
Kila, a site with ruins, on the lower road 
from Beit Jibrin to Hebron is generally 
supposed to be the ancient Keilah, but 
it is disputed. 

Kei'lah the Garmite, apparently a 
descendant of the great Caleb. 1 Chron. 
4: 19. 

Kela'iah (ke-la'yah)= Kelita. Ezra 
10 : 23. 

Kel'ita (kel'i-ta) {dwarf), one of the 
Levites who returned with Ezra. Ezra 
10 : 23. He, or another man of the same 
name, assisted in expounding the law, 
Neh. 8 : 7, and signed the covenant with 
Nehemiah. Neh. 10:10. 

Kem'uel (kem'u-el) {congregation of 
God). 1. The son of Nahor by Milcah, 
and father of Aram. Gen. 22 : 21. 

2. The son of Shiptan, and prince of 
the tribe of Ephraim ; one of the twelve 
men appointed by Moses to divide the 
land of Canaan. Num. 34:24. 

3. A Levite, father of Hashabiah, 
prince of the tribe in the reign of David. 
1 Chron. 27 : 17. 

Ke'nan (ke'nan) {spear)= Cainan, 
the son of Enos. 1 Chron. 1 : 2. 

Ke'nath (ke'nath) {possession) , one 
of the cities of the east of Jordan, with 
its “daughter-towns” (Authorized Ver- 
sion “villages”) taken possession of by 
a certain Nobah, who then called it by 
his own name. Num. 32:42. 

Ke'naz (ke'naz). 1. Son of Eliphaz 
the son of Esau. He was one of the 
dukes of Edom. Gen. 36:15, 42; 1 
Chron. 1 : 53. 

2. One of the same family, a grand- 
son of Caleb, according to 1 Chron. 4: 
15 (where see margin). 

Ken'ezite (ken'ez-Ites) or Ken'izzite 
{descendant of Kenaz), Gen. 15:19, an 
Edomitish tribe. Num. 32 : 12 ; Josh. 14 : 
6, 14. 

Ken'ite, The, and Ken'ites (ken'- 


ites) {smiths), The, inhabited the rocky 
and desert region between southern 
Palestine and the mountains of Sinai, 
east of the Gulf of Akabah. They were 
connected with the larger nation of 
Midian, — from the fact that Jethro, who 
in Exodus (see 2: 15, 16; 4: 19, etc.) is 
represented as dwelling in the land of 
Midian, and as priest or prince of that 
nation, is in Judges (1 : 16, 4 : 11) as dis- 
tinctly said to have been a Kenite. The 
important services rendered by the 
sheikh of the Kenites to Moses during 
a time of great pressure and difficulty 
were rewarded by the latter with a prom- 
ise of firm friendship between the two 
peoples. They seem to have accom- 
panied the Hebrews during their wan- 
derings, Num. 24:21, 22; Judges 1:16; 
but, the wanderings of Israel over, they 
forsook the neighborhood of the towns 
•and betook themselves to freer air, — 
to “ the wilderness of Judah, which is 
to the south of Arad.” Judges 1 : 16. 
But one of the sheikhs of the tribe, 
Heber by name, had wandered north 
instead of south. Judges 4 : 11. The 
most remarkable development of this 
people is to be found in the sect or 
family of the Rechabites. 

Ken'izzite. Gen. 15 : 19. [Kenezite.] 

Ke'ren=hap'puch (ker'en-hap'puk) 
{hoi'ii of antimony ) , the youngest of the 
daughters of Job, born to him during 
the period of his reviving prosperity. 
Job 42: 14. 

Ke'rioth (ke'ri-oth) {cities). 1. A 
name which occurs among the lists of 
the towns in the southern district of 
Judah. Josh. 15 : 25. Probably the birth- 
place of Judas Iscariot. Properly 
Kerioth-Hezron, as in R. V. The same 
as Hazor 3. Perhaps the modern Kar- 
jetein. 

2. A city of Moab, named by Jere- 
miah, Jer. 48:24. Also in Amos 2:2, 
in A. V. Kerioth. Very possibly it 
should be translated “ the cities.” 

Ke'ros (ke'ros), one of the Nethinim, 
whose descendants returned with Zerub- 
babel. Ezra 2 : 44 ; Neh. 7 : 47. 

Kettle, a vessel for culinary or sacri- 
ficial purposes. 1 Sam. 2 : 14. The He- 
brew word is also rendered “ basket ” in 
Jer. 24:2 (its usual translation) “cal- 
dron ” in 2 Chron. 35 : 13, and “ pot ” in 
Job 41:20. 

Ketu'rah (ke-tu'rah) {incense), the 
wife of Abraham after the death of 


344 


' 




THE KIDRON VALLEY 







KEY 


345 


KIN 


Sarah. Gen. 25 : 1 ; 1 Chron. 1 : 32. 

(b.c. after 1859.) 

Key. The key of a native Oriental 
lock is a piece of wood, from seven 



EGYPTIAN IRON KEY. 


inches to two feet in length, fitted with 
wires or short nails, which, being in- 
serted laterally into the hollow bolt 
which serves as a lock, raises other pins 
within the staple so as to allow the bolt 
to be drawn back. Keys were some- 
times of bronze or iron, and so large 
that one was as much as a man could 
carry. They are used in Scripture as a 
symbol of authority and power. Giving 
keys to a person signifies the intrust- 
ing of him with an important charge. 
Matt. 16:19. In England in modern 
times certain officers of the government 
receive, at their induction into office, a 
golden key. 

Kezi'a (ke-zi'a) (cassia), the second 
of the daughters of Job born to him 
after his recovery. Job 42 : 14. 

Ke'ziz (ke'ziz) ( cut off), The valley 
of, R. V. Emek-Keziz. One of the 
cities of Benjamin, Josh. 18:21, and the 
eastern border of the tribe. 

Kib'roth=hatta'avah (kib'roth-hat- 
ta'a-vah), i. e. as in the margin, the 
graves of lust, a station of the Israel- 
ites in the wilderness, where, growing 
tired of manna and desiring flesh, they 
murmured, and God sent them quails 
in great abundance, but smote great 
numbers of them with a plague and they 
died. It was about a day’s journey 
from Sinai. The traditional site is near 
the Gulf of Akabah and the Wady el 
Hudherah (Hazeroth). Num. 11:33. 

Kib'zaim (kib'za-im) (two heaps), a 
city of Mount Ephraim, given up with 
its “ suburbs ” to the Kohathite Levites. 
Josh. 21 : 22. In the parallel list of 1 
Chron. 6 Jokmeam is substituted for 
Kibzaim. ver. 68. 

Kid. [Goat.] 

Kid'ron (kid'ron) or Ked'ron (tur- 
bid), The brook, a torrent or valley, 
not a “ brook,” or, as in the margin of 
Revised Version, “ravine;” Gr. winter 
torrent. It was close to Jerusalem, be- 
tween the city and the Mount of Olives. 
It is now commonly known as the “ val- 


ley of Jehoshaphat.” The channel of 
the valley is nothing more than the dry 
bed of a wintry torrent, bearing marks 
of being occasionally swept over by a 
large volume of water. It was crossed 
by David in his flight, 2 Sam. 15 : 23, 
comp. 30, and by our Lord on his way 
to Gethsemane. John 18:1; comp. 
Mark 14:26; Luke 22:39. The distin- 
guishing peculiarity of the .Kidron val- 
ley — mentioned in the Old Testament — 
is the impurity which appears to have 
been ascribed to it. In the time of Jo- 
siah it was the common cemetery of the 
city.. 2 Kings 23 : 6 ; comp. Jer. 26 : 23. 

Ki'nah (ki'nah) (lamentation) , a city 
of Judah, on the extreme south bound- 
ary of the tribe, next to Edom. Josh. 
15 : 22. 

Kine, the plural of cow. [See Bull.] 

King, “ a chief ruler, one invested 
with supreme authority over a nation, 
tribe or country.” — Webster. In the 
Bible the word does not necessarily im- 
ply great power of great extent of coun- 
try. Many persons are called kings 
whom we should rather call chiefs or 
leaders. The word is applied in the 
Bible to God as the sovereign and ruler 
of the universe, and to Christ the Son 
of God as the head and governor of 
the Church. 

The Hebrews were ruled by a king 
during a period of about 500 years pre- 
vious to the destruction of Jerusalem, 
b.c. 586. The immediate occasion of the 
substitution of a regal form of govern- 
ment for that of judges seems to have 
been the siege of Jabesh-gilead by Na- 
hash king of the Ammonites. 1 Sam. 
11 : 1 ; 12 : 12. The conviction seems to 
have forced itself on the Israelites that 
they could not resist their formidable 
neighbor unless they placed themselves 
under the sway of a king, like surround- 
ing nations. The original idea of a 
Hebrew king was twofold : first, that he 
should lead the people to battle in time 
of war; and, second, that he should ex- 
ecute judgment and justice to them in 
war and in peace. 1 Sam. 8 : 20. In 
both respects the desired end was at- 
tained. Besides being commander-in- 
chief of the army, supreme judge, and 
absolute master, as it were, of the lives 
of his subjects, the king exercised the 
power of imposing taxes on them, and 
of exacting from them personal service 
and labor. In addition to these earthly 
powers, the king of Israel had a more 


KIN 


346 


KIN 


awful claim to respect and obedience. 
He was the vicegerent of Jehovah, 1 
Sam. 10 : 1 ; 16 : 13, and as it were his 
son, if just and holy. 2 Sam. 7:14; 
Ps. 2:6, 7 ; 89 : 26, 27. He had been 
set apart as a consecrated ruler. Upon 
his head had been poured the holy 
anointing oil, which had hitherto been 
reserved exclusively for the priests of 
Jehovah. He had become, in fact, em- 
phatically “ the Lord’s anointed.” He 
had a court of Oriental magnificence. 
The king was dressed in royal robes, 1 
Kings 22 : 10 ; 2 Chron. 18:9; his insig- 
nia were, a crown or diadem of pure 
gold, or perhaps radiant with precious 
gems, 2 Sam. 1:10; 12:30; 2 Kings 11: 
12 ; Ps. 21 : 3, and a royal sceptre. 
Those who approached him did him 
obeisance, bowing down and touching 
the ground with their foreheads, 1 Sam. 
24 : 8 ; 2 Sam. 19 : 18 ; and this was done 
even by a king’s wife, the mother of 
Solomon. 1 Kings 1 : 16. His officers 
and subjects called themselves his serv- 
ants or slaves. He had a large harem, 
which was guarded by eunuchs. The 
law of succession to the throne is some- 
what obscure, but it seems most prob- 
able that the king during his lifetime 
named his successor. At the same time, 
if no partiality for a favorite wife or 
son intervened, there would always be a 
natural bias of affection in favor of the 
eldest son. 

Kings of Judah and Israel. For the 
list see table at the end of this volume. 

Kings, First and Second Books of, 
originally only one book in the Hebrew 
canon, form in the LXX. and the Vul- 
gate the third and fourth books of Kings 
(the books of Samuel being the first and 
second). It must be remembered that 
the division between the books of Kings 
and Samuel is equally artificial, and that 
in point of fact the historical books 
commencing with Judges and ending 
with 2 Kings present the appearance of 
one work, giving a continuous history 
of Israel from the time of Joshua to the 
death of Jehoiachin. 

Period. About 400 years from 
David’s death and Solomon’s accession 
to the destruction of the kingdom of 
Judah and the desolation of Jerusalem, 
with a supplemental notice of an event 
that occurred after an interval of twen- 
ty-six years — viz., the liberation of Je- 
hoiachin from his prison at Babylon — 
and a still further extension to Je- 


hoiachin’s death, the time of which is 
not known, but which was probably not 
long after his liberation. The history 
therefore comprehends the whole time 
of the Israelitish monarchy, exclusive 
of the reigns of Saul and David. 

Relation to foreign nations. As re- 
gards the affairs of foreign nations and 
the relation of Israel to them, the his- 
torical notices in these books, though in 
the earlier times scanty, are most val- 
uable, and in striking accord with the 
latest additions to our knowledge of 
contemporary profane history. 

Confirmations. An important aid to 
a right understanding of the history in 
these books, and to the filling up of its 
outline, is to be found in the prophets, 
and especially in Isaiah and Jeremiah. 
Many other aids and confirmations have 
been discovered among the ruins of 
Nineveh, Babylon and elsewhere, such 
as the Black Obelisk, the Moabite Stone, 
the cylinders of Sennacherib, Cyrus, 
Nabonidus, and many others. 

The date (from internal considera- 
tions such as “ unto this day,” and ref- 
erences to the temple as still standing, 
and the monarchy still existing in 
David’s line) is placed about b.c. 600, 
just before the exile, with later additions. 

The Author is unknown. 

Sources of information. — There was 
a regular series of state annals for both 
the kingdom of Judah and that of Israel, 
which embraced the whole time compre- 
hended in the books of Kings, or at least 
to the end of the reign of Jehoiakim. 2 
Kings 24 : 5. Three of these are named 
in the history. The Book of the Acts 
of Solomon (1 Kings 11:41). The 
Book of the Annals of the Kings of 
Israel; the Annals or Chronicles are 
literally “ acts of days,” “ the daily rec- 
ord of current events,” mentioned fifteen 
times. The Book of the Annals (or 
Chronicles) of the Kings of Judah men- 
tioned seventeen times. The author of 
Kings had these before him while he 
drew up his history, in which the reigns 
of the two kingdoms are harmonized and 
these annals constantly appealed to. But 
in addition to these national annals, 
there were also extant, at the time that 
the books of Kings were compiled, sep- 
arate works of the several prophets 
who had lived in Judah and Israel. 

Purpose of the book, was to keep 
before the people the religious lessons 
which their divinely guided history was 


KIR 


347 


KIR 


intended to teach. They were God’s 
chosen people. Only by righteousness 
and obedience to God could they pros- 
per and fulfil their mission ; sin was 
certain to be punished, and righteous- 
ness to be rewarded in outward visible 
signs of its spiritual blessings. The his- 
tory was a warning, a promise and a 
guide. 

This religious purpose in no way re- 
flects upon the truth of the history, but 
influenced the selection of facts. To 
falsify the history in any degree would 
in so far have destroyed its power, and 
hindered the very purpose for which it 
was written. 

Kir ( fortress ) is mentioned by Amos, 
ch. 9:7, as the land from which the 
Syrians (Aramaeans) were once 
“ brought up ;” L e. apparently as the 
country where they had dwelt before 
migrating to the region north of Pales- 
tine. Several identifications have been 
proposed, none of which have sufficient 
plausibility to be generally accepted. 

Kir (klr) of Moab ( fortress of 
Moab), one 6f the two chief strong- 
holds of Moab, the other being Ar of 
Moab. The name occurs only in Isa. 
15 : 1, though the place is probably re- 
ferred to under the names of Kir-heres, 
Kir-haraseth, etc. It is almost identical 
with the name Kerak, by which the site 
of an important city in a high and 
very strong position at the southeast of 
the Dead Sea is known at this day. Its 
situation is truly remarkable. It is 
built upon the top of a steep hill, sur- 
rounded by a deep and narrow valley, 
which again is completely enclosed by 
mountains rising higher than the town 
and overlooking it on all sides. 

Kir=har'aseth (kir-har'e-seth) ( brick 
fortress), 2 Kings 3:25; Kir=ha'resh, 
Isa. 16 : 11 ; Kir=har'eseth, Isa. 16 : 7 ; 
Kir=he'res. Jer. 48 : 31, 36. These four 
names are all applied to one place, prob- 
ably Kir of Moab. 

Kiriatha'im (kir-i-a-tha'im) (two 
cities), on the east of the Jordan, one 
of the places which were taken pos- 
session of and rebuilt by the Reubenites, 
and had fresh names conferred on them, 
Num. 32 : 37, and see 38, the first and 
last of which are known with some 
tolerable degree of certainty. It existed 
in the time of Jeremiah, Jer. 48:1, 23, 
and Ezekiel. Ezek. 25 : 9. In Numbers 
the Authorized Version gives the name 
Kirjathaim. By Eusebius it appears to 


have been well known. He describes it 
as a village entirely of Christians, ten 
miles west of Medeba. It may be the 
modern Kureiyat not far from Machse- 
rus. 

Kir'ioth (kir'i-oth) (cities), a place 
in Moab the palaces of which were 
threatened by Amos with destruction by 
fire, Amos 2:2; unless indeed the word 
means simply “ the cities,” which is 
probably the case also in Jer, 48 : 24. 
R. V. in both places has Kerioth. 

Kir'jath (kir'jath) (a city), the last 
of the cities enumerated as belonging to 
the tribe of Benjamin, Josh. 18 : 28, prob- 
ably identical with the better-known 
place Kirjath-jearim. 

Kirjathaim ' (kir-i-a-tha'im) (two 
cities), a town in Naphtali not men- 
tioned in the original list of the pos- 
session allotted to the tribe, see Josh. 
19 : 32-39, but inserted in the list of 
cities given to the Gershonite Levites 
in 1 Chron. 6:76, in place of Kartan 
in the parallel catalogue, Kartan being 
probably only a contraction thereof. 
R. V. Kiriathaim. 

Kir'jath=ar'ba (kir'jath-ar'ba) (the 
city of Arba), an early name of the 
city which after the conquest is gen- 
erally known as Hebron. Josh. 14:15; 
Judges 1 : 10. The identity of Kirjath- 
arba with Hebron is constantly asserted. 
Gen. 23 : 2 ; 35 : 27 ; Josh. 14 : 15 ; 15 : 13, 
54; 20: 7; 21: 11. 

Kir'jath=a'rim (ldr'jath-a'rim) (city 
of forests), an abbreviated form of the 
name Kirjath-jearim, which occurs only 
in Ezra 2 : 25. 

Kir'jath=ba'al (kir'jath-ba'al). [Kir- 
jath-jearim.] 

Kir'jath=hu'zoth (klr'jath-hu'zoth) 
(city of streets), a place to which Balak 
accompanied Balaam immediately after 
his arrival in Moab, Num. 22:39, and 
which is nowhere else mentioned. It 
appears to have lain between the Arnon 
(Wady Mojeb) and Bamoth-baal. 
Comp. vs. 36 and 41. 

Kir'jath=je'arim (kir'jath-je'a-rim) 
(the city of forests), first mentioned as 
one of four cities of the Gibeonites, 
Josh. 9: 17; it next occurs as one of the 
landmarks of the northern boundary of 
Judah, ch. 15 : 9, and as the point at 
which the western and southern bound- 
aries of Benjamin coincided, ch. 18:14, 
15 ; and in the last two passages we find 
that it bore another, perhaps earlier, 
name — that of the great Canaanite deity 


KIR 


348 


KIT 


Baal, namely Baalah and Kirjath- 
baal. At this place the ark remained 
for twenty years. 1 Sam. 7:2. At the 
close of that time Kirjath-jearim lost 
its sacred treasure, on its removal by 
David to the house of Obed-edom the 
Gittite. 1 Chron. 13 : 5, 6 ; 2 Chron. 1 : 
4 ; 2 Sam. 6 : 2, etc. To Eusebius and 
Jerome it appears to have been well 
known. They describe it as a village 
at the ninth mile between Jerusalem and 
Diospolis (Lydda). These requirements 
are considered by many exactly fulfilled 
in the small modern village of Kuriet- 
el-yEnab — now usually known as Abu 
Gosh, from the robber chief whose head- 
quarters it was — on the road from Jaffa 
to Jerusalem, though Conder disputes it. 

Kir jath=san'nah (klr'jath-san'nah). 
[Debir.] 

Kir'jath=se'pher (kir'jath-se'fer). 
Josh. 15: 15, 16; Judges 1: 11, 12. [De- 
bir.] 

Kish (kish) (a bow). 1. The father 
of Saul; a Benjamite of the family of 
Matri. 1 Sam. 9 : 1. 

2. Son of Jehiel and uncle to the pre- 
ceding. 1 Chron. 9 : 36. 

3. A Benjamite, great-grandfather of 
Mordecai. Esther 2 : 5. 

4. A Merarite of the house of Mahli, 
of the tribe of Levi. 1 Chron. 23 : 21, 
22 ; 24 : 28, 29. 

Kish'i (kish'i), a Merarite, and father 
or ancestor of Ethan the minstrel. 1 
Chron. 6 : 44. The parallel passage has 
Kushaiah, which is probably correct. 

Kish'ion (kish'i-on) (hardness) , one 
of the towns on the boundary of the 
tribe of Issachar, Josh. 19 : 20, which 
with its suburbs was allotted to the 
Gershonite Levites. Josh. 21:28; Au- 
thorized Version Kishon. 

Ki'shon (ki'shon) (winding). The 
river, a torrent or winter stream of cen- 
tral Palestine, the scene of two of the 
grandest achievements of Israelitish his- 
tory — the defeat of Sisera, Judges 4, 
and the destruction of the prophets of 
Baal by Elijah. 1 Kings 18:40. The 
N ahr-el-Mukutta, the modern represent- 
ative of the Kishon, is the drain by 
which the waters of the plain of Es- 
draelon and of the mountains which en- 
close that plain find their way through 
the plain of Acre to the Mediterranean. 
The part of the Kishon at which the 
prophets of Baal were slaughtered by 
Elijah was doubtless close below the 


spot on Carmel where the sacrifice had 
taken place. 

Ki'son (ki'son) (winding), an inac- 
curate mode of representing the name 
Kishon. Ps. 83 : 9. 

Kiss. Kissing the lips by way of af- 
fectionate salutation was customary 
among near relatives of both sexes, in 
both patriarchal and later times. Gen. 
29 : 11 ; Cant. 8 : 1. Between individuals 
of the same sex, and in a limited degree 
between those of different sexes, the kiss 
on the cheek as a mark of respect or an 
act of salutation has at all times been 
customary in the East, and can hardly 
be said to be extinct even in Europe. 
In the Christian Church the kiss, of 
charity was practised not only as a 
friendly salutation, but as an act sym- 
bolical of love and Christian brother- 
hood. Rom. 16:16; 1 Cor. 16 : 20 ; 2 
Cor. 13:12; 1 Thess. 5:26; 1 Peter 5: 
14. It was embodied in the earlier 
Christian offices, and has been continued 
in some of those now in use. Among 
the Arabs the women and children kiss 
the beards of their husbands or fathers. 
The superior returns the salute by a 
kiss on the forehead. In Egypt an in- 
ferior kisses the hand of a superior, 
generally on the back, but sometimes, 
as a special favor, on the palm also. 
To testify abject submission, and in ask- 
ing favors, the feet are often kissed 
instead of the hand. The written de- 
crees of a sovereign are kissed in token 
of respect; even the ground is some- 
times kissed by Orientals in the fullness 
of their submission. Gen. 41 : 40 (marg.) ; 
1 Sam. 24 : 8 ; Ps. 72 : 9, etc. Kissing is 
spoken of in Scripture as a mark of 
respect or adoration to idols. 1 Kings 
19: 18; Hos. 13 : 2. 

Kite (Heb. ayydh), a rapacious and 
keen-sighted bird of prey belonging to 
the hawk family. The Hebrew word 
thus rendered occurs in three passages 
—Lev. 11:14; Deut. 14:13; Job 28: 
7. In the two former it is translated 
“kite” in the Authorized Version, in 
the latter “ vulture,” in all the R. V. 
gives “ falcon.” The Hebrew word day- 
yah in the same reference in Lev. and 
Deut. is translated “ vulture ” in the 
A. V. and “kite” in the R. V. Both 
names are probably generic. It is enu- 
merated among the twenty names of 
birds mentioned in Deut. 14 which were 
considered unclean by the Mosaic law 


KIT 


349 


KOR 


and forbidden to be used as food by the 
Israelites. 

Kith'lish (kith'lish), one of the towns 
of Judah, in the Shefelah or lowland. 
Josh. 15 : 40. 

Kit'ron (kit'ron), one of the towns 
from which Zebulun did not expel the 
Canaanites. Judges 1:30. In the Tal- 
mud it is identified with “ Zippori,” i. e. 
Sepphoris, now Seffurieh , but the iden- 
tity is denied by many modern scholars. 

Kit'tim (kit'tim). Twice written in 
the Authorized Version for Chittim. 
Gen. 10 : 4 ; 1 Chron. 1 : 7. 

Kneading=troughs. [Bread.] 

Knife. 1. The knives of the Egyp- 
tians, and of other nations in early 
times, were probably only of hard stone, 
and the use of the flint or stone knife 
was sometimes retained for sacred pur- 
poses after the introduction of iron and 
steel. 2. In their meals the Jews, like 
other Orientals, made little use of 
knives, but they were required both for 
slaughtering animals, either for food or 
sacrifice, and for cutting up the carcass. 
Lev. 7 : 33, 34 ; 8 : 15, 20, 25 ; 9 : 13 ; Num. 
18 : 18 ; 1 Sam. 9 : 24, etc. 3. Smaller 
knives were in use for paring fruit 
(Josephus) and for sharpening pens. 
Jer. 36:23. 4. The razor (perhaps not 

differing from other knives) was often 
used for Naziritic purposes, for which a 
special chamber was reserved in the 
temple. Num. 6:5, 9, 19 ; Ezek. 5 : 1, 
etc. 5. The pruning-hooks of Isa. 18 : 5 
were probably like modern sickles or 
reaping hooks. 6. The lancets of the 
priests of Baal were doubtless pointed 
knives. 1 Kings 18 : 28. 

Knop, a word employed in the Au- 
thorized Version to translate two terms 
which refer to some architectural or 
ornamental object, but which have noth- 
ing in common. 1 . Caphtor. — This oc- 
curs in the description of the candle- 
stick of the sacred tent in Ex. 25 : 31- 
36 and 37 : 17-22. 2. The second term, 

Peka’im, is found only in 1 Kings 6 : 18 
and 7 : 24. The word no doubt signifies 
some globular thing resembling a small 
gourd or an egg, though as to the char- 
acter of the ornament we are quite in 
the dark. 

Ko'a (ko'a), is a word which occurs 
only in Ezek. 23 : 23. A people named 
between Babylonians and Assyrians. 
Driver considers them as probably the 
Kuti, often mentioned in the Assyrian 


inscriptions who lived north of Babylon. 
(Hastings’ Bible Dictionary.) 

Ko'hath (ko'hath) ( assembly ), sec- 
ond of the three sons of Levi, from 
whom the three principal divisions of 
the Levites derived their origin and 
their, name. Gen. 46 : 11 ; Ex. 6 : 16. In 
the journeyings of the tabernacle the 
sons of Kohath (Kohathites) had 
charge of the most holy portions of 
the vessels. Num. 4. Of the personal 
history of Kohath we know nothing, ex- 
cept that he came down to Egypt with 
Levi and Jacob, Gen. 46:11, that his 
sister was Jochebed, Ex. 6:20, and that 
he lived to the' age of 133 years. Ex. 
6: 18. 

Kola'iah (kol-a'iah) ( voice of Je- 
hovah). 1. A Benjamite whose de- 
scendants settled in Jerusalem after the 
return from the captivity. Neh. 11 : 7. 

2. The father of Ahab the false proph- 
et, who was burnt by the king of Baby- 
lon. Jer. 29 : 21. 

Ko'rah (ko'rah) {baldness). 1. 
Third son of Esau by Aholibamah. 
Gen. 36:5, 14, 18; 1 Chron. 1:35. He 
was born in Canaan before Esau mi- 
grated to Mount Seir, Gen. 36 : 5-9, and 
was one of the “ dukes ” of Edom. 

2. Another Edomitish “ duke ” of this 
name, sprung from Eliphaz, Esau’s son 
by Adah. Gen. 36 : 16. 

3. One of the “ sons of Hebron,” in 1 
Chron. 2 : 43. 

4. Son of Izhar the son of Kohath the 
son of Levi. He was leader of the fa- 
mous rebellion against Moses and Aaron 
in the wilderness, for which he paid 
the penalty of perishing with his fol- 
lowers by an earthquake and flames of 
fire. Num. 16; 26:9-11. The partic- 
ular grievance which rankled in the 
mind of Korah and his company was 
their exclusion from the office of the 
priesthood, and their being confined — 
those among them who were Levites — to 
the inferior service of the tabernacle. 
Korah’s position as leader in this re- 
bellion was evidently the result of his 
personal character, which was that of a 
bold, haughty and ambitious man. (b.c. 
1490.) In the New Testament (Jude 
11) Korah is coupled with Cain and 
Balaam. 

Kor'ahite, 1 Chron. 9 : 19, 31, Kor'- 
hite, or Kor'athite (kor'ath-Ite), that 
portion of the Kohathites who were de- 
scended from Korah. They were an 


KOR 


350 


KUS 


important branch of the singers, 2 
Chron. 20 : 19 ; hence we find eleven 
psalms (or twelve, if Ps. 43 is included 
under the same title as Ps. 42) dedi- 
cated or assigned to the sons of Ko- 
rah, viz., Ps. 42, 44-49, 84, 85, 87, 88. 
These are said to have been taken from 
“ the hymn book of the Korahite choir.” 

Ko're (ko're) {partridge) . 1 . A 
Korahite, ancestor of Shallum and 
Meshelemiah, chief porters in the reign 
of David. 1 Chron. 9 : 19 ; &6 : 1. 


2. Son of Imnah, a Levite in the reign 
of Hezekiah. He had charge of the 
offerings. 2 Chron. 31 : 14. 

3. In the Authorized Version of 1 
Chron. 26: 19, “the sons of Kore ” (fol- 
lowing the Vulgate Core) should prop- 
erly be “ the sons of the Korahites.” 

Koz (koz) {thorn), Ezra 2:61; Neh. 
3:4, 21 = Coz = Hakkoz. 

Kusha iah (ku-sha'yah), the same as 
Kish or Kishi, the father of Ethan the 
Merarite. 1 Chron. 15 : 17. 


L 


La'adah (la'a-dah) (order), the son 
of Shelah and grandson of Judah. 1 
Chron. 4 : 21. 

La'adan (la'a-dan) ( well-ordered ). 
1. An Ephraimite, ancestor of Joshua 
the son of Nun. 1 Chron. 7 : 26. 

2. The son of Gershom, elsewhere 
called Libni. 1 Chron. 23 : 7, 8, 9 ; 26 : 
21 . 

La'ban (la'ban) (white). 1. Son of 
Bethuel, brother of Rebekah and father 
of Leah and Rachel. The elder branch 
of the family remained at Haran, Me- 
sopotamia, when Abraham removed to 
the land of Canaan, and it is there that 
we first meet with Laban, as taking the 
leading part in the betrothal of his sis- 
ter Rebekah to her cousin Isaac. Gen. 
24 : 10, 29-60 ; 27 : 43 ; 29 : 5. The next 
time Laban appears in the sacred nar- 
rative it is as the host of his nephew 
Jacob at Haran. Gen. 29 : 13, 14. [Ja- 
cob.] Jacob married Rachel and Leah, 
daughters of Laban, and remained with 
him 20 years, b.c. 1760-1740 (Ussher). 
But Laban’s dishonest and overreaching 
practice toward his nephew shows from 
what source Jacob inherited his ten- 
dency to sharp dealing. Nothing is said 
of Laban after Jacob left him. 

2. One of the landmarks named in the 
obscure and disputed passage Deut. 1 : 1. 
The mention of Hazeroth has perhaps 
led to the conjecture that it is identical 
with Libnah. Num. 33 : 20. 

Lacedaemo'nians, in Greece the in- 
habitants of Sparta or Lacedaemon, with 
whom the Jews claimed kindred. 1 
Macc. 12:2, 5, 6, 29, 21; 14:20, 23; 15: 
23 ; 2 Macc. 5 : 9. 

La'chish (la'kish), a city lying south- 
west of Jerusalem, on the borders of 
Simeon, and belonging to the Amorites, 
the king of which joined with four 
others, at the invitation of Adonizedek 
king of Jerusalem, to chastise the Gib- 
eonites for their league with Israel. 
Josh. 10 : 3, 5. They were routed by 


Joshua at Beth-horon, and the king of 
Lachish fell a victim with the others 
under the trees at Makkedah, ver. 26. 
The destruction of the town shortly fol- 
lowed the death of the king, vs. 31-33. 
In the special statement that the attack 
lasted two days, in contradistinction to 



TELL EL-HESY. 

Site of the ancient Lachish. 


the other cities which were taken in 
one (see ver. 35), we gain our first 
glimpse of that strength of position for 
which Lachish was afterward remark- 
able. Lachish was one of the cities for- 
tified and garrisoned by Rehoboam after 
the revolt of the northern kingdom. 2 
Chron. 11 : 9. In the reign of Hezekiah 
it was one of the cities taken by Sen- 
nacherib. This siege is considered by 
Layard and Hincks to be depicted on 
the slabs found by the former in one 
of the chambers of the palace at Kou- 
yunjik, and now in the British Museum. 
After the return from captivity, Lachish 
with its surrounding “ fields ” was re- 
occupied by the Jews. Neh. 11:30. Its 
identification with Tell el-Hesy is prac- 
tically certain. 

La'el (la'el) (of God), the father of 
Eliasaph. Num. 3 : 24. 

La'had (la'had) (oppression) , son of 
Jahath, one of the descendants of Judah, 
1 Chron. 4 : 2. 


351 


LAH 


352 


LAM 


Lahai'roi (la-ha'roi) ( the living one 
who seeth me), The well. In this form 
is given in the Authorized Version of 
Gen. 24:62 and 25:11 the name of the 
famous well of Hagar’s relief, in the 
oasis of verdure round which Isaac af- 
terward resided. It was southwest of 
Beersheba. 

Lah'mam (lah'mam), a town in the 
lowland district of Judah. Josh. 15: 
40. Possibly el-Lahm near Beit Jibrin. 

Lah'mi (lah'mi), the brother of Go- 
liath the Gittite, slain by Elhanan the 
son of Jair. 1 Chron. 20:5, but the 
parallel in 2 Sam. 21 : 19 substitutes 
“ Bethlehemite.” One or the other text 
is corrupt. 

La'ish (la'ish) (lion), the city which 
was taken by the Danites, and under its 
new name of Dan became famous as the 
northern limit of the nation. Judges 
18:7, 14, 27, 29. [Dan.] It was near 
the sources of the Jordan. In the Au- 
thorized Version Laish is again men- 
tioned in the account of Sennacherib’s 
march on Jerusalem. Isa. 10:30. This 
Laish is probably the small village Lais- 
hah, lying between Gallim and Ana- 
thoth in Benjamin, and of which hitherto 
no traces have been found. 

La'ish (la'ish) (lion), father of Phal- 
tiel, to whom Saul had given Michal, 
David’s wife. 1 Sam. 25 : 44 ; 2 Sam. 
3: 15. 

La'kum (la'kum), properly Lak'kum, 
one of the places which formed the 
landmarks of the boundary of Naphtali. 
Josh. 19 : 33. 

Lambs are the young of sheep, but 
originally included also the young of 
goats. They formed an important part 
of almost every sacrifice. Ex. 29 : 38-41 ; 
Num. 28 : 9, 11 ; 29 : 2, 13-40, etc. [On 
the paschal lamb see Passover.] 

La'mech (la'mek). 1. The fifth 
lineal descendant from Cain. Gen. 4 : 
18-24. He is the only one except Enoch, 
of the posterity of Cain, whose history 
is related with some detail. His two 
wives, Adah and Zillah, and his daugh- 
ter Naamah, are, with Eve, the only 
antediluvian women whose names are 
mentioned in Genesis. His three sons, 
Jabal, Jubal and Tubal-cain, are cele- 
brated in Scripture as authors of useful 
inventions. The remarkable poem which 
Lamech uttered may perhaps be regarded 
as Lamech’s song of exultation on the 
invention of the sword by his son Tubal- 
cain, in the possession of which he fore- 


saw a great advantage to himself and 
his family over any enemies. 

2. The father of Noah. Gen. 5 : 29. 

Lamentations. The book of, con- 
sists of five elegiac poems. 

Its subject is the sufferings of the 
people of Judah and Jerusalem during 
the final siege and destruction of the 
city and the Temple. The end of hope 
seemed to have come. 

The date of the subject is therefore 
between 606-586 b.c. The date of writ- 
ing may be later, but some time during 
the Exile. 

Structure is a series of acrostic poems, 
each chapter being a poem, and in the 
Revised Versions printed in poetic form. 

Chapters 1, 2, 4 and 5 have each 22 
verses, one for each letter in the Hebrew 
alphabet. The verses in the first four 
chapters are arranged in alphabetical 
order, in the Hebrew original, verse 1, 
beginning A, verse 2 with B, etc., except 
that in chapter 3, three verses begin with 
A, the next three with B, and so on, 66 
verses in all. Chapter 5 has no alpha- 
betical arrangement. 

Author. The book is anonymous, but 
most scholars attribute the first four 
poems to Jeremiah. Contents . — The 
book consists of five chapters, each of 
which, however, is a separate poem, com- 
plete in itself, and having a distinct 
subject, but brought at the same time 
under a plan which includes them all. 
Jeremiah was not merely a patriot-poet, 
weeping over the ruin of his country; 
he was a prophet who had seen all this 
coming, and had foretold it as inevitable. 
There are perhaps few portions of the 
Old Testament which appear to have 
done the work they were meant to do 
more effectually than this. The book 
has supplied thousands with the fullest 
utterance for their sorrows in the critical 
periods of national or individual suf- 
fering. We may well believe that it 
soothed the weary years of the Baby- 
lonian exile. It enters largely into the 
order of the Latin Church for the serv- 
ices of passion- week. On the ninth day 
of the month of Ab (July-August), the 
Lamentations of Jeremiah were read, 
year by year, with fasting and weeping, 
to commemorate the misery out of 
which the people had been delivered. 

Lamp. 1 . That part of the golden 
candlestick belonging to the tabernacle 
which bore the light ; also of each of the 
ten candlesticks placed by Solomon in 


LAN 


353 


LAP 


the temple before the holy of holies. 
Ex. 25:37; 1 Kings 7:49; 2 Chron. 4: 
20 ; 13 : 11 ; Zech. 4 : 2. The lamps were 
lighted every evening and cleansed 
every morning. Ex. 30 : 7, 8. 

2. .A torch or flambeau, such as was 
carried by the soldiers of Gideon. 
Judges 7 : 16, 20 ; comp. 15 : 4. The use 
in marriage processions of lamps fed 



LAMP WITH CHRISTIAN INSCRIPTION. 


with oil is alluded to in the parable of 
the ten virgins. Matt. 25 : 1 . Modern 
Egyptian lamps consist of small glass 
vessels with a tube at the bottom con- 
taining a cotton wick twisted around a 
piece of straw. For night travelling, a 
lantern composed of waxed cloth 
strained over a sort of cylinder of wire 
rings, and a top and bottom of per- 
forated copper. This would, in form 
at least, answer to the lamps within 
pitchers of Gideon. 

“ The Hebrews, like the ancient 
Greeks and Romans, as well as the mod- 
ern Orientals, were accustomed to burn 
lamps all night. This custom, with the 
effect produced by their going out or 
being extinguished, supplies various fig- 
ures to the sacred writers. 2 Sam. 21: 
17; Prov. 13:9; 20:20. On the other 
hand, the keeping up of a lamp’s light 
is used as a symbol of enduring and 
unbroken succession. 1 Kings 11:36; 
15 : 4 ; Ps. 132 : 17.” 

Lancet. This word is found in 1 
Kings 18 : 28 only. The Hebrew term is 
romach, which is elsewhere rendered, 
and appears to mean a javelin or light 
spear. In the original edition of the 
Authorized Version (1611) the word is 
“ lancers.” 

Lantern (so called for its shining) 
occurs only in John 18:3. Lanterhs 
were much employed by the Romans in 
military operations. Two, of bronze, 
have been found among the ruins of 
Herculaneum and Pompeii. They are 
cylindrical, with translucent horn sides, 
the lamp within being furnished with 
an extinguisher. 

23 


Laodice'a (la'od-i-Qe'a) ( pertaining 
to Laodice), a town in the Roman prov- 
ince of Asia, situated in the valley of 
the Maeander, on a small river called 
the Lycus, with Colossse and Hierapolis 
a few miles distant. Built, or rather 
rebuilt, by one of the Seleucid mon- 
archs, and named in honor of his wife, 
Laodicea became under the Roman gov- 
ernment a place of some importance. 
Its trade was considerable ; it lay on 
the line of a great road ; and it was the 
seat of a conventus. Rev. 3 : 17 indi- 
cates both its wealth and its pride. 
Christianity was introduced into Lao- 
dicea, not, however, as it would seem, 
through the direct agency of St. Paul. 
We have good reason for believing that 
when, _ in writing from Rome to the 
Christians of Colossse, he sent a greet- 
ing to those of Laodicea, he had not 
personally visited either place. But the 
preaching of the gospel at Ephesus, Acts 
18 : 19-19 : 41, must inevitably have re- 
sulted in the formation of churches in 
the neighboring cities, especially where 
Jews were settled; and there were Jews 
in Laodicea. In subsequent times it be- 
came a Christian city of eminence, the 
see of a bishop and a meeting-place of 
councils. The Mohammedan invaders 
destroyed it, and it is now a scene of 
utter desolation, as was prophesied in 
Rev. 3: 14-22 ; and the extensive ruins 
near Denislu justify all that we read of 
Laodicea in Greek and Roman writers. 
Another biblical subject of interest is 
connected with Laodicea. From Col. 4 : 
16 it appears that St. Paul wrote a 
letter to this place when he wrote the 
letter to Colossse. Ramsay in Hastings’ 
Bible Dictionary thinks that it was per- 
haps the same as the Epistle to the 
Ephesians, which was a circular letter 
sent to Laodicea among other places. 
The apocryphal Epistola ad Laodicenses 
is a late and clumsy forgery. 

Laodice'ans (la'od-i-ge'ans), the in- 
habitants of Laodicea. Col. 4:16; Rev. 
3: 14. 

Lap'idoth (lap'i-doth) (torches), the 
husband of Deborah the prophetess. 
Judges 4 : 4. 

Lapwing (Heb. dukiphath) occurs 
only in Lev. 11 : 19 and in the parallel 
passage of Deut. 14 : 18, amongst the list 
of those birds which were forbidden by 
the law of Moses to be eaten by the Is- 
raelites. Commentators generally agree 
that the hoopoe is the bird intended. 


LAS 


354 


LAW 


The hoopoe is an occasional visitor to 
England, arriving for the most part in 
the autumn. Its crest is very elegant ; 
each of the long feathers forming it is 
tipped with black. 



LAPWING OR HOOPOE. 

Lase'a (la-se'a), Acts 27:8, a city of 
Crete, the ruins of which were discov- 
ered in 1856, a few miles to the eastward 
of Fair Havens. 

La'sha (la'sha) (fissure), a place no- 
ticed in Gen. 10 : 19 as marking the limit 
of the country of the Canaanites. It 
lay somewhere in the southeast of Pales- 
tine. Jerome and other writers identify 
it with Callirrhoe, a spot famous for 
hot springs, near the eastern shore of 
the Dead Sea, but the site is disputed. 

Lashar'on (la-shar'on), one of the 
Canaanite towns whose kings were 
killed by Joshua. Josh. 12:18. It may 
be a corruption of the expression “ king 
of Aphek in Sharon.” 

Latchet, the thong or fastening by 
which the sandal was attached to the 
foot. It occurs in the proverbial expres- 
sion in Gen. 14 : 23, and is there used to 
denote something trivial or worthless. 
Another semi-proverbial expression in 
Luke 3 : 16 points to the fact that the 
office of bearing and unfastening the 
shoes of great personages fell to the 
meanest slaves. 

Lat'in, the language spoken by the 
Romans, is mentioned only in John 19 : 
20 and Luke 23 : 38. 

Lat'in Versions. [See Vulgate, 
The.] 

Lattice. This word is used for a lat- 
ticed window or simply a network placed 
before a window or balcony. Perhaps 


the network through which Ahaziah fell 
and received his mortal injury was on 
the parapet of his palace. 2 Kings 1 : 
2. The latticed window is much used 
in warm eastern countries. It fre- 
quently projects from the wall (like our 
bay windows), and is formed of reticu- 
lated work, often highly ornamental, 
portions of which are hinged so that 
they may be opened or shut at pleasure. 
The object is to keep the apartments 
cool by intercepting the direct rays of 
the sun, while the air is permitted to 
circulate freely. [See House and Win- 
dow.] 

Laver. 1 . In the tabernacle, a ves- 
sel of brass containing water for the 
priests to wash their hands and feet be- 
fore offering sacrifice. It stood in the 
court between the altar and the door of 
the tabernacle. Ex. 30 : 19, 21. It rested 
on a basis, i. e. a foot, which, as well as 
the laver itself, was made from the mir- 
rors of the women who assembled at 
the door of the tabernacle court. Ex. 
38 : 8. The form of the laver is not 
specified, but may be assumed to have 
been circular. Like the other vessels 
belonging to the tabernacle, it was, to- 
gether with its “ foot,” consecrated with 
oil. Lev. 8 : 10, 11. 

2. In Solomon’s temple, besides the 
great molten sea, there were ten lavers 



of brass, raised on bases, 1 Kings 7:27, 
39, five on the north and five on the 
south side of the court of the priests. 
They were used for washing the animals 
to be offered in burnt offerings. 2 
Chron. 4 : 6. 

Law. The word is properly used, in 


LAW 


355 


LAZ 


Scripture as elsewhere, to express a def- 
inite commandment laid down by any 
recognized authority ; but when the word 
is used with the article, and without any 
words of limitation, it refers to the ex- 
pressed will of God, and in nine cases 
out of ten to the Mosaic law, or to the 
Pentateuch of which it forms the chief 
portion. The Hebrew word torah (law) 
lays more stress on its moral authority, 
as teaching the truth and guiding in the 
right way; the Greek vo/xos (law), on its 
constraining power as imposed and en- 
forced by a recognized authority. The 
sense of the word, however, extends its 
scope and assumes a more abstract char- 
acter in the writings of St. Paul. 
Nomos, when used by him with the ar- 
ticle, still refers in general to the law 
of Moses; but when used without the 
article, so as to embrace any manifesta- 
tion of “ law,” it includes all powers 
which act on the will of man by com- 
pulsion, or by the pressure of external 
motives, whether their commands be or 
be not expressed in definite forms. The 
occasional use of the word “law” (as 
in Rom. 3 : 27, “ law of faith ”) to de- 
note an internal principle of action does 
not really mitigate against the general 
rule. It should also be noticed that the 
title “ the Law ” is occasionally used 
loosely to refer to the whole of the Old 
Testament, as in John 10:34, referring 
to Ps. 82:6; in John 15:25, referring 
to Ps. 35 : 19 ; and in 1 Cor. 14 : 21, re- 
ferring to Isa. 28 : 11, 12. 

The article “ Law of Moses ” is to be 
omitted for most weighty reasons. The 
whole subject is so much disputed that 
it would not be possible to give in the 
space available anything which would be 
of any real value to the reader. Hast- 
ings’ Bible Dictionary gives about 36 
columns to the subject, — and that is only 
one opinion out of the many brought 
forward with equal plausibility. Be- 
sides, unless the matter were copied 
bodily from another source it would be 
impossible in less time than months to 
do any justice to it. 

For these reasons among others, we 
omit it. 

Lawyer. The title “lawyer” is gen- 
erally supposed to be equivalent to the 
title “ scribe.” The scribes expounded 
the law in the synagogues and schools. 
[See Scribes.] 

Laying on of hands. In the Old 

Testament. (1) Used as a symbol of 


benediction, Gen. 48 : 14. (2) A part of 

the sacrificial system, Ex. 29 : 10, 15, 19, 
etc. (3) Witnesses laid their hands on 
the head of a person charged with a 
capital offence. (4) The tribe of Levi 
were consecrated by the laying on of 
hands. _ In (1) it may have meant the 
imparting of a personal gift. The others 
had as their prominent thought devotion 
to God of the object upon, which the 
hands are laid, — dedication to his serv- 
ice, or deliverance to the judgment de- 
creed by him. In the New Testament 
the meaning is much the same. Jesus 
used it in the blessing of little children, 
and of the Eleven ; and as a sign in his 
miracles of healing. The apostles used 
it when the Holy Ghost was imparted, 
and in the Christian Church was espe- 
cially used in setting apart men to the 
ministry and to other holy offices. It is 
a symbolical act expressing the impart- 
ing of spiritual authority and power. 

Laz'arus (laz'a-rus) {God hath 
helped), another form of the Hebrew 
name Eleazar. 1. Lazarus of Bethany, 
the brother of Martha and Mary. John 
11 : 1. All that we know of him is de- 
rived from the Gospel of St. John, and 
that records little more than the facts 
of his death and resurrection. The lan- 
guage of John 11:1 implies that the 
sisters were the better known. Lazarus 
is “ of Bethany, of the village of Mary 
and her sister Martha.” From this and 
from the order of the three names in 
John 11 : 5 we may reasonably infer that 
Lazarus was the youngest of the family. 
All the circumstances of John 11 and 12 
point to wealth and social position above 
the average. The fact that Jesus did 
not arrive until Lazarus had been four 
days buried proved the miracle. If he 
had come in three days it might have 
been a swoon in the place of death; but 
after the fourth day decomposition had 
set in. 

2. The name of a poor man in the well- 
known parable of Luke 16:19-31. The 
name of Lazarus has been perpetuated 
in an institution of the Christian Church. 
The leper of the Middle Ages appears as 
a lazzaro. The use of lazaretto and 
lazar-house for the leper hospitals then 
founded in all parts of western Christen- 
dom, no less than that of lazaroni for 
the mendicants of Italian towns, is an 
indication of the effect of the parable 
upon the mind of Europe in the Middle 
Ages, and thence upon its later speech. 


LEA 


356 


LEA 


It is, however, impossible that this 
Lazarus should have been a leper both 
from the description of his state and 
from the fact that he lay close to the 
rich man’s door — for lepers were forced 
to stay far away from the homes of men. 

Lead. This is one of the most com- 
mon of metals, found generally in veins 
of rocks, though seldom in a metallic 
state, and most commonly in combina- 
tion with sulphur. It was early known 
to the ancients, and the allusions to it 
in Scripture indicate that the Hebrews 
were well acquainted with its uses. The 
rocks in the neighborhood of Sinai 
yielded it in large quantities, and it was 
found in Egypt. In Job 19 : 24 the allu- 
sion is supposed to be to the practice of 
carving inscriptions upon stone and 
pouring molten lead into the cavities of 
the letters, to render them legible and 
at the same time preserve them from 
the action of the air. 

Leaf, Leaves. The word occurs in 
the Authorized Version either in singu- 
lar or plural number in three different 
senses. (1) Leaf of a tree. The right- 
eous are often compared to green 
leaves. Jer. 17 : 8. The ungodly, on the 
other hand, are “ as an oak whose leaf 
fadeth.” Isa. 1 : 30. (2) Leaves of 

doors. The large doors of the temple, 
and probably any other large building, 
were made to fold, so that for ordinary 
occasions the priests could pass in and 
out without opening the entire door. 
(3) Leaves of a book or roll occurs in 
this sense only in Jer. 36:23. The He- 
brew word (literally doors ) would per- 
haps be more correctly translated col- 
umns. 

Le'ah (le'ah) ( wild cow), the daugh- 
ter of Laban. Gen. 29 : 16. The dull- 
ness or weakness of her eyes was so 
notable that it is mentioned as a con- 
trast to the beautiful form and appear- 
ance of her younger sister Rachel. Her 
father took advantage of the opportunity 
which the local marriage rite afforded 
to pass her off in her sister’s stead on 
the unconscious bridegroom, and ex- 
cused himself to Jacob by alleging that 
the custom of the country forbade the 
younger sister to be given first in mar- 
riage. Jacob’s preference of Rachel 
grew into hatred of Leah after he had 
married both sisters. Leah, however, 
bore to him in quick succession Reuben, 
Simeon, Levi, Judah, then Issachar, Zeb- 
ulun and Dinah, before Rachel had a 


child. She died some time after Jacob 
reached the south country in which his 
father Isaac lived. She was buried in 
the family grave in Machpelah, near 
Hebron. Gen. 49 : 31. 

Leasing ( falsehood ). This word is 
retained in the Authorized Version of 
Ps. 4:2; 5:6, from the older English 
versions; but the Hebrew word of which 
it is the rendering is elsewhere almost 
uniformly translated “ lies.” Ps. 40 : 4 ; 
58 : 3, etc. 

Leather. The notices of leather in 
the Bible are singularly few ; indeed the 
word occurs but twice in the Authorized 
Version, and in each instance in refer- 
ence to the same object, a girdle. 2 
Kings 1:8; Matt. 3 : 4. There are, how- 
ever, other instances in which the word 
“ leather ” might with propriety be sub- 
stituted for “ skin.” Lev. 11:32; 13 : 
48 ; Num. 31 : 20. Though the material 
itself is seldom noticed, yet we cannot 
doubt that it was extensively used by 
the Jews; shoes, bottles, thongs, gar- 
ments, ropes and other articles were 
made of it. The art of tanning, how- 
ever, was held in low esteem by the 
Jews. 

Leaven. Various substances were 
known to have fermenting qualities ; 
but the ordinary leaven consisted of a 
lump of old dough in a high state of 
fermentation, which was mixed into the 
mass of dough prepared for baking. 
The use of leaven was strictly forbid- 
den in all offerings made to the Lord by 
fire. During the passover the Jews were 
commanded to put every particle * of 
leaven from the house. The most prom- 
inent idea associated with leaven is 
connected with the corruption which it 
had undergone, and which it commu- 
nicated to bread in the process of fer- 
mentation. It is to this property of 
leaven that our Saviour points when he 
speaks of the “leaven (i. e. the corrupt 
doctrine) of the Pharisees and of the 
Sadducees,” Matt. 16:6; and St. Paul, 
when he speaks of the “ old leaven.” 
1 Cor. 5 : 7. Another quality in leaven 
is noticed in the Bible, namely, its se- 
cretly penetrating and diffusive power. 
In this respect it was emblematic of 
moral influence generally, whether good 
or bad ; and hence our Saviour adopts 
it as illustrating the growth of the king- 
dom of heaven in the individual heart 
and in the world at large: because (1) 
its source is from without; (2) it is 


L.EB 


357 


LEB 


secret in its operation; (3) it spreads 
by contact of particle with particle; (4) 
it is widely diffusive, one particle of 
leaven being able to change any number 
of particles of flour; and because (5) 
it does not act like water, moistening a 
certain amount of flour, but is like a 
plant, changing the particles it comes 
in contact with into its own nature, with 
like propagating power. 

Leb'ana (leb'a-na) {white), one of 
the Nethinim whose descendants re- 
turned from Babylon with Zerubbabel. 
Neh. 7:48. He is called 

Leb'anah {white) in Ezra 2: 45. 

Leb'anon (leb'a-non), a mountain 
range in the north of Palestine. The 
name Lebanon signifies white, and was 
applied either on account of the snow 
which, during a great part of the year, 
covers its whole summit, or on account 
of the white color of its limestone cliffs 
and peaks. It is the “ white mountain ” 
— the Mont Blanc of Palestine. Leb- 
anon is represented in Scripture as ly- 
ing upon the northern border of the 
land of Israel. Deut. 1:7; 11:24; Josh. 
1 : 4. Two distinct ranges bear this 
name. They run for nearly 90 miles in 
parallel lines from southwest to north- 
east, enclosing between them a long, 
fertile valley from five to eight miles 
wide, anciently called Ccele-Syria. The 
western range is the “ Libanus ” of the 
old geographers and the Lebanon of 
Scripture. The eastern range was 
called “ Anti-Libanus ” by geographers, 
and “ Lebanon toward the sunrising ” by 
the sacred writers. Josh. 13 : 5. 

1. Lebanon — the western range — com- 
mences on the south of the deep ravine 
of the Litany, the ancient river Leontes, 
which drains the valley of Ccele-Syria, 
and falls into the Mediterranean five 
miles north of Tyre. It runs northeast 
in a straight line parallel to the coast, to 
the opening from the Mediterranean into 
the plain of Emesa, called in Scripture 
the “ entrance of Hamath.” Num. 34: 8. 
Here Nehr el-Kebir — the ancient river 
Eleutherus — sweeps round its northern 
end, as the Leontes does round its south- 
ern. The average elevation of the range 
is from 6000 to 8000 feet; but two peaks 
rise considerably higher. On the sum- 
mits of both these peaks the snow re- 
mains in patches during the whole sum- 
mer. The line of cultivation runs along 
at the height of about 6000 feet ; and be- 
low this the features of the western 


slopes are entirely different. The rug- 
ged limestone banks are scantily clothed 
with the evergreen oak, and the sand- 
stone with pines ; while every available 
spot is carefully cultivated. The culti- 
vation is wonderful, and shows what all 
Syria might be if under a good govern- 
ment. Fig trees cling to the naked rock; 
vines are trained along narrow ledges; 
long ranges of mulberries, on terraces 
like steps of stairs, cover the more gentle 
declivities; and dense groves of olives 
fill up the bottoms of the glens. Hun- 
dreds of villages are seen — here built 
among labyrinths of rocks, there clinging 
like swallows’ nests to the sides of 
cliffs; while convents, no less numerous, 
are perched on the top of every peak. 
The vine is still largely cultivated in 
every part of the mountain. Lebanon 
also abounds in olives, figs and mulber- 
ries; while some remnants exist of the 
forests of pine, oak and cedar which 
formerly covered it. 1 Kings 5:6; Ezra 
3:7; Ps. 29 : 5 ; Isa. 14 : 8. Considerable 
numbers of wild beasts still inhabit its 
retired glens and higher peaks; jackals, 
hyaenas, wolves and panthers. Bears 
are no longer abundant. 2 Kings 14: 
9 ; Cant. 4:8; Hab. 2 : 17. Along the 
base of Lebanon runs the irregular plain 
of Phoenicia — nowhere more than two 
miles wide, and often interrupted by 
bold rocky spurs that dip into the sea. 
The main ridge of Lebanon is composed 
of Jura limestone, and abounds in fos- 
sils. Long belts of more recent sand- 
stone run along the western slopes, which 
are in places largely impregnated with 
iron. Lebanon was originally inhabited 
by the Hivites and Giblites. Josh. 13 : 
5, 6 ; Judges 3 : 3. The whole mountain 
range was assigned to the Israelites, but 
was never conquered by them. Josh. 13 : 
2-6; Judges 3:1-3. During the Jewish 
monarchy it appears to have been subject 
to the Phoenicians. 1 Kings 5 : 2-6 ; 
Ezra 3 : 7. From the Greek conquest 
until modern times Lebanon had no sep- 
arate history. 

2. Anti-Libanus. — The main chain of 
Anti-Libanus commences in the plateau 
of Bashan, near the parallel of Caesarea 
Philippi, runs north to Hermon, and 
then northeast in a straight line till it 
sinks down into the great plain of 
Emesa, not far from the site of Riblah. 
Hermon is the loftiest peak; the next 
highest is a few miles north of the site 
of Abila, beside the village of Bludan, 


I/EB 


358 


LEN 


and has an elevation of about 8090 feet. 
The rest of the ridge averages about 
5000 feet ; it is in general bleak and bar- 
ren, with shelving gray declivities, gray 
cliffs and gray rounded summits. Here 
and there we meet with thin forests of 
dwarf oak and juniper. The western 
slopes descend abruptly into the Bukd’a; 
but the features of the eastern are en- 
tirely different. Three side ridges here 
radiate from Hermon, like the ribs of 
an open fan, and form the supporting 
walls of three great terraces. Anti- 
Libanus is only once distinctly men- 
tioned in Scripture, where it is accu- 
rately described as “ Lebanon toward 
the sunrising.” Josh. 13 : 5. 

Leb'aoth (leb'a-oth) ( lionesses ), a 
town which forms one of the last group 
of the cities of “ the south ” in the enu- 
meration of the possessions of Judah, 
Josh. 15:32; probably identical with 
Beth-lebaoth. 

Lebbae'us (leb-be'us), one name of 
Jude, who was one of the twelve apos- 
tles. Matt. 10 : 3. R. V. omits, as there 
seems to be no ground for its insertion. 

Lebo'nah (le-bo'nah) (frankincense ) , 
a place named in Judges 21 : 19 only. 
Lebonah has survived to our times un- 
der the almost identical form of el- 
Lubban. It lies to the west of and 
close to the Nablus road, about eight 
miles north of Beitin (Bethel) and 
three miles from Seilum (Shiloh). 

Le'cah (le'cah), a name mentioned 
in the genealogies of Judah, 1 Chron. 
4 : 21 only, as one of the descendants 
of Shelah, the third son of Judah by 
the Canaanites Bath-shua. 

Leeks (Heb. chat- 
sir) . The leek was 
a bulbous vegetable 
resembling the onion. 
Its botanical name i s 
Allium porrum. The 
Israelites in the wil- 
derness longed for the 
leeks and onions of 
Egypt. N u m. 11:5. 
The word chat sir, 
which in Num. 11:5 is 
translated leeks, occurs 
twenty times in the 
Hebrew text. The 
Hebrew term, which 
commonly denotes 
grass, is derived from 
common LEEK, a root signifying “ to 


be green,” and may therefore stand in 
this passage for any green food — let- 
tuce, endive, etc. ; it would thus be ap- 
plied somewhat in the same manner as 
we use the term “greens;” yet as the 
chatsir is mentioned together with on- 
ions and garlic in the text, and as the 
most ancient versions unanimously un- 
derstand leeks by the Hebrew word, we 
may be satisfied with our own transla- 
tion, which the R. V. has retained. 

Lees, the coarser parts of a liquor, its 
sediment or dregs. “ Wine on the lees ” 
means a generous, full-bodied liquor. 
Isa. 25 : 6. Before the wine was con- 
sumed, it was necessary to strain off 
the lees; such wine was then termed 
“ well refined.” Isa. 25 : 6. To drink 
the lees, or “ dregs,” was an expression 
for the endurance of extreme punish- 
ment. Ps. 75 : 8. 

Legion, the chief subdivision of the 
Roman army, containing about 6000 in- 
fantry, with a contingent of cavalry. 
The term does not occur in the Bible in 
its primary sense, but appears to have 
been adopted in order to express any 
large number, with the accessory ideas 
of order and subordination. Matt. 26 : 
53 ; Mark 5 : 9. 

Le'habim (le'ha-bim), occurring only 
in Gen. 10 : 13 and 1 Chron. 1 : 11, the 
name of a Mizraite people or tribe. 
The name is very similar to Lubim, 
which was most probably the ancient 
name of Libya. These primitive Lib- 
yans appear to have inhabited the north- 
ern part of Africa to the west of Egypt, 
though latterly driven from the coast by 
the Greek colonists of the Cyrenaica. 

Le'hi (le'hi) ( jaw bone), a place in 
Judah, probably on the confines of the 
Philistines’ country, between it and the 
cliff Etam ; the scene of Samson’s well- 
known exploit with the jaw bone. 
Judges 15 : 9, 14, 19. Several identifica- 
tions have been suggested, but none with 
great plausibility. 

Lem'uel (lem'u-el) ( dedicated to 
God), the name of an unknown king 
to whom his mother addressed the pru- 
dential maxims contained in Prov. 31 : 
1-9. The rabbinical commentators iden- 
tified Lemuel with Solomon. Most mod- 
ern scholars regard him as king, or 
chief of Massa, in Arabia. But all idem 
tifications are pure guess. 

Lentils (Heb. ’cldashim), a legumin- 
ous plant bearing seeds resembling 
small beans. The red pottage which 



LEO 


359 


EEP 


Jacob prepared and for which Esau sold 
his birthright was made from them. 
Gen. 25 : 34. There are three or four 
kinds of lentils, all of which are much 
esteemed in those countries where they 



are grown, viz., the south of Europe, 
Asia and north Africa. The red lentil 
is still a favorite article of food in the 
East. Lentils are thoroughly whole- 
some and not at all unpalatable, being 
found ,on the tables of rich as well as 
poor. Lentil bread is eaten by the poor 
of Egypt. . 

Leopard (Heb. namer ) is invariably 



THE SYRIAN LEOPARD. 


given by the Authorized Version as the 
translation of the Hebrew word, which 
occurs in the seven following passages : 
Cant. 4:8; Isa. 11:6; Jer. 5:6; 13:23; 
Dan. 7:6; Hos. 13 : 7 ; Hab. 1 : 8. Leop- 
ard occurs also in Ecclus. 28 : 23 and in 
Rev. 13 : 2. From Cant. 4 : 8 we learn 
that the hilly ranges of Lebanon were in 
ancient times frequented by these ani- 
mals. They are now not uncommonly 
seen in and about Lebanon and the 
southern maritime mountains of Syria. 
Under the name namer , it is probable 
that another animal, namely the cheetah 
{Fells jubata), may be included; which 
is tamed by the Mohammedans of Syria, 
who employ it in bunting gazelle. 

Leper, Leprosy. There is great diffi- 
culty in determining in all cases the 
exact disease intended by these words. 
The word “ leprosy ” is used as the 
equivalent of three different foreign 
words, — the Hebrew Zaraath, the Greek 
elephas and elephantiasis. The subject 
is still more difficult because the last of 
these terms is now used for a very 
different disease from that described by 
Greek medical writers. Without doubt 
a large number of skin diseases were 
classed together by the people of the 
East in Scripture times. This is not 
strange, for it is only within the present 
generation that the medical fraternity 
has fully understood many of them. 
The Hebrew term, which is the word in 
use in the Old Testament must have 
denoted a large number of skin dis- 
eases, because neither true leprosy nor 
any other known disease displays all the 
symptoms described. The only alterna- 
tive to this would be the total disap- 
pearance of the diseases described. The 
Septuagint uses for this Hebrew word 
the Greek word lepra, which is used by 
the Greeks themselves as the name of 
a disease called psoriasis, neither con- 
tagious, dangerous nor incurable. In 
Lev. 13, there are directions for the 
treatment of leprosy which seem to ren- 
der necessary the inclusion of these 
varieties of skin diseases as well as of 
true leprosy. The principal ones are 
probably psoriasis, “ a leper as white 
as snow ;” favus, common among East- 
ern Jews to-day; ringworm and vitiligo. 

It is, however, an undoubted, fact that 
true leprosy in some one of its forms 
was found in Palestine and Egypt dur- 
ing Old Testament times, as well as 


LEP 


360 


LEP 


in New Testament times, and even to- 
day. 

The Egyptian bondage, with its 
studied degradations and privations, and 
especially the work of the kiln under 
an Egyptian sun, must have had a 
frightful tendency to generate this class 
of disorders. The sudden and total 
change of food, air, dwelling and mode 
of life, caused by the Exodus, to this 
nation of newly-emancipated slaves, may 
possibly have had a further tendency 
to produce skin disorders, and severe 
repressive measures may have been re- 
quired in the desert-moving camp to se- 
cure the public health or to allay the 
panic of infection. It is now undoubted 
that the “leprosy ” of modern Syria, 
and which has a wide range in Spain, 
Greece and Norway, is the Elephantiasis 
grcecorum. It is said to have been 
brought home by the crusaders into the 
various countries of western and north- 
ern Europe. But it was in Britain be- 
fore the date of the first crusade, as the 
leper-house at Canterbury was founded 
in 1096, the year of the starting of the 
crusade. The ultimate cause of lep- 
rosy was demonstrated by Hansen 
(1871) as a microbe somewhat like the 
tubercle bacillus. It occurs sporadically, 
proving other causes than contagion ; 
what they are, however, has never been 
proved. It is not a common disease, 
even in Palestine, but appears more so 
than it is for several reasons. (1) the 
association of the disease with the Bible 
and with Christ; causing a larger no- 
tice of it among Christian people every- 
where; (2) the repulsive appearance 
caused by it, so that a few cases im- 
press themselves indelibly on the ob- 
server, and (3) because practically all 
the lepers are segregated, and their vil- 
lages are often visited by travelers. 

True leprosy manifests itself in three 
forms: (1) the tubercular, the most re- 
pulsive form; (2) the ancesthetic, less 
horrible and less fatal; and (3) the 
mixed form, into which the sufferer al- 
ways falls at last, unless the disease is 
arrested. In the tubercular form it 
“ began with little specks on the eyelids 
and on the palms of the hands, and 
gradually spread over different parts of 
the body ; bleaching the hair white 
wherever it showed itself, crusting the 
affected parts with shining scales, and 
causing swellings and sores. From the 
skin it slowly ate its way through the 


tissues, to the bones and joints, and 
even to the marrow, rotting the whole 
body piecemeal. The lungs, the organs 
of speech and hearing, and the eyes, 
were attacked in turn, till at last con- 
sumption or dropsy brought welcome 
death.” 

The Jews regarded leprosy as a con- 
tagious disease, and also thought that 
it was hereditary. It is not hereditary, 
however, as children of lepers removed 
to healthy surroundings at an early age 
rarely have the disease. The Leprosy 
Commission in India could discover a 
history of heredity in only 5%. Very 
probably the greater part of the cases 
formerly ' supposed hereditary were 
caused by contagion. For there is lit- 
tle doubt that it is contagious. It is not 
contagious like scarlet fever or small- 
pox, but it can “ be communicated by 
the inoculation of the blood with the 
morbid secretions of an affected person.” 
“ Leprosy is no more dangerous than 
consumption. Persons in a street car 
are very much more likely to contract 
tuberculosis from the expectoration of 
a consumptive than to get leprosy from 
the presence of a leper.” — Dr. G. H. 
Fox, in Medical Record. It is a well- 
established fact that when leprosy has 
once gained for itself a foothold in any 
locality, it is apt to remain there and 
spread. But experience has shown that 
there is little or no danger of infection 
from leprosy to persons of cleanly 
habits. The disease spreads among the 
natives because they do not fear it, but 
live in intimate contact with lepers, just 
as if they were not diseased. . Even 
attendants upon lepers do not neces- 
sarily contract the disease if they exer- 
cise a reasonable amount of care. Lep- 
rosy is practically incurable by human 
skill, although under favorable circum- 
stances there have been several cures, 
even in advanced stages, says Dr. Fox 
in his report to the New York Health 
Department (1896). “But that man 
was carefully treated in the hospital, 
and he received all the comforts of life, 
whereas, if he had been locked up in a 
lazaretto, and his food handed to him 
through a hole, probably he would have 
died. The great difficulty in curing lep- 
rosy is that as soon as a person learns 
that he has it he is made to believe 
that all hope is gone. He is treated as 
a doomed man and made to believe that 


LEP 


361 


LEV 


he is an object to be shunned by every- 
body.” — Dr. Fox. 

One of the saddest things about the 
leprosy is the necessary separation from 
the healthy and clean. (See Ben Hur.) 
In the Sandwich Islands the lepers are 
all sent to one of the islands, called 
Molokai, by the board of health; but 
there is intense opposition to it by many 
of the natives, on account of the sepa- 
ration from family and friends. Again, 
Rev. S. E. Bishop, of Honolulu, says : 
“ Lepers themselves appear to especially 
revolt against submitting to any dis- 
tinction when at large, but seem in- 
clined to push themselves upon their 
neighbors, and to resent their personal 
contact being shunned.” Mr. Scully, 
who lives in South Africa, has written 
a touching tale of the lepers in that 
country. He writes that the story is 
founded on fact. Most vividly he de- 
scribes how awful was the separation of 
the lepers from all that they loved, so 
that one man led a company of lepers 
to a precipice to destroy himself and 
them by sudden death, rather than go 
into the leper colony. 

Leprosy in the house, or in garments. 
—The same word leprosy is used in the 
law of Leviticus 13, 14, to denote some- 
thing appearing in the walls of houses, 
or in the garments of wool, linen or 
leather. This, in all probability, means 
a sort of fungus from some source or 
other, which if left to itself would de- 
stroy the material. If it has gone so 
far as to be irremediable the article is 
to be destroyed. In the case of the 
house it may mean the formation of 
calcium nitrate from the action of de- 
caying animal matter on the lime of 
the plaster. In all cases it seems a re- 
sult of lack of cleanliness. 

Leprosy as a type of sin . — Leprosy is 
a remarkable type of sin and its fruits, 
in certain aspects ; as intemperance is a 
type of sin and the ruin it causes, from 
another point of view. The visible ef- 
fect on the body illustrates the effect 
of sin upon the soul. Sin, like leprosy, 
is a most loathsome, polluting, deform- 
ing, unclean thing. “ Leprosy is God’s 
language by which he describes sin as 
it appears in his sight.” 

1. It is a loathsome, defiling disease 
in its later stages. In the Gospels the 
word used for curing the leprosy, in 
every case but one, is cleansing. 

2. In the early stages there are often 


few symptoms and little discomfort. 
Rev. Dr. S. E. Bishop, of the Hawaiian 
Islands, says it is not virulent, acute, or 
even painful, except in its later stages. 
The Encyc. Biblica says that a large 
part of all leprosy, perhaps half, wants 
the more obvious characteristics. A per- 
son may be truly leprous and have noth- 
ing to show for it on the face or hands. 
Many cases have only blanched or dis- 
colored patches of the skin. 

3. The progress is slow, especially in 
the early stages. “ There are cases on 
record of persons who lived as lepers 
forty years.” The average duration of 
one form is nine years, but of the more 
common form in the East it is eighteen 
and one-half years. “ It is, therefore, 
easy to understand how a great general 
like Naaman might retain his office, 
though a leper.” 

4. It is contagious by intimate contact, 
but there is almost no danger to those 
of cleanly habits. 

5. It is almost incurable, probably en- 
tirely so in Bible times. 

Le'shem (le'shem), another form of 
Laish, afterward Dan, occurring in Josh. 
19 : 47. 

Letu'shim (letu'shim) {hammered ) , 
the name of the second of the sons of 
Dedan son of Jokshan. Gen. 25 : 3. 

Leum'mim (le-um'mim) {peoples), 
the name of the third of of the de- 
scendants of Dedan son of Jokshan, 
Gen. 25 : 3, being in the plural form, 
like his brethren, Asshurim and Letu- 
shim. 

Le'vi (le'vi). 1. The name of the 
third son of Jacob by his wife Leah. 
The meaning of the name is uncertain. 
In Gen. 39 : 24 it seems to be inter- 
preted as from lavah “ to adhere,” but 
several other meanings are found by 
modern scholars. Levi, with his brother 
Simeon, avenged with a cruel slaughter 
the outrage of their sister Dinah. [Di- 
nah.] Levi, with his three sons, Ger- 
shon, Kohath and Merari, went down 
to Egypt with his father Jacob. Gen. 
46 : 11. When Jacob’s death draws near, 
and the sons are gathered round him, 
Levi and Simeon hear the old crime 
brought up again to receive its sentence. 
They no less than Reuben, the incestu- 
ous first-born, had forfeited the priv- 
ileges of their birthright. Gen. 49 : 5-7. 

2. Two of the ancestors of Jesus. 
Luke 3:24, 29. 

3. Son of Alphseus; one of the apos- 


LEV 


362 


LEV 


ties. Mark 2 : 14 ; Luke 5 : 27, 29. 

[Matthew.] 

Leviathan (le-vi'a-than), occurs five 
times in the text of the Authorized Ver- 
sion, and once in the margin of Job 
3 : 8, where the text has “ mourning.” 
In the Hebrew Bible the word livyathan, 
which is, with the foregoing exception, 
always left, untranslated in the Author- 
ized Version, is found only in the fol- 
lowing passages: Job 3:8; 41:1; Ps. 
74:14; 104:26; Isa. 27:1. In Job 41: 
1 and Ps. 74 : 14 the crocodile is without 
doubt the animal intended. The context 
of Ps. 104 : 26 seems to show that in this 
passage the name represents some ani- 
mal of the whale tribe, which is com- 
mon in the Mediterranean ; but it is 
somewhat uncertain what animal is de- 
noted in Isa. 27 : 1 and Job 3 : 8. On the 
whole modern commentators are inclined 
to believe them poetical references based 
upon the mythological “ dragon.” 

Le'vites (le'vite’s) ( descendants of 
Levi). Sometimes the name extends to 
the whole tribe, the priests included, 
Ex. 6:25; Lev. 25:32; Num. 35:2; 
Josh. 21 : 3, 41, etc. ; sometimes only to 
those members of the tribe who were 
not priests, and as distinguished from 
them. Sometimes again it is added as 
an epithet of the smaller portion of the 
tribe, and we read of “ the priests the 
Levites.” Josh. 3:3; Ezek. 44 : 15. The 
history of the tribe and of the functions 
attached to its several orders is essen- 
tial to any right apprehension of the 
history of Israel as a people. It will 
fall naturally into four great periods : — 

The time of the Exodus. — There is no 
trace of the consecrated character of 
the Levites till the institution of a he- 
reditary priesthood in the family of 
Aaron, during the first withdrawal of 
Moses to the solitude of Sinai. Ex. 
24 : 1. The next extension of the idea 
of the priesthood grew out of the ter- 
rible crisis of Ex. 32. The tribe stood 
forth separate and apart, recognizing 
even in this stern work the spiritual as 
higher than the natural. From this 
time they occupied a distinct position. 
The tribe of Levi was to take the place 
of that earlier priesthood of the first- 
born as representatives of the holiness 
of the people. As the tabernacle was 
the sign of the presence among the peo- 
ple of their unseen King, so the Levites 
were, among the other tribes of Israel, 
as the royal guard that waited exclu- 


sively on him. Their service began at 
25 years of age as assistants to the 
priests, and at 30 as carriers of the 
tabernacle. Num. 4:23, 30, 35; 8:24. 
At fifty they were to be free from all 
duties but those of superintendence. 
Num. 8 : 25, 26. The Kohathites were 
to bear all the vessels of the sanctuary, 
the ark itself included. Num. 3:31; 4: 
15 ; Deut. 31 : 25. The Gershonites had 
to carry the tent-hangings and curtains. 
Num. 4:22-26. The heavier burden of 
the boards, bars and pillars of the taber- 
nacle fell on the sons of Merari. The 
Levites were to have no territorial pos- 
sessions. In place of them they were to 
receive from the others the tithes of 
the produce of the land, from which 
they, in their turn, offered a tithe to 
the priests, as a recognition of their 
higher consecration. Num. 18:21, 24, 
26 ; Neh. 10 : 37. Distinctness and diffu- 
sion were both to be secured by the as 1 - 
signment to the whole tribe of forty- 
eight cities ; each with an outlying 
“ suburb,” Num. 35 : 2, of meadow-land 
for the pasturage of their flocks and 
herds. Six of these were to be selected 
as cities of refuge. Through the whole 
land the Levites were to take the place 
of the old household priests, sharing in 
all festivals and rejoicings. Deut. 12: 
19; 14:26, 27; 26:11. Every third 

year they were to have an additional 
share in the produce of the land. Deut. 
14:28; 26:12. To “the priests the 

Levites” was to belong the office of 
preserving, transcribing and interpreting 
the law. Deut. 17 : 9-12 ; 31 : 25, 26. 

The Monarchy. — When David’s king- 
dom was established, there came a fuller 
organization of the whole tribe. Their 
position in relation to the priesthood 
was once again definitely recognized. 
In the worship of the tabernacle under 
David, as afterward in that of the tem- 
ple, the Levites were divided into (1) 
Assistants to the priests; (2) Judges and 
scribes; (3) Gate keepers; (4) Musi- 
cians. They lived for the greater part 
of the year in their own cities, and came 
up at fixed periods to take their turn of 
work. 1 Chron. 25, 26. The educational 
work which the Levites received for 
their peculiar duties, no less than their 
connection, more or less intimate, with 
the schools of the prophets, would tend 
to make them the teachers of the others, 
the transcribers and interpreters of the 
law, the chroniclers of the times in 


LEV 


363 


LIB 


which they lived. Thus they became to 
the Israelites what ministers and teach- 
ers are to the people now, and this 
teaching and training the people in mo- 
rality and religion was no doubt one of 
the chief reasons why they were set 
apart by God from the people, and yet 
among the people. The revolt of the 
ten tribes, and the policy pursued by 
Jeroboam, who wished to make the 
priests the creatures and instruments of 
the king, and to establish a provincial 
and divided worship, caused them to 
leave the cities assigned to them in the 
territory of Israel, and gather round the 
metropolis of Judah. 2 Chron. 11:13, 
14. In the kingdom of Judah they were, 
from this time forward, a powerful 
body, politically as well as ecclesias- 
tically. 

After the Captivity. — During the pe- 
riod that followed the captivity the Le- 
vites contributed to the formation of 
the so-called Great Synagogue. They, 
with the priests, formed the majority of 
the permanent Sanhedrin, and as such 
had a large share in the administration 
of justice even in capital cases. They 
appear but seldom in the history of the 
New Testament. 

Leviticus so named because it relates 
principally to the duties of the Levites 
and priests as the guides and teachers 
of the people in their religious life. 
In early Jewish literature it is called 
The Law of Priests ; The Book of 
Priests. According to the higher critics 
it belongs in its entirety to the priestly 
school of the writers of the Hexateuch. 

Literary structure. The 27 chap- 
ters fall readily apart into four divisions. 

1. The Law of Sacrifice, chs. 1-7, as 
a visible means of expressing and cul- 
tivating the religious feelings of wor- 
ship, forgiveness, devotion, consecration ; 
“ sign-posts pointing to the Perfect Sac- 
rifice.” 

2 . The Consecration of the Priesthood, 
chs. 8-10, as the ministers of God, 
leaders and teachers of the religious 
and moral life of the people. 

3 . The Law of the Clean and the Un- 
clean with an Appendix on the Day of 
Atonement, chs. 11-16 : This section 
emphasizes by symbols the distinction 
between right and wrong. It shows the 
moral value of right care of the body, 
of health, and sanitary laws, of simple 
living. 

4. The Law of Holiness, chs. 17-27, 


with an appendix on vows. There is a 
unique sense of the majesty and holiness 
of God, with its corollary of the holiness 
of his people. Thus one of the most 
notable features of the book is what 
may be called its spiritual meaning. 
That so elaborate a ritual looked beyond 
itself we cannot doubt. It was a proph- 
ecy of things to come ; a shadow where- 
of the substance was Christ and his 
kingdom. We may not always be able 
to say what the exact relation is be- 
tween the type and the antitype; but we 
cannot read the Epistle to the Hebrews t 
and not acknowledge that the Levitical 
priests “ served the pattern and type of 
heavenly things;” that the sacrifices of 
the law pointed to and found their in- 
terpretation in the Lamb of God; that 
the ordinances of outward purification 
signified the true inner cleansing of the 
heart and conscience from dead works 
to serve the living God. One idea — ho- 
liness — moreover penetrates the whole 
of this vast and burdensome ceremonial, 
and gives it a real glory even apart from 
any prophetic significance. 

The date of the book is the first year 
of the Exodus, at Mt. Sinai. It is not 
impossible that additions may have been 
made to the original law as new circum- 
stances require. But the fact that the 
Israelites did not always live up to these 
requirements is no proof of their late 
date, for they were the ideal and rule of 
the nation; just as the gospels are the 
ideal of Christian nations, although no 
nation has lived up to its principles. 

Several similar laws to those of Levit- 
icus are found in the code of Ham- 
murabi, in the days of Abraham. 

Lib'anus. [Lebanon.] 

Lib'ertines (lib'er-tines). This word, 
which occurs once only in the New 
Testament — Acts 6: 9 — is the Latin liber- 
tini, that is, “ freedmen.” They were 
probably Jews who, having been taken 
prisoners by Pompey and other Roman 
generals in the Syrian wars, had been 
reduced to slavery, and had afterward 
been emancipated, and returned, per- 
manently or for a time, to the country 
of their fathers. 

Lib'nah (lib'nah) {white). 1 . A 
royal city of the Canaanites which lay 
in the southwest part of the Holy Land, 
taken by Joshua immediately after the 
rout of Beth-horon. Josh. 10. It was 
near Lachish, west of Makkedah. It was 
appropriated with its “ suburbs ” to the 


LIB 


364 


LIL 


priests. Josh. 21 : 13 ; 1 Chron. 6: 57. In 
the reign of Jehoram the son of Jehosh- 
aphat it “ revolted ” from Judah at the 
same time with Edom. 2 Kings 8 : 22 ; 2 
Chron. 21 : 10. Sennacherib the king of 
Assyria attacked in the time of Heze- 
kiah, 2 Kings 19 : 8 ; Is. 37 : 8. It was 
later occupied by Jewish families, for 
Josiah married a daughter of Jeremiah 
of Libnah (2 Kings 23:31; 24:18). 
This is the latest known reference to 
the place. It was probably near Beit 
Jibrin, but is not identified. 

2. One of the stations at which the 
Israelites encamped on their journey be- 
tween the wilderness of Sinai and Ka- 
desh. Num. 33 : 20, 21. 

Lib'ni (lib'ni) {white). 1. The eldest 
son of Gershon* the son of Levi, Ex. 
6 : 17 ; Num. 3 : 18 ; 1 Chron. 6 : 17, 20, 
and ancestor of the family of the Lib- 
nites. 

2. The son of Mahli or Mahali, son of 
Merari, 1 Chron. 6 : 29, as the text at 
present stands. It is probable, however, 
that he is the same with the preceding, 
and that something has been omitted. 
Comp. ver. 29 with 20, 42. 

Lib'ya (lib'i-a). This name occurs 
only in Acts 2 : 10. It is applied by the 
Greek and Roman writers to the African 
continent, generally, however, excluding 
Egypt. 

Lice (Heb. kinnam, kinnim). This 
word occurs in the Authorized Version 
only in Ex. 8 : 16-18 and in Ps. 105 : 31, 
both of which passages have reference to 
the third great plague of Egypt. The 
Hebrew word has given occasion to 
whole pages of discussion. Some com- 
mentators suppose that gnats are the 
animals intended by the original word; 
while, on the other hand, the Jewish 
rabbis, Josephus and others, are in favor 
of the translation of the Authorized 
Version. The R. V. margin gives sand- 
flies or fleas. Lice are exceedingly com- 
mon among the uncleanly people of the 
East. The better classes of the Egyp- 
tians were unusually cleanly, and would 
feel a plague of lice most sorely. 

Lieutenants. The Hebrew achash 
darpan was the official title of the sa- 
traps or viceroys who governed the 
provinces of the Persian empire; it is 
rendered “prince” in Dan. 3:2; 6,: 1. 
The R. V. has satrap in all cases. 

Lign aloes. [Aloes.] 

Ligure (Heb. leshem), a precious 
stone mentioned in Ex. 28 : 19 ; 39 : 12 as 


the first in the third row of the high 
priest’s breastplate. It is impossible to 
say, with any certainty, what stone is 
denoted by the Hebrew term. The R. V. 
has Jacinth. Hastings’ Bible Dictionary 
rather favors the yellow quartz or agate. 

Lik'hi (lik'hi) {learned), a Manas- 
site, son of Shemidah the son of Ma- 
nasseh. 1 Chron. 7 : 19. 

Lily (Heb. shushan , shoshan, shoshan - 



SCARLET LILY. 


nali). Although there is little doubt 
that the Hebrew word denotes some 
plant of the lily species, it is by no 
means certain what individual of this 
class it specially designates. The plant 



LILY OF PALESTINE. 


LIM 


365 


LIO 


must have been a conspicuous object on 
the shores of the Lake of Gennesaret, 
Matt. 6 : 28 ; Luke 12 : 27 ; it must have 
flourished in the deep broad valleys of 
Palestine, Cant. 2 : 1, among the thorny 
shrubs, ib. 2:2, and pastures of the 
desert, ib. 2 : 16 ; 4:5; 6:3; and must 
have been remarkable for its rapid and 
luxuriant growth. Hos. 14 : 5 ; Ecclus. 
39 : 14. That its flowers were brilliant 
in color would seem to be indicated in 
Matt. 6 : 28, where it is compared with 
the gorgeous robes of Solomon; and 
that this color was scarlet or purple is 
implied in Cant. 5 : 13. There were many 
species of liliaceous blossoms in Pales- 
tine, some exceedingly gorgeous in color, 
and some exquisitely fragrant. “In late 
winter the regions over which Jesus 
walked are clothed most gorgeously. 
Most conspicuous, perhaps, are the great 
blue and red flowers of the order Ranun- 
culacece, where the anemone and the 
ranunculus grow together. They are 
not small things, like our buttercups, 
but great wide flowers of two inches or 
more in diameter, carpeting the ground 
with patches as gorgeous as masses of 
our brilliant verbenas. They grow 
everywhere; and, like the other herbs, 
are glorious one day, and the next day 
literally cast into the oven to bake the 
peasant’s bread.” — Isaac Hall, D. D. 

Thomson, in “ The Land and the 
Book,” speaks of a splendid iris, which 
he calls the Huleh lily. “ This Huleh 
lily is very large; and the three inner 
petals meet above, and form a gorgeous 
canopy, such as art never approached, 
and king never sat under, even in his 
utmost glory. And when I met this in- 
comparable flower, in all its loveliness, 
among the oak woods around the north 
base of Tabor and on the hills of Naz- 
areth, where our Lord spent his youth, 
I felt assured that it was to this he re- 
ferred.” 

It is very probable that the term lily 
here is general, not referring to any 
particular species, but to a large class 
of flowers growing in Palestine, and 
resembling the lily, as the tulip, iris, 
gladiolus, etc. 

Lime, the substance obtained from 
limestone, shells, etc., by heat. It is no- 
ticed only three times in the Bible, viz., 
in Deut. 27:2 (where it is translated 
plaster), Isa. 33: 12, and Amos 2: 1. 

Linen, cloth made from flax. Several 
different Hebrew words are rendered 


linen, which may denote different fab- 
rics of linen or different modes of man- 
ufacture. Egypt was the great centre of 
the linen trade. Some .linen, made 
from the Egyptian byssus, a flax that 
grew on the banks of the Nile, was ex- 
ceedingly _ soft and of dazzling white- 
ness. This linen has been sold for twice 
its weight in gold. Sir J. G. Wilkinson 
says of it, “ The quality of the fine 
linen fully justifies all the praises of 
antiquity, and excites equal admiration 
at the present day, being to the touch 
comparable to silk, and not inferior in 
texture to our finest cambric.” 

Lintel, the beam which forms the 
upper part of the framework of a door. 

Li'nus, a Christian at Rome, known 
to St. Paul and to Timothy, 2 Tim. 4: 
21, who was the first bishop of Rome 
after the apostles, (a.d. 64.) 

Lion. “ The most powerful, daring 
and impressive of all carnivorous ani- 
mals, the most magnificent in aspect and 
awful in voice.” At present lions do 
not exist in Palestine ; but they must in 
ancient times have been numerous. The 
lion of Palestine was in all probability 
the Asiatic variety, described by Aris- 
totle and Pliny as distinguished by its 
short curly mane, and by being shorter 



THE ASIATIC LION. 


and rounder in shape, like the sculptured 
lion found at Arban. It was less daring 
than the longer named species, but when 
driven by hunger it not only ventured 
to attack the flocks in the desert in 
presence of the shepherd, 1 Sam. 17 : 34 ; 
Isa. 31 : 4, but laid waste towns and vil- 
lages, 2 Kings 17 : 25, 26 ; Prov. 22 : 13 ; 
26 : 13, and devoured men. 1 Kings 13 : 


LIZ 


366 


LOC 


24 ; 20 : 36 . Among the Hebrews, and 
throughout the Old Testament, the lion 
was the achievement of the princely- 
tribe of Judah, while in the closing book 
t>f the canon it received a deeper signifi- 
cance as the emblem of him who “ pre- 
vailed to open the book and loose the 
seven seals thereof.” Rev. 5 : 5. On the 
other hand its fierceness and cruelty ren- 
dered it an appropriate metaphor for a 
fierce and malignant enemy, Ps. 7 : 2 ; 
22 : 21 ; 57 : 4 ; 2 Tim. 4 : 17, and hence 
for the archfiend himself. 1 Peter 5 : 8. 

Lizard (Heb. letaah. Lev. 11:30). 
Lizards of various kinds abound in 
Egypt, Palestine -and Arabia. What 



LIZARD. 


species of lizard is intended by the He- 
brew word we have no means of decid- 
ing. There are several common species ; 
the green lizard, the sand lizard, the 
wall lizard, and others. The Gecko or 
fan-footed lizard is thought by some to 
be intended here, but the R. V. uses that 
word as the translation of anakah. All 
the lizard tribe seem to have been re- 
garded as unclean. 

Lo=am'mi (lo-am'mi) ( not my peo- 
ple), the figurative name given by the 
prophet Hosea to his second son by 
Gomer the daughter of Diblaim, Hos. 1 : 
9, to denote the rejection of the king- 
dom of Israel by Jehovah. Its signifi- 
cance is explained in vs. 9, 10. 

Loan. . In the early days of the He- 
brew nation loans were not sought for 
the purpose of obtaining capital, but 
for the necessaries of life. For this 
reason, probably, the law strictly for- 
bade any interest to be taken for a loan 
to any poor person. This prohibition 
was limited to Hebrews only, from 
whom, of whatever rank, no interest was 
on any pretence to be exacted. Relief 
to the poor by way of loan was en- 
joined, and excuses for evading this 


duty were forbidden. Ex. 22 : 25 ; Lev. 
25 : 35, 37. As commerce increased, the 
practice of interest, and so also of sure- 
tyship, grew up; but the exaction of 
it from a Hebrew appears to have been 
regarded to a late period as discredita- 
ble. Ps. 15 : 5 ; Prov. 6 : 1, 4 ; 11 : 15 ; 17 : 
18; 20: 16; 22; 26; Jer. 15: 10; Ezek. 18: 
13. Systematic breach of the law in 
this respect was corrected by Nehemi- 
ah after the return from captivity. Neh. 
5 : 1-13. The money-changers, who had 
seats and tables in the temple, were 
traders whose profits arose chiefly from 
the exchange of money with those who 
came to pay their annual half-shekel. 
The Jewish law did not forbid tempo- 
rary bondage in the case of debtors, but 
it forbade a Hebrew debtor to be de- 
tained as a bondman longer than the 
seventh year, or at farthest the year of 
jubilee. Ex. 21:2; Lev. 25:39, 42; 

Deut. 15 : 9. 

Loaves. [Bread.] 

Lock. Where European locks have 
not been introduced, the locks of east- 
ern houses are usually of wood, and con- 
sist of a partly hollow bolt from four- 
teen inches to two feet long for external 



doors or gates, or from seven to nine 
inches for interior doors. The bolt 
passes through a groove in a piece at- 
tached to the door into a socket in the 
door-post. 

Locust, a well-known insect, of the 
grasshopper family, which commits ter- 
rible ravages on vegetation in the coun- 
tries which it visits. Their color is 
generally brown bordering on green. 
They, are often as much as three or 
four inches long when full grown. The 
most destructive of the locust tribe that 
occur in the Bible lands are the (Edipoda 
migratoria and the Acridium peregri- 
num; and as both these species occur 


LOC 


367 


LOR 


in Syria and Arabia, etc., it is most 
probable that one or other is denoted in 
those passages which speak of the 
dreadful devastations committed by 
these insects. At least nine different 
names are used in the Bible in speaking, 
but it is not certain that any distinc- 
tion in species is intended. Locusts oc- 
cur in great numbers, and sometimes 
obscure the f sun. Ex. 10:15; Judges 6: 
5; Jer. 46’: 23. Their voracity is al- 
luded to in Ex. 10:12, 15; Joel 1:4, 
7. They make a fearful noise in their 
flight. Joel 2:5; Rev. 9:9. Their ir- 



LOCUSTS. 


resistible progress is referred to in Joel 
2:8, 9. They enter dwellings, and de- 
vour even the woodwork of houses. 
Ex. 10:6; Joel 2:9, 10. They do not 
fly in the night. Nah. 3 : 17. The sea 
destroys the greater number. Ex. 10: 
19; Joel 2:20. The flight of locusts is 
thus described by M. Olivier .(Voyage 
dans r Empire Othoman, ii. 424) : 
“ With the burning south winds (of 
Syria) there come from the interior of 
Arabia and from the most southern 
parts of Persia clouds of locusts ( Ac - 
ridium peregrinum), whose ravages to 
these countries are as grievous and 
nearly as sudden as those of the heaviest 
hail in Europe. We witnessed them 
twice. It is difficult to express the ef- 
fect produced on us by the sight of the 
whole atmosphere filled on all sides and 
to a great height by an innumerable 
quantity of these insects, whose flight 
was slow and uniform, and whose noise 
resembled that of rain: the sky was 
darkened, and the light of the sun con- 
siderably weakened. In a moment the 
terraces of the houses, the streets, and 


all the fields were covered by these in- 
sects, and in two days they had nearly 
devoured all the leaves of the plants. 
Happily they lived but a short time, 
and seemed to have migrated only to 
reproduce themselves and die; in fact, 
nearly all those we saw the next day 
had paired, and the day following the 
fields were covered with their dead 
bodies.” The only mention of locusts 
in the New Testament is as an article 
of food. John the Baptist used them 
when in the wilderness, Matt. 3 : 4. 
“ Locusts have been used as food from 
the earliest times. Herodotus speaks of 
a Libyan nation who dried their locusts 
in the sun and ate them with milk. 
The more common method, however, 
was to pull off the legs and wings and 
roast them in an iron dish. Then they 
were thrown into a bag, and eaten like 
parched corn, each one taking a handful 
when he chose.” Sometimes the insects 
are ground and pounded, and then 
mixed with flour and water and made 
into cakes, or they are salted -and then 
eaten ; sometimes smoked ; sometimes 
boiled or roasted ; again, stewed, or fried 
in butter. They are now eaten only by 
the Bedouins, and the very poorest of 
the people. They resemble shrimps in 
taste. 

Lod. [Lydda.] 

Lo=de'bar (lo-de'bar) ( without pas- 
ture ), a place named with Mahanaim, 
Rogelim and other transjordanic 
towns, 2 Sam. 17 : 27, and therefore no 
doubt on the east side of the Jordan. 
It was the retreat of Mephibosheth un- 
til he was summoned to the court of 
David. 2 Sam. 9:4, 5. 

Lodge, To. This word, with one ex- 
ception only, has, at least in the nar- 
rative portions of the Bible, almost in- 
variably the force of “ passing the 
night.” 

Log. [Weights and Measures.] 

Lo'is (lo'is) ( agreeable ), the grand- 
mother of Timothy, and doubtless the 
mother of his mother, Eunice. 2 Tim. 
1:5. It seems likely that Lois had re- 
sided long at Lystra ; and almost certain 
that from her, as well as from Eunice, 
Timothy obtained his intimate knowl- 
edge of the Jewish Scriptures. 2 Tim. 
3: 15. 

Looking=glasses. [Mirrors.] 

Lord. [God.] 

Lord’s day, The KvpiaKrj 'Ufiepa, 
Rev. 1:10 only), the weekly festival of 


LOR 


368 


LOR 


our Lord’s resurrection, and identified 
with “ the first day of the week,” or 
“ Sunday,” of every age of the Church. 
Scripture says very little concerning this 
day ; but that little seems to. indicate that 
the divinely-inspired apostles, by their 
practice and by their precepts, marked 
the first day of the week as a day for 
meeting together to break bread, for 
communicating and receiving instruc- 
tion, for laying up offerings in store for 
charitable purposes, for occupation in 
holy thought and prayer. [See Sab- 
bath.] 

Lord’s Prayer, the prayer which 
Jesus taught his disciples. Matt. 6:9- 
13; Luke 11:2-4. “In this prayer our 
Lord shows his disciples how an infinite 
variety of wants and requests can be 
compressed into a few humble petitions. 
It embodies every possible desire of a 
praying heart, a whole world of spirit- 
ual requirements; yet all in the most 
simple, condensed and humble form, re- 
sembling, in this respect, a pearl on 
which the light of heaven plays.” — 
Lange. 

“ A peasant child can understand 
enough of it to make it the expression 
of his daily needs. The ripest scholar, 
philosopher and saint cannot exhaust its 
possibilities of meaning.” 

It is a summary of all other prayers. 

It is a guide and model of prayer; 
not intended to supersede other prayers, 
not to be an exclusive form of prayer, 
but to express the true spirit of prayer, 
to show the emphasis which should be 
laid upon the different things we desire 
when we pray, and to form the channel 
in which our feelings and desires should 
naturally flow toward God. 

The prayer asks for the fulfilment of 
the teachings of Christ, and corresponds 
to the duties enforced in the decalogue 
and in the Sermon on the Mount. 

Beginning with the Person to whom 
we should pray, there follow the three 
classes of petitions which include the 
needs of our life, while the close gives 
us the assurance of the answer. 

The Hearer and answerer of prayer. 
Our Father which art in Heaven, 

I. The aim , ideal and supreme desire. 
Hallowed be thy name 
Thy kingdom come 
Thy will be done 

On earth as it is in heaven. 


(This last clause belongs to all the 
three petitions, and not to the last 
alone.) 

II. The Material basis. 

Give us this day our daily bread. 

III. Deliverance from evil. 

And forgive us our debts 
As we forgive our debtors 
And lead us not into temptation 
But deliver us from evil. 

The power that can give the answer 

For thine is the Kingdom 
And the Power 
And the glory 

Forever. Amen. 

Father expresses the thought of God 
which makes it easiest to go to him in 
prayer. 

The first petition expresses the true 
aim of all true prayer, the ideal we 
should seek first in all our living and 
praying, for ourselves and for all men. 

The second petition includes all that 
we need of worldly good; the material 
training through which we can gain the 
true aim, always secondary to that pur- 
pose; and of which the world can safely 
have the most in proportion to its spirit- 
ual attainment. 

The third series of petitions ex- 
presses the need of every sinful soul, 
and the essential conditions by which 
the highest good can be reached. 

The doxology gives us the assurance 
of an answer to our prayer, for God 
rules over all, he has all power, and 
the answer to our prayer will cause 
God’s glory, the outshining of his real 
nature, to be revealed. (The doxology, 
“for. thine is the kingdom,” etc., is 
wanting in many manuscripts. It is 
omitted in the Revised Version; but it 
nevertheless has the authority of some 
manuscripts, and is truly biblical, almost 
every word being found in 1 Chron. 29: 
11; and is a true and fitting ending for 
prayer.) 

Lord’s Supper. The words which 
thus describe the great central act of the 
worship of the Christian Church occur 
but in a single passage of the New Tes- 
tament— 1 Cor. 11 : 20. 1. Its institution. 

— It was instituted on that night when 
Jesus and his disciples met together to 
eat the passover, Matt. 26 : 19 ; Mark 14 : 
16 ; Luke 22 : 13, probably on Thursday 
evening, April 6, a.d. 30. It was prob- 


LOR 


369 


LOR 


ably instituted at the third cup (the cup 
of blessing) of the passover, Jesus tak- 
ing one of the unleavened cakes used 
at that feast and breaking it and giving 
it to his disciples with the cup. The 
narratives of the Gospels show how 
strongly the disciples were impressed 
with the words which had given a new 
meaning to the old familiar acts. They 
had looked on the bread and the wine as 
memorials of the deliverance from 
Egypt. They were now told to partake 
of them “in remembrance” of their 
Master and Lord. The words “ This is 
my body ” gave to the unleavened bread 
a new character. They had been pre- 
pared for language that would otherwise 
have been so startling, by the teaching 
of John 6: 32-58, and they were thus 
taught to see in the bread that was 
broken the witness of the closest possi- 
ble union and incorporation with their 
Lord. The cup, which was “ the new 
testament in his blood,” would remind 
them, in like manner, of the wonderful 
prophecy in which that new covenant 
had been foretold. Jer. 31 : 31-34. 
“ Gradually and progressively he had 
prepared the minds of his disciples to 
realize the idea of his death as a sac- 
rifice. He now gathers up all previous 
announcements in the institution of this 
sacrament.” — Cambridge Bible. The fes- 
tival had been annual. No rule was 
given as to the time and frequency of 
the new feast that thus supervened on 
the old, but the command “ Do this as 
oft as ye drink it,” 1 Cor. 11 : 25, sug- 
gested the more continual recurrence of 
that which was to be their memorial of 
one whom they would wish never to for- 
get. Luke, in the Acts, describes the 
baptized members of the Church as con- 
tinuing steadfast in or to the teaching 
of the apostles, in fellowship with them 
and with each other, and in breaking of 
bread and in prayers. Acts 2:42. We 
can scarcely doubt that this implies that 
the chief actual meal of each day was 
one in which they met as brothers, and 
which was either preceded or followed 
by the more solemn commemorative acts 
of the breaking of the bread and the 
drinking of the cup. It will be con- 
venient to anticipate the language and 
the thoughts of a somewhat later date, 
and to say that, apparently, they thus 
united every day the Agape or feast of 
love with the celebration of the Eucha- 
rist. At some time, before or after the 
24 


meal of which they partook as such, the 
bread and the wine would be given with 
some special form of words or acts, to 
indicate its character. New converts 
would need some explanation of the 
meaning and origin of the observance. 
What would be so fitting and so much 
in harmony with the precedents of the 
paschal feast as the narrative of what 
had passed on the night of its insti- 
tution ? 1 Cor. 11 : 23-27. 

2 .Its significance. — The Lord’s Supper 
is a reminder of the leading truths of 
the gospel : (1) Salvation, like this 

bread, is the gift of God’s love. (2) 
We are reminded of the life of Christ 
— all he was and did and said. (3) We 
are reminded, as by the passover, of the 
grievous bondage of sin from which 
Christ redeems us. (4) It holds up 
the atonement, the body of Christ bro- 
ken, his blood shed, for us. (5) In 
Christ alone is forgiveness and salvation 
from sin, the first need of the soul. (6) 
Christ is the food of the soul. (7) We 
must partake by faith, or it will be of 
no avail. (8) We are taught to dis- 
tribute to one another the spiritual bless- 
ings God gives us. (9) By this meal 
our daily bread is sanctified. (10) The 
most intimate communion with God in 
Christ. (11) Communion with one an- 
other. (12) It is a feast of joy. 
“ Nothing less than the actual joy of 
heaven is above it.” (13) It is a proph- 
ecy of Christ’s second coming, of the 
perfect triumph of his kingdom. (14) 
It is holding up before the world the 
cross of Christ; not a selfish gathering 
of a few saints, but a proclamation of 
the Saviour for all. Why did Christ 
ordain bread to be used in the Lord’s 
Supper, and not a lamb ? Canon Wal- 
sham How replies, “ Because the types 
and shadows were to cease when the real 
Sacrifice was come. There was to be 
no more shedding of blood when once 
his all-prevailing blood was shed. There 
must be nothing which might cast a 
doubt upon the all-sufficiency of that” 
Then, the Lamb being sacrificed once 
for all, what is needed is to teach the 
world that Christ is now the bread of 
life. Perhaps also it was because bread 
was more easily provided, and fitted thus 
more easily to be a part of a universal 
ordinance. 

3. Was it a permanent ordinance ? — 
“ ‘ Do this in remembrance of me ’ 
points to a permanent institution. The 


LOR 


370 


LOV 


command is therefore binding on all 
who believe in Christ; and disobedience 
to it is sin, for the unbelief that keeps 
men away is one of the worst of sins.” 
“ The subsequent practice of the apos- 
tles, Acts 2 : 42, 46 ; 20 : 7, and still more 
the fact that directions for the Lord’s 
Supper were made a matter of special 
revelation to Paul, 1 Cor. 11 : 23, seem 
to make it clear that Christ intended 
the ordinance for a perpetual one, and 
that his apostles so understood it.” 

4. Method of observance. — “ The orig- 
inal supper was taken in a private 
house, an upper chamber, at night, 
around a table, reclining, women ex- 
cluded, only the ordained apostles ad- 
mitted. None of these conditions are 
maintained to-day by any Christian 
sect.” But it must be kept with the same 
spirit and purpose now as then. 

Lo=ruha'mah (lo-ru-ha'mah) ( not 
having obtained mercy), the name of 
the daughter of Hosea the prophet, given 
to denote the utterly ruined condition 
of the kingdom of Israel. Hos. 1 : 6. 

Lot ( veil or covering), the son of Ha- 
ran, and therefore the nephew of Abra- 
ham. Gen. 11 : 27, 31. His sisters were 
Milcah the wife of Nahor, and Iscah, 
by some identified with Sarah. Haran 
died before the emigration of Terah and 
his family from Ur of the Chaldees, ver. 
28, and Lot was therefore born there. 
He removed with the rest of his kin- 
dred to Charran (b.c. 1926 [Ussher]) 
and again subsequently with Abraham 
and Sarai to Canaan, ch. 12 : 4, 5. With 
them he took refuge in Egypt from a 
famine, and with them returned, first 
to the “ south,” ch. 13 : 1, and then to 
their original settlement between Bethel 
and Ai, vs. 3, 4. But the pastures of 
the hills of Bethel, which had with ease 
contained the two strangers on their first 
arrival, were not able any longer to 
bear them, so much had their posses- 
sions of sheep, goats and cattle in- 
creased. Accordingly they separated, 
Lot choosing the fertile plain of the 
Jordan, and advancing as far as Sodom. 
Gen. 13 : 10-14. The next occurrence 
in the life of Lot is his capture by the 
four kings of the east and his rescue by 
Abram, ch. 14. The last scene preserved 
to us in the history of Lot is too well 
known to need repetition. He was still 
living in Sodom, Gen. 19, from which 
he was rescued by some angels on the 
day of its final overthrow. He fled first 


to Zoar, in which he found a temporary 
refuge during the destruction of the 
other cities of the plain. Where this 
place was situated is not known with 
certainty. [Zoar.] The end of Lot’s 
wife is commonly treated as one of the 
difficulties of the Bible; but it surely 
need not be so. It cannot be necessary 
to create the details of the story where 
none are given. On these points the 
record is silent. The value and the sig- 
nificance of the story to us are con- 
tained in the allusion of Christ. Luke 
17 : 32. Later ages have not been satis- 
fied so to leave the matter, but have in- 
sisted on identifying the “ pillar ” with 
some one of the fleeting forms which 
the perishable rock of the south end of 
the Dead Sea is constantly assuming in 
its process of decomposition and lique- 
faction. Lot’s character is in strong 
contrast with that of Abraham. He is 
selfish, weak and worldly; in personal 
character “ righteous ” and deemed by 
God worthy of a special deliverance, he 
was nevertheless willing for the sake 
of luxury and ease to dwell in the 
midst of temptation. His descendants 
were the Moabites and Ammonites. 

Lot (literally a pebble). The custom 
of deciding doubtful questions by lot is 
one of great extent and high antiquity. 
Among the Jews lots were used with the 
expectation that God would so control 
them as to give a right direction to 
them. They were very often used by 
God’s appointment. “ As to the mode 
of casting lots, we have no certain in- 
formation. Probably several modes 
were practised.” “Very commonly 
among the Latins little counters of wood 
were put into a jar with so narrow a 
neck that only one could come out at a 
time. After the jar had been filled with 
water and the contents shaken, the lots 
were determined by the order in which 
the bits of wood, representing the sev- 
eral parties, came out with the water. 
In other cases they were put into a wide 
open jar, and the counters were drawn 
out by the hand. Sometimes again they 
were cast in the manner of dice. The 
soldiers who cast lots for Christ’s gar- 
ments undoubtedly used these dice.” — 
Lyman Abbott. 

Lo'tan (lo'tan) {covering), the eldest 
son of Seir the Horite. Gen. 36 : 20, 22, 
29 ; 1 Chron. 1 : 38, 39. 

Lots, Feast of. [Purim.] 

Love feasts {Agape), 2 Pet. 2:13; 


IiUB 


371 


LUK 


Jude 12, an entertainment in which the 
poorer members of the church partook, 
furnished from the contributions of 
Christians resorting to the eucharistic 
celebration, but whether before or after 
may be doubted. The true account of 
the matter is probably that given by 
Chrysostom, who says that after the 
early community of goods had ceased 
the richer members brought to the 
church contributions of food and drink, 
of which, after the conclusion of the 
services and the celebration of the 
Lord’s Supper, all partook together, by 
this means helping to promote the prin- 
ciple of love among Christians. The 
intimate connection, especially in early 
times, between the Eucharist itself and 
the love feasts has led some to speak of 
them as identical. The love feasts were 
forbidden to be held in churches by the 
Council of Laodicea, a.d. 320 ; but in 
some form or other they continued to 
a much later period. They still exist 
in the Greek church. The Wesleyan 
Love-feast was a deliberate attempt at 
their revival. 

Lu'bim (lu'bim), a nation mentioned 
as contributing, together with Cushites 
and Sukkiim, to Shishak’s army, 2 
Chron. 12 : 3 ; and apparently as form- 
ing with Cushites the bulk of Zerah’s 
army, 2 Chron. 16 : 8, spoken of by Na- 
hum, ch. 3 : 9, with Put or Phut, as 
helping No-amon (Thebes), of which 
Cush and Egypt were the strength. 
They are most probably the same as 
Lehabim, and represent -the primitive 
Libyans, who lived west of Egypt. 

Lu'cas. Phil. 24. [Luke:] 

Lu'cifer ( light-bearer or shining one), 
found in Isa. 14 : 12, coupled with the 
epithet “ son of the morning,” clearly 
signifies a “bright star,” and probably 
what we call the morning star. In this 
passage it is a symbolical representation 
of the king of Babylon in his splendor 
and in his fall. Its application, . from 
St. Jerome downward, to Satan in his 
fall from heaven arises from an erro- 
neous supposition that Christ’s words in 
Luke 10 : 18 were intended as. an ex- 
planation of the passage in Isaiah. 

Lu'cius (lu'shus). 1. A kinsman or 
fellow tribesman of St. Paul, Rom. 16: 
21, by whom he is said by tradition to 
have been ordained bishop of the church 
of Cenchrese. He is thought by some 
to be the same with Lucius of Cyrene. 

2. Lucius of Cyrene is first mentioned 


in the New Testament in company with 
Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Manaen 
and Saul, who are described as prophets 
and teachers of the church at Antioch. 
Acts 13 : 1. Whether Lucius was one of 
the seventy disciples is quite a matter 
of conjecture; but it is highly probable 
that he formed one of the congregation 
to "whom St. Peter preached on the day 
of Pentecost, Acts 2 : 10 ; and there can 
hardly be a doubt that he was one of 
“ the men of Cyrene ” who, being “ scat- 
tered abroad upon the persecution that 
arose about Stephen,” went to Antioch 
preaching the Lord Jesus. Acts 11 : 19, 
20 . 

Lud, the fourth name in the list of 
the children of Shem, Gen. 10 : 22 ; comp. 
1 Chron. 1 : 17, supposed by many to 
have been the ancestor of the Lydians, 
though the Lydians do not seem to have 
been Semites. Still further explorations 
may disclose the fact of a Semitic foun- 
der of the original Lydia. 

Lu'dim (lu'dim), Gen. 10:13; 1 

Chron. 1:11, a Mizraite people or tribe, 
descended from Ludim the son of Miz- 
raim. It is probable that the Ludim 
were settled to the west of Egypt, per- 
haps farther than any other Mizraite 
tribe. Lud and the Ludim are men- 
tioned in four passages of the prophets 
—Isa. 66:19; Jer. 46:9; Ezek. 27:10; 
38 : 5. The mentions of these peoples 
are so confused that it is impossible to 
make any true distinction between them. 
There must, however, have been two 
peoples. 

Lu'hith (lu'hith), The ascent of, a 

place in Moab, occurs only in Isa. 15 : 5 
and the parallel passage of Jeremiah. 
Jer. 48 : 5. In the days of Eusebius and 
Jerome a village of the same name was 
known, which stood between Areopolis 
(Rabbath-moab) and Zoar. 

Luke or Lu'cas, is an abbreviated 
form of Lucanus. It is not to be con- 
founded with Lucius, Acts 13:1; Rom. 
16 : 21, which belongs to a different per- 
son. The name Luke occurs three times 
in the New Testament — Col. 4:14; 2 
Tim. 4:11; Phil. 24 — and probably in 
all three the third evangelist is the per- 
son spoken of. Combining the tra- 
ditional element with the scriptural, we 
are able to trace the following dim out- 
line of the evangelist’s life. 

His parents were probably from An- 
tioch of Syria, and possibly he was 
born there. 


LUK 


372 


LUK 


He was a Gentile Christian, as we 
learn from Col. 4, v. 11 compared with 
v. 14. 

He was a physician. Dr. Hobart on 
The 'Medical Language of Luke shows 
that his language in speaking of dis- 
eases confirms the statement that he 
was “ the beloved physician.” 

It is possible that this was one reason 
why he was so frequently the compan- 
ion of Paul in his journeys and his im- 
prisonment. 

His writings show that he was a man 
of culture, for “ he had a command of 
good Greek not possessed by any of the 
other evangelists,” and the preface to 
his Gospel is “ the most finished piece of 
writing that is to be found in the New 
Testament.” 

He was the Author of the third Gos- 
pel, and of the Acts of the Apostles, and 
these show that he was an author of 
“ the first rank, and of consummate ar- 
tistic skill.” 

The date of his conversion is uncer- 
tain. He joined St. Paul at Troas, and 
shared his journey into Macedonia. The 
sudden transition to the first person 
plural in Acts 16 : 10 is most naturally 
explained, after all the objections that 
have been urged, by supposing that Luke, 
the writer of the Acts, formed one of 
St. Paul’s company from this point. As 
far as Philippi the evangelist journeyed 
with the apostle. The resumption of the 
third person on Paul’s departure from 
that place, Acts 17 : 1 , would show that 
Luke was now left behind. 

He accompanied Paul on his voyage 
to Rome, and remained with him at 
least during a part of his imprisonment. 
“If Paul wrote 2 Timothy during a 
second imprisonment at Rome, then 
Luke must have been with him again, 
for the apostle says in that letter, ‘ only 
Luke is with me’ (iv. 11). It was a 
time of danger and sorrow. . 

Thus the last glimpse we have of the 
evangelist reveals him in the light of a 
loyal friend whose fidelity is exception- 
ally apparent in a scene of great peril.” 
Prof. Adeney, in The New Century 
Bible. 

Luke, Gospel of. The third Gospel 
is ascribed, by the general consent of an- 
cient Christendom, to “ the beloved phy- 
sician,” Luke, the friend and companion 
of the apostle Paul. Date of the gos- 
pel of Luke. — From Acts 1 : 1 it is clear 
that the Gospel described as “ the former 


treatise” was written before the Acts of 
the Apostles; but how much earlier is 
uncertain. Acts was probably written 
not later than a.d. 63. 

Characteristics. Renan calls Luke’s 
Gospel, “the most beautiful book that 
has ever been written.” Not only does 
the narrative “ flow with an ease and 
grace unmatched by any other N. T. 
historical writing,” but the subject mat- 
ter, the life of Christ “ is at once the 
most important, the most interesting, 
and the most fascinating of all topics of 
historical and literary study.” His nar- 
ratives are full of movement. 

Luke is especially full on birth and 
infancy of Jesus. 

In describing the most wonderful re- 
ligious revival the world has ever known 
accompanied by a great outburst of 
song, Luke records five — the Beati- 
tude of Elisabeth, the Magnificat of 
Mary, the Benedictus of Zacharias, the 
Gloria in Excelsis of the angels, and 
the Nunc Dimittis of Simeon. Two 
were by men, and two by women, and 
one by angels. None of these are 
found in the other Gospels. This gives 
a joyous, praise-giving character to his 
Gospel. “ It is quicker to discover the 
brighter side of the topics it deals with.” 
His Gospel is emphatically one of glad 
tidings of great joy. “ Luke contains 
more social festivities,” more occasions 
on which Jesus accepts hospitality, than 
the other Gospels. 

More than half of Luke’s Gospel con- 
sists of matter not found in the other 
evangelists; representing the contents by 
100, Luke has 59 peculiarities and 41 
coincidences with the other Gospels. 

Sources. There were many narratives 
of the life of our Lord current at the 
early time when Luke wrote his Gospel 
from which he derived the facts he re- 
cords, weaving them together in his own 
systematic way. He sought information 
from every reliable source. 

He uses secular history and contem- 
porary facts as a setting for the Gospel 
story, thus rendering the truth of his 
narrative to be easily tested. Far more 
than others he made references to the 
institutions, customs, geography, history 
and rulers of the times when he wrote. 

The Gospel for the Greek. Profes- 
sor Gregory in his “ Why Four Gospels,” 
says that Luke wrote for Greek readers, 
and therefore the character and needs 
I of the Greeks furnish the key to this 


LiUN 


373 


LYD 


Gospel. The Greek was the represen- 
tation of reason and humanity. He 
looked upon himself as having the mis- 
sion of perfecting man. He was intel- 
lectual, cultured, not without hope of a 
higher world. Luke’s Gospel therefore 
presented the character and career of 
Christ as answering the conception of a 
perfect and divine humanity. Reason, 
beauty, righteousness and truth are ex- 
hibited as they meet in Jesus in their 
full splendor. Jesus was the Saviour 
of all men, redeeming them to a perfect 
and cultured manhood. 

Lunatics (from the Latin Luna, the 
moon, because insane persons, especially 
those who had lucid intervals, were once 
supposed to be affected by the changes 
of the moon). This word is used twice 
in the New Testament — Matt. 4:24; 17: 
15. (Translated epileptic in the Revised 
Version.) It is evident that the word 
itself refers to some disease affecting 
both the body and the mind, which might 
or might not be a sign of possession. 
By the description of Mark 9 : 17-26 it 
is concluded by many, including the 
Revisers, that epilepsy was intended. 
The conclusion is, however, disputed by 
others, who think the word includes 
much more than that. 

Many other cases of so-called “pos- 
session ” must be explained by the same 
or a similar disease to the one actually 
translated lunatic; and not all can be 
explained by epilepsy. 

Luz (luz) {almond). It seems impos- 
sible to discover with precision whether 
Luz and Bethel represent one and the 
same town — the former the Canaanite, 
the latter the Hebrew, name — or whether 
they were distinct places, though in close 
proximity. The most probable conclu- 
sion is that the two places were, during 
the times preceding the conquest, dis- 
tinct, Luz being the city and Bethel the 
pillar and altar of Jacob; that after the 
destruction of Luz by the tribe of Eph- 
raim the town of Bethel arose. When 
the original Luz was destroyed, through 
the treachery of one of its inhabitants, 
the man who had introduced the Israel- 
ites into the town went into the “ land 
of the Hittites” and built a city, which 
he named after the former one. Judges 
1 : 26. Its situation is unknown, though 
several unproved identifications have 
been made. 

Lycao'nia (lyk-a-5'm-a) {land of 
Lycaon, or wolf -land), a district of Asia I 


Minor. From what is said in Acts 14 : 
11 of “ the speech of Lycaonia,” it is 
evident that the inhabitants of the dis- 
trict, in St. Paul’s day, spoke something 
very different from ordinary Greek. 
Whether this language was some Syrian 
dialect or a corrupt form of Greek has 
been much debated. The fact that the 
Lycaonians were familiar with the Greek 
mythology is consistent with either sup- 
position. Lycaonia is for the most part 
a dreary plain, bare of trees, destitute of 
fresh water, and with several salt lakes. 

“ Cappadocia is on the east, Galatia on 
the north, Phrygia on the west and 
Cilicia on the south.” Among its chief 
cities are Derbe, Lystra and Iconium. — 
After the provincial system of Rome 
had embraced the whole of Asia Minor, 
the boundaries of the provinces were 
variable; and Lycaonia was, politically, 
sometimes in Cappadocia, sometimes in 
Galatia. Paul visited it three times in 
his missionary tours. 

Ly'cia (ly'sha) {land of Lycus) is 
the name of that southwestern region 
of the peninsula of Asia Minor which 
is immediately opposite the island of 
Rhodes. The Lycians were incorpo- 
rated in the Persian empire, and their 
ships were conspicuous in the great war 
against the Greeks (Herod, vii. 91, 92). 
After the death of Alexander the Great, 
Lycia was included in the Greek Seleucid 
kingdom, and was a part of the territory 
which the Romans forced Antiochus to 
cede. It was not till the reign of Clau- 
dius that Lycia became part of the Ro- 
man provincial system. Such seems to 
have been the condition of the district 
when St. Paul visited the Lycian towns 
of Patara, Acts 21 : 1, and Myra. Acts 
27 : 5. In 74 a.d. it was united with 
Pamphylia as a double province. 

Lyd'da (lid'da), the Greek form of 
the name, Acts 9 : 32, 35, 38, which ap- 
pears in the Hebrew records as Lod, a 
town of Benjamin, founded by Shamed 
or Shamer. 1 Chron. 8 : 12 ; Ezra 2 : 33 ; 
Neh. 7:37; 11 : 35. It is still called 
Ludd, and stands in part of the great 
maritime plain which anciently bore the 
name of Sharon. It is about ten miles 
from Joppa, and is the first town on the 
northernmost of the two roads between 
that place and Jerusalem. It was 
burned in the time of Nero, taken by 
Vespasian in 68 a.d., and after the fall 
of Jerusalem became one of the chief 
seats of Rabbinical learning. One of its 


LYD 


374 


LYS 


chief claims to interest is its connection 
with St. George, who was martyred 
there in 303. It is now a village of 
about 3 OP to 400 inhabitants, and the 
Cathedral of St. George is a mosque. 

Lyd'ia (lid'i-a) ( land of Lydus ), a 
maritime province in the west of Asia 
Minor, bounded by Mysia on the north, 
Phrygia on the east, and Caria on the 
south. It is enumerated among the dis- 
tricts which the Romans took away from 
Antiochus the Great after the battle of 
Magnesia in b.c. 190, and transferred to 
Eumenus II. king of Pergamus. Lydia 
is included in the “Asia” of the New 
Testament. 

Lyd'ia (lid'i-a), the first European 
convert of St. Paul, and afterward his 
hostess during his first stay at Philippi. 
Acts 16 : 14, 15 ; also 40. (a.d. 50 or 

51.) She was a Jewish proselyte at the 
time of the apostle’s coming; and it was 
at the Jewish Sabbath- worship by the 
side of a stream, ver. 13, that the preach- 
ing of the gospel reached her heart. 
Her native place was Thyatira, in the 
province of Asia, ver. 14 ; Rev. 2 : 18. 
Thyatira was famous for its dyeing 
works; and Lydia was connected with 
this trade, as a seller either of dye or 
of dyed goods. We infer that she was a 
person of considerable wealth. 

Lysa'nias (li-sa'ni-as)- (that drives 
away sorrow ), mentioned by St. Luke in 
one of his chronological passages, ch. 
3:1, as being tetrarch of Abilene (i. e. 
the district round Abila) in the thir- 
teenth year of Tiberius (a.d. 26), at the 
time when Herod Antipas was tetrarch 
of Galilee and Herod Philip tetrarch of 
Ituraea and Trachonitis. 

Lys'ias (ly'si-as), a nobleman of the 


blood-royal, 1 Macc. 3 : 32 ; 2 Macc. 11 : 
1, who was entrusted by Antiochus 
Epiphanes (b.c. 166) with the govern- 
ment of southern Syria and the guard- 
ianship .of his son Antiochus Eupator. 
1 Macc.. 3 : 32 ; 2 Macc. 10 : 11. After the 
death of Antiochus Epiphanes, b.c. 164, 
Lysias assumed the government as 
guardian of his son, who was yet a- 
child. 1 Macc. 6 : 17. In b.c. 162 he, to- 
gether with his ward, fell into the hands 
of Demetrius Soter, who put them both 
to death. 1 Macc. 7 : 2-4 ; 2 Macc. 14 : 2. 

Lys'ias Clau'dius (lys'ias klau'drus), 
a chief captain of the band, that is, mili- 
tary tribune of the Roman cohort who 
rescued St. Paul from the hands of the 
infuriated mob at Jerusalem, and sent 
him under a guard to Felix, the gov- 
ernor or proconsul of Caesarea. Acts 
21 : 31, seq.; 23 : 26 ; 24 : 7. (a.d. 57.) 

Lysim'achus (ly-sim'a-kus), “a son 
of Ptolemaeus of Jerusalem,” the Greek 
translator of the book of Esther*. Comp. 
Esther 9 : 20. 

Lys'tra (lis'tra). This place has two 
points of interest in connection respec- 
tively with St. Paul’s first and second 
missionary journeys: (1) as the place 
where divine honors were offered to 
him, and where he was presently stoned. 
Acts 14; (2) as the home of his chosen 
companion and fellow missionary Timo- 
theus. Acts 16 : 1. Lystra was a city 
in Lycaonia about 18 miles south of 
Iconium. Little is known of its history. 
Even the fact that it was a Roman col- 
ony was unknown until 1888, when an 
inscription proving it was discovered. 
The ruins of the city were found about 
a mile northwest from the present vil- 
lage of Khatyn Serai. 


M 

Ma'acah (ma'a-kah) {oppression ) . 

1. The mother of Absalom. 2 Sam. 3 : 

3. Also called Maachah. 

2. A small Aramean kingdom in Gau- 
lanitis the modern Jaulan east of the sea 
of Galilee. In 1 Chron. 19 : 6 it is called 
Syria-maachah. R. V. Aram-maacah. 
They took part in the war of the Am- 
monites against David. 2 Sam. 10 : 6. 

Ma'achah (ma'a-kah) {oppression) . 

1. The daughter of Nahor by his con- 
cubine Reumah. Gen. 22 : 24. 

2. The father of Achish, who was king 
of Gath at the beginning of Solomon’s 
reign. 1 Kings 2 : 39. Perhaps the same 
as Maoch. 

3. The favorite wife of Rehoboam, 
and mother of Abijah. 1 Kings 15:2; 

2 Chron. 11 : 20-22. In 1 Kings 15 : 2 
she is called the daughter of Absalom, 
and in 2 Chron. 13 : 2. “ Michaiah the 

daughter of Uriel of Gibeah.” In view 
of this and the fact that Absalom’s only 
daughter was named Tamar, Maachah is 
supposed by many to have been the 
grand-daughter of Absalom. Until the 
reign of her grandson Asa she occupied 
at the court of Judah the high position 
of “ king’s mother,” comp. 1 Kings 15: 

13 ; but she was removed at the time 
of his reforms because of her idolatrous 
habits. 2 Chron. 15 : 16. 

4. The concubine of Caleb the son of 
Hezron. 1 Chron. 2 : 48. 

5. The daughter of Talmai king of 
Geshur, and mother of Absalom, 1 
Chron. 3:2; also called Maacah in 2 
Sam. 3 : 3. 

6. The wife of Machir the Manassite. 

1 Chron. 7 : 15, 16. 

7. The wife of Jehiel, father or 
founder of Gibeon. 1 Chron. 8:29; 9: 

35. 

8. The father of Hanan, one of the 
heroes of David’s body-guard. 1 Chron. 

11 : 43. 


9. A Simeonite, father of Shephatiah, 
prince of his tribe in the reign of David. 
1 Chron. 27 : 16. 

Maach'athi (ma-ak'a-thi) {oppres- 
sion) and Maach'athites, The, two 
words which denote the inhabitants of 
the small kingdom of Maachah. Deut. 
3 : 14 ; Josh. 12 : 5 ; 13 : 11, 13 ; 2 Sam. 23 : 
34 ; 2 Kings 25 : 23 ; Jer. 40 : 8. 

Maada'i, or Maad'ai (ma-ad'a-i), 
one of the sons of Bani, who had mar- 
ried a foreign wife. Ezra 10 : 34. 

Maadi'ah (ma'a-di'a), one of the 
priests who returned with Zerubbabel, 
Neh. 12:5; elsewhere (ver. 17) called 
Moadiah. 

Maa'i (ma-a'i), one of the Bene- 
Asaph who took part in the solemn mu- 
sical service by which the wall of Jeru- 
salem was dedicated. Neh. 12 : 36. 

Ma'aleh=acrab'bim (ma'al-eh-a- 

krab'bim) {ascent of scorpions) , the full 
form of the name given as Akrabbim 
in Josh. 15 : 3. 

Ma'arath (ma'a-rath) {a place bare 
of trees), one of the towns of Judah, 
in the district of the mountains. Josh. 
15 : 59. It is doubtless north of Hebron 
and may possibly be Beit Umniar. 

Maase'iah (ma-a-se'yah) {work of 
Jehovah). 1. A descendant of Jeshua 
the priest, who had married a foreign 
wife. Ezra 10 : 18. Foreign wives had 
also been taken by 

2. A priest, of the sons of Harim. 
Ezra 10 : 21 ; by 

3. A priest, of the sons of Pashur. 
Ezra 10 : 22 ; and by 

4. One of the laymen, a descendant of 
Pahath-moab. Ezra 10 : 30. 

5. The father of Azariah. Neh. 3 : 23. 

6. One of those who stood on the right 
hand of Ezra when he read the law to 
the people. Neh. 8 : 4. 

7. A Levite who assisted on the same 
occasion. Neh. 8 : 7. 


375 


MAA 


376 


MAC 


8. One of the heads of the people 
whose descendants signed the covenant 
with Nehemiah. Neh. 10:25. 

9. Son of Baruch and descendant of 
Judah. Neh. 11 : 5. 

10. A Benjamite, ancestor of Sallu. 
Neh. 11: 7. 

11. Two priests or Levites of this 
name are mentioned, Neh. 12:41, 42, as 
taking part in the musical service which 
accompanied the dedication of the wall 
of Jerusalem under Ezra. Perhaps the 
same as No. 6 and 7. 

12. Father of Zephaniah, who was a 
priest in the reign of Zedekiah. Jer. 21: 
1 ; 29 : 25 ; 37 : 3. 

13. Father of Zedekiah the false 
prophet. Jer. 29 : 21. 

14. One of the Levites of the second 
rank, appointed by David to sound “ with 
psalteries on Alamoth.” 1 Chron. 15 : 
18, 20. 

15. The son of Adaiah, and one of the 
captains of hundreds in the reign of 
Joash king of Judah. 2 Chron. 23 : 1. 

16. An officer of high rank in the 
reign of Uzziah. 2 Chron. 26 : 11. 

17. The “ king’s son,” killed by Zichri 
the Ephraimitish hero in the invasion of 
Judah by Pekah king of Israel, during 
the reign of Ahaz. 2 Chron. 28:7. 

18. The governor of Jerusalem in the 
reign of Josiah. 2 Chron. 34 : 8. 

19. The son of Shallum, a Levite of 
high rank in the reign of Jehoiakim. 
Jer. 35 : 4; comp. 1 Chron. 9 : 19. 

20. A priest; ancestor of Baruch and 
Seraiah, the sons of Neriah. Jer. 32: 
12 ; 51 : 59. R. V. “ Mahseiah.” 

Maas iai (ma-as'i-i) ( work of Je- 
hovah ), a priest who dwelt in Jerusalem. 
1 Chron. 9 : 12. 

Ma'ath (ma'ath), son of Mattathias 
in the genealogy of Jesus Christ. Luke 
3: 26. 

Ma'az (ma'az) (wrath), son of Ram, 
the first-born of Jerahmeel. 1 Chron. 2: 
27. 

Maazi'ah (ma-a-zi'ah) (consolation 
of Jehovah). 1. One of the priests who 
signed the covenant with Nehemiah. 
Neh. 10 : 8. 

2. A priest in the reign of David, head 
of the twenty- fourth course. 1 Chron. 
24 : 18. 

Mac'cabees (a hammer ), The. This 
title, which was originally the surname 
of Judas, one of the sons of Mattathias, 
was afterward extended to the heroic 
family of which he was one of the no- 


blest representatives. Asmonceans or 
JJasmonceans is the proper name of the 
family, which is derived from Cashmon, 
great-grandfather of Mattathias. The 
Maccabees were a family of Jews who 
resisted the authority of Antiochus 
Epiphanes king of Syria and his suc- 
cessors, who had usurped authority over 
the Jews, conquered Jerusalem, and 
strove to introduce idolatrous worship. 
The standard of independence was first 
raised by Mattathias, who was already 
advanced in years when the rising was 
made, and who did not long survive the 
fatigues of active service. He died b.c. 
166, having named Judas — apparently 
his third son — as his successor in direct- 
ing the war of independence. After 
gaining several victories over the gen- 
erals of Antiochus, Judas was able to 
occupy Jerusalem, except the “tower,” 
and purified the temple exactly three 
years after its profanation. Nicanor 
was defeated, first at Capharsalama, and 
again in a decisive battle at Adasa, b.c. 
161, where he was slain. This victory 
was the greatest of Judas’ successes, and 


SILVER SHEKEL OF SIMON MACCABEUS. 

practically decided the question of Jew- 
ish independence; but shortly after Ju- 
das fell at Elasa, fighting at desperate 
odds against the invaders. After the 
death of Judas, Jonathan his brother 
succeeded to the command, and later as- 
sumed the high-priestly office. He was 
killed by the Syrians in b.c. 143, and 
was succeeded by Simon, the last re- 
maining brother of the Maccabaean fam- 
ily, who was ethnarch and high priest; 
finished winning the independence of his 
kingdom; and was assassinated by his 
son-in-law in b.c. 135. On the death of 
Simon, Johannes Hyrcanus, one of his 
sons, at once assumed the government, 
b.c. 135, and after a prosperous reign 
met with a peaceful death b.c 105. His 
eldest son, Aristobulus I., who succeeded 
him b.c. 105-104, was the first who as- 
sumed the kingly title, though Simon 
had enjoyed the fullness of the kingly 




MAC 


377 


MAC 


power. Alexander Jannaeus was the 
next successor, b.c. 104-78. Aristobulus 
II. and Hyrcanus II, engaged in a civil 
war on the death of their mother, Alex- 
andra, who was queen, b.c. 78-69, re- 
sulting in the dethronement of Aristo- 
bulus II, b.c. 69-63, and the succession 
of Hyrcanus under Roman rule, but 
without his kingly title, b.c. 63-40. An- 
tipater, the father of Herod the Great, 
was more and more the real ruler, until 
in b.c. 40, Herod assumed the kingdom 
under Rome, and the Hasmonaean dy- 
nasty was at an end. 

Maccabees, Books of. Four books 
which bear the common title of “ Macca- 
bees ” are found in some MSS. of the 
LXX. Two of these were included in 
the early current Latin versions of the 
Bible, and thence passed into the Vul- 
gate. As forming part of the Vulgate 
they were received as canonical by 
the Council of Trent, and retained 
among the Apocrypha by the reformed 
churches. The two other books ob- 
tained no such wide circulation, and 
have only a secondary connection with 
the Maccabsean history. 1 . The First 
Book of Maccabees contains a history 
of the patriotic struggle of the Jews in 
resisting the oppressions of the Syrian 
kings, from the first resistance of Mat- 
tathias to the settled sovereignty and 
death of Simon, a period of thirty-three 
years — b.c. 168-135. The great marks of 
trustworthiness are everywhere conspic- 
uous. The testimony of antiquity leaves 
no doubt that the book was first written 
in Hebrew. Its whole structure points 
to Palestine as the place of its composi- 
tion. There is, however, considerable 
doubt as to its date, though it was prob- 
ably between b.c. 105 and 64. The date 
and person of the Greek translator are 
wholly undetermined. 

2. The Second Book of Maccabees. — 
The history of the second book of Mac- 
cabees begins some years earlier than 
that of the first book, and closes with 
the victory of Judas Maccabaeus over 
Nicanor; from b.c. 176 to b.c. 161. It is 
professedly an abridgment of the large 
work of Jason of Cyrene, and is much 
less trustworthy than the first book. 
The date of writing is very uncertain. 

3. The Third Book of Maccabees 
contains the history of events which 
preceded the great Maccabsean struggle, 
beginning with b.c. 217. 

4. The Fourth Book of Maccabees 


is a moral treatise, illustrated by stories 
of the Maccabees and their times, of no 
historical value. 

Macedo'nia (mas-e-do'm-a), a large 
and celebrated country lying north of 
Greece between that country and the 
Balkans. This region with a mountain- 
ous interior rearing a hardy population, 
its fertile plains and extensive seaboard 
exercised under its noted kings, Philip 
and Alexander, a surprising influence 
over the history of the world. The 
Macedonia of the New Testament is 
the Roman Province, which included 
also parts of Illyria and Thessaly, and 
was governed by a proconsul, who 



COIN OF MACEDON 
HEAD OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 

had his headquarters at Thessalonica, 
now Salonica. It is now a part of the 
Turkish Empire. It was the first part 
of Europe which received the gospel di- 
rectly from St. Paul, and an important 
scene of his subsequent missionary 
labors and those of his companions. 
The character of the Christians of Mace- 
donia is set before us in Scripture in a 
very favorable light. The candor of the 
Bereans is highly commended, Acts 17 : 
11; the Thessalonians were evidently 
objects of St. Paul’s peculiar affection, 
1 Thess. 2 : 8, 17-20 ; 3 : 10 ; and the Phi- 
lippians, besides their general freedom 
from blame, are noted as remarkable for 
their liberality and self-denial. Philip. 
4 : 10, 14-19 ; see 2 Cor. 9:2; 11:9. 

Machae'rus (ma-kae'rus), a castle 
built by Alexander Jannaeus and re- 
stored by Herod Antipas, who used it as 
a residence. It was on the southern 
border of their Perean dominions, nine 
miles east of the northern end of the 
Dead Sea. Here John the Baptist was 
imprisoned, and here was held the feast 
where the daughter of Herodias, at 
whose request John was beheaded, 
danced before the king. 

Mach'banai (mak'ba-ni), one of the 
lion-faced warriors of Gad, who joined 


MAC 


378 


MAG 


the fortunes of David when living in 
retreat at Ziklag. 1 Chron. 12 : 13. 

Mach'benah (mach'benah) ( bond ), 
Sheva, the father of Machbenah, is 
named in the genealogical list of Judah 
as the offspring of Maachah, the con- 
cubine of Caleb ben-Hezron. 1 Chron. 
2: 49. 

Ma'chi (ma'kl), the father of Geuel 
the Gadite, who went with Caleb and 
Joshua to spy out the land of Canaan. 
Num. 13: 15. 

Ma'chir (ma'kir) (sold). 1 . The 
eldest son, Josh. 17 : 1, of the patriarch 
Manasseh by an Aramite or Syrian, 1 
Chron. 7 : 14. At the time of the con- 
quest the family of Machir had become 
very powerful, and a large part of the 
country on the east of Jordan was sub- 
dued by them. Num. 32 : 39 ; Deut. 3 : 
■15. 

2. The son of Ammiel, a powerful 
sheikh of one of the transjordanic 
tribes, who rendered essential service 
to the cause of Saul and of David suc- 
cessively. 2 Sam. 9 : 4, 5 ; 17:27-29. 

Ma'chirites (ma'kir-ites), The, the 
descendants of Machir the father of 
Gilead. Num. 26 : 29. 

Machna=de'bai (mak-na-de'bi), one 
of the sons of Bani who put away his 
foreign wife at Ezra’s command. Ezra 
10 : 40. 

Machpeiah (mak-pe'lah) (double). 
[Hebron.] 

Ma'dai (ma'dl), Gen. 10:2, is usu- 
ally called the third son of Japhet, and 
the progenitor of the Medes. 

Ma'dian (ma'di-an). Acts 7:29. 
[Midian.] 

Madman'nah (mad-man'nah) (dung- 
hill), one of the towns in the south dis- 
trict of Judah. Josh. 15 : 31. In the 
time of Eusebius and Jerome it was 
called Meno'is, and was not far from 
Gaza. The first stage southward from 
Gaza is now el-Minyay, which is perhaps 
the modern representative of Meno'is, 
and therefore of Madmannah. 

Mad'men (dunghill), a place in Moab, 
threatened with destruction in the de- 
nunciations of Jeremiah. Jer. 48:2. 

Madme'nah (mad-me'nah) (dung- 
hill), one of the Benjamite villages north 
of Jerusalem, the inhabitants of which 
were frightened away by the approach 
of Sennacherib along the northern road. 
Isa. 10: 31. 

Madness in the Old Testament is re- 
garded as produced by a spirit sent from 


God (1 Sam. 16: 14; 18: 10), and closely 
allied - with the spirit of prophecy (1 
Sam. 10:6 ff.). For this reason mad- 
men were at that time, as now in the 
East, looked upon as in some sense sa- 
cred. In the Gospels the reverse is true, 
the disorder being directly attributed to 
demonic influence. 

Ma'don (ma'don) (strife), one of the 
principal cities of Canaan before the 
conquest, probably in the north. Its 
king joined Jabin and his confederates 
in their attempt against Joshua at the 
waters of Merom, and like the rest was 
killed. Josh. 11: 1; 12: 19. 

Mag'adan (mag'adan) (a tower). 
The name given in the Revised Version 
of Matt. 15 : 39 for Magdala. It is prob- 
ably another name for the same place, 
or it was a village so near it that the 
shore where Christ landed may have be- 
longed to either village. 

Mag'bish (mag'bish) (congregating) , 
a proper name in Ezra 2 : 30, but whether 
of a man or of a place is doubtful ; 
probably the latter, as all the names 
from Ezra 2 : 20 to 34, except Elam and 
Harim, are names of places. 

Mag'dala (mag'da-la) (a tower). 
The chief MSS. and versions give the 
name as Magadan, as in the Revised 
Version, Matt. 15 : 39. In the parallel 
narrative of St. Mark, ch. 8 : 10, we find 
the “ parts of Dalmanutha,” which must 
refer to the same district, but not nec- 
essarily to the same place. By the best 
information attainable now it seems 
probable that it is the district west of 
the Sea of Galilee, and Magdala or 
Magadan is the present el-Mejdel, the 
traditional, and generally accepted, home 
of Mary Magdalene. This is a misera- 
ble little Moslem village, of twenty huts, 
on the water’s edge at the southeast cor- 
ner of the plain of Gennesareth. It is 
now the only inhabited place on this 
plain. 

Mag'di=el (mag'di-el) (honor of 
God), one of the “dukes” of Edom, 
descended from Esau. Gen. 36 : 43 ; 1 
Chron. 1 : 54. 

Ma'gi (called in the Bible wise men). 
1. In Jer. 39: 3, 13 the officer Rab Mag, 
“ chief of the Magi,” is named among 
the princes of Nebuchadnezzar sent to 
Jerusalem. This is the only reference to 
the Magi in the Old Testament. The 
traditional account of the Magi, culled 
largely from Herodotus, is “that they 
were a Median race who acted as priests 


MAG 


379 


MAG 


of the Persians, but whose persistence 
as a race is frequently attested and oc- 
casionally causes violent conflicts.” 
They were priests of Zoroaster, giving 
their time largely to astrology, the in- 
terpretation of dreams, natural science 
and medicine. There are some difficul- 
ties in this account; but no better one 
has yet been found. Daniel probably 
held the office of Rab-mag. 

2. The word presented itself to the 
Greeks as connected with a foreign sys- 
tem of divination, and it soon became a 
byword for the worst form of impos- 
ture. This is the predominant meaning 
of the word as it appears in the New 
Testament. Acts 8 : 9 ; 13 : 8. 3. In one 
memorable instance, however, the word 
retains its better meaning. In the Gos- 
pel of St. Matthew, ch. 2 : 1-12, the 
Magi appear as “ wise men ” — properly 
Magians — who were guided by a star 
from “the east” to Jerusalem, where 
they suddenly appeared in the days of 
Herod the Great, inquiring for the new- 
born king of the Jews, whom they had 
come to worship. According to a late 
tradition, the Magi are represented as 
three kings, named Gaspar, Melchior 
and Belthazar, who take their place 
among the objects of Christian rever- 
ence, and are honored as the patron 
saints of travelers. There is a great 
difference of opinion as to the coun- 
try from which they came, but the 
general trend of opinion seems to be 
in favor of Persia, or a neighboring 
region. An objection to the story that 
the visit of such men would be no- 
. ticed in other writings of the time, 
is answered by the fact of the desire 
of Herod to keep it secret. There 
were several reasons why these Magi 
should seek a king of the Jews at this 
time. (1) They were worshippers of 
one God, regarding the sun as his near- 
est symbol, and fire man’s best way of 
representing the sun. (2) There was a 
general expectation of the coming of a 
“ great king who was to rise from among 
the Jews. It had fermented in the 
minds of men, heathen as well as Jews, 
and would have led them to welcome 
Jesus as the Christ had he come in ac- 
cordance with their expectation.” Vir- 
gil, who lived a little before this, owns 
that a child from heaven was looked 
for, who should restore the golden age 
and take away sin. (3) This expecta- 
tion arose largely from the dispersion 


of the Jews among all nations, carrying 
with them the hope and the promise of 
a divine Redeemer. Isa. 9, 11 ; Dan. 7. 
(4) Daniel himself was a prince and 
chief among this very class of wise 
men. His prophecies were made known 
to them; and the calculations by which 
he pointed to the very time when Christ 
should be born became, through the 
book of Daniel, a part of their ancient 
literature. 

Magic, Magicians. Magic is “ the 
science or practice of evoking spirits or 
educing the occult powers of nature to 
produce effects apparently supernatural.” 
It formed an essential element in many 
ancient religions, especially among the 
Persians, Chaldeans and Egyptians. 
During the plagues in Egypt the ma- 
gicians appear. Ex. 7 : 11 ; 8 : 18, 19. 
Balaam also practised magic. Num. 22 : 
7. The practice of magic was forbidden 
by the law of the Hebrews. The magical 
practices which obtained among the 
Hebrews were therefore borrowed from 
the nations around. From the first en- 
trance into the land of promise until 
the destruction of Jerusalem we have 
constant glimpses of magic practised in 
secret, or resorted to not alone by the 
common but also by the great. Saul 
banished all the workers of magic (1 
Sam. 28:3), but himself consulted the 
witch of Endor when in dread before 
the battle of Gilboa. There is every 
reason to think that the prohibition of 
the practice of magic by the Jews did 
not in the least arise from their dis- 
belief in it. They manifestly had great 
faith in it, arising from their belief in 
the existence of demons. But a re- 
liance on the power of demons was 
regarded by the best of the people as 
apostasy from God. Later rabbis al- 
lowed the study though not advocating 
the practice of magic. 

Ma'gog (ma'gog). In Gen. 10:2 
Magog appears as the second son of 
Japheth; in Ezek. 38:2; 39:1, 6 it ap- 
pears as a country or people of which 
Gog was the prince. The notices of 
Magog would lead us to fix a northern 
locality : it is expressly stated by Ezekiel 
that he was to come up from “ the 
sides of the north,” Ezek. 39 : 2, from a 
country adjacent to that of Togarmah 
or Armenia, ch. 38 : 6, and not far from 
“ the isles ” or maritime regions of 
Europe, ch. 39 : 6. The people of Magog 
further appear as having a force of 


MAG 


380 


MAK 


cavalry, Ezek. 38 : 15, and as armed 
with the bow, ch. 39:3. Josephus iden- 
tifies them with the Scythians, and the 
identification is generally accepted. But 
it must be remembered that “ the term 
Scythian was used vaguely to denote 
almost any northern population about 
which little was known.” 

Ma'gor=mis'sabib (ma'gor-mis'sa- 
bib) {terror on every side), the name 
given by Jeremiah to Pashur the priest 
when he smote him and put him in 
the stocks for prophesying against the 
idolatry of Jerusalem. Jer. 20:3. 

Mag'piash (mag'pi-ash), one of the 
heads of the people who signed the cov- 
enant with Nehemiah. Neh. 10:20. 
The same as Magbish in Ezra 2 : 30. 

Ma'halah (ma'ha-lah) {sickness) , one 
of the three children of Hammoleketh 
the sister of Gilead. 1 Chron. 7 : 18. 
R. V. has, correctly, “ Mahlah.” 

Maha'lale=el (ma-ha'la-le-el) {praise 
of God). 1. The fourth in descent 
from Adam, according to the Sethite 
genealogy, and son of Cainan. Gen. 5 : 
12, 13, 15-17 ; 1 Chron. 1:2; Luke 3 : 
37, Revised Version. 

2. A descendant of Perez or Pharez 
the son of Judah. Neh. 11:4. 

Ma'halath (ma'ha-lath) ( sickness , 
anxiety). 1. The daughter of Ishmael, 
and one of the wives of Esau. Gen. 
28: 9. 

2. One of the eighteen wives of King 
Rehoboam, apparently his first. 2 
Chron. 11 : 18 only. She was her hus- 
band’s cousin, being the daughter of 
King David’s son Jerimoth. 

Mahalath, the title of Ps. 53, and 
Mahalath=Ieannoth, the title of Ps. 88. 
The meaning of these words is uncer- 
tain. It may mean the name of the 
tune, the sadness of the melody, or 
refer to a musical instrument. 

Ma'hali (ma'ha-li) {sick), Mah'li, 
the son of Merari. Ex. 6 : 19. 

Mahana'im (ma'ha-na'im), a town 
on the east of the Jordan. The name 
signifies two hosts or two camps, and 
was given to it by Jacob, because he 
there met “ the angels of God.” Gen. 
32 : 1, 2. We next meet with it in the 
records of the conquest. Josh. 13 : 26, 
30. It was within the territory of Gad, 
Josh. 21 : 38, 39, and therefore on the 
south side of the torrent Jabbok. The 
town with its “ suburbs ” was allotted 
to the service of the Merarite Levites. 
Josh. 21 : 39 ; 1 Chron. 6 : 80. Maha- 


naim had become in the time of the 
monarchy a place of mark. 2 Sam. 2: 
8, 12. David took refuge there when 
driven out of the western part of his 
kingdom by Absalom. 2 Sam. 17 : 24 ; 
1 Kings 2 : 8. Mahanaim was the seat 
of one of Solomon’s commissariat offi- 
cers, 1 Kings 4 : 14, and it is alluded to 
in the song which bears his name. ch. 
6 : 13. The site is uncertain, several 
identifications being given, and disputed. 

Ma'haneh=dan (ma'ha-neh-dan) 

{camp of Dan), spoken of as “behind,” 
that is, west of Kirjath-jearim, Judges 
18 : 12, and as “ between Zorah and 
Eshtaol,” ch. 13 : 25. 

Ma'harai (ma'har-i) {impetuous) , 2 
Sam. 23: 28; 1 Chron. 11: 30; 27:13, 
an inhabitant of Netophah in the tribe 
of Judah, the modern Beit Netlif, and 
one of David’s captains. 

Ma'hath (ma'hath) {seizing). 1. A 
Kohathite of the house of Korah. 1 
Chron. 6 : 35. 

2. Also a Kohathite, in the reign of 
Hezekiah. 2 Chron. 29 : 12 ; 31 : 13. 

Ma'havite (ma'hav-ite), The, the 
designation of Eliel, one of the war- 
riors of King David’s guard, whose 
name is preserved in the catalogue of 
1 Chron. 11 : 46 only. 

Maha'zioth (ma-ha'zi-oth) {visions), 
one of the fourteen sons of Heman the 
Kohathite. 1 Chron. 25 : 4, 30. 

Ma'her=shal'al=hash'=baz (ma'her- 
shal'al-hash'baz) {spoil speedeth, prey 
hasteth), a son of Isaiah whose name 
was given by divine direction to indi- 
cate that Damascus and Samaria were 
soon to be plundered by the king of 
Assyria. Isa. 8 : 1-4. 

Mah'lah (mah'la) {sickness) , the 
eldest of the five daughters of Zelophe- 
had the grandson of Manasseh. Num. 
27 : 1-11. 

Mah'li (mah'li) {sick). 1. Son of 
Merari, the son of Levi and ancestor of 
the family of the Mahlites. Num. 3:20; 
1 Chron. 6 : 19, 29 ; 24 : 26. 

2. Son of Mushi and grandson of 
Merari. 1 Chron. 6 : 47 ; 23 : 23 ; 24 : 30. 

Mah'Ion (mah'lon) {sickly), the first 
husband of Ruth; son of Elimelech and 
Naomi. Ruth 1:2, 5; 4:9, 10; comp. 1 
Sam. 17:12. 

Ma'hol (ma'hol) {dance), the father 
of the four men most famous for wis- 
dom next to Solomon himself. 1 Kings 
4 : 31 ; 1 Chron. 2 : 6. 

Ma'kaz (ma'kaz) {end), a place, ap- 


MAK 


381 


MAL 


parently a town, named once only — 1 
Kings 4 : 9 — in the specification of the 
jurisdiction of Solomon’s commissariat 
officer, Ben-Dekar. Makaz has not been 
discovered. 

Makhe'loth (mak-he'loth), a place 
mentioned in Num. 33 : 25 as that of a 
desert encampment of the Israelites. 
The same Hebrew word is used in Ps. 
68 : 26, and translated “ congregations.” 

Makke'dah (mak-ke'dah), a place 
memorable in the annals of the con- 
quest of Canaan as the scene of the 
execution by Joshua of the five confed- 
erate kings, Josh. 10:10-30, who had 
hidden themselves in a cave at this 
place. It was a royal city of the Ca- 
naanites, in the plains of Judah. Con- 
der identifies it with the modern el- 
Moghdr, 25 miles northwest of Jeru- 
salem, where there are numerous caves. 

Mak'tesh (mak'tesh) (a mortar), a 
place evidently in Jerusalem, the inhab- 
itants of which are denounced by 
Zephaniah. Zeph. 1 : 11. Ewald con- 
jectures that it was the “ Phoenician 
quarter” of the city. 

Mal'a=chi (mal'a-kT) (my messenger) 
is the author of the last book in the 
Old Testament. Nothing is known of 
him beyond what may be learned from 
his book. 

His prophecy belongs to the times of 
Nehemiah, near the time of Nehemiah’s 
second visit to Jerusalem, about b.c. 432. 
It was an effort to aid in the great re- 
forms then needed. Malachi believed 
in a spiritual worship as the one essen- 
tial of true religion. But the systern of 
temple ritual and sacrifices was in exist- 
ence, and the prophet recognizes it as a 
means of educating the people into the 
spiritual life. 

Mal'cham (mal'kam), in R. V. Mal- 
cam. 1. A Benjaminite, son of Shaha- 
rahim and Hodesh. 1 Chron. 8 : 9. 

2. One of the false gods adopted by 
the people of Judah. Zeph. 1:5. It is 
given also in the R. V. of Jer. 49 : 1, 
where the A. V. has “ their king,’-’ as the 
chief deity of the Ammonites. 

Malchi'ah (mal-ki'a). 1. A royal 
prince into whose dungeon the prophet 
Jeremiah was cast. Jer. 38:6. Very 
probably the one named in verse 1, as 
the father of Pashur ; and in Jer. 21: 1, 
where the A. V. has Melchiah. R. V. 
Malchiah. 

2. A Gershonite Levite. 1 Chron. 6: 
40. 


3. A descendant of Aaron. His fam- 
ily had grown to a father’s house in the 
time of David and became the fifth of 
the courses into which David divided 
the priests. 1 Chron. 24 : 1, 6, 9. Ap- 
parently members of one branch of his 
family, the house of Pashur, returned 
with Zerubbabel from Babylon. Ezra 2: 
38. He is probably referred to in 1 
Chron. 9 : 12, where a priestly line is 
traced back to a Malchijah, and in Neh. 
11 : 12. Not the same as 1. 

4. A son of Parosh who put away his 
foreign wife. Ezra 10:25. 

5. A son of Harim who also put away 
his wife. Ezra 10 : 31. 

6. A son of Rechab who repaired a 
part of the wall of Jerusalem. Neh. 3: 
14. 

7. A goldsmith who repaired part of 
the wall. Neh. 3:31. 

8. One of the Levites who assisted 
Ezra when the law was explained to the 
people. Neh. 8 : 14. 

R. V. usually Malchijah. 

Mal'chiel. A son of Beriah, and 
grandson of Asher, and founder of a 
tribal family. Gen. 46 : 17 ; Num. 26 : 45. 

Malchi'jah. 1. An ancestor of one of 
the priests who returned with Zerub- 
babel from Babylon. 1 Chron. 9 : 12. 
Probably the same as Malchiah 3. 

2. A son of Parosh who put away his 
foreign wife. Ezra 10 : 25. Not the 
same as Malchiah 4. 

3. A son of Harim who repaired a 
part of the wall of Jerusalem. Neh. 3: 
11. Probably the same as Malchiah 5. 

4. A priest who with others officiated 
at the dedication of the wall of Jeru- 
salem. Neh. 12:42. Perhaps the same 
as Malchiah 8. 

Malchi'ram. A son of king Je- 
hoiachin. 1 Chron. 3 : 18. 

Mal'chi=shu'a (mal'ki-shu'a) (the 
king is wealth), one of the sons of 
King Saul. 1 Sam. 14:49; 31 : 2 ; 1 
Chron. 8:33; 9:39. 

Mal'chus (mal'kus) (king), the name 
of the servant of the high priest whose 
right ear Peter cut off at the time of the 
Saviour’s apprehension in the garden. 
Matt. 26 : 51 ; Mark 14 : 47 ; Luke 22 : 
49-51; John 18:10. 

Ma=le'le=el (ma-le'le-el), or Mahal'= 
ale=el, the son of Cainan. Gen. 5 : 12, 
marg. ; Luke 3 : 37. 

Mariothi (mario-thi), a Kohathite, 
one of the fourteen sons of Heman the 
singer. 1 Chron. 25 : 4, 26. 


MAL 


382 


MAN 


Mal'luch (mal'luk) {counsellor ) . 1. 

A Levite of the family of Merari, and 
ancestor of Ethan the singer. 1 Chron. 
6: 44. 

2. One of the sons of Bani. Ezra 10 : 
29, and 

3. One of the descendants of Harim, 
Ezra 10 : 32, who had married foreign 
wives. 

4. A priest or family of priests. Neh. 
10 : 4, and 

5. One of the heads of the people who 
signed the covenant with Nehemiah. 
Neh. 10:27. 

6. One of the families of priests who 
returned with Zerubbabel, Neh. 12 : 2 ; 
probably the same as No. 4. 

Mammon (mam'mon) {riches), Matt. 
6:24; Luke 16 : 9, used as the personifi- 
cation of worldliness, or wealth as a 
reason for worldliness. 

Mam're (mam're) {strength, fat- 
ness), an ancient Amorite, who with 
his brothers, Eshcol and Aner, was in 
alliance with Abram, Gen. 14 : 13, 24, 
and under the shade of whose oak 
grove the patriarch dwelt in the inter- 
val between his residence at Bethel and 
at Beersheba. ch. 13 : 18 ; 18 : 1. In the 
subsequent chapters Mamre is a mere 
local appellation, ch. 23 : 17, 19 ; 25 : 9 ; 
49 : 30 ; 50 : 13. 

Man. There are several Hebrew 
words translated “ man.” 1. Adam, 
usually used as the generic term cor- 
responding to Latin Homo (Gen. 5:2; 
Job 5:7). 2. Ish. Man as distinguished 
from woman — husband. Latin Vir. 
(Gen. 3:6). 3. Geher from the root 
“ to be strong,” a mighty man, as op- 
posed to the weaker, woman (Deut. 22: 
5). 4. Melhim, male, masculine — men 

as distinguished from both women and 
children (Deut. 2:34). 

Man'aen (man'a-en) {comforter) is 
mentioned in Acts 13 : 1 as one of the 
teachers and prophets in the church at 
Antioch at the time of the appointment 
of Saul and Barnabas as missionaries 
to the heathen. He is said to have been 
brought up with Herod Antipas. He 
was probably his foster-brother. 

Man'ahath (man'a-hath) {rest), a 
place named in 1 Chron. 8 : 6 only, in 
connection with the genealogies of the 
tribe of Benjamin. 

Man'ahath (man'a-hath) {rest), one 
of the sons of Shobal, and descendant 
of Seir the Horite. Gen. 36:23; 1 
Chron. 1 : 40. 


Mana'hethites (ma-na'heth-Ites) {in- 
habitants of Manaliath) , The. “ Half 
the Manahethites ” are named in the 
genealogies of Judah as descended from 
Shobal, the father of Kirjath-jearim, 1 
Chron. 2 : 52, and half from Salma, the 
founder of Bethlehem, ver. 54. 

Manas'seh (ma-nas'seh) {making to 
forget). 1. The eldest son of Joseph, 
Gen. 41 : 51 ; 46 : 20, born about 1715 b.c. 
before the beginning of the famine. He 
was placed after his younger brother, 
Ephraim, by his grandfather, Jacob, 
when he adopted them into his own 
family, and made them heads of tribes. 
In the division of the promised land 
half of the tribe of Manasseh settled 
east of the Jordan, in the district em- 
bracing the hills of Gilead with their 
inaccessible heights and impassable ra- 
vines, and the almost impregnable tract 
of Argob. Josh. 13:29-33. Here they 
throve exceedingly, pushing their way 
northward over the rich plains of Jaulan 
and Jedur to the foot of Mount Hermon. 

1 Chron. 5 : 23. They were among the 
first carried away by Pul and Tiglath- 
pileser, and settled in the Assyrian ter- 
ritories. 1 Chron. 5 : 25, 26. The other 
half tribe settled to the west of the 
Jordan, north of Ephraim. Josh. 17. 

2. The fourteenth king of Judah, son 
of Hezekiah, 2 Kings 21 : 1, ascended the 
throne at the age of twelve, and reigned 
55 years, from B.C. 697 to 641. His ac- 
cession was the signal for an entire 
change in the religious administration 
of the kingdom. The foreign religions 
of Assyria and Babylon, the Canaanitish 
Baal and Asherah worship, were blended 
with the popular religion of Israel. 
There seems to have been a systematic 
religious persecution, the victims of 
which were those who, retaining their 
fidelity to Jehovah, opposed his reaction- 
ary measures. The Babylonian alliance 
which the king formed against Assyria 
resulted in his being made prisoner and 
carried off to Babylon in the twenty- 
second year of his reign, according to 
a Jewish tradition. There his eyes were 
opened and he repented, and his prayer 
was heard and the Lord delivered him, 

2 Chron. 33 : 12, 13, and he returned 
after some uncertain interval of time 
to Jerusalem. The altar of the Lord 
was again restored, and peace offerings 
and thank offerings were sacrificed to 
Jehovah. 2 Chron. 33:15, 16. 

3. One of the descendants of Pahath- 


MAN 


383 


MAN 


moab, who in the days of Ezra had 
married a foreign wife. Ezra 10 : 30. 

4. One of the laymen, of the family of 
Hashum, who put away his foreign wife 
at Ezra’s command. Ezra 10 : 33. 

Manas'ses (ma-nas'ses). 1. Manas- 
seh, king of Judah. Matt. 1 : 10. 

2. Manasseh the son of Joseph. Rev. 
7:6. 

Manas'sites (ma-nas'ites), The, that 
is, the members of the tribe of Manas- 
seh. Deut. 4 : 43 ; Judges 12:4; 2 Kings 
10 : 33. 

Mandrakes (Heb. dudairn ) are men- 
tioned in Gen. 30 : 14, 15, 16, and in 
Cant. 7 : 13. The Hebrew word means 
“ love-plants.” The mandrake, Mandra- 
gora officinarum, is closely allied to the 
well-known deadly nightshade, Atropa 
belladonna, and belongs to the order 
Solanacece, or potato family. It grows 
in Palestine and Mesopotamia. It 



THE MANDRAKE. 


grows, low like lettuce with wavy dark 
green leaves, somewhat resembling the 
tobacco plant. The root is usually 
forked, and is often made to assume 
a resemblance to a human being. The 
flowers are violet, white or deep blue. 
Its fruit when ripe (early in May) is 
globular, ruddy or yellow, resembling a 
small tomato, and of a most agreeable 
odor *(to Orientals more than to Euro- 
peans) and an equally agreeable taste. 
The Arabs call it “ devil’s apple,” from 
its power to excite voluptuousness. The 
ancients believed that the root gave a 
demoniacal shriek when pulled up, and 
the one who touched it died. It is a 
powerful narcotic. 


Maneh (ma'neh). [Weights and 
Measures.] 

Manger. This word occurs only in 
Luke 2 : 7, 12, 16, in connection with 
the birth of Christ. It means a crib 
or feeding-trough ; but according to 
Schleusner its real signification in the 
New Testament is the open court-yard 
attached to the inn or khan, in which 
the cattle would be shut at night, and 
where the poorer travelers might unpack 
their animals and take up their lodging, 
when they were either by want of room 
or want of means excluded from the 
house. 

Manna ( what is this ?) (Heb. man). 
The most important passages of the 
Old Testament on this topic are the fol- 
lowing: Ex. 16:14-36; Num. 11:7-9; 
Deut. 8 : 3, 16 ; Josh. 5 : 12 ; Ps. 78 : 24, 25. 
From these passages we learn that the 
manna came every morning except the 
Sabbath, in the form of a small round 
seed resembling the hoar frost; that it 
must be gathered early, before the sun 



TAMARISK OR MANNA TREE OF THE SINAITIC 
PENINSULA. 

became so hot as to melt it ; that it must 
be gathered every day except the Sab- 
bath; that the attempt to lay aside for 
a succeeding day, except on the day 
immediately preceding the Sabbath, 
failed by the substance becoming wormy 
and offensive; that it was prepared for 
food by grinding and baking ; that its 
taste was like fresh oil, and like wafers 
made with honey, equally agreeable to 



MAN 


384 


MAR 


all palates; that the whole nation sub- 
sisted upon it for forty years; that it 
suddenly ceased when they first got the 
new corn of the land of Canaan ; and 
that it was always regarded as a miracu- 
lous gift directly from God, and not as 
a product of nature. The natural prod- 
ucts of the Arabian deserts and other 
Oriental regions which bear the name of 
manna have not the qualities or uses 
ascribed to the manna of Scripture. The 
latter substance was undoubtedly wholly 
miraculous, and not in any respect a 
product of nature, though its name may 
have come from its resemblance to the 
natural manna. The substance now 
called manna in the Arabian desert 
through which the Israelites passed is 
collected in the month of June from the 
tarfa or tamarisk shrub ( Tamarix gal- 
lica ). It drops from the thorns on the 
sticks and leaves with which the ground 
is covered, and must be gathered early 
in the day or it will be melted by the 
sun. The Arabs cleanse and boil it, 
strain it through a cloth and put it in 
leathern bottles; and in this way it can 
be kept uninjured for several years. 
They use it like honey or butter with 
their unleavened bread, but never make 
it into cakes or eat it by itself. The 
entire yield of the whole peninsula is 
less than 1000 pounds in the best years, 
making the supply of 300 tons a day 
for 40 years miraculous, even did this 
substance fulfil other conditions. Other 
kinds are also found in smaller quan- 
tities, some produced by the puncture of 
an insect. The manna of European 
commerce comes mostly from Calabria. 
It is a “ sickly smelling, sweet, laxative 
exudation from the flowering ash, 
Fraxinus ornus and Fraxinus rotundi- 
folia.” 

Mano'ah (ma-no'ah) (rest), the 
father of Samson; a Danite, native of 
the town of Zorah. Judges 13 : 2. 
[Samson.] 

Manslayer, one who kills another 
unintentionally, and is thus distinguished 
from a murderer, who kills with malice 
aforethought. The cases of manslaugh- 
ter mentioned in Scripture appear to be 
a sufficient indication of the intention of 
the lawgiver. 1. Death by a blow in a 
sudden quarrel. Num. 35 : 22. 2. Death 

by a stone or missile thrown at random. 
Num. 35 : 22, 23. 3. By the blade of an 

axe flying from its handle. Deut. 19 : 5. 
In all these and the like cases the man- 


slayer was allowed to retire to a city 
of refuge. 

Mantle, the word employed in the 
Authorized Version to translate no less 
than four Hebrew terms, entirely dis- 
tinct and independent in both derivation 
and meaning. 1. Judges 4:18, the gar- 
ment with which Jael covered Sisera. 

2. Rendered “ mantle ” in 1 Sam. 15 : 
27 ; 28 : 14 ; Ezra 9:3, 5, etc. This word 
is in other passages of the Authorized 
Version rendered “ coat,” “ cloak ” and 
“ robe.” The American Revision has 
“ robe ” throughout. 

3. Isa. 3 : 22 only. An article of a 
lady’s dress, probably the wide upper 
tunic with sleeves. 

4. Probably a robe of office or state. 
It is used five times of Elijah’s mantle 
(1 Kings 19:13, 19; 2 Kings 2:8, 13, 
14) which was apparently of hair. It 
may well have been of sheepskin, such 
as is worn by the modern dervishes. 
The same word is psed in Joshua 7: 21, 
24, of the Babylonish mantle which 
tempted Achan, and in Jonah 3:6, of 
the garment of the king of Nineveh. 

Ma'och (ma'ok) (oppression) , the 
father of Achish king of Gath, with 
whom David took refuge. 1 Sam. 27 : 
2. Perhaps the same as Maachah, 2. 

Ma'on (ma'on) (habitation), one of 
the cities of the tribe of Judah, in the 
district of the mountains. Josh. 15 : 55. 
Its interest for us lies in its connection 
with David. 1 Sam. 23 : 24, 25. The 
name of Maon still exists in Main, a 
lofty conical hill, south of and about 8 
miles distant from Hebron. 

Ma'onites (ma'on-ites), The, a peo- 
ple mentioned in one of the addresses 
of Jehovah to the repentant Israelites, 
Judges 10: 12; elsewhere in the Author- 
ized Version called Mehunim. 

Mara (ma'ra) (sad, bitter), the name 
which Naomi adopted in the exclamation 
forced from her by the recognition of 
her fellow citizens at Bethlehem. Ruth 
1 : 20 . 

Ma'rah (ma'ra) (bitterness) , a place 
which lay in the wilderness of Shur or 
Etham, three days journey distant, Ex. 
15 : 23 ; Num. 33 : 8, from the place at 
which the Israelites crossed the Red 
Sea, and where was a spring of bitter 
water, sweetened subsequently by the 
casting in of a tree which “the Lord 
showed” to Moses. Howarah , distant 
I 6 V 2 hours (47 miles) from Ayoun 
Mousa, the “Wells of Moses,” the Is- 


MAR 


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raelites’ first encampment, has been by 
many identified with it, apparently be- 
cause it is the bitterest water in the 
neighborhood. 

Mar'alah (mar'a-lah) ( trembling ), 
one of the landmarks on the boundary 
of the tribe of Zebulun. Josh. 19 : 11. 

Mar'ana'tha (mar'an-a'tha), an Ara- 
maic or Syriac expression used by St. 
Paul at the conclusion of his First 
Epistle to the Corinthians, ch. 16 : 22, 
signifying “ our Lord cometh.” 

Marble. The Hebrew shesh, the ge- 
neric term for marble, may probably be 
taken to mean almost any shining stone. 
The so-called marble of Solomon’s archi- 
tectural works may thus have been lime- 
stone. There can be no doubt that 
Herod both in the temple and elsewhere 
employed true marble. The marble pil- 
lars and tesserae of various colors of 
the palace at Susa came doubtless from 
Persia. Esther 1 : 6. 

Marcheshvan. [Month.] 

Mar'cus (mar'kus), the evangelist 
Mark. Col. 4: 10; Phil. 24; 1 Pet. 5 : 13. 
[Mark.] 

Mare'shah (at the head), one of the 
cities of Judah in the low country, 
Josh. 15 : 44. It was one of the cities 
fortified and garrisoned by Rehoboam 
after the rupture with the northern 
kingdom. 2 Chron. 11 : 8. Near it was 
fought the great battle between Asa and 
Zerah. 2 Chron. 14 : 9-12. It is men- 
tioned once or twice in the history of 
the Maccabsean war of independence. 2 
Macc. 12 : 35. It was in ruins in the 
fourth century, when Eusebius and 
Jerome describe it as in the second mile 
from Eleutheropolis, or Beit Jibrin. 
The present ruin Merash no doubt 
represents this ancient city. 

Mark, one of the evangelists, and 
author of the Gospel bearing his name. 
Hastings’ Dictionary of Christ and the 
Gospels regards the identity of John 
Mark of Acts with the Mark of Paul’s 
Epistles, as clearly proved; and states 
that there is no reason to doubt that 
the same Mark was the author of the 
second Gospel. Marcus was his Latin 
surname. His Jewish name was John, 
which is the same as Johanan (Jehovah 
is gracious). We can almost trace the 
steps whereby the former became his 
prevalent name in the Church. “ John, 
whose surname was Mark,” in Acts 12: 
12, 25; 15:37, becomes “John” alone in 
Acts 13 : 5, 13, “ Mark ” in Acts 15 : 39, 
25 


and thenceforward there is no change. 
Col. 4: 10; Phil. 24; 2 Tim. 4:11. The 
evangelist was the son of a certain Mary, 
a Jewish matron of some position who 
dwelt at Jerusalem, Acts 12: 12, and was 
probably born of a Hellenistic family in 
that city. Of his father we know noth- 
ing; but we do know that the future 
evangelist was cousin of Barnabas of 
Cyprus, the great friend of St. Paul. 
His mother would seem to have been 
intimately acquainted with St. Peter, and 
it was to her house, as to a . familiar 
home, that the apostle repaired, a.d. 44, 
after his deliverance from prison. Acts 
12 : 12. This fact accounts for St. 
Mark’s intimate acquaintance with that 
apostle, to whom also he probably owed 
his conversion, for St. Peter calls him 
his son. 1 Pet. 5 : 13. We hear of him 
for the first time in Acts 12 : 25, where 
we find him accompanying Paul and 
Barnabas on their return from Jerusa- 
lem to Antioch, a.d. 46. He next comes 
before us on the occasion of the earliest 
missionary journey of the same apostles, 
a.d. 47, when he joined them as their 
“ minister or assistant.” Acts 13 : 5. 
With them he visited Cyprus; but at 
Perga in Pamphylia, Acts 13 : 13, when 
they were about to enter upon the more 
arduous part of their mission, he left 
them, and, for some unexplained reason, 
returned to Jerusalem to. his mother and 
his home. On Professor Ramsay’s 
theory that Paul at this time was sick 
with malarial fever it is quite possible 
that John Mark, too, was attacked with 
the depressing malarial fever, and felt 
unable to go through the rough expe- 
riences that lay before them, while at 
the same time this sickness emphasized 
all the other reasons. Paul went on 
with his work in spite of his sickness, 
and he thought that the more delicate 
young man should do the same. But 
while Paul on his next journey was un- 
willing to risk having Mark for his at- 
tendant, yet he was restored later to 
Paul’s friendship and confidence, for 
we find him at Paul’s side during that 
apostle’s first imprisonment at Rome, a.d. 
61-63, and he is acknowledged by him 
as one of his few fellow laborers who 
had been a “comfort” to him during 
the weary hours of his imprisonment. 
Col. 4 : 10, 11 ; Phil. 24. We next have 
traces of him in 1 Pet. 5 : 13 : “ The 

church that is in Babylon . . . 

saluteth you, and so doth Marcus my 


MAR 


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MAR 


son.” From this we infer that he joined 
his spiritual father, the great friend of 
his mother, at Babylon. From Babylon 
he would seem to have returned to Asia 
Minor; for during his second imprison- 
ment, a.d. 66, St. Paul, writing to Tim- 
othy, charges him to bring Mark with 
him to Rome, on the ground that he was 
“ profitable to him for the ministry.” 2 
Tim. 4: 11. From this point we gain no 
further information from the New Tes- 
tament respecting the evangelist. It is 
most probable, however, that he did join 
the apostle at Rome, whither also St. 
Peter would seem to have proceeded, 
and suffered martyrdom along with St. 
Paul. After the death of these two 
great pillars of the Church, ecclesiastical 
tradition affirms that St. Mark visited 
Egypt, founded the church of Alexan- 
dria, and died by martyrdom. 

Mark, Gospel of. There has been a 
decisive change in these later years as to 
the relation of Mark’s Gospel to the 
others. For centuries it had been re- 
garded as a condensation, or abbrevia- 
tion of the Gospel according to Mat- 
thew. Now scholars look upon it as the 
oldest of the Gospels, and one of the 
sources from which the other writers 
drew their material. 

The last twelve verses are an appen- 
dix, perhaps by Mark himself, “having 
once had an independent existence, and 
being added later to the Gospel to sup- 
ply a lost leaf.” Hence in the Revision 
these verses are separated by a space 
from the preceding verses; but this does 
not affect our faith in their truth or in- 
spiration. 

Date written. — Upon this point noth- 
ing absolutely certain can be affirmed, and 
the Gospel itself affords us no informa- 
tion. The most direct testimony is that 
of Irenseus, who says it was after the 
death of the apostles Peter and Paul. 

may conclude, therefore, that this 
Gospel was not written before a.d. 63. 
Again we may as certainly conclude that 
it was not written after the destruction 
of Jerusalem, for it is not likely that he 
would have omitted to record so re- 
markable a fulfilment of our Lord’s 
predictions. Hence a.d. 63-68 becomes 
our limit, but nedrer than this we can- 
not go. Place of writing. — The many 
Latin words in Greek form, used by 
Mark, indicate that his book may have 
been originally published, as tradition 
states, at Rome. Sources of informa- 


tion. — Mark was not one of the twelve; 
and there is no reason to believe that he 
was an eye and ear witness to many of 
the events which he has recorded ; but 
an almost unanimous testimony of the 
early fathers indicates Peter as the 
source of his information. The most 
important of these testimonies is that 
of Papias, who says, “ He, the presby- 
ter (John), said, Mark, being the in- 
terpreter of Peter, wrote exactly what- 
ever he remembered.” Peter told the 
story of what he had seen Jesus do, 
and heard him teach, a story he must 
have told many times in the hearing of 
Mark. But besides this, reports from the 
other apostles must have been in circula- 
tion among the churches, many of which, 
according to Luke, were put in writing. 

For whom the book was written. 
— The traditional statement is that it 
was intended primarily for Gentiles, and 
especially for those at Rome. A review 
of the Gospel itself confirms this view. 
Characteristics. — Mark’s Gospel is oc- 
cupied almost entirely with the ministry 
in Galilee and the events of the passion 
week. It is the shortest of the four 
Gospels, and contains almost no incident 
or teaching which is not contained in 
one of the other two synqptists ; but it 
is by far the most vivid and dramatic 
in its narratives, and their pictorial char- 
acter indicates not only that they were 
derived from an eye and ear witness, 
but also from one who possessed the 
observation and the graphic artistic 
power of a natural orator, such as 
Peter emphatically was. One peculiarity 
strikes us the moment we open it, — the 
absence of any genealogy of our Lord. 
This is the key to much that follows. 
It is not the design of the evangelist 
to present our Lord to us, like St. Mat- 
thew, as the Messiah, “ the son of 
David and Abraham,” ch. 1 : 1, or, like 
St. Luke, as the universal Redeemer, 
“the son of Adam, which was the 'son 
of God.” ch. 3:38. His design is to 
present him to us as the conquering 
Saviour, the incarnate and wonder- 
working Son of God, living and acting 
among men ; to portray him in the full- 
ness of his living energy. 

Market=places, Matt. 20 : 3 ; Mark 
12 : 38 ; Luke 7 : 32 ; Acts 16 : 19, any open 
place of public resort in cities or towns 
where public trials and assemblies were 
held and goods were exposed for sale. 
The Agora or Forum of a Greek or 


MAR 


387 


MAR 


Roman town was not only the market- 
place but the meeting place, for business 
or discussion on any subject. 

Market of Ap'pius. Acts 28 : 15. In 
the Revised Version for Appii Forum of 
the Authorized Version, which see. 

Ma'roth (ma'roth) ( bitternesses ), 
one of the towns of the western lowland 
of Judah. Micah 1 : 12. 

Marriage. 1. Its origin and history. 
— The institution of marriage dates from 
the time of man’s original creation. 
Gen. 2 : 18-25. From Gen. 2:24 we 
may evolve the following principles: (1) 
The unity of man and wife, as implied 
in her being formed out of man. (2) 
The indissolubleness of the marriage 
bond, except on the strongest grounds. 
Comp. Matt. 19 : 9. (3) Monogamy, as 

the original law of marriage. (4) The 
social equality of man and wife. (5) 
The subordination of the wife to the 
husband. 1 Cor. 11 : 8, 9 ; 1 Tim. 2 : 13. 
(6) The respective duties of man and 
wife. In the patriarchal age polygamy 
prevailed, Gen. 16 : 4 ; 25 : 1, 6 ; 28 : 9 ; 
29 : 23, 28 ; 1 Chron. 7 : 14, but to a great 
extent divested of the degradation which 
in modern times attaches to that practice. 
Divorce also prevailed in the patriarchal 
age, though but one instance of it is 
recorded. Gen. 21 : 14. The Mosaic 
law discouraged polygamy, restricted 
divorce, and aimed to enforce purity of 
life. It was the best civil law possible 
at the time, and sought to bring the 
people up to the pure standard of the 
moral law. In the post-Babylonian pe- 
riod monogamy appears to have become 
more prevalent than at any previous 
time. The practice of polygamy never- 
theless still existed; Herod the Great 
had no less than nine wives at one time. 
The abuse of divorce continued un- 
abated. Our Lord and his apostles re- 
established the integrity and sanctity of 
the marriage bond by the following 
measures; ( a ) By the confirmation of 
the original charter of marriage as the 
basis on which all regulations were to 
be framed. Matt. 19 : 4, 5. ( b ) By the 

restriction of divorce to the case of 
fornication, and the prohibition of re- 
marriage in all persons divorced on im- 
proper grounds. Matt. 5:32; 19 : 9 ; 

Rom. 7:3; 1 Cor. 7:10, 11. (c) By 

the enforcement of moral purity gen- 
erally, Heb. 13 : 4, etc., and especially 
by the formal condemnation of fornica- 
tion. Acts 15 : 20. 


2. The conditions of legal marriage . — 
In the time of the patriarchs marriage 
with aliens was protested against. 
When the Israelites returned from the 
exile in Egypt they were commanded 
to have no marriage with the idolatrous 
tribes, of Canaan, exceptions being made 
only in the case of Edomites and Egyp- 
tians. But the command was not obeyed. 
Common people and rulers alike mar- 
ried members of other nations. Even 
David himself married out of Israel (2 
Sam. 3:3). Under Nehemiah the law 
was revived and enforced with great 
stringency (Neh. 13). The regulations 
relative to marriage between Israelites 
and Israelites were based on considera- 
tions of relationship. The most impor- 
tant passage relating to these is con- 
tained in Lev. 18 : 6-18, wherein we have 
in the first place a general prohibition 
against marriage between a man and 
the “ flesh of his flesh,” and in the 
second place special prohibitions against 
marriage with a mother, stepmother, sis- 
ter or half-sister, whether “born at 
home or abroad,” granddaughter, aunt, 
whether by consanguinity on either side 
or by marriage on the father’s side, 
daughter-in-law, brother’s wife, step- 
daughter, wife’s mother, stepgrand- 
daughter, or wife’s sister during the 
lifetime of the wife. An exception is 
subsequently made, Deut. 25 : 5-9, in 
favor of marriage with a brother’s wife 
in the event of his having died childless. 
The law which regulates this has been 
named the “ levirate,” from the Latin 
levir, “ brother-in-law.” 

3. The modes by which marriage was 

effected. — The choice of the bride de- 
volved not on the bridegroom himself, 
but on his relations or on a friend de- 
puted by the bridegroom for this pur- 
pose. The consent of the maiden was 
sometimes asked, Gen. 24 : 58 ; but this 
appears to have been subordinate to the 
previous consent of the father and the 
adult brothers. Gen. 24 : 51 ; 34 : 11. 

Occasionally the whole business of se- 
lecting the wife was left in the hands. of 
a friend. The selection of the bride 
was followed by the betrothal, which 
was a formal proceeding undertaken by 
a friend or legal representative on the 
part of the bridegroom and by the par- 
ents on the part of the bride; it was 
confirmed by oaths, and accompanied 
with presents to the bride. The pres- 
ents paid by the groom, were a relic of 


MAR 


388 


MAR 


a purchase of the bride as in some of 
the less civilized portions of the world 
to-day. On the other hand a father was 
bound to provide a dowry for his daugh- 
ter either in money or land or jewelry, 
now the common form. The act of 
betrothal was celebrated by a feast, and 
among the more modern Jews it is the 
custom in some parts for the bride- 
groom to place a ring on the bride’s fin- 
ger. Between the betrothal and the 
marriage a varying interval elapsed. 
During this period the bride-elect lived 
with her friends, and all communica- 
tion between herself and her future 
husband was carried on through the 
medium of a friend deputed for the 
purpose, termed the “ friend of the 
bridegroom.” John 3:29. She was vir- 
tually regarded as the wife of her future 
husband ; hence faithlessness on her part 
was punishable with death, Deut. 22 : 23, 
24, the husband having, however, the 
option of “ putting her away.” Deut. 
24 : 1 ; Matt. 1 : 19. The essence of the 
marriage ceremony consisted in the re- 
moval of the bride from her father’s 
house to that of the bridegroom or his 
father. The bridegroom prepared him- 
self for the occasion by putting on a 
festive dress. The bride was veiled. 
Trumbull (“ Studies in Oriental Social 
Life ”) speaks of a bride vested from 
head to foot in a red cashmere shawl 
so thick that she could see nothing, but 
was led by her friends. Her robes were 
white. Rev. 19 : 8, and sometimes em- 
broidered with gold thread, Ps. 45 : 13, 
14, and covered with perfumes, Ps. 45 : 
8; she was further decked out with 
jewels. Isa. 49 : 18 ; 61 : 10 ; Rev. 21 : 2. 
When the fixed hour arrived, which was 
generally late in the evening, the bride- 
groom set forth from his house, at- 
tended by his groomsmen and friends, 
preceded by a band of musicians or 
singers, Gen. 31 : 27 ; Jer. 7:34; 16 : 9, 
and accompanied by persons bearing 
flambeaux, Jer. 25:10; 2 Esdr. 10:2; 
Matt. 25 : 7 ; Rev. 18 : 23, and took the 
bride with the friends to his own house. 
At the house a feast was prepared, to 
which all the friends and neighbors 
were invited, Gen. 29 : 22 ; Matt. 22 : 1- 
10; Luke 14:8; John 2:2, and the fes- 
tivities were protracted for seven or 
even fourteen days. Judges 14 : 12 ; Tob. 
8 : 19. The guests were provided by the 
host with fitting robes, Matt. 22 : 11, and 
the feast was enlivened with riddles, 


Judges 14:12, and other amusements. 
The last act in the ceremonial was the 
conducting of the bride to the bridal 
chamber, Joel 2: 16. The bride was still 
completely veiled, so that the deception 
practised on Jacob, Gen. 29 : 23, was not 
difficult. A newly-married man was ex- 
empt from military service, or from any 
public business which might draw him 
away from his home, for the space of a 
year, Deut. 24:5; a similar privilege was 
granted to him who was betrothed. 
Deut. 20:7. 

4. The social and domestic conditions 
of married life. — The wife must have 
exercised an important influence in her 
own home. She appears to have taken 
her part in family affairs, and even to 
have enjoyed a considerable amount of 
independence. Judges 4 : 18 ; 1 Sam. 25: 
14; 2 Kings 4:8, etc. In the New Tes- 
tament the mutual relations of husband 
and wife are a subject of frequent ex- 
hortation. Eph. 5 : 22, 33 ; Col. 3 : 18, 
19 ; Titus 2:4, 5 ; 1 Pet. 3 : 1-7. The 
duties of the wife in the Hebrew house- 
hold were multifarious : in addition to 
the general superintendence of the do- 
mestic arrangements, such as cooking, 
from which even women of rank were 
not exempt, Gen. 18:6; 2 Sam. 13:8, 
and the distribution of food at meal 
times, Prov. 31 : 15, the manufacture of 
the clothing and of the various fabrics 
required in her home devolved upon 
her, Prov. 31 : 13, 21, 22 ; and if she 
were a model of activity and skill, she 
produced a surplus of fine linen shirts 
and girdles, which she sold, and so, 
like a well-freighted merchant ship, 
brought in wealth to her husband from 
afar. Prov. 31 : 14, 24. Th§ legal rights 
of the wife are noticed in Ex. 21 : 10 
under the three heads of food, raiment, 
and duty of marriage or conjugal right. 

5. The allegorical and typical allusions 
to marriage have exclusive reference to 
one object, viz., to exhibit the spiritual 
relationship between God and his peo- 
ple. In the Old Testament Isa. 54:5; 
Jer. 3:14; Hos. 2:19. In the New 
Testament the image of the bridegroom 
is transferred from Jehovah to Christ, 
Matt. 9: 15; John 3:29, and that of the 
bride to the Church. 2 Cor. 11 : 2 ; Rev. 
19: 7; 21 : 2, 9. 

Mars’ Hill, also known by the name 
of Areopagus, of which hill of Ares 
(Mars) is a translation. The Areopagus 
was a rocky height in Athens, opposite 


MAR 


389 


MAR 


the western end of the Acropolis. It 
rises gradually from the northern end, 
and terminates abruptly on the south, 
over against the Acropolis, at which 
point it is about fifty or sixty feet above 
the valley. The spot is memorable as 
the place of meeting of the Council of 
Areopagus. This body existed as a 


“ certain philosophers of thfe Epicureans 
and Stoics ” brought him up from the 
valley, probably by the stone steps, to 
the Areopagus above, that they might 
listen to him more conveniently. 

Mar'sena (mar'se-na), one of the 
seven princes of Persia, “ wise men 
which knew the times,” which saw the 



THE AREOPAGUS (MARS’ HILL) AT ATHENS. 


criminal tribunal before the time of 
Solon, and was the most ancient and 
venerable of all the Athenian courts. It 
consisted of all* persons who had held 
the office of archon, and who were mem- 
bers of the council for life unless ex- 
pelled for misconduct. Before the time 
of Solon the court tried only cases of 
willful murder, wounding, poison, and 
arson; but he gave it extensive powers 
of a censorial and political nature. The 
council continued to exist even under 
the Roman emperors. Sixteen worn 
steps cut in the rock lead up to the 
summit, and a few remnants of the 
seats remain. The Areopagus possesses 
peculiar interest to the Christian as the 
spot from which St. Paul delivered his 
memorable address to the men of 
Athens. Acts 17 : 22-31. St. Paul “ dis- 
puted daily ” in the “ market ” or agora, 
Acts 17 : 17, which was situated south 
of the Areopagus in the valley lying 
between this and the hills of the 
Acropolis, the Pnyx and the Museum. 
Attracting more and more attention, 


king’s face and sat first in the kingdom. 
Esther 1 : 14. 

Mar'tha (lady), the sister of Laza- 
rus and Mary. [Lazarus.] The facts 
recorded in Luke 10 and John 11 indi- 
cate a character devout after the custom- 
ary Jewish type of devotion, sharing in 
Messianic hopes and accepting Jesus as 
the Christ. When she first comes be- 
fore us, Luke 10 : 38, her spirit is “ cum- 
bered with much serving,” is “careful 
and troubled about many things.” Her 
love, though imperfect in its form, is 
yet recognized as true, and she has the 
distinction of being one whom Jesus 
loved. John 11 : 5. Her position is ob- 
viously that of the elder sister, the head 
and manager of the household. Since 
the supper is said in Matthew and Mark 
to have been held in “the house of 
Simon the leper” it is suggested that 
Martha, the head of the house, may have 
been his wife or widow. In the supper 
at Bethany, John 12 : 2, the old char- 
acter shows itself still, but it has been 
freed from evil. She is no longer 



MAR 


390 


MAR 


“ cumbered,” no longer impatient. Ac- 
tivity has been calmed by trust. 

Ma'ry of Cle'ophas. So in Au- 
thorized Version, but accurately “ of 
Clopas,” whether “ wife ” as supplied by 
the translators, or “ daughter ” as sug- 
gested by some scholars is not certain. 
John 19 : 25. There is also considerable 
uncertainty as to her identification 
with “ Mary the mother of James ” 
(Matt. 27:56) and “the other Mary” 
(Matt. 28:1). If she was the daughter 
of Clopas she might easily be the 
mother of “James the son of Alphseus.” 
(For a fuller discussion see James.) 

Ma'ry Magdale'ne. Different ex- 
planations have been given of this name ; 
but the most natural is that she came 
from the town of Magdala. She ap- 
pears before us for the first time in 
Luke 8 : 2, among the women who “ min- 
istered unto him of their substance.” 
All appear to have occupied a position 
of comparative wealth. With all the 
chief motive was that of gratitude for 
their deliverance from “ evil spirits and 
infirmities.” Of Mary it is said specially 
that '* seven devils went out of her,” 
and the number indicates a possession 
of more than ordinary malignity. She 
was present during the closing hours 
of the agony on the cross. John 19: 25. 
She remained by the cross till all was 
over, and waited till the body was taken 
down and placed in the garden sepulchre 
of Joseph of Arimathsea, Matt. 27:61; 
Mark 15 : 47 ; Luke 23 : 55, when she, 
with others “ bought sweet spices that 
they might come and anoint ” the body. 
Mark 16 : 1. The next morning accord- 
ingly, in the earliest dawn, Matt. 28 : 1 ; 
Mark 16 : 2, they came to the sepulchre. 
Mary Magdalene had been to the tomb 
and had found it empty, and had seen 
the “ vision of angels.” Matt. 28 : 5 ; 
Mark 16:5. To her first of all Jesus 
appeared after his resurrection. John 
20 : 14, 15. Mary Magdalene has become 
the type of a class of repentant sinners ; 
but there is no authority for identifying 
her with the “ sinner ” who anointed 
the feet of Jesus in Luke 7:36-50; 
neither is there any authority for the 
supposition that Mary Magdalene is the 
same as the sister of Lazarus. Neither 
of these theories has the slightest foun- 
dation in fact. 

Ma'ry, mother of Mark, Col. 4 : 10, 
was aunt to Barnabas. Acts 4 : 36 ; 12 : 
12. She was among the earliest dis- 


ciples, and lived at Jerusalem. She 
gave up her house to be used as one of 
the chief places of meeting. The fact 
that Peter went to that house on his 
release from prison, Acts 12 : 12, indi- 
cates that there was some special inti- 
macy between them. There is a tradi- 
tion that the place of meeting of the 
disciples, and hence Mary’s house, was 
on the upper slope of Zion, and that it 
was here that the Holy Ghost came upon 
the disciples with tongues of flame on 
the day of Pentecost. 

Ma'ry, sister of Lazarus. She and 
her sister Martha appear in Luke 10 : 
40 as receiving Christ in their house. 
Mary sat listening eagerly for every 
word that fell from the divine Teacher. 
She had chosen the good part, the “ one 
thing needful.” The same character 
shows itself in the history of John 11. 
Her grief was deeper, but less active. 
Her first thought, when she saw the 
Teacher in whose power and love she 
had trusted, was one of complaint. But 
the great joy and love which her broth- 
er’s return to life called up in her 
poured themselves out in larger measure 
than had been seen before. The treas- 
ured alabaster box of ointment was 
brought forth at the final feast of Beth- 
any. John 12:3. 

Ma'ry the virgin, the mother of our 
Lord. There is no person perhaps in 
sacred or profane history around whom 
so many legends have been grouped as 
the Virgin Mary; and there are few 
whose authentic history’is more concise. 
She was, like Joseph, of the tribe of Ju- 
dah and of the lineage of David. Ps. 
132 : 11 ; Luke 1:32; Rom. 1:3. She 
was connected by marriage, Luke 1 : 36, 
with Elisabeth, who was of the tribe of 
Levi and of the lineage of Aaron. This 
is all that we know of her antecedents. 
She was betrothed to Joseph of Naza- 
reth; but before her marriage she be- 
came with child by the Holy Ghost, and 
became the mother of Jesus Christ, the 
Saviour of the world. Her history at 
this time, her residence at Bethlehiem, 
flight to Egypt, and return to her early 
home at Nazareth, are well known. 
Four times only does she appear after 
the commencement of Christ’s ministry. 
These four occasions are — 1. The mar- 
riage at Cana in Galilee took place in 
the three months which intervened be- 
tween the baptism of Christ and the 
passover of the year 27. Mary was 


MAR 


391 


MAT 


present, and witnessed the first miracle 
performed by Christ, when he turned 
the water into wine. She had probably 
become a widow before this time. 2. 
The 'next time that she is brought be- 
fore us we find her at Capernaum, where 
she, with other relatives, had gone to 
inquire about the strange stories they 
had heard of her son Jesus. They 
sought an audience with our L'ord, 
which was not granted, as he refused to 
admit any authority on the part of his 
relatives, or any privilege on account of 
their relationship. 3. The next scene in 
Mary’s life brings us to the foot of the 
cross. With almost his last words 
Christ commended his mother to the 
care of him who had borne the name 
of the disciple whom Jesus loved: 
“ Woman, behold thy son.” And from 
that hour St. John assures us that he 
took her to his own abode. So far as 
Mary is portrayed to us in Scripture, 
she is, as we should have expected, the 
most tender, the most faithful, humble, 
patient and loving of women, but a 
woman still. 4. In the days succeeding 
the ascension of Christ Mary met with 
*the disciples in the upper room, Acts 1 : 
14, waiting for the coming of the Holy 
Spirit with power. 

Ma'ry, a Roman Christian who is 
greeted by St. Paul in his Epistle to the 
Romans, ch. 16 : 6, as having toiled hard 
for him. 

Mas'chil (mas'kil), the title of thir- 
teen Psalms : 32, 42, 44, 45, 52~55, 74, 78, 
88, 89, 142. In Ps. 47 : 7 the Hebrew 
word is translated “ understanding.” It 
is variously explained as meaning (1) 
a didactic poem. (2) A reflective poem 
or (3) with reference to skill in music. 

Mash, one of the sons of Aram. 
Gen. 10 : 23. In 1 Chron. 1 : 17 the name 
appears as Meshech. The name is found 
in the Assyrian inscriptions in discussing 
the Arabian campaign of Asshur-bani- 
pal. Its signification is not determined. 

Ma'shal (ma'shal), the same as Mi- 
sheal or Mishal. 1 Chron. 6 : 74. 

Mas'rekah (mas're-kah), an ancient 
place, the native spot of Samlah, one 
of the old kings of the Edomites. Gen. 
36 : 36 ; 1 Chron. 1 : 47. 

Mas'sa (mas'sa) (burden), a son of 
Ishmael. Gen. 25 : 14 ; 1 Chron. 1 : 30. 
The tribe descended from him has been 
identified with the Masani an Arab tribe 
near the Persian gulf- The Assyrian in- 
scriptions give a similar name which is 


variously interpreted, but generally un- 
derstood as Arabs. 

Mas'sah (mas'sah) ( proving , testing), 
a name given to the spot, also called 
Meribah, where the Israelites tempted 
Jehovah. Ex. 17:7; Ps. 95:. 8, 9; Heb. 
3:8. 

Mathu'sala (ma-thu'sa-la)— Methu- 
selah, the son of Enoch. Luke 3 : 37. 

Ma'tred (ma'tred) (driving for- 
ward), a daughter of Mezahab and 
mother of Mehetabel, who was wife of 
Hadar or Hadad of Pau, king of Edom. 
Gen. 36 : 39 ; 1 Chron. 1 : 50. 

Ma'tri (ma'tri) (rainy), a family of 
the tribe of Benjamin, to which Saul 
the king of Israel belonged. 1 Sam. 10 : 
21 . 

Mat'tan (mat'tan) (a gift). 1. The 
priest of Baal slain before his altars in 
the idol temple at Jerusalem. 2 Kings 
11 : 18 ; 2 Chron. 23 : 17. He probably 
accompanied Athaliah from Samaria. 

2. The father of Shephatiah. Jer. 38 : 

1. 

Mat'tanah (mat'ta-nah) (gift), a 
station in the latter part of the wander- 
ings of the Israelites. Num. 21 : 18, 19. 
Its situation is unknown. 

Mattani'ah (mat'ta-ni'ah) (gift of 
Jehovah). 1. The original name of 
Zedekiah king of Judah, which was 
changed when Nebuchadnezzar placed 
him on the throne. 2 Kings 24 : 17. 

2. A Levite singer of the sons of 
Asaph. 1 Chron. 9 : 15. He or his fam- 
ily was leader of the temple choir after 
its restoration, Neh. 11: 17; 12: 8, in the 
time of Nehemiah, and took part in the 
musical service which accompanied the 
dedication of the wall of Jerusalem. 
Neh. 12 : 25, 35. 

3. A descendant of Asaph, and an- 
cestor of Jahaziel the Levite, in the 
reign of Jehoshaphat. 2 Chron. 20 : 14. 
Probably this should be identified with 
(2) in which case it would certainly 
mean the family name. 

4. One of the sons of Elam. Ezra 10 : 

26, who with 

5. One of the sons of Zattu. Ezra 10 : 

27, and 

6. A descendant of Pahath-moab, Ezra 
10 : 30, and 

7. One of the sons of Bani, Ezra 10 : 
37, all put away their foreign wives at 
Ezra’s command. 

8. A Levite, father of Zaccur and an- 
cestor of Hanan the under-treasurer 
who had charge of the offerings for the 


MAT 


392 


MAT 


Levites in the time of Nehemiah. Neh. 
13 : 13. 

9. One of the fourteen sons of Heman, 
whose office it was to blow the horns in 
the temple service as appointed by David. 

1 Chron. 25:4, 16. 

10. A descendant of Asaph the Levite 
minstrel, who assisted in the purification 
of the temple in the reign of Hezekiah. 

2 Chron. 29 : 13. 

Mat'tatha (mat'ta-thah), or Mat= 
tathah (gift of Jehovah), probably a 
contraction of Mattathiah. 1. Son of 
Nathan and grandson of David, in the 
genealogy of Christ. Luke 3 : 31. 

2. An Israelite, son of Hashun, who 
divorced his Gentile wife after the re- 
turn from Babylon. Ezra 10 : 33. (b.c. 

458.) 

Mattathi'as (mat'ta-thi'as) (gift of 
Jehovah), the Greek form of Mattathi- 
ah. 1. Son of Amos, in the genealogy 
of Christ. Luke 3 : 25. 

2. Son of Semei. Luke 3 : 26. 

3. The father of the Maccabees. 1 
Mac. 2 : 1-70. 

Mat'tenai (mat'te-nl) ( bestowment ) 
a contraction of Mattaniah. 1. Two 
Israelites who divorced their Gentile 
wives after the return from the Baby- 
lonish captivity. Ezra 10 : 33, 37. (b.c. 

458.) 

2. A priest, son of Joiarib, in the time 
of Joiakim. Neh. 12:19. (b.c. about 

500.) • 

Mat'than (mat'than) (gift), grand- 
father of Joseph the husband of the 
Virgin Mary. Matt. 1 : 15. 

Mat'that (mat'that) (gift), a form of 
the name Matthan. 1. Son of Levi, in 
the genealogy of Christ. Luke 3 : 29. 

2. Grandfather of Joseph the husband 
of the Virgin Mary. Luke 3 : 24. 

Mat'thew (math'thu) (gift of Jeho- 
vah). A contraction, as is also Matthias, 
of Mattathias. His original name was 
Levi, and his name Matthew was prob- 
ably adopted as his new apostolic name. 
He was a Jew. His father’s name was 
Alphseus. His home was at Capernaum. 
His business was the collection of dues 
and customs from persons and goods 
crossing the Sea of Galilee, or passing 
along the great Damascus road which 
ran along the shore between Bethsaida 
Julius and Capernaum. Christ called 
him from this work to be -his disciple. 
He appears to have been a man of 
wealth, for he made a great feast in 
his own house, perhaps in order to in- 


troduce his former companions and 
friends to Jesus. His business would 
tend to give him a knowledge of human 
nature, and accurate business habits, and 
of how to make a way to the hearts of 
many publicans and sinners not other- 
wise easily reached. He is mentioned 
by name, after the resurrection of 
Christ, only in Acts 1 : 13 ; but he must 
have lived many years as an apostle, 
since he was the author of the Gospel 
of Matthew, which was written more 
than 30 years later. It is probable that 
“ Matthew remained at Jerusalem until 
the general dispersion of the church 
there on the outbreak of the Jewish war. 
According to Eusebius it was at this 
time, when about to depart to distant 
lands to preach the Gospel, that he left 
as a memorial to his Palestinean con- 
verts the story of the New Covenant 
(i. e. Testament), committed to. writing 
in their own tongue, the Aramaic or 
Hebrew dialect.” 

Mat thew, Gospel of. Authorship. 
— That this Gospel was written by the 
apostle Matthew there is no reason to 
doubt. Seventeen independent witnesses 
of the first four centuries attest its 
genuineness. Original language. — The 
testimony of the early Church is unani- 
mous that Matthew wrote originally in 
the Hebrew language. On the other 
hand, doubt is thrown over this opinion, 
both by an examination of the state- 
ments of the fathers and by a considera- 
tion of peculiar forms of language em- 
ployed in the Gospel itself. The ques- 
tion is unsettled, the best scholars not 
agreeing in their judgment concerning it. 
If there was a Hebrew original, it dis- 
appeared at a very early age. The 
Greek Gospel which we now possess 
was, it is almost certain, written in 
Matthew’s lifetime; and it is not at all 
improbable that he wrote the Gospel in 
both the Greek and Hebrew languages. 
It is almost certain that our Lord spoke 
in Greek with foreigners, but with his 
disciples and the Jewish people in Ara- 
maic (a form of language closely allied 
to the Hebrew). The Jewish historian 
Josephus furnishes an illustration of 
the fate of the Hebrew original of 
Matthew. Josephus himself informs us 
that he wrote his great work, “ The 
History of the Jewish Wars,” originally 
in Hebrew, his native tongue, for the 
benefit of his own nation, and he after- 
ward translated it into Greek. No no- 


MAT 


393 


MEA 


tices of the Hebrew original now sur- 
vive. Irenaeus relates that Matthew 
wrote his Gospel while Peter and Paul 
were preaching, and founding the 
Church at Rome, after a.d. 61. It was 
published before the destruction of Je- 
rusalem. Hastings says that about 68 
or 69 seems the best date. We would 
place our present Gospel between a.d. 
60 and 66. If there was an original 
Hebrew Gospel, an earlier date belongs 
to it. — Ellicott. Characteristics. — This 
Gospel was probably written in Pales- 
tine for Jewish Christians. It is an his- 
torical proof that Jesus is the Messiah. 
Matthew is the Gospel for the Jew. It 
is the Gospel of Jesus, the ’Messiah of 
the prophets. This Gospel takes the life 
of Jesus ds it was lived on earth, and 
his character as it actually appeared, 
and places them alongside the life and 
character of the Messiah as sketched in 
the prophets, the historic by the side of 
the prophetic, that the two may appear 
in their marvellous unity and in their 
perfect identity. The arrangement of 
his book is topical rather than chrono- 
logical. Only the general outline of the 
first part is given in the exact order of 
events. The latter part follows more 
nearly the order in which the events 
took place, but the selection is still in 
the form of grouping the teachings and 
the miracles. Thus he emphasizes and 
illustrates the instructions and truths 
about the kingdom of heaven, and 
shows their connection and meaning in 
the life and work of Christ. This 
method is especially apparent in the col- 
lection of teachings called the Sermon 
on the Mount, occupying three chapters ; 
and the group of miracles in chapters 
eight and nine, proving the teacher’s 
authority, and illustrating his teachings 
and his mission ; and in chapter ten, 
embodying his personal instructions to 
his disciples. 

Matthi'as (math-thi'as) (gift of Je- 
hovah ), the apostle elected to fill the 
place of the traitor Judas. Acts 1 : 26. 
All beyond this that we know of him 
for certainty is that he had been a con- 
stant attendant upon the Lord Jesus 
during the whole course of his ministry; 
for that was the condition of election. 
Tradition numbers him among the 70 
and some suggest him to have been 
Nathanael. Tradition also says that he 
preached the gospel and suffered martyr- 
dom in Ethiopia. 


Mattithi'ah (mat'ti-thi'a) (gift of 
Jehovah). 1. A Levite who presided 
over the offerings made in the pans. 1 
Chron. 9 : 31 ; comp. Lev. 6 : 20, etc. 

2. One of the Levites appointed by 
David to minister before the ark with 
harps to lead the choir. 1 Chron. 15 : 
18, 21 ; 16 : 5 ; 25:3, 21. 

3. One of the family of Nebo who had 
married a foreign wife, in the days of 
Ezra. Ezra 10 : 43. 

4. Probably a priest, who stood at the 
right hand of Ezra when he read the 
law to the people. Neh. 8:4. 

Mattock. Isaiah 7 : 25. The tool 
used in Arabia for, 
loosening the ground, 5 
described by Niebuhr, 
answers generally t o 
our mattock o r grub- 
bing-axe, i. e. a single- 
headed pickaxe. The 
ancient Egyptian hoe 
was of wood, and an- 
swered for hoe, spade 
and pick. 

Maul, a sort of bat- 
tleaxe or hammer, used 
as an implement o f 
war. Prov. 25 : 18. 

Mauzzim (mauz'zim). The marginal 
note to the Authorized Version of Dan. 
11: 38, “the god of forces,” gives as the 
equivalent of the last word “ mauzzim 
or gods protectors, or munitions.” 
There can be little doubt that mauzzim 
is to be taken in its literal sense of 
“ fortresses,” just as in Dan. 11: 19, 39; 
“ the god of fortresses ” being then the 
deity who presided over strongholds. 
There is not sufficient evidence to jus- 
tify a decision as to what god is in- 
tended. Such as there is seems to make 
the choice lie between Jupiter Capitoli- 
nus (Livy xli. 20), and Zeus Polieus 
the family god of the Seleucids. 

Mazzaroth (maz'za-roth) (the twelve 
signs). The margins of both Versions 
of Job 38:32 give Mazzaroth as the 
name of the twelve signs of the zodiac. 

Meadow. 1. In Genesis 41 : 2, 18, 

meadow is the translation of a word of 
Egyptian origin probably meaning reed- 
grass as it is translated in the R. V. 
The same word is translated “ flag ” in 
the text of Job 8 : 11. 2. In Judges 20 : 
33 the sense of the Hebrew word trans- 
lated meadow is doubly uncertain. The 
most plausible interpretation is that of 
the Peshito-Syriac, which by a slight 



MEA 


394 


MEA 


difference in the vowel-points makes the 
word mearah, “ the cave.” 

Me'ah (me'ah) ( a hundred), The 
tower of, properly as in R. V. “ Ham- 
meah,” one of the towers of the wall 
of Jerusalem when rebuilt by Nehemiah, 
Neh. 3:1; 12:39, appears to have been 
situated somewhere at the northeast part 
of the city, and perhaps guarded the 
temple area. 

Meals. Our information on the sub- 
ject of meals is but scanty. The early 
Hebrews do not seem to have given 
special names to their several meals, 
for the terms rendered “ dine ” and 
“ dinner ” in the Authorized Version 
(Gen. 43 : 16 ; Prov. 15 : 17) are in reality 
general expressions, which might more 
correctly be rendered “ eat ” and “ por- 
tion of food.” In the New Testament 
“ dinner ” and “ supper,” Luke 14 : 12 ; 
John 21:12, are more properly “break- 
fast ” and “ dinner.” There is some un- 
certainty as to the hours at which meals 
were taken ; the Egyptians undoubtedly 
took their principal meal at noon, Gen. 
43 : 16 ; laborers took a light meal at that 
time. Ruth 2 : 14 ; comp. ver. 17. The 
Jews rather followed the custom that 
prevails among the Bedouins, and made 
their principal meal after sunset, and a 
lighter meal at about 9 or 10 a.m. The 
old Hebrews were in the habit of sit- 
ting. Gen. 27 : 19 ; Judges 19 : 6 ; 1 Sam. 
20 : 5, 24 ; 1 Kings 13 : 20. The table was 
in this case but slightly elevated above 
the ground, as is still the case in Egypt. 
As luxury increased, the practice of sit- 
ting was exchanged for that of reclining. 
In the time of our Saviour, reclining 
was the universal custom. As several 
guests reclin-ed on the same couch, each 
overlapped his neighbor, as it were, and 
rested his head on or near the breast 
of the one who lay behind him ; he was 
then said to “ lean on the bosom ” of his 
neighbor. John 13 : 23 ; 21 : 20. The or- 
dinary arrangement of the couches was 
in three sides of a square, the fourth 
being left open for the servants to bring 
up the dishes. Women took their meals 
with men, occasionally at least (Ruth 
2:14; 1 Sam. 1:4; Job 1:4), etc. Be- 
fore commencing the meal the guests 
washed their hands. This custom was 
founded on natural decorum : not only 
was the hand the substitute for our 
knife and fork, but the hands of all the 
guests were dipped into one and the 
same dish. Another preliminary step 


was the grace or blessing, of which we 
have but one instance in the Old Testa- 
ment — 1 Sam. 9 : 13 — and more than one 
pronounced by our Lord himself in the 
New Testament — Matt. 15:36; Luke 9: 
16 ; John 6 : 11. The mode of taking the 
food differed in no material point from 
the modern usages of the East. Gen- 
erally there was a single dish, into which 
each guest dipped his hand. Matt. 26: 
23. Occasionally separate portions were 
served out to each. Gen. 43 : 34 ; Ruth 
2 : 14 ; 1 Sam. 1:4. A piece of bread 
was held between the thumb and two 
fingers of the right hand, and was 
dipped either into a bowl of melted 
grease (in which case it was termed “ a 
sop,” John 13 : 26) or into the dish of 
meat, whence a piece was conveyed to 
the mouth between the layers of bread. 
At the conclusion, of the meal, grace 
was again said in conformity with Deut. 
8 : 10, and the hands were again washed. 
On state occasions more ceremony was 
used, and the meal was enlivened in 
various ways. A sumptuous repast was 
prepared ; the guests were previously in- 
vited, Esther 5:8; Matt. 22 : 3, and on 
the day of the feast a second invitation 
was issued to those that were bidden. 
Esther 6:14; Prov. 9:3; Matt. 22 : 4. 
The visitors were received with a kiss, 
Luke 7 : 45 ; water was furnished for 
them to wash their feet with, Luke 7 : 
44; the head, the beard, the feet, and 
sometimes the clothes, were perfumed 
with ointment, Ps. 23:5; John 12:3; 
on special occasions robes were pro- 
vided, Matt. 22 : 11, and the head was 
decorated with wreaths. Isa. 28 : 1. 
The regulation of the feast was un.der 
the superintendence of a special officer, 
John 2 : 8 .(Authorized Version “gov- 
ernor of the feast”), whose business it 
was to taste the food and the liquors 
before they were placed on the table, 
and to settle about the toasts and 
amusements; he was generally one of 
the guests, Ecclus. 32 : 1, 2, and might 
therefore take part in the conversation. 
The places of the guests were settled ac- 
cording to their respective rank, Gen. 
43 : 33 ; Mark 12 : 39 ; portions of food 
were placed before each, 1 Sam. 1 : 4, 
the most honored guests receiving either 
larger, Gen. 43 : 34, or more choice, 1 
Sam. 9 : 24, portions than the rest. The 
meal was enlivened with music, singing 
and dancing, 2 Sam. 19 : 35, or with rid- 
dles, Judges 14:12; and amid these en- 


MEA 


395 


MED 


tertainments the festival was prolonged 
for several days. Esther 1:3, 4. 

Mea'rah (me-a'rah) {a cave), a place 
named in Josh. 13:4 only. Probably a 
place not far from Sidon. Site un- 
known. Possibly Mogheiriyeh , 6 miles 
northeast of Sidon. 

Measures. [Weights and Meas- 
ures.] 

Meat. In accordance with usage 
when the A. V. was made, the word 
“meat” means food in general. Animal 
food is uniformly translated “ flesh.” 
The only real ambiguity caused by the 
change in usage is in the meat-offer- 
ing, which contained no flesh. 

Meat offering. R. V. “ Meal-offer- 
ing.” The law or ceremonial of the 
meat offering is described in Lev. 2 and 
6 : 14-23. It was to be composed of fine 
flour, seasoned with salt and mixed with 
oil and frankincense, but without leaven; 
and it was generally accompanied by a 
drink offering of wine. A portion of 
it, including all the frankincense, was to 
be burnt on the altar as “ a memorial ;” 
the rest belonged to the priest ; but the 
meat offerings offered by the priests 
themselves were to be wholly burnt. Its 
meaning appears to be exactly expressed 
in the words of David, 1 Chron. 29: 
10-14. It will be seen that this meaning 
involves neither of the main ideas of 
sacrifice — the atonement for sin and self- 
dedication to God. It takes them for 
granted, and is based on them. Rather 
it expresses gratitude and love to God 
as the giver of all. Accordingly the 
meat offering, properly so called, seems 
always to have been a subsidiary offer- 
ing, needing to be introduced by the sin 
offering, which represented the one idea, 
and to have formed an appendage to 
the burnt offering, which represented the 
other. The unbloody offerings offered 
alone did not properly belong to the reg- 
ular meat offering; they were usually 
substitutes for other offerings. Comp. 
Lev. 5:11; Num. 5:15. 

Mebun'nai (me-bun'm) {built). In 
this form appears, in one passage only 
— 2 Sam. 23 : 27 — the name of one of 
David’s guard, who is elsewhere called 
Sibbechai, 2 Sam. 21 : 18 ; 1 Chron. 20 : 
4, or Sibbecai, 1 Chron. 11 : 29 ; 27 : 11. 

Meche'rathite (me-ke'rath-ite), The, 
a person connected with Mecherah, a 
name which does not occur alone. 1 
Chron. 11 : 36. In the parallel list of 
2 Sam. 23 : 34 the name appears, with 


other variations, as “the Maachathite.” 

Me'dad (me'dad) {love). [Eldad 
and Medad.] 

Me'dan (me'dan) {object of wor- 
ship), a son of Abraham and Keturah. 
Gen. 25 : 2 ; 1 Chron. 1 : 32. 

Med'eba (med'e-ba) {water of rest), 
a town on the eastern side of Jordan, 
first alluded to in Num. 21 : 30. It was 
in the Mishor plain, or tableland near to 
Heshbon. 

It originally belonged to Moab; but 
was taken from them by the Amorites; 
and from them by the Israelites and 
assigned to Reuben (Josh. 13:9-16). 
According to the Moabite stone it was 
again in the possession of Moab in the 
reign of Ahab. In the time of Ahaz 
Medeba was a sanctuary of Moab. Isa. 
15 : 2. It has retained its name down to 
our own times, and lies about 6 miles 
south of Heshbon. 

Medes (medes), Me'dia (me'di-a). 
Media lay north of Persia proper, south 
of the Caspian Sea, southeast of Arme- 
nia, east of Assyria. Its length was about 
600 miles, its breadth about 250. “ A 

great part of Media proper was a table- 
land 3000 feet high. The rest consisted 
of 7 parallel mountain chains with fertile 
and well-watered valleys between.” The 
early inhabitants may have been neither 
Aryan nor Semitic, but they were ap- 
parently conquered by the Aryan Madai 
(Gen. 10: 2; cp. Herod, 7, 62). We find 
a notice of the Medes in the primitive 
Babylonian history of Berosus, who says 
that the Medes conquered Babylon at a 
very remote period {cir. b.c. 2458), and 
that eight Median monarchs reigned 
there consecutively, over a space of 224 
years. The deepest obscurity hangs, 
however, over their whole history until 
their first appearance in the cuneiform 
inscriptions among the enemies of As- 
syria, about b.c. 840. From that time 
we read of several expeditions against 
them resulting in their becoming tribu- 
tary to Assyria; and later they were 
more thoroughly under Assyrian con- 
trol. Near the middle of the seventh 
century b.c. the Median kingdom was 
consolidated, and became formidable to 
its neighbors ; but previous to this time 
it was not under the dominion of a 
single powerful monarch, but was ruled 
by a vast number of petty chieftains. 
Cyaxares, Median monarch, took Nine- 
veh and conquered Assyria b.c. 606, 
uniting for the purpose with Nabopo- 


MED 


396 


MED 


lassar the king of Babylonia. The two 
divided the territory proper, Media hav- 
ing as its share Assyria and the coun- 
tries north and east of it. The Median 
Empire only lasted during the reign of 
Cyaxares and his son Astyages, when 
it was overthrown by the Persians un- 
der Cyrus, b.c. 558 , who captured its 
king. The treatment of the Medes by 
the victorious Persians was not that of 
an ordinary conquered nation. Medes 
were appointed to stations of high 
honor and importance under Cyrus and 
his successors. The two nations seem 
blended into one, and we often find 
reference to this kingdom as that of the 
“Medes and Persians.” Dan. 5 : 28 ; 6 : 
8 , 12 , 15 . The references to the Medes 
in the canonical Scriptures are not very 
numerous, but they are striking. We 
first hear of certain “ cities of the 
Medes,” in which the captive Israelites 
were placed by “ the king of Assyria ” 
on the destruction of Samaria, b.c. 721 . 
2 Kings 17 : 6 ; 18 : 11 . Soon afterward 
Isaiah prophesies the part which the 
Medes shall take in the destruction of 
Babylon, Isa.' 13 : 17 ; 21 : 2 ; which is 
again still more distinctly declared by 
Jeremiah, Jer. 51 : 11 , 28 , who sufficiently 
indicates the independence of Media in 
his day, ch. 25 : 25 . Daniel relates the 
fact of the Medo-Persic conquest, Dan. 
5 : 28 , 31 , giving an account of the reign 
of Darius the Mede, who appears to 
have been made viceroy by Cyrus. Dan. 
6 : 1 - 28 . After the destruction of the 
Persian Empire Media seems to have 
’been divided into two parts, Media 
Atropatene (from the satrap, Atropates) 
corresponding nearly to the modern 
Azerbijan, and Media Magna to the 
south and east, including some of Kur- 
distan. There were two cities named 
Ecbatana, capitals of the two divisions; 
but the southern (the Achmetha of 
Ezra 6 : 2 - 5 ) was the most important. 

Me'dian (me'di-an), The. Darius, 
“the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of 
the Medes,” Dan. 9 : 1 , or “ the Mede,” 
ch. 11 : 1 , is thus denoted in Dan. 5 : 31 ; 
A. V. R. V. has Darius the Mede. 

Medicine. Egypt was the earliest 
home of medical knowledge and skill. 
Compared with the wild countries 
around them, the Egyptians must have 
seemed incalculably advanced. The 
process of embalming in its fullest 
form, must have required a knowledge 
of anatomy and of chemistry. Repre- 


sentations of early Egyptian surgery ap- 
parently occur on some of the monu- 
ments of Beni-Hassan. The teeth of 
the mummies when opened show a den- 
tistry which would bear comparison with 
a great part of what is done to-day. 
Herodotus says (ii. 84 ) that every part 
of the body was studied by a distinct 
practitioner. The reputation of Egypt’s 
practitioners in historical times was 
such that both Cyrus and Darius sent 
to that country for physicians or sur- 
geons. Of midwifery we have a dis- 
tinct notice, Ex. 1 : 15 , and of women 
as its practitioners, which fact may also 
be verified from the sculptures. The 
scrupulous attention paid to the dead 
was favorable to the health of the liv- 
ing. In early Egypt the physicians 
were priests and the knowledge of medi- 
cine was kept as their exclusive privi- 
lege. No traces of any system of med- 
ical education in Palestine in Bible 
times are found, and allusions of physi- 
cians are few. Those in the Old Tes- 
tament were priests or prophets as well 
as healers. (Lev. 13 ; 1 Kings 14 : 2 ; 
17 : 18 ; 2 Kings 4 : 22 ; 20 : 7 ) . _ Very few 
allusions are very appreciative. St. 
Luke, “ the beloved physician,” who 
practised at Antioch, could hardly have 
failed to be conversant with all the 
leading opinions current down to his 
own time. Until a comparatively late 
period the ceremonial uncleanness from 
touching the dead prevented the Jewish 
physicians from thoroughly understand- 
ing anatomy. The first beginning of 
dissection was by Rabbi Ishmael in a.d. 
100 . Among the diseases mentioned in 
the Bible are blindness, arising from 
( 1 ) ophthalmia (Lev. 26 : 16 ; and per- 
haps Gen. 29 : 17 ), a common disease 
to-day in Syria and Egypt, through the 
sun-glare, dust and dirt, or (2) from 
age (1 Sam. 3 : 2 ; 4 : 15 , etc.). The 
“burning boil,” Lev. 13 : 23 , is merely 
marked by the notion of an effect 
resembling that of fire, like our “ car- 
buncle.” The diseases rendered “ scab ” 
and “scurvy” in Lev. 21 : 20 ; 22 : 22 ; 
Deut. 28 : 27 , may be almost any skin 
disease ; perhaps “ favus.” The “ botch 
( shechin ) of Egypt,” Deut. 28 : 27 , is 
so vague a term as to yield a most 
uncertain sense. In Deut. 28 : 35 is men- 
tioned a disease attacking the “ knees 
and legs,” consisting in a “ sore botch 
which cannot be healed,” but extended, 
in the sequel of the verse, from the 


MEG 


397 


MEH 


“ sole of the foot to the top of the 
head.” The Elephantiasis grcecorum is 
what now passes under the name of 
“ leprosy.” [Leprosy.] The case of 
the widow’s son restored by Elisha, 2 
Kings 4 : 19, was probably one of sun- 
stroke. The palsy meets us in the New 
Testament only, and in features too fa- 
miliar to need special remark. Palsy, 
gangrene and cancer were common in 
all the countries familiar to the scrip- 
tural writers, and neither differs from 
the modern disease of the same name. 
Mention is also made of the bites and 
stings of poisonous reptiles. Num. 21 : 
6. Among surgical instruments or 
pieces of apparatus the following only 
are alluded to in Scripture: A cutting 
instrument, probably a flint knife, Ex. 
4:25; Josh. 5:2. The “awl” of Ex. 
21 : 6 was probably a surgical instru- 
ment. The “ roller to bind ” of Ezek. 
30 : 21 was for a broken limb, and is 
still used. Ex. 30 : 23-25. is a prescrip- 
tion in form. An occasional trace oc- 
curs of some chemical knowledge, e. g. 
the calcination of the gold by Moses, 
Ex. 32 : 20 ; the effect of “ vinegar upon 
natron,” Prov. 25:20; comp. Jer. 2:22. 
The mention of “ the apothecary,” prop- 
erly, however, “ perfumer,” Ex. 30 : 35 ; 
Eccles. 10 : 1, and of the merchant in 
“ powders,” Cant. 3 : 6, indicates a knowl- 
edge of chemistry. Among the favorite 
external remedies have always been the 
application of oil, or of oil and wine, 
and the bath, whether of oil or water. 
There were special occasions on which 
the bath was ceremonially enjoined. 
The Pharisees and Essenes aimed at 
scrupulous strictness in all such rules. 
Matt. 15:2; Mark 7:5; Luke 11:38. 
River-bathing was common, but houses 
soon began to include a bathroom. 
Lev. 15 : 13 ; 2 Sam. 11 : 2 ; 2 Kings 5 : 10. 

Megid'do (me-gid'do) ( place of 
troops ) was an old Canaanitish capital 
in Issachar, but assigned to Manasseh, 
who did not drive out the original in- 
habitants. It commanded one of those 
passes from the north into the hill coun- 
try which were of such critical impor- 
tance on various occasions in the history 
of Judea. Judith 4:7. The first men- 
tion occurs in Josh. 12 : 21, where Megid- 
do appears as the city of one of the 
kings whom Joshua defeated on the 
west of the Jordan. The song of De- 
borah brings the place vividly before us, 
as the scene of the great conflict be- 


tween Sisera and Barak. When Pha- 
raoh-necho came from Egypt against 
the king of Assyria, Josiah joined the 
latter, and was slain at Megiddo. 2 
Kings 23 : 29 ; 2 Chron. 35 : 22-24. The 
common identification of Megiddo, is on 
the plain of Esdraelon, on a spur about 
6 miles from Carmel. This is the mod- 
ern el-Lejjun, which is undoubtedly the 
Legio of Eusebius and Jerome. There 
is a copious stream flowing down the 
gorge, and turning some mills before 
joining the Kishon. Here are probably 
the “waters of Megiddo” of Judges 
5 : 19. Other locations are, however, 
favored by Thomson and Conder. (See 
cut p. 398.) 

Mehet'abe=el (me-het'a-be-el) ( God 
benefits ), another and less correct form 
of Mehetabel. The ancestor of She- 
maiah the prophet who was hired 
against Nehemiah by Tobiah and San- 
ballat. Neh. 6 : 10. 

Mehet'abel (me-het'a-bel) {God 
benefits), the daughter of Matred, and 
wife of Hadad king of Edom. Gen. 
36 : 39. 

Mehi'da (me-hi'da) ( conjunction ), a 
family of Nethinim, the descendants of 
Mehida, returned from Babylon with 
Zerubbabel. Ezra 2:52; Neh. 7 : 54. 

Me'hir (rne'hlr) {price), the son of 
Chelub the brother of Shuah. 1 Chron. 
4: 11. 

Meho'Iathite (me-ho'lath-ite), The, 
a word occurring once only — 1 Sam. 18 : 
19. It no doubt denotes that Adriel 
belonged to a place called Meholah. 

Mehu'jael (me-hu'ja-el) {smitten by 
God), the son of Irad, and fourth in 
descent from Cain. Gen. 4 : 18. 

Mehu'man (me-hu'man), one of the 
seven eunuchs of Ahasuerus. Est. 1 : 10. 

Mehu'nim (me-hu'nim) {people of 
Maon). R. V. “ Meunim.” 

A people against whom King Uzziah 
waged a successful war. 2 Chron. 26: 
7. The name is the plural of Maon. 
Another notice of the Mehunim is 
found in 1 Chron. 4 : 41. Here they 
are spoken of as a pastoral people, quiet 
and peaceable, dwelling in tents near 
Gedor. The Authorized Version treats 
the word here as an ordinary noun, and 
renders it “ habitations.” The latest 
appearance of the name in the Bible is 
in the lists of those who returned from 
the captivity with Zerubbabel. Ezra 
2: 50; Neh. 7: 52. 


MEJ 


398 


MEL 


Me=jar'kon (me-jar'kon) ( waters of 
yellowness) , a town in the territory of 
Dan, Josh. 19 : 46 only, in the neighbor- 
hood of Joppa. 

Meko'nah (me-ko'na) ( foundation ), 
one of the towns which were reinhab- 
ited after the captivity by the men of 
Judah. Neh. 11 : 28. 

Melati'ah (mel-ati'ah) ( Jehovah 
hath delivered) , a Gibeonite who as- 
sisted in rebuilding the wall of Jerusa- 
lem. Neh. 3 : 7. 

Mel'chi (mel'ki). 1. The son of 


Merchi=shu'a (mel'kl-shu'a), a son 
of Saul. 1 Sam. 14:49; 31:2. Else- 
where correctly given Malchi-shua. 

Melchiz'edek (mel-kiz'e-dek) ( king 
of righteousness) , king of Salem and 
priest of the most high God, who met 
Abram m the valley of Shaveh, which 
is the king’s vale, brought out bread 
and wine, blessed him, and received 
tithes from him. Gen. 14 : 18-20. The 
other places in which Melchizedek is 
mentioned are Ps. 110 : 4, where Mes- 
siah is described as a priest forever, 



f 

TELL EL-MUTESELLINE FROM THE NORTH. 

The Ancient Megiddo. 



WALLS OF MEGIDDO. 


Section, uncovered by excavation, of the walls of ancient Megiddo, exhibiting the height 
and strength of the fortifications of the cities of Canaan. (The figures are in metres.) 


sea level 


Janna, and ancestor of Joseph in the 
genealogy of Jesus Christ. Luke 3:24. 

2. The son of Addi in the same gene- 
alogy. Luke 3 : 28. 

Melchi'ah (mel-ki'a) {Jehovah is 
king), a priest, the father of Pashur. 
Jer. 21 : 1. / 

Melchis'edec (mel-kiz'e-dek) {king 
of righteousness). Heb. 5, 6, 7. [Mel- 
chizedek.] 


“after the order of Melchizedek/’ and 
Heb. 5, 6, 7, where these two passages 
of the Old Testament are quoted, and 
the typical relation of Melchizedek to 
our Lord is stated at great length. 
Salem is most probably Jerusalem 
[Salem] which is called on the Tel-el- 
Amarna Tablets Uru-Salim or city of 
Salim. In this case Shaveh would be 
the “king’s dale,” where Absalom later 


MEL 


399 


MEM 


set up his pillar. There are interesting 
statements with regard to the king of 
Uru-Salim on the Tel-el-Amarna tab- 
lets. He begs for help from Egypt, 
saying “that he was not like the other 
Egyptian governors in Palestine, nor 
had he received his crown by inheritance 
from his father or mother; it had been 
conferred on him by ‘ the mighty king/ ” 
who is distinguished from the king of 
Egypt, and thought by some to mean 
“ the Most High God.” However it is 
explained there is a striking similarity 
to the priest-king Melchizedek, and the 
description in Heb. 7 : 3. There is 
something surprising and mysterious in 
the first appearance of Melchizedek, and 
in the subsequent reference to him. 
Bearing a title which Jews in after 
ages would recognize as designating 
their own sovereign, bearing gifts which 
recall to Christians the Lord’s Supper, 
this Canaanite crosses for a moment the 
path of Abram, and is unhesitatingly 
recognized as a person of higher spirit- 
ual rank than the friend of God. Dis- 
appearing as suddenly as he came, he is 
lost to the sacred writings for a thou- 
sand years. Jewish tradition pro- 
nounces Melchizedek to be a survivor 
of the deluge, the patriarch Shem. The 
“ order of Melchizedek,” in Ps. 110 : 4, 
is explained to mean “ manner ”= like- 
ness in official dignity = a king and 
priest. The relation between Melchize- 
dek and Christ as type and antitype is 
made in the Epistle to. the Hebrews to 
consist in the following particulars: 
Each was a priest (1) not of the Leviti- 
cal tribe; (2) superior to Abraham; 
(3) whose beginning and end are un- 
known ; (4) who is not only a priest, 
but also a king of righteousness and 
peace. 

Meiea (me'le-a), the son of Menan, 
and ancestor of Joseph in the genealogy 
of Jesus Christ. Luke 3:31. 

Me'Iech (me'lek), the second son of 
Micah, the son of Merib-baal or Mephib- 
osheth. 1 Chron. 8 : 35 ; 9:41. 

Mel'icu (mel'i-cu), the same as Mal- 
luch 6. Neh. 12:14; comp. ver. 2. 

Mel'ita (mel'i-ta), the modern Malta. 
This island lies in the Mediterranean 60 
miles south of Cape Passaro in Sicily. 
It is 17 miles long by 9 broad in its 
widest parts. It is naturally a barren 
rock, with no high mountains, but has 
been rendered fertile by industry and 
toil. It is famous for its honey and 


fruits. It is now in the hands of the 
English. This island has an illustrious 
place in Scripture as the scene of that 
shipwreck of St. Paul which is de- 
scribed in such minute detail in the 
Acts of the Apostles. Acts 27. The 
wreck probably happened at the place 
traditionally known as St. Paul’s Bay, 
an inlet with a creek two miles deep 
and one broad. Mr. Smith of Jordan 
Hill, in his “ Voyage and Shipwreck of 
St. Paul,” the first published work in 
which it was thoroughly investigated 
from a sailor’s point of view confirms 
the opinion of the identity of Malta and 
Melita. The fact that no vipers are 
found in the island now does> not pre- 
clude the possibility of there being some 
in wilder ancient times. As regards the 
condition of the island of Melita, when 
St. Paul was there it was a dependency 
of the Roman province of Sicily. Its 
chief officer (under the governor of 
Sicily) appears from inscriptions to have 
had the title of 7r pwros MeAircuW, or 
Primus Melitensium, and this is the very 
phrase which Luke uses. Acts 28 : 7. 
Melita, from its position in the Mediter- 
ranean and the excellence of its har- 
bors, has always been important in both 
commerce and war. It was a settle- 
ment of the Phoenicians at an early pe- 
riod, and their language, in a corrupted 
form, was still spoken there in St. Paul’s 
day. 

Melons (Heb. abattichim) are men- 
tioned only in Num. 11 : 5. By the He- 
brew word we are probably to under- 
stand both the melon ( Cucumis melo ) 
and the watermelon ( Cucurbita citrul- 
lus). Melons of excellent quality are 
still produced in Egypt, Palestine and 
Syria. The watermelons of Jaffa are 
specially prized. 

Melzar (mel'zar) {steward). The 
Authorized Version is wrong in regard- 
ing melzar as a proper name ; it is 
rather an official title, Dan. 1 : 11, 16 ; 
the reading, “ the steward,” of the R. V. 
and the A. V. margin, is therefore more 
correct. 

Mem'phis (mem'fis) {the good 
abode), a city of ancient Egypt, sit- 
uated on the western bank of the Nile, 
about nine miles south of • Cairo and 
five from the great pyramids and the 
sphinx. It is mentioned by Isaiah, Isa. 
19:13, Jeremiah, Jer. 2:16; 46:14, 19, 
and Ezekiel. Ezek. 30 : 13, 16, under the 
name of Noph; by Hosea (9:6) as 


MEM 


400 


MEP 


Memphis. (Hebrew, Moph.) It is said 
to have been built by Menes, the first 
historical king who lived before 3000 
b.c. Successive kings built new suburbs, 
till it is impossible to determine where 
the original city was. In the end it 
extended 17 miles from north to south 
along the Nile, and was probably 3 
miles broad. The temple of Apis was 
one of the most noted structures of 
Memphis. It stood opposite the south- 
ern portico of the temple of Ptah; and 
Psammetichus, who built that gateway, 
also erected in front of the sanctuary 
of Apis a magnificent colonnade, sup- 
ported by colossal statues or Osiride pil- 
lars, such • as may still be seen at the 
temple of Medeenet Habou at Thebes. 
Herod, ii. 153. Through this colonnade 
the Apis was led with great pomp upon 
state occasions. At Memphis was the 
reputed burial-place of Isis; it had also 
a temple to that “ myriad-named ” di- 
vinity. Memphis had also its Serapeium, 
which probably stood in the western 
quarter of the city. The sacred cubit 
and other symbols used in measuring 
the rise of the Nile were deposited in 
the temple of Serapis. The Necropolis, 
adjacent to Memphis, was on a scale of 
grandeur corresponding with the city 
itself. Usually travelers only visit the 
most remarkable group of royal tombs, 
the pyramids, that at Gizeh. But there 
are some 50 others, smaller or more di- 
lapidated. The “ city of the pyramids ” 
is a title of Memphis in the hieroglyphics 
upon the monuments. Memphis long 
held its place as a capital; and for cen- 
turies a Memphite dynasty ruled over 
all Egypt. The third, fourth, sixth, 
seventh and eighth dynasties of the old 
empire are regarded by good authorities 
as Memphite, reaching through a period 
of about 1000 years. The city’s over- 
throw was distinctly predicted by the 
Hebrew prophets. Isa. 19:13; Jer. 46: 
19. The latest of these predictions was 
uttered nearly 600 years before Christ, 
and half a century before the invasion 
of Egypt by Cambyses ( cir . b.c. 525). 
Herodotus informs us that Cambyses, 
enraged at the opposition he encoun- 
tered at Memphis, committed many out- 
rages upon the city. The city never re- 
covered from the blow. The rise of 
Alexandria hastened its decline. The 
caliph conquerors founded Fostat (old 
Cairo) upon the opposite bank of the 
Nile, a few miles north of Memphis, 


and brought materials from the old city 
to build their new capital, a.d. 638. At 
length so complete was the ruin of 
Memphis that for a long time its very 
site was lost. Recent explorations have 
brought to light many of its antiquities. 

Memu'can (me-mu'kan), one of the 
seven princes of Persia in the reign of 
Ahasuerus, who “ saw the king’s face,” 
and sat first in the kingdom. Esther 
1 : 14, 16, 21. 

Men'ahem (men'a-hem) ( comfort- 
er ), son of Gadi, who slew the usurper 
Shallum, and seized the vacant throne 
of Israel, b.c. 741. His reign is briefly 
recorded in 2 Kings 15 : 14-22. He 
maintained the calf-worship of Jero- 
boam. The contemporary prophet Ho- 
sea has left a melancholy picture of 
the ungodliness, demoralization and fee- 
bleness of Israel. Menahem reigned b.c. 
741-737, his date being better fixed than 
some of the rest, because of the tribute 
given by him to Assyria b.c. 738, as 
recorded in the Assyrian sculptures. 
This was soon after he seized the throne. 

Me'nan (me'nan) (called Menna in 
the Revised Version), one of the ances- 
tors of Joseph in the genealogy of Jesus 
Christ. Luke 3 : 31. 

Mene (me'ne) (numbered) , the first 
word of the mysterious inscription 
written upon the wall of Belshazzar’s 
palace, in which Daniel read the doom 
of the king and his dynasty. Dan. 5 : 
25, 26. 

Me'ni (me'ni) (fate, fortune). Isa. 
65 : 11. This word is the name of an 
object of idolatrous worship cultivated 
by the Jews in Babylon. 

Men'na. In the Revised Version of 
Luke 3 : 31 for Menan. 

Meon'enim (me-on'e-mm) , The plain 
of. More correctly as in R. V. “ the 
oak of Meonenim ” — and better still as 
in R. V. margin “ the augurs’ oak,” (or 
terebinth), Judges 9:37. 

Meon'othai (me-on'o-thi) (my hab- 
itations ), one of the sons of Othniel, 
the younger brother of Caleb. 1 Chron. 
4:14. 

Meph'a=ath (mef'a-ath) ( splendor , 
beauty ), a city of the Reubenites, one 
of the towns dependent on Heshbon, 
Josh. 13 : 18, lying in the district of the 
Mishor, comp. ver. 17 and Jer. 48 : 21. 
It was one of the cities allotted with 
their suburbs to the Merarite Levites. 
Josh. 21: 37; 1 Chron. 6:79. Its site 
is uncertain. 


MEP 


401 


MER 


Mephib'osheth (me-fib'o-sheth) ( de- 
stroying shame), the name borne by 
two members of the family of Saul — 
his son and his grandson. 1. Saul’s 
son by Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, 
his concubine. 2 Sam. 21 : 8. He and 
his brother Armoni were among the 
seven victims who were surrendered 
by David to the Gibeonites, and by 
them crucified to avert a famine from 
which the country was suffering. 

2. The son of Jonathan, grandson of 
Saul and nephew of the preceding; 
called also Merib-baal. 1 Chron. 8 : 34. 
His life seems to have been, from be- 
ginning to end, one of trial and discom- 
fort. When his father and grandfather 
were slain on Gilboa he was an infant 
but five years old. At this age he met 
with an accident which deprived him for 
life of the use of both feet. 2 Sam. 4 : 
4. After this he found a home with 
Machir ben-Ammiel, a powerful Gadite, 
who brought him up, and while here 
was married. Later on David invited 
him to Jerusalem, and there treated him 
and his son Micha with the greatest 
kindness. From this time forward he 
resided at Jerusalem. Of Mephibo- 
sheth’s behavior during the rebellion of 
Absalom we possess two accounts — his 
own, 2 Sam. 19 : 24-30, and that of Ziba, 
2 Sam. 16 : 1-4. They are naturally at 
variance with each other. In conse- 
quence of the story of Ziba, he was re- 
warded by the possessions of his master. 
Mephibosheth’s story — which, however, 
he had not the opportunity of telling 
until several days later, when he met 
David returning to his kingdom at the 
western bank of Jordan — was very dif- 
ferent from Ziba’s. That David did not 
disbelieve it is shown by his revoking 
the judgment he had previously given. 
That he did not entirely reverse his de- 
cision, but allowed Ziba to retain posses- 
sion of half the lands of Mephibosheth, 
is probably due partly to weariness at 
the whole transaction, but mainly to the 
conciliatory frame of mind in which he 
was at that moment. “ Shall there any 
man be put to death this day?” is the 
keynote of the whole proceeding. 

Me'rab (me'rab) (increase), the 
elder daughter of King Saul. 1 Sam. 
14 : 49. In accordance with the promise 
which he made before the engagement 
with Goliath, ch. 17 : 25, Saul betrothed 
Merab to David, ch. 18 : 17. The prom- 
ise was ignored, however, and Merab 
26 


was married to Adriel the Meholathite, 
to whom she bore five sons. 1 Sam. 
18 : 19 ; 2 Sam. 21 : 8. 

Mera'iah (me-ra'iah) (contumacy), 
a priest in the days of Joiakim. Neh. 
12 : 12 . 

Mera'ioth (me-ra'ioth) (rebellious). 
1. A descendant of Eleazar the son of 
Aaron, and head of a priestly house. 1 
Chron. 6:6, 7, 52. It is apparently an- 
other Meraioth who comes in between 
Zadok and Ahitub in the genealogy of 
Azariah. 1 Chron. 9 : 11 ; Neh. 11 : 11. 

2. The head of one of the houses of 
priests, which in the time of Joiakim the 
son of Jeshua was represented by Hel- 
kai. Neh. 12:15. 

Mera'ri (me-ra'ri), Mera'rites (me- 
ra'rites) (bitter, unhappy ), third son of 
Levi, and head of the third great' divi- 
sion of the Levites, the Merarites. Gen. 
46 : 8, 11. At the time of the Exodus 
and the numbering in the wilderness, the 
Merarites consisted of two families, the 
Mahlites and the Mushites. Their chief 
at that time was Zuriel. Their charge 
was the boards, bars, pillars, sockets, 
pins and cords of the tabernacle and the 
court, and all the tools connected with 
setting them up. In the division of the 
land by Joshua, the Merarites had twelve 
cities assigned to them, out of Reuben, 
Gad and Zebulun. Josh. 21 : 7, 34-40 ; 1 
Chron. 6:63, 77-81. In the days of 
Hezekiah the Merarites were still flour- 
ishing. 2 Chron. 29 : 12, 15. 

Meratha'im (mer-a-tha'im) (double 
rebellion), The land of, alluding to the 
country of Babylonia. Its significance 
is unknown. Jer. 50:21. 

Mercu'rius (mer-ku'ri-us), properly 
Hermes, the Greek deity, whom the 
Romans identified with their Mercury, 
the god of commerce and bargains. 
Hermes was the son of Zeus (Jupiter) 
and Maia the daughter of Atlas, and is 
constantly represented as the companion 
of his father in his wandering upon 
earth. The episode of Baucis and Phile- 
mon, Ovid, Metam. viii. 620-724, appears 
to have formed part of the folk-lore of 
Asia Minor, and strikingly illustrates 
the readiness with which the simple 
people of Lystra recognized in Barnabas 
and Paul the gods who, according to 
their wont, had come down in the like- 
ness of men. Acts 14:11. 

Mer'cury, Acts 14 : 12, the translation 
of the above in the Revised Version. 

Mercy=seat. Ex. 25 : 17 ; 37 : 6 ; Heb. 


MER 


402 


MER 


9 : 5. The lid of the ark of the covenant. 
It was a solid plate of gold, 2 Vi cubits 
long by 1% cubits wide on each end of 
which were figures of cherubim, and 
represented a kind of throne of God, 
where he would hear prayer and from 
which he spoke words of comfort. It 
was that whereon the blood of the 
yearly atonement was sprinkled by the 
high priest ; and in this relation it is 
doubtful whether the sense of the word 
in the Hebrew is based on the material 
fact of its “ covering ” the ark, or de- 
rived from this notion of its reference 
to the “ covering ” (t. e. atonement) of 
sin. 

Me' red (me'red) ( rebellion ). This 
name occurs in a fragmentary genealogy 
in 1 Chron. 4 : 17, 18, as that of one of 
the sons of Ezra. 

Meremoth (mer'e-moth) {eleva- 
tions). 1 . Son of Uriah or Urijah the 
priest, of the family of Koz or Hakkoz, 
the head of the seventh course of priests 
as established by David. In Ezra 8 : 33 
Meremoth is appointed to weigh and 
register the gold and silver vessels be- 
longing to the temple. In the rebuild- 
ing of the wall of Jerusalem under Ne- 
hemiah we find Meremoth taking an 
active part. Neh. 3 : 4, 21. 

2. A layman of the sons of Bani, who 
had married a foreign wife. Ezra 10 : 
36. 

3. A priest, or more probably a family 
of priests, who sealed the covenant with 
Nehemiah. Neh. 10:5. Perhaps same 
as 1. 

Me'res (me'rez), one of the seven 
counsellors of Ahasuerus. Esther 1.: 14. 

Mer'ibah (mer'i-bah) {strife, con- 
tention). In Ex. 17:7 we read, “he 
called the name of the place Massah 
and Meribah,” where the people mur- 
mured and the rock was smitten. [For 
the situation see Rephidim.] The name 
is also given to Kadesh, Num. 20 : 13, 
24; 27:14; Deut. 32:51 (Meribah-ka- 
desh), because there also the people, 
when in want of water, strove with God. 

Meribba'=al (mer-ib-ba'al) {con- 
tender against Baal). 1 Chron. 8:34; 
9:40. [See Mephibosheth, 2.] 

Mer'odach (mer'6-dak), Jer. 50:2, 
identical with the famous Babylonian 
Bel or Belus, the word being probably 
at first a mere epithet of the god, which 
by degrees superseded his proper ap- 
pellation. 

Mer , odach=bal'adan (mer'd-dak-bal'- 


a-dan) {Merodach hath given a son), 
is mentioned as king of Babylon in the 
days of Hezekiah both in 2 Kings 20: 
12, and in Isaiah 39 : 1 . In the former 
place he is called Berodach-baladan, the 
son of Baladan. The name of Mero- 
dach-baladan has been recognized in the 
Assyrian inscriptions. It appears there 
were two reigns of this king, the first 
from b.c. 721 to B.c. 709, when he was 
deposed; and the second after his re- 
covery of the throne in b.c. 702, which 
lasted only half a year. About b.c. 711 
he saw the danger he was in from As- 
syria and sent an embassy to rulers in 
the west proposing an alliance. That 
to Hezekiah was ostensibly to congratu- 
late him on his recovery. Before the 
alliance could be perfected the blow 
had fallen, and he was deposed. 

Me'rom (me'rom), The, waters of, 
a lake formed by the river Jordan, 
about 11 miles north of the Sea of 
Galilee. It is a place memorable in 
the history of the conquest of Pales- 
tine. Here Joshua completely routed 
the confederacy of the northern chiefs 
under Jabin. Josh. 11 : 5, 7. It is a 
remarkable fact that though by common 
consent “the waters of Merom ” are 
identified with the lake through which 
the Jordan runs between Banias and the 
Sea of Galilee — the Bahr el-Huleh of 
the modern Arabs — yet that identity 
cannot be proved by any ancient record. 
In form the lake is not far from a tri- 
angle, the base being at the north and 
the apex at the south. It measures 
about 3 miles in each direction, and 11 
to 16 feet deep. The water is clear and 
sweet ; it is covered in parts by a broad- 
leaved plant, and abounds in water- 
fowl. The northern part is a dense 
swamp of papyrus reeds, as large as 
the lake itself. See “ Rob Roy on the 
Jordan.” 

Meron'othite (me-ron'othite), The, 
that is, the native of a place called 
probably Meronoth, of which, however, 
no further traces have yet been dis- 
covered. Two Meronothites are named 
in the Bible — 1. Jehdeiah, 1 Chron. 27 : 
30; 2. Jadon. Neh. 3 : 7. 

Me'roz (me'roz) {refuge), a place, 
Judges 5 : 23, denounced because its in- 
habitants had refused to take any part 
in the struggle with Sisera. Its real 
position is unknown, though the site el- 
Murussus 9 miles east of Jezreel is 
thought to answer the conditions. 


IVIES 


403 


MES 


Me'sech (me'sek), Me'shech, a son 
of Japhet, Gen. 10 : 2 ; 1 Chron. 1 : 5, and 
the progenitor of a race frequently no- 
ticed in Scripture in connection with 
Tubal, Magog and other northern na- 
tions. They appear as allies of Gog, 
Ezek. 38 : 2, 3 ; 39 : 1, and as supplying 
the Tyrians with copper and slaves. 
Ezek. 27 : 13. Both the name and the 
associations are in favor of the identi- 
fication of Meshech with the Moschi, a 
people on the borders of Colchis and 
Armenia. 

Me'sha. 1. The name of one of the 
geographical limits of the Joktanites 
when they first settled in Arabia. Gen. 
10 : 30. 

2. The king of Moab who was tribu- 
tary to Ahab, 2 Kings 3:4; but when 
Ahab fell at Ramoth-gilead, Mesha re- 
fused to pay tribute to his successor, 
Ahaziah. When Jehoram succeeded to 
the throne of Israel, one of his first acts 
was to secure the assistance of Jehosha- 
phat, his father’s ally, in reducing the 
Moabites to their former condition of 
tributaries. The Moabites were de- 
feated, and the king took refuge in his 
last stronghold, and defended himself 
with the energy of despair. With 700 
fighting men he made a vigorous at- 
tempt to cut his way through the be- 
leaguering army, and when beaten back, 
he withdrew to the wall of his city, 
and there, in sight of the allied host, 
offered his first-born son, his successor 
in the kingdom, as a burnt offering to 
Chemosh, the ruthless fire-god of Moab. 
His bloody sacrifice had so far the de- 
sired effect that the besiegers retired 
from him to their own land. The fa- 
mous Moabite Stone, contains inscrip- 
tions concerning King Mesha and his 
wars, which confirm the Bible account. 

3. The eldest son of Caleb the son of 
Hezron. 1 Chron. 2 : 42. 

4. A Benjamite, son of Shaharaim by 
his wife Hodesh, who bore him in the 
land of Moab. 1 Chron. 8 : 9. 

Me'shach (me'shak) ( guest of a 
king), the name given to Mishael, one 
of the companions of Daniel, who with 
three others was chosen from among 
the captives to be taught, Dan. 1 : 4, and 
qualified to “ stand before ” King Nebu- 
chadnezzar, Dan. 1:5, as his personal 
attendants and advisers. Dan. 1 : 20. 
But notwithstanding their Chaldean edu- 
cation, these three young Hebrews were 
strongly attached to the religion of their 


fathers; and their refusal to join in 
the worship of the image on the plain 
of Dura gave a handle of accusation to 
the Chaldeans. The rage of the king, 
the swift sentence of condemnation 
passed upon the three offenders, their 
miraculous preservation from the fiery 
furnace heated seven times hotter than 
usual, the king’s acknowledgment of the 
God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed- 
nego, with their restoration to office, 
are written in the third chapter of Dan- 
iel, and there the history leaves them. 

Meshelemi'ah (me-shel-e-mi'ah) ( Je- 
hovah recompenses) , a Korhite porter 
or gate-keeper of the house of Jehovah. 
1 Chron. 9 : 21 ; 26 : 1, 2, 9. In 1 Chron. 
26 : 14 he is called Shelemiah. 

Meshez'abe=el (me-shez'a-be-el) 
{God sets free). 1. Ancestor of Me- 
shullam, who assisted Nehemiah in re- 
building the wall of Jerusalem. Neh. 
3:4. 

2. One of the “ heads of the people,” 
probably a family, who sealed the cov- 
enant with Nehemiah. Neh. 10:21. 

3. The father of Pethahiah, and de- 
scendant of Zerah the son of Judah. 
Neh. 11 : 24. 

Meshiriemith (me-shil'le-mith) ( rec- 
ompense ), the son of Immer, a priest. 
Neh. 11 : 13 ; 1 Chron. 9 : 12. 

Meshiriemoth (me-shil'le-moth) 
{recompense) . 1 . An Ephraimite, one 

of the chiefs of the tribe in the reign 
of Pekah. 2 Chron. 28 : 12. 

2. The same as Meshillemith. Neh. 
11 : 13. 

Meshuriam (me-shul'lam) {friend). 

1. Ancestor of Shaphan the scribe. 2 
Kings 22 : 3. 

2. The son of Zerubbabel. 1 Chron. 
3: 19. 

3. A Gadite in the land of Bashan. 
1 Chron. 5 : 13. 

4. A Benjamite, of the sons of El- 
paal. 1 Chron. 8 : 17. 

5. A Benjamite, father of Sallu. 1 
Chron. 9:7; Neh. 11 : 7 

6. A Benjamite who lived at Jerusa- 
lem after the captivity. 1 Chron. 9 : 8. 

7. The same as Shallum, who was 
high priest probably in the reign of 
Amon, and father of Hilkiah. 1 Chron. 
9: 11; Neh. 11: 11. 

8. A priest, son of Meshillemith or 
Meshillemoth the son of Immer, and an- 
cestor of Maasai or Amashai. 1 Chron. 
9:12; comp. Neh. 11:13. 

9. A Kohathite or a family of Kohath- 


MES 


404 


MES 


ite Levites, in the reign of Josiah. 2 
Chron. 34 : 12. 

10. One of the “ heads ” sent by Ezra 
to Iddo, “the head,” to gather together 
the Levites to> join the caravan about to 
return to Jerusalem. Ezra 8 : 16. 

11. A chief man who opposed abolish- 
ing the marriages which some of the 
people had contracted with foreign 
wives. Ezra 10 : 15. 

12. One of the descendants of Bani, 
who had married a foreign wife and 
put her away. Ezra 10 : 29. 

13. Neh. 3:30; 6:18. The son of 
Berechiah, who assisted in rebuilding 
the wall of Jerusalem. Neh. 3 : 4. 

14. The son of Besodeiah : he assisted 
Jehoiada the son of Paseah in restoring 
the old gate of Jerusalem. Neh. 3 : 6. 

15. One of those who stood at the left 
hand of Ezra when he read the law to 
the people. Neh. 8:4. 

16. A priest or family of priests who 
sealed the covenant with Nehemiah. 
Neh. 10:7. 

17. One of the heads of the people 
who sealed the covenant with Nehe- 
miah. Neh. .10:20. 

18. A priest in the days of Joiakim the 
son of Jeshua, and representative of 
the house of Ezra. Neh. 12:13. 

19. Also a priest at the same time as 
the preceding, and head of the priestly 
family of Ginnethon. Neh. 12:16. 

20. A family of porters, descendants 
of Meshullam, Neh. 12 : 25, who is also 
called Meshelemiah, 1 Chron. 26 : 1, 
Shelemiah, 1 Chron. 26 : 14, and Shal- 
lum. Neh. 7 : 45. 

21. One of the princes of Judah at 
the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem. 
Neh. 12: 33. 

Meshuriemeth (me-shul'le-meth) 
(friend), the daughter of Haruz of Jot- 
bah, wife of Manasseh king of Judah, 
and mother of his successor, Amon. 2 
Kings 21 : 19. 

Meso'ba=ite (me-so'ba-ite), The, a 
title attached to the name of Jasiel. 1 
Chron. 11 : 47. It is impossible to pro- 
nounce with any certainty to what it re- 
fers. 

Mesopota'mia (mes-o-po-ta'mi-a) 

(between the rivers), the entire coun- 
try between two rivers, the Tigris and 
the Euphrates, the Greek name for that 
known earlier by the name of Aram- 
Naharaim. Padan (or Paddan) Aram 
was a name applied to the northern por- 
tion. We first hear of Mesopotamia in 


Scripture as the country where Nahor 
and his family settled after quitting Ur 
of the Chaldees. Gen. 24 : 10. Here 
lived Bethuel and Laban ; and hither 
Abraham sent his servants to fetch Isaac 
a wife. Gen. 24:38. Hither too, a 
century later, came Jacob on the same 
errand ; and hence he returned with his 
two wives after an absence of twenty- 
one years. After this we have no men- 
tion of Mesopotamia till the close of 
the wanderings in the wilderness. Deut. 
23 : 4. About half a century later we 
find, for the first and last time, Meso- 
potamia the seat of a powerful mon- 
archy, which oppressed the Israelites. 
Judges 3. Finally, the children of Am- 
mon, having provoked a war with David, 
“ sent a thousand talents of silver to 
hire them chariots and horsemen out of 
Mesopotamia, and out of Syria-maachah, 
and out of Zobah.” 1 Chron. 19 : 6. 
According to the Assyrian inscriptions 
Mesopotamia was inhabited in the early 
times of the empire, by a vast number 
of petty tribes, each under its own 
prince, and all quite independent of one 
another. The Assyrian monarchs con- 
tended with these chiefs at great ad- 
vantage, and by the time of Jehu, b.c. 
838, had fully established their dominion 
over them. On the destruction of the 
Assyrian empire, Mesopotamia seems to 
have been divided between the Medes 
and the Babylonians. The conquests of 
Cyrus brought it wholly under the Per- 
sian yoke; and thus it continued to the 
time of Alexander. Since 1516 it has 
formed a part of the Turkish empire. 
It is full of ruins and mounds of an- 
cient cities, some of which are now 
throwing much light on the Scripture. 

Messi'ah (mes-si'ah) (anointed). 
This word answers to the word Christ 
(Xpiaros) in the New Testament, and is 
applicable in its first sense to any one 
anointed with the holy oil. The kings 
of Israel were called anointed, from the 
mode of their consecration. 1 Sam. 2 : 
10, 35 ; 12 : 3, 5, etc. This word also 
refers to the expected Prince of the 
chosen people who was to complete 
God’s purposes for them and to redeem 
them, and of whose coming the prophets 
of the old covenant in all time spoke. 
He was the Messiah, the Anointed, i. e. 
consecrated as the king and prophet by 
God’s appointment. The word is twice 
used in the New Testament of Jesus. 
John 1:41; 4:25; Authorized Version 


MES 


405 


MET 


“ Messias.” The earliest gleam of the 
gospel is found in the account of the 
fall. Gen. 3 : 15. The blessings in store 
for the children of Shem are remark- 
ably indicated in the words of Noah. 
Gen. 9 : 26. Next follows the promise 
to Abraham. Gen. 12 : 2, 3. A great 
step is made in Gen. 49 : 10. This is the 
first case in which the promises dis- 
tinctly centre in one person. The next 
passage usually quoted is the prophecy 
of Balaam. Num. 24:17-19. The 
prophecy of Moses, Deut. 18 : 18, claims 
attention. Passages in the Psalms are 
numerous which are applied to the Mes- 
siah in the New Testament; such as Ps. 
2, 16, 22, 40, 110. The advance in clear- 
ness in this period is great. The name 
of Anointed, i. e. King, comes in, and 
the Messiah is to come of the lineage of 
David. He is described in his exalta- 
tion with his great kingdom that shall 
be spiritual rather than temporal. Ps. 
2, 21, 40, 110. In other places he is seen 
in suffering and humiliation. Ps. 16, 22, 
40. Later on the prophets show the 
Messiah as a king and ruler of David’s 
house, who should come to reform and 
restore the Jewish nation and purify the 
Church, as in Isa. 11, 40-66. The bless- 
ings of the restoration, however, will not 
be confined to Jews; the heathen are 
made to share them fully. Isa. 2, 66. 
The passage of Micah 5 : 2 (comp. Matt. 
2 : 6) left no doubt in the mind of the 
Sanhedrin as to the birthplace of the 
Messiah. The lineage of David is again 
alluded to in Zech. 12 : 10-14. The 
coming of the Forerunner and of the 
Anointed is clearly revealed in Mai. 3 : 
1 ; 4:5, 6. The Pharisees and those of 
the Jews who expected Messiah at all 
looked for a temporal prince only. The 
apostles themselves were infected with 
this opinion till after the resurrection. 
Matt. 20 : 20, 21 ; Luke 24 : 21 ; Acts 1 : 
6. Gleams of a purer faith appear in 
Luke 2 : 30 ; 23 : 42 ; John 4 : 25. 

Messi'as (mes-si'as) ( anointed ), the 
Greek form of Messiah. John 1:41; 4: 
25. 

Metals. The metals in use in ancient 
times were gold, silver, iron, lead, cop- 
per and tin. One of the earliest geo- 
graphical definitions is that which de- 
scribes the country of Havilah as the 
land which abounded in gold, and the 
gold of which was good. Gen. 2: 11, 12. 
“ Abram was very rich in cattle, in sil- 
ver, and in gold,” Gen. 13:2; silver, as 


will be shown hereafter, being the me- 
dium of commerce, while gold existed 
in the shape of ornaments, during the 
patriarchal ages. Tin is first mentioned 
Num. 31 : 22, and lead is used to heighten 
the imagery of Moses’ triumphal song* 
Ex. 15 : 10. Whether the ancient He- 
brews were acquainted with steel, prop- 
erly so called, is uncertain ; the words so 
rendered in the Authorized Version, 2 
Sam. 22 : 35 ; Job 20 : 24 ; Ps. 18 : 34 ; Jer. 
15 : 12, are in all other passages trans- 
lated brass and the R. V. corrects these 
themselves to brass. It is supposed that 
the Hebrews used the mixture of copper 
and tin known as bronze, rather than 
brass as we know it. The great abun- 
dance of gold in early times is indicated 
by its entering into the composition of 
all articles of ornament and almost all 
of domestic use. The Hebrews obtained 
their principal supply from the south 
of Arabia and the commerce of the 
Persian Gulf. Josh. 7 : 21. Among the 
spoils of the Midianites taken by the Is- 
raelites in their decisive victory when 
Balaam was slain were ear-rings and. 
jewels to the amount of 16,750 shekels 
of gold, Num. 31 : 48-54, equal in value 
to either about $81,000 or $162,000 ac- 
cording to the standard in use. This 
does not take into account the greater 
purchasing value then. Seventeen hun- 
dred shekels of gold (worth about $8000 
to $16,000) in nose jewels (Authorized 
Version “ear-rings”) alone were taken 
by Gideon’s army from the slaughtered 
Midianites. Judges 8 : 26. But ‘ the 
amount of treasure accumulated by 
David from spoils taken in war is so 
enormous that we are tempted to con- 
clude the numbers exaggerated. Though 
gold was thus common, silver appears to 
have been the ordinary medium of com- 
merce. The first commercial transaction 
of which we possess the details was the 
purchase of Ephron’s field by Abraham 
for 400 shekels of silver. Gen. 23 : 16. 
The accumulation of wealth in the reign 
of SolomOn was so great that silver was 
but little esteemed. 1 Kings 10 : 21, 27. 
Brass, or more properly copper, was a 
native product of some parts of Pales- 
tine. Deut. 8:9; Job 28 : 2. It was 
plentiful in the days of Solomon, and 
the quantity employed in the temple 
could not be estimated, it was so great. 
1 Kings 7 : 47. No allusion is found to 
zinc; but tin was well known. Arms, 2 
Sam. 21:16; Job 20:24; Ps. 18:34, and 


MET 


406 


MIC 


armor, 1 Sam. 17 : 5, 6, 38, were made of 
copper, which was capable of being so 
wrought as to admit of a keen and hard 
edge. Iron was found in the hills at the 
foot of Lebanon. 

Me'theg=am'mah (me'theg-am'mah) 
( bridle of the mother city), a place 
which David took from the Philistines, 
apparently in his last war with them. 
2 Sam. 8:1. Ammah may be taken as 
meaning “ mother-city ” or “ metropolis,” 
comp. 2 Sam. 20 : 19, and Metheg-ha- 
Ammah “ the bridle of the mother-city ” 
— viz. of Gath, the chief town of the 
Philistines. 

Methu'sael (me-thu'sa-el) ( man of 
God), the son of Mehujael, fourth in 
descent from Cain, and father of La- 
mech. Gen. 4 : 18. 

Methu'selah (me-thu'se-lah) {man of 
the dart), the son of Enoch, sixth in 
descent from Seth, and father of La- 
mech. Gen. 5 : 25-27. . 

Meu'nim (me-u'nim) ( people of 
Maon). Neh. 7:52. Elsewhere given 
in Authorized Version as Mehunim and 
Mehunims. 

Mez'ahab (mez'a-hab) ( waters of 
gold), the father of Matred and grand- 
father of Mehetabel, who was wife of 
Hadar or Hadad, king of Edom. Gen. 
36 : 39 ; 1 Chron. 1 : 50. 

Mi'amin (mi'a-min) ( from the right 
hand). 1. A layman of Israel who had 
married a foreign wife and put her away 
at the bidding of Ezra. Ezra 10 : 25. 

2. A priest or family of priests who 
went up from Babylon with Zerubbabel. 
Neh. 12 : 5. 

Mib'har (mib'har) {choice), one of 
David’s heroes in the list given in 1 
Chron. 11 : 38. 

Mib'sam (mib'sam) {sweet odor). 1. 
A son of Ishmael. Gen. 25 : 13 ; 1 

Chron. 1 : 29. 

2. A son of Simeon. 1 Chron. 4 : 25. 

Mib'zar (mib'zar) {fortress) , one of 
the “dukes” of Edom. Gen. 36:42; 1 
Chron. 1 : 53. 

Mi'cah (mi'kah) {who is like J e- 
hovah?), an abbreviation of “ Micaiah.” 
1. An Israelite whose familiar story is 
preserved in the 17th and 18th chapters 
of Judges. Micah is evidently a de- 
vout believer in Jehovah, and yet so 
completely ignorant is he of the law of 
Jehovah that the mode which he adopts 
of honoring him is to make a molten 
and graven image, teraphim or images 
of domestic gods, and to set up an un- 


authorized priesthood, first in his own 
family, Judges 17:5, and then in the 
person of a Levite not of the priestly 
line. ver. 12. A body of 600 Danites 
break in upon and steal his idols from 
him. 

2. The sixth in order of the minor 
prophets. He is called the Morasthite, 
that is, a native of Moresheth, or More- 
sheth-Gath, an unidentified site in Ju- 
dah, near the Philistine country. Micah 
exercised the prophetical office during 
the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz and Heze- 
kiah, kings of Judah. He was con- 
temporary with Hosea and Amos dur- 
ing the part of their ministry in Israel, 
and with Isaiah in Judah. 

3. A descendant of Joel the Reubenite. 
1 Chron. 5 : 5. 

4. The son of Meribbaal or Mephibo- 
sheth, the son of Jonathan. 1 Chron. 8: 
34, 35 ; 9 : 40, 41. [Micha.] 

5. A Kohathite Levite, the eldest son 
of Uzziel the brother of Amram. 1 
Chron. 23 : 20. 

6. The father of Abdon, a man of 
high station in the reign of Josiah. 2 
Chron. 34 : 20. 

Mi'cah, The book of, was written 
during the time of Isaiah. The proph- 
ecies were written at different times, 
or the collection of prophecies included 
other authors. The contents and style 
are very diverse, but either theory will 
account for the diversity. Three sec- 
tions of this work represent three nat- 
ural divisions of the prophecy — 1, 2 ; 
3-5 ; 6, 7— each commencing with re- 
bukes and threatening and closing with 
a promise. The first section opens with 
a magnificent description of the coming 
of Jehovah to judgment for the sins and 
idolatries of Israel and Judah, ch. 1 : 2- 
4, and the sentence pronounced upon 
Samaria, vs. 5-9, by the Judge himself. 
The sentence of captivity is passed upon 
them, Micah 2 : 10, but is followed in- 
stantly by a promise of restoration and 
triumphant return, ch. 2 : 12, 13. The 
second section is addressed especially to 
the princes and heads of the people : 
their avarice and rapacity are rebuked 
in strong terms; but the threatening is 
again succeeded by a promise of restora- 
tion. In the last section, chs. 6, 7, Je- 
hovah, by a bold poetical figure, is repre- 
sented as holding a controversy with 
his people, pleading with them in justi- 
fication of his conduct toward them and 
the reasonableness of his requirements. 


MIC 


407 


MIC 


The whole concludes with a triumphal 
song of joy at the great' deliverance, like 
that from Egypt, which Jehovah will 
achieve, and a full acknowledgment of 
his mercy and faithfulness to his prom- 
ises. vs. 16-20. The last verse is repro- 
duced in the song of Zacharias. Luke 
1 : 72, 73. Micah’s prophecies are dis- 
tinct and clear. He it is who says that 
the Ruler shall spring from Bethlehem, 
ch. 5 : 2. His style has been compared 
with that of Hosea and Isaiah. His dic- 
tion is vigorous and forcible, sometimes 
obscure from the abruptness of its 
transitions, but varied and rich. 

Mica'iah (ml-ka'ya) ( who is like Je- 
hovah?). Micaiah, the son of Imlah, 
was a prophet of Samaria, who in the 
last year of the reign of Ahab king of 
Israel predicted his defeat and death, 
B.c. 855. 1 Kings 22 : 1-35 ; 2 Chron. 18. 

Mi'cha (mi'ka) ( who is like Jeho- 
vah ?). 1. The son of Mephibosheth. 2 

Sam. 9 : 12. [Micah.] 

2. A Levite who signed the covenant 
with Nehemiah. Neh. 10:11. 

3. The father of Mattaniah, a Ger- 
shonite Levite and descendant of Asaph. 
Neh. 11 : 17, 22. 

Mi'chael (mi'kel) (who is like God?). 

1. An Asherite, father of Sethur, one 
of the twelve spies. Num. 13 : 13. 

2. One of the Gadites who settled in 
the land of Bashan. 1 Chron. 5 : 13. 

3. Another Gadite, ancestor of Abi- 
hail, 1 Chron. 5 : 14. 

4. A Gershonite Levite, ancestor of 
Asaph. 1 Chron. 6 : 40. 

5. One of the five sons of Izrahiah, of 
the tribe of Issachar. 1 Chron. 7 : 3. 

6. A Benjamite of the sons of Beriah. 
1 Chron. 8 : 16. 

7. One of the captains of the “ thou- 
sands ” of Manasseh who joined David 
at Ziklag. 1 Chron. 12 : 20. 

8. The father or ancestor of Omri, 
chief of the tribe of Issachar in the 
reign of David. 1 Chron. 27 : 18. 

9. One of the sons of Jehoshaphat 
who were murdered by their elder 
brother, Jehoram. 2 Chron. 21 : 2, 4. 

10. The father or ancestor of Zeba- 
diah, of the sons of Shephatiah. Ezra 
8 ’ 8 

11. “ One,” or “ the first, of the chief 
princes ” or archangels, Dan. 10 : 13 ; 
comp. Jude 9, described in Dan. 10 : 21 
as the “ prince ” of Israel, and in ch. 
12:1 as “ the great prince which stand- 
eth ” in time of conflict “ for the chil- 


dren of thy people.” In Rev. 12 : 7 he is 
the leader of the hosts of God in war. 

Mi'chah (mi'kah) ( who is like Je- 
hovah?), eldest son of Uzziel the son 
of Kohath, 1 Chron. 24 : 24, 25 ; called 
Micah in 1 Chron. 23 : 20. 

Micha'iah (ml-ka'ya) (who is like 
Jehovah?). 1. Same as Micah 6. 2 
Chron. 34 : 20. 

2. Same as Micha 3. 1 Chron. 9 : 15 ; 
Neh. 12: 35. 

3. One of the priests at the dedication 
of the wall of Jerusalem. Neh. 12:41. 

4. The daughter of Uriel of Gibeah, 
wife of Rehoboam and mother of Abi- 
jah king of Judah. 2 Chron. 13:2. 
[Maachah, 3.] 

5. One of the princes of Jehoshaphat 
whom he sent to teach the law of Jeho- 
vah in the cities of Judah. 2 Chron. 17 : 
7. 

6. The son of Gemariah. He is only 
mentioned on one occasion. Jer. 36 : 11, 
13, 14. 

Mi'chal (mi'kal), the younger of 
Saul’s two daughters, 1 Sam. 14 : 49, who 
married David. The price fixed on 
Michal’s hand was no less than the 
slaughter of a hundred Philistines. 
David by a brilliant feat doubled the 
tale of victims, and Michal became his 
wife. Shortly afterward she saved 
David from the assassins whom her 
father had sent to take his life. 1 Sam. 
19 : 11-17. When the rupture between 
Saul and David had become open and 
incurable, she was married to another 
man, Phalti or Phaltiel of Gallim. 1 
Sam. 25 : 44. After the death of her 
father and brothers at Gilboa, David 
compelled her new husband to surrender 
Michal to him. 2 Sam. 3 : 13-16. How 
Michal comported herself in the altered 
circumstances of David’s household we 
are not told; but it is plain from the 
subsequent occurrences that something 
had happened to alter the relations of 
herself and David, for on the day of 
David’s greatest triumph, when he 
brought the ark of Jehovah to Jerusa- 
lem, we are told that “ she despised him 
in her heart.” All intercourse between 
her and David ceased from that date. 
2 Sam. 6 : 20-23. Her name appears, 2 
Sam. 21 : 8, as the mother of five of the 
grandchildren of Saul. Given as Merab 
in 1 Sam. 18 : 19. 

Mich'mas, or Mich'mash (mik'mash) 
(hidden), a town which is known to us 
almost solely by its connection with the 


MIC 


408 


MIG 


Philistine war of Saul and Jonathan. 1 
Sam. 13, 14. It has been identified with 
great probability in a village which still 
bears the name of Mukhmas, about 
seven miles north of Jerusalem. The 
place was thus situated in the very mid- 
dle of the tribe of Benjamin. In the 
invasion of Sennacherib in the reign of 
Hezekiah, it is mentioned by Isaiah, 
Isa. 10 : 28. After the captivity the men 
of the place returned. Ezra 2:27 ; Neh. 
7 : 31. At a later date it became the 
residence of Jonathan Maccabseus and 
the seat of his government. 1 Macc. 9 : 
73. In the time of Eusebius and Jerome 
it was “ a very large village, retaining 
its ancient name, and lying near Ramah 
in the district of JElia (Jerusalem), at 
nine miles distance therefrom.” Imme- 
diately below the village the great wady 
spreads out to a considerable width — 
perhaps half a mile ; and its bed is bro- 
ken up into an intricate mass of hum- 
mocks and mounds, two of which, be- 
fore the torrents of three thousand win- 
ters had reduced and rounded their 
forms, were probably the two “ teeth 
of cliff” — the Bozez and Seneh of Jon- 
athan’s adventure. 

Mich'methah (mik'me-thah), a place 
which formed one of the landmarks of 
the boundary of the territories of Ephra- 
im and Manasseh on the western side of 
Jordan. Josh. 17 : 7. The position of 
the place must be somewhere on the east 
of and not far distant from Shechem. 

Mich'ri (mich'ri) {worthy of price), 
ancestor of Elah, one of the heads of 
the fathers of Benjamin. 1 Chron. 9 : 8. 

Michtam (mik'tam) {inscription). 
This word occurs in the titles of six 
psalms (16, 56-60), all of which are 
ascribed to David. The marginal read- 
ing of our Authorized Version is “ a 
golden psalm,” while in the Geneva ver- 
sion it is described as “ a certain tune.” 
A more general opinion is, a carefully 
wrought out memorial psalm, like an in- 
scription. 

Mid'din (mid'din) {extensions), a 
city of Judah, Josh. 15 : 61, one of the 
six specified as situated in the district 
of “ the midbar,” “ wilderness.” 

Mid'ian (mid'i-an) {strife), a son of 
Abraham and Keturah, Gen. 25:2; 1 
Chron. 1 : 32 ; progenitor of the Midian- 
ites, or- Arabians dwelling principally in 
the desert north of the peninsula of 
Arabia. Southward they extended 
along the eastern shore of the Gulf of 


Eyleh {Sinus 2Elaniticus) : and north- 
ward they stretched along the eastern 
frontier of Palestine. The “ land of 
Midian,” the place to which Moses fled 
after having killed the Egyptian, Ex. 2: 
15, 21, or the portion of it specially re- 
ferred to, was probably the peninsula of 
Sinai. The character of the Midianites 
is differently portrayed in different ac- 
counts. Jethro, priest of Midian, the 
Midianite father-in-law of Moses, and 
Hobab his son were good friends to the 
Israelites during their wanderings, and 
their descendants, under the name of 
Kenites, were united with Israel during 
the later history. 1 Sam. 15 : 6. Else- 
where they are spoken of as a nation of 
idolaters on whom Israel must take 
vengeance. It seems probable that the 
name was applied to a large number of 
tribes, some of whom were peaceful 
and quiet, while others were idolatrous, 
roving and warlike. The influence of 
these latter Midianites on the Israelites 
was clearly most evil, and directly 
tended to lead them from the injunctions 
of Moses. The events at Shittim occa- 
sioned the injunction to vex Midian and 
smite them. After a lapse of some 
years, the Midianites appear again as 
the enemies of the Israelites, oppressing 
them for seven years, but are finally 
defeated with great slaughter by Gideon. 
[Gideon.] The Midianites are described 
as true Arabs, and possessed cattle and 
flocks and camels as the sand of the 
seashore for multitude. The spoil taken 
in the war of both Moses and of Gideon 
is remarkable. Num. 31:52; Judges 8: 
21, 24-26. We have here a wealthy 
Arab nation, living by plunder, delight- 
ing in finery; and, where forays were 
impossible, carrying on the traffic south- 
ward into Arabia, the land of gold — if 
not naturally, by trade — and across to 
Chaldea, or into the rich plains of Egypt. 

Mig'daUel (mig'dal-el) {tower of 
God), one of the fortified towns of the 
possession of Naphtali, Josh. 19: 38 only, 
possibly deriving its name from some 
ancient tower — the “ tower of El,” or 
God. Some identify it with Mujeidil, 
about 12 miles northwest of Kedesh. 

Mig'daUgad (mig'dal-gad) {tower of 
Gad), a city of Judah, Josh. 15:37, in 
the district of the Shefelah, or maritime 
lowland. 

Mig'dol (mig'dol) {tower), the name 
of one or two places on the eastern 
frontier of Egypt. 1. A Migdol is men- 


MIG 


409 


MIL 


tioned in the account of the Exodus, 
Ex. 14 : 2 ; Num. 33 : 7, 8, near the head 
of the Red Sea. 

2. A Migdol is spoken of by Jeremiah 
and Ezekiel. The latter prophet men- 
tions it as a boundary-town, evidently 
on the eastern border. Ezek. 29 : 10 ; 
30: 6. In the prophecy of Jeremiah the 
Jews in Egypt are spoken of as dwelling 
at Migdol. Jer. 44: 1. 

Mig'ron (mig'ron), a town or a spot 
in the neighborhood of Gibeah. 1 Sam. 
14 : 2. Migron is also mentioned in Sen- 
nacherib’s approach to Jerusalem. Isa. 
10 : 28. The former may be an error for 
“ by the threshing-floor.” 

Mij'amin (mij'a-mm) ( from the 
right hand). 1. The chief of the sixth 
of the twenty-four courses of priests 
established by David. 1 Chron. 24 : 9. 

2. A family of priests who signed the 
covenant with Nehemiah; probably the 
descendants of the preceding. Neh. 10: 
7. 

Mik'Ioth (mik'Ioth) (staves). 1. 
One of the sons of Jehiel, the father or 
prince of Gibeon, by his wife Maachah. 
1 Chron. 8: 32; 9: 37, 38. 

2. The leader of the second division of 
David’s army. 1 Chron. 27 : 4. 

Mikne'iah (mikne'iah) (possession 
of Jehovah), one of the Levites of the 
second rank, gatekeepers of the ark, ap- 
pointed by David to play in the temple 
band “ with harps upon Sheminith.” 1 
Chron. 15: 18, 21. 

Mil'alai (mil'a-li) (eloquent) , prob- 
ably a Gershonite Levite of the sons of 
Asaph, who assisted at the dedication 
of the walls of Jerusalem. Neh. 12:36. 

Mil'cah (mil'kah) (counsel). 1. 
Daughter of Haran and wife of her 
uncle Nahor, Abraham’s brother, to 
whom she bore eight children. Gen. 11 : 
29 ; 22 : 20, 23 ; 24 : 15, 24, 47. 

2. The fourth daughter of Zelophe- 
had. Num. 26:33; 27:1; 36:11; Josh. 
17 : 3. 

Mil'com (mil'kom). [Molech.] 

Mile, a Roman measure of length, 
equal to 1618 English yards — 4854 feet, 
dr about nine-tenths of an English mile. 
It is only once noticed in the Bible, 
Matt. 5 : 41, the usual method of reckon- 
ing both in the New Testament and in 
Josephus being by the stadium. 

Mile'tus (mi-le'tus), Acts 20:15, 17, 
less correctly called Miletum in 2 Tim. 
4 : 20. It lay on the coast, 36 miles to 
the south of Ephesus, a day’s sail from 


Trogy Ilium. Acts 20:15. By land, 
however, in the time of the apostles, a 
long circuit of nearly 70 miles was nec- 
essary between Ephesus and Miletus. 
Moreover, to those who are sailing from 
the north it is in the direct line for Cos. 
The site of Miletus has now receded 
several miles from the coast, and even 
in the apostles’ time it must have lost 
its strictly maritime position. Miletus 
was far more famous five hundred years 
before St. Paul’s day than it ever became 
afterward. In early times it was the 
most flourishing city of the Ionian 
Greeks. In the natural order of events 
it was absorbed in the Persian empire. 
After a brief period of spirited inde- 
pendence, it received a blow from which 
it never recovered, in the siege con- 
ducted by Alexander when on his east- 
ern campaign. But still it held, even 
through the Roman period, the rank of 
a second-rate trading town, and Strabo 
mentions its four harbors. At this time 
it was politically in the province of 
Asia, though Caria was the old ethno- 
logical name of the district in which it 
was situated. All that is left now is a 
small Turkish village called Melas , near 
the site of the ancient city. 

Milk. As an article of diet, milk 
holds a more important position in east- 
ern countries than with us. It is not a 
mere adjunct in cookery, or restricted 
to the use of the young, although it is 
naturally the characteristic food of 
childhood, both from its simple and 
nutritive qualities, 1 Pet. 2 : 2, and par- 
ticularly as contrasted with meat, 1 Cor. 
3:2; Heb. 5 : 12 ; but beyond this it is 
regarded as substantial food adapted 
alike to all ages and classes. Not only 
the milk of cows, but of sheep, Deut. 32 : 
14, of camels, Gen. 32 : 15, and of goats, 
Prov. 27 : 27, was used ; the latter ap- 
pears to have been most highly prized. 

Mill. The mills of the ancient He- 
brews probably differed but little from 
those at present in use in the East. 
These consist of two circular stones, 
each about eighteen inches or two feet 
in diameter, the lower of which is 
fixed. It has a peg in the centre about 
which the upper stone revolves. The 
upper stone is turned by an upright 
handle near the outer edge. The grain 
is put into the central hole, and comes 
out as flour between the two stones 
at the edge, and is caught by a cloth 
or dish. It is worked by women, some- 


MIL 


410 


MIN 


times singly and sometimes two to- 
gether, according to the size of the 
mill. They are usually seated on the 
bare ground, Isa. 47 : 1, 2, facing each 
other; both have hold of the handle 
by which the upper is turned round 
on the “ nether ” millstone. The prov- 
erb of our Saviour, Matt. 24 : 41, is true 
to life, for women only grind. In 
ancient times it was esteemed work fit 
only for women, slaves and prisoners. 
So essential were millstones for daily 
domestic use that they were forbidden 
to be taken in pledge. Deut. 24 : 6. 
There were also larger mills that could 
only be turned by cattle or asses. Al- 
lusion to one of these is made in Matt. 
18 : 6. With the movable upper mill- 
stone of the hand-mill the woman of 
Thebez broke Abimelech’s skull. Judges 
9: 53. 

Millet, a kind of grain. A number 
of species are cultivated in the East. 
When green it is used as fodder, and 



MILLET. 


for' bread when ripe. Ezek. 4 : 9. It is 
probable that both the Sorghum vulgare 
and the Panicum miliaceum were used, 
and the Hebrew dochan may denote 
either of these plants. 

Mil'Io (mirio) ( a -filling up), a place 
in ancient Jerusalem. Both name and 
place seem to have been already in ex- 
istence when the city was taken from 
the Jebusites by David. 2 Sam. 5:9; 1 
Chron. 11 : 8. Its repair or restoration 
was one of the great works for which 


Solomon raised his “ levy,” 1 Kings 9 : 
15, 24; 11:27; and it formed a promi- 
nent part of the fortifications by which 
Hezekiah prepared for the approach of 
the Assyrians. 2 Chron. 32 : 5. 

Mil'Io, The house of. 1 . Apparently 
a family or clan, mentioned in Judges 
9:6, 20 only, in connection with the 
men or lords of Shechem. 

2. The spot at which King Joash was 
murdered by his slaves. 2 Kings 12 : 20. 

Mina. [Weights and Measures.] 

Mines, Mining. A highly-poetical 
description given by the author of the 
book of Job of the operations of mining 
as known in his day is the only record 
of the kind which we inherit from the 
ancient Hebrews. Job 28 : 1-11. In the 
Wady Maghdrahj “the valley of the 
cave,” are still traces of the Egyptian 
colony of miners who settled there for 
the purpose of extracting copper from 
the freestone rocks, and left their hiero- 
glyphic inscriptions upon the face of the 
cliff. The ancient furnaces are still to 
be seen, and on the coast of the Red 
Sea are found the piers and wharves 
whence the miners shipped their metal 
in the harbor of Abu Zclimeh. Three 
methods were employed for refining gold 
and silver: (1) by exposing the fused 
metal to a current of air; (2) by keep- 
ing the alloy in a state of fusion and 
throwing nitre upon it; and (3) by mix- 
ing the alloy with lead, exposing the 
whole to fusion upon a vessel of bone- 
ashes or earth, and blowing upon it with 
bellows or other blast. There seems to 
be reference to the latter in Ps. 12:6; 
Jer. 6:28-30; Ezek. 22:18-22. The 
chief supply of silver in the ancient 
world appears to have been brought 
from Spain. The Egyptians evidently 
possessed the art of working bronze in 
great perfection at a very early time, 
and much of the knowledge of metals 
which the Israelites had must have been 
acquired during their residence among 
them. Of tin there appears to have 
been no trace in Palestine. Iron is 
found at the southern base of Lebanon, 
and the mines are still worked there, 
though in a very simple, rude manner. 

Min'iamin (min'ia-min) ( from the 
right hand). 1 . A Levite in the reign 
of Hezekiah. 2 Chron. 31 : 15. 

2. The same as Miamin 2 and Mija- 
min 2. Neh. 12:17. 

3. One of the priests at the dedication 
[of the wall of Jerusalem. Neh. 12:41. 


MIN 


411 


MIR 


Minister. This term is used in the 
Authorized Version to describe various 
officials of a religious and civil char- 
acter. Its meaning, as distinguished 
from servant, is a voluntary attendant 
on another. In the Old Testament it is 
applied (1) to an attendance upon a 
person of high rank, Ex. 24:13; Josh. 
1 : 1 ; 2 Kings 4 : 43 ; (2) to the attaches 
of a royal court, 1 Kings 10 : 5 ; 2 Chron. 
22:8; comp. Ps. 104:4; (3) to the 

priests and Levites. Ezra 8:17; Neh. 
10:36; Isa. 61:6; Ezek. 44:11; Joel 1: 
9, 13. One term in the New Testament 
betokens a subordinate public adminis- 
trator, Rom. 13:6; 15:16; Heb. 8:2, 
one who performs certain gratuitous 
public services. A second term contains 
the idea of actual and personal attend- 
ance upon a superior, as in Luke 4 : 20. 
The minister’s duty was to open and 
close the building, to produce and re- 
place the books employed in the service, 
and generally to wait on the officiating 
priest or teacher. A third term, diako- 
nos (from which comes our word dea- 
con), is the one usually employed in 
relation to the ministry of the gospel : 
its application is twofold, — in a general 
sense to indicate ministers of any order, 
whether superior or inferior, and in a 
special sense to indicate an order of in- 
ferior ministers. [Deacon.] 

Min'ni (min'm), Jer. 51:27j already 
noticed as a portion of Armenia. [Ar- 
menia.] 

Min'nith (min'nith), a place, on the 
east of the Jordan, named as the point 
to which Jephthah’s slaughter of the 
Ammonites extended. Judges 11 : 33. 
The “ wheat of Minnith ” is mentioned 
in Ezek. 27 : 17 as being supplied by 
Judah and Israel to Tyre ; but there is 
nothing to indicate that the same place 
is intended, and indeed the word is be- 
lieved by some not to be a proper name. 

Minstrel. The Hebrew word in 2 
Kings 3 : 15 properly signifies a player 
upon a stringed instrument like the harp 
or lyre, on which David played before 
Saul, 1 Sam. 16 : 16 ; 18 : 10 ; 19 : 9. The 
“ minstrels ” in Matt. 9 : 23 were the 
flute-players who were employed as 
professional mourners, to whom fre- 
quent allusion is made. 2 Chron. 35 : 
25 ; Eccles. 12 : 5 ; Jer. 9 : 17-20. 

Mint. This name occurs only in 
Matt. 23 : 23 and Luke 11 : 42, as one 
of those herbs the tithe of which the 
Jews were most scrupulously exact in 


paying. The horse 
mint, M. Sylvestris, 
and several other 
species of mint are 
common in Syria. 

Miph'kad (mif'- 
kad) ( appointed 
place), The gate, 
one of the gates o f 
Jerusalem. Neh. 3: 

31. 1 1 was probably 

somewhere east or 
northeast of the tem- 
ple. 

Miracles. In the 

New Testament Mir- 
acles are described 
by four names. Signs, 

Works, W o n d e r s, 

Powers. 

They are Signs of the presence and 
power of God, of the truth of divine 
revelation, of the love and heart of the 
Father, of the credentials of his mes- 
sengers. 

Works, all of them are the doings of 
God, works worthy of Him, works of 
kindness and love, direct acts of God. 

Wonders, astonishing manifestations 
of God, attracting men’s attention to 
him, his nature and his promises. 

Powers revealing the almighty power 
of God to save and help in time of 
trouble. 

Miracles are evidences and proofs that 
Jesus bears a true message from the 
Father. Jesus continually calls atten- 
tion to them as proofs and stepping- 
stones to a higher and more spiritual 
faith. 

It is said that instead of being an aid 
to faith, they are a hindrance to be- 
lieving in the Gospels. It is indeed 
easier to believe that Jesus was a mere 
man, and did only what man can do ; 
but then your faith does not amount to 
much, does not include much. 

The objections to miracles and diffi- 
culties arising from them arise from 
the scientific doctrine of the uniformity 
of the laws of nature, and from our 
experience and observation of daily life. 
But they all arise from a false defini- 
tion of what a miracle is, or a disbelief 
in a personal God. 

A miracle is riot the breaking of a 
law of nature, it is not an interference 
with or suspension of the unchanging 
uniformity of the laws of the universe. 

It is simply a personal God putting 



MIR 


412 


MIR 


his will into the laws of nature; it is 
God’s doing with his infinite power, the 
same quality of action, though vastly 
greater in degree, that we do every hour 
when we exert our personal will amid 
the forces of nature. I lift up a book, 
I turn on the water from the water- 
works and make a shower on my 
parched lawn or garden. I stop a part 
of the machinery in the factory and 
rescue a child caught in its wheels. 
These acts break no law of nature, they 
suspend none, they change none, neither 
in the natural nor in the spiritual 
world. 

All civilization is the result of man’s 
putting his will into the uniform laws 
of nature. He can do it because the 
laws are uniform, and he believes them 
to be unchanging. The doctor puts his 
will into the laws of nature, which, if 
left to work out their natural result, 
would take away his patient’s life, and 
by using the laws of nature cures the 
patient. 

It is absurd to suppose that God can- 
not do what his children are doing every 
day. The believer in miracles and in 
the answer to prayer, stands by the 
side of the scientist in his believe in 
the uniform action of the laws of God 
in nature. 

The miracles reported in the Bible are 
worthy of God and of his cause on 
earth. Three marks test their truth : 
(1) They are wrought by good men (2) 
in attestation of a message which, while 
beyond our knowledge, does' not con- 
tradict our conscience and reason, but is 
in harmony with the other words of 
God. (3) They are worthy of God, 
helpful, useful, a blessing, never done 
merely to startle and excite wonder, 
but are expressions of God’s holy char- 
acter, his love, tenderness, pity, good- 
will to men. 

Every miracle is a visible picture be- 
fore men of the character of God, of 
the nature of the gospel, of the loving 
kindness of our Saviour, of his power 
to help, of the wonders of grace he can 
work in our hearts, of his power to 
deliver from the diseases of sin. There 
were many miracles, of all kinds, to 
show that Jesus has power over all 
kinds of diseases, all the many forms 
of evil of which they are a type, over 
demons, over the forces of nature. 

The work of God in Christ in be- 
stowing spiritual life, in renewing the 


soul through the Holy Spirit, in guiding 
his people individually, and as the repre- 
sentatives of the kingdom of God, par- 
takes of the nature of a miracle, for it 
is the personal will of God working 
upon men through the laws of their 
spiritual nature. So that Professor 
Drummond may well say : “ When a 

man declares to me, ‘ I cannot believe 
in miracles,’ I reply, ‘ I can, because I 
have witnessed them.’ ‘ When and 
where ? ’ ‘ On a certain street in this 

city is a man who was a week ago 
given over to every form of vice and 
brutality, and who is now a good citizen, 
an honest workman, a kind husband, a 
loving father, a pure, upright man. 
Surely that is such a miracle as makes 
me forever believe in the possibility of 
miracles.’ ” 

Jesus in his nature is the supreme mir- 
acle. “ The achievement of Christ in 
founding by his single will and power 
a structure so durable and so universal 
(as Christianity and all it has done for 
the world) is like no other achievement 
which history records.” Only a divine 
man could have done it, and to such a 
being miracles are the natural outcome. 

Mir'iam (mir'i-am) {rebellion) , the 
sister of Moses, the eldest of the family. 
She first appears, probably as a young 
girl, watching her infant brother’s cra- 
dle in the Nile, Ex. 2 : 4, and suggesting 
her mother as a nurse, ver. 7. After 
the crossing of the Red Sea “ Miriam 
the prophetess ” is her acknowledged 
title, ch. 15 : 20. The prophetic power 
showed itself in her under the same 
form as that which it assumed in the 
days of Samuel and David, — poetry, ac- 
companied with music and processions, 
ch. 15 : 1-19. She took the lead, with 
Aaron, in the complaint against Moses 
for his marriage with a Cushite, Num. 
12 : 1, 2, and for this was attacked with 
leprosy. This stroke and its removal, 
which took place at Hazeroth, form the 
last public event of Miriam’s life, ch. 
12 : 1-15. She died toward the close of 
the wanderings at Kadesh, and was 
buried there, ch. 20 : 1. 

Mir'ma {fraud), a Benjamite, born in 
the land of Moab. 1 Chron. 8 : 10. 

Mirror. Ex. 38 : 8 ; Job 37 : 18. The 
Hebrew women on coming out of Egypt 
probably brought with them mirrors like 
those which were used by the Egyptians, 
and were made of a mixed metal, chiefly 
copper, wrought with admirable skill, 




MIS 


and susceptible of a bright lustre. 1 
Cor. 13 : 12. 

Mis'gab (mis'gab), a place in Moab. 
Jer. 48 : 1. The same Hebrew word is 
used in Isa. 25 : 12, and translated in 
both A. V. and R. V. “ high fort.” Per- 
haps it should be so translated in Jere- 
miah. 

Mish'ael (mish'a-el). 1. One of the 
sons of Uzziel, the uncle of Aaron and 
Moses. Ex. 6 : 22. When Nadab and 
Abihu were struck dead for offering 
strange fire, Mishael and his brother 
Elzaphan, at the command of Moses, re- 
moved their bodies from the sanctuary, 
and buried them without the camp, their 
loose-fitting tunics serving for winding- 
sheets. Lev. 10 : 4, 5. 

2. One of those who stood at Ezra’s 
left hand when he read the law to the 
people. Neh. 8 : 4. 

Mi'shal (mi'shal), or Mi'sheal 
(prayer), one of the towns in the terri- 
tory of Asher, Josh. 19 : 26, allotted to 
the Gershonite Levites, ch. 21 : 30. 

Mi'sham (mi'sham) (swiftness), a 
Benjamite, son of Elpaal and descend- 
ant of Shaharaim. 1 Chron. 8 : 12. 

Mish'ma (mish'ma) (hearing). 1. A 
son of Ishmael and brother of Mib- 
sam. Gen. 25 : 14 ; 1 Chron. 1 : 30. 

2. A son of Simeon, 1 Chron. 4 : 25. 

Mishman'nah (mish-man'nah) (fat- 
ness), the fourth of the twelve lion- 
faced Gadites who joined David at Zik- 
lag. 1 Chron. 12 : 10. 

Mish'raites (mish'ra-ites), The, the 
fourth of the four “ families of Kirjath- 
jearim,” i. e. colonies proceeding there- 
from and founding towns. 1 Chron. 2: 
53. 

Mis'pereth (mis'pe-reth), one of 
those who returned with Zerubbabel 
and Jeshua from Babylon. Neh. 7 : 7. 
[Mizpar.] 

Mis'rephoth=ma'im (mis're-foth- 
ma'im), a place in northern Palestine. 
It is commonly and probably correctly 
identified with a collection of springs 
called Ain-Musheirifeh, on the seashore 
close under the Ras en-Nakhura , or the 
Ladder of Tyre. Josh. 11 : 8. 

Mite, a coin current in Palestine in 
the time of our Lord. Mark 12 : 41-44 ; 
Luke 21 : 1-4. It seems in Palestine to 
have been the smallest piece of money 
(worth about one-eighth of a cent), be- 
ing the half of the farthing. From St. 
Mark’s explanation, “ two mites, which 
make a farthing,” ver. 42, it may per- 


MIT 


BRONZE LEPTON. 

(Mite, Mark 12:42) equals % cent. 

haps be inferred that the farthing was 
the commoner coin. 

Mith'cah (mith'kah) (sweetness ) , 
the name of an unknown desert en- 
campment of the Israelites. Num. 33: 
28, 29. 

Mith'nite (mith'nite), The, the desig- 
nation of Joshaphat, one of David’s 
guard in the catalogue of 1 Chron. 11: 
43. 

Mith'redath (mith're-dath) (given 
by Mithra). 1. The treasurer of Cyrus 
king of Persia, to whom the king gave 
the vessels of the temple. Ezra 1 : 8. 

2. A Persian officer stationed at Sa- 
maria. Ezra 4 : 7. Both these are given 
in the Apocrypha as Mithridates. 

Mitre (something rolled around the 
head), the turban or headdress of the 



MITRE. 


high priest, made of fine linen cloth, 
eight yards long, folded around the 
head. On the front was a gold plate 
on which was inscribed Holiness to the 
Lord. Ex. 28 : 4, 37, 39 ; 39 : 28, 30 ; Lev. 
8:9. 

Mityle'ne (mit'y-le'ne), the chief 
town of Lesbos, an island of the JBgean 
Sea, about 10 or 12 miles from the coast 
of Asia Minor. The city is situated 
on the east coast of the island. Mity- 
lene is the intermediate place where St. 


413 




MIX 


414 


MIZ 


Paul stopped for the night between As- 
sos and Chios. Acts 20:14, 15. The 
town itself was celebrated in Roman 
times for the beauty of its buildings. In 
St. Paul’s day it had the privileges of a 
free city. It now has a population of 
about 20,000. 

Mixed multitude. When the Israel- 
ites journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, 
the first stage of the exodus from Egypt, 
there went up with them “ a mixed mul- 
titude.” Ex. 12:38; Num. ll:4. They 
were probably the offspring of mar- 
riages contracted between the Israelites 
and the Egyptians; and the term may 
also include all those who were not of 
pure Israelite blood. In Exodus and 
Numbers it probably denoted the mis- 
cellaneous hangers-on of the Hebrew 
camp, whether they were the issue of 
spurious marriages with Egyptians or 
were themselves Egyptians, or belong- 
ing to other nations. The same hap- 
pened on the return from Babylon, and 
in Neh. 13 : 3 (comp. vs. 23-30) a. slight 
clue is given by which the meaning of 
the “ mixed multitude ” may be more 
definitely ascertained. 

Mi'zar (mi'zar) ( small ), The hill, 
Ps. 42:6. If this is a proper name it 
must have been a mountain or hill in the 
vicinity of, or a part of, Hermon. Some, 
however, think it should be translated 
“ little ” and then might refer to Mt. 
Zion, a small mountain compared to 
Hermon; then the reading would be 
“ I remember thee, thou little mountain, 
from the land of Jordan and the Her- 
mons.” 

Miz'pah (miz'pah) and Miz'peh 
(miz'peh) ( a watch-tower) , the name of 
several places in Palestine. 1. The 
earliest of all, in order of the narrative, 
is the heap of stones piled up by Jacob 
and Laban, Gen. 31 : 48, on Mount 
Gilead, ver. 25, to serve both as a wit- 
ness to the covenant then entered into 
and as a landmark of the boundary be- 
tween them, ver. 52. On this natural 
watch-tower did the children of Israel 
assemble for the choice of a leader to 
resist the children of Ammon. Judges 
10 : 17. There the fatal meeting took 
place between Jephthah and his daughter 
on his return from the war, ch. 11:34. 
The position of this Mizpah is doubt- 
ful. It must have, been north of the 
Jabbok, and held a commanding situa- 
tion. A very possible site is Jerash, the 
ancient Gerasa. 


2. A second Mizpeh, on the east of 
Jordan, was the Mizpeh-moab, where 
the king of that nation was living when 
David committed his parents to his care. 
1 Sam. 22 : 3. 

3. A third was “the land of Mizpeh,” 
or more accurately “of Mizpah,” the 
residence of the Hivites who joined the 
northern confederacy against Israel, 
headed by Jabin king oi Hazor. Josh. 
11:3. No other mention is found of 
this district in the Bible, unless it be 
identical with — 

4. The valley of Mizpeh, to which the 
discomfited hosts of the same confeder- 
acy were chased by Joshua, Josh. 11:8; 
perhaps identical with the great country 
of Ccele-Syria. 

5. Mizpeh, a city of Judah, Josh. 15 : 
38, in the district of the Shefelah or 
maritime lowland. 

6. Mizpeh, in Joshua and Samuel; 
elsewhere Mizpah, a “city” of Benja- 
min, not far from Jerusalem. Josh. 18 : 
26 ; 1 Kings 15 : 22 ; 2 Chron. 16 : 6 ; Neh. 
3:7. It was one of the places fortified 
by Asa against the incursions of the 
kings of northern Israel, 1 Kings 15 : 
22; 2 Chron. 16:6; Jer. 41:10; and 
after the destruction of Jerusalem it be- 
came the residence of the superintendent 
appointed by the king of Babylon, Jer. 
40 : 7, etc., and the scene of his murder 
and of the romantic incidents connected 
with the name of Ishmael the son of 
Nethaniah. It was one of the three 
holy cities which Samuel visited in turn 
as judge of the people, 1 Sam. 7 : 6, 16, 
the other two being Bethel and Gilgal. 
With the conquest of Jerusalem and the 
establishment there of the ark, the sanc- 
tity of Mizpah, or at least its reputation, 
seems to have declined. From Mizpah 
the city or the temple was visible. It is 
very possibly either Neby Samwil, or 
some point on the high ridge north of 
Shafat, which overlooks Jerusalem. 

Miz'par (miz'par) ( number ) ; prop- 
erly Mispar, the same as Mispereth. 
Ezra 2 : 2. 

Miz'peh. [Mizpah.] 

Miz'ra=im (miz'ra-im), the usual 
name of Egypt in the Old Testament, 
the dual of Misru, which is less fre- 
quently employed. Mizraim first occurs 
in the account of the Hamites in Gen. 
10. In the use of the name Mizraim 
for Egypt there can be no doubt that the 
dual indicates the two regions, upper 
| and lower Egypt, into which the coun- 


MIZ 


415 


MOA 


try has always been divided by nature 
as well as by its inhabitants. 

Miz'zah (miz'zah) {fear), son of 
Reuel and grandson of Esau. Gen. 36: 
13, 17 ; 1 Chron. 1 : 37. 

Mna'son (na'son). Acts 21 : 16. An 
“early” disciple; that is, probably from 
the time of Pentecost. Paul and his 
companions lodged with him on his last 
visit to Jerusalem. He was a Cyprian 
by birth, and may have been a friend 
of Barnabas. Acts 4 : 36. 

Mo'ab (mo'ab), Mo'abites. Moab 
was the son of Lot’s eldest daughter, 
the progenitor of the Moabites. Zoar 
was the cradle of the race of Lot. 
From this centre the brother tribes 
spread themselves. The Moabites first 
inhabited the rich highlands which 
crown the eastern side of the chasm of 
the Dead Sea, extending as far north 
as Heshbon, from which country they 
expelled the Emims, the original inhab- 
itants, Deut. 2:11; but they themselves 
were afterward driven southward by the 
warlike Amorites, who had crossed the 
Jordan, and were confined to the coun- 
try south of the river Arnon, which 
formed their northern boundary. Num. 
21 : 13 ; Judges 11 : 18. They refused 
permission to cross their land to the 
Israelites on their way to the promised 
land although friendly commercially. 
Frightened at the host when in his vi- 
cinity Balak their king hired Balaam to 
curse them (Num. 22-24; Deut. 23:3-6) 
and the Moabites later led them into 
idolatry (Num. 25). The Israelites 
were not allowed to attack the Moabites 
(Deut. 2:9, 19) but conquered the 

Amorites, who occupied the country 
from which the Moabites had been so 
lately expelled. After the ‘conquest of 
Canaan the relations of Moab with Is- 
rael were of a mixed character, some- 
times warlike and sometimes peaceable. 
With the tribe of Benjamin they had at 
least one severe struggle, in union with 
their kindred the Ammonites. Judges 
3:12-30. The story of Ruth, on the 
other hand, testifies to the existence of 
a friendly intercourse between Moab 
and Bethlehem, one of the towns of 
Judah. By his descent from Ruth, 
David may be said to have had Moabite 
blood in his veins. He committed his 
parents to the protection of the king of 
Moab, when hard pressed by Saul. 1 
Sam. 22 : 3, 4. But here all friendly 
relations stop forever. The next time 


the name is mentioned is in the account 
of David’s war, who made the Moab- 
ites tributary. 2 Sam. 8:2; 1 Chron. 
18:2. They were subject to Omri and 
his son Ahab, at whose death they re- 
fused to pay tribute and asserted their 
independence, making an alliance for an 
attack upon Judah, which failed (2 
Chron. 20:1-30). Israel, Judah and 
Edom finally united in an attack on 
Moab, resulting in the complete over- 
throw of the Moabites. Falling back 
into their own country, they were fol- 
lowed and their cities and farms de- 
stroyed. Finally, shut up within the 
walls of his own capital, the king, 
Mesha, in the sight of the thousands 
who covered the sides of that vast am- 
phitheatre, killed and burnt his child 
as a propitiatory sacrifice to the cruel 
gods of his country. Isaiah, chs. 15, 
16, 25 : 10-12, predicts the utter annihila- 
tion of the Moabites ; and they are fre- 
quently denounced by the subsequent 
prophets. For the religion of the Mo- 
abites see Chemosh ; Molech ; Peor. 
The country is now a wilderness. The 
line between the arable land and the 
Arabian desert on the east is quite in- 
determinate. There are many ruined 
villages and cities, but only a small no- 
madic population. There is little real 
cultivation, but there are occasional 
fields of grain and considerable pasture 
land. A great part of the country is 
treeless. 

Mo abite Stone, The. In the year 
1868 Rev. F. Klein, of the Church Mis- 
sionary Society at Jerusalem, found at 
Dhiban ( the biblical Dibon), in Moab, a 
remarkable stone, since called the Moab- 
ite Stone. It was lying on the ground, 
with the inscription uppermost, and 
measures about 3 feet 9 inches long, 2 
feet wide and 1 foot 2 inches thick. It 
is a very heavy, compact black basalt. 
An impression was made of the main 
block, and of certain recovered parts 
broken off by the Arabs. It was broken 
by the Arabs, but the fragments were 
purchased by the French government 
for 32,000 francs, were joined together, 
and are in the Louvre in Paris. The 
engraved face is about the shape of an 
ordinary gravestone, rounded at the top. 
On this stone is the record, 34 lines, 
in the Phoenician characters, of the wars 
of Mesha, king of Moab, with Israel (2 
Kings 3:4), and his victory over the 
Israelites in the time of Ahab. (b.c. 


MOA 


416 


MOL 


875.) It speaks of King Omri and 
other names of places and persons men- 
tioned in the Bible, and belongs to this 
exact period of Jewish and Moabite his- 
tory. The names given on the Moabite 
Stone, engraved by one who knew them 
in daily life, are, in nearly every case, 
identical with those found in the Bible 



THE MOABITE STONE. 


itself, and testify to the wonderful in- 
tegrity with which the Scriptures have 
been preserved. “ The inscription reads 
like a leaf taken out of a lost book of 
Chronicles. The expressions are the 
same; the names of gods, kings and of 
towns are the same.” 

Moadi'ah (mo-a-di'ah), Neh. 12:17. 
Called Maadiah in Neh. 12: 5. 

Modin (mo'din), a place not men- 
tioned in either the Old or the New 
Testament, though rendered immortal 
by its connection with the history of 
the Jews in the interval between the 
two. It was the native city of the Mac- 
cabsean family, 1 Macc. 13 : 25, and as a 
necessary consequence contained their 
ancestral sepulchre, ch. 2 : 70 ; 9 : 19 ; 13 : 
25-30. At Modin the Maccabaean armies 
encamped on the eves of two of their 
most memorable victories — that of Judas 
over Antiochus Eupator, 2 Macc. 13 : 
14, and that of Simon over Cendebeus. 
1 Macc. 16 : 4. The place was known 
without question down to the 4th cen- 


tury, a.d. owing to the existence of the 
tomb. Then all trace was lost, and va- 
rious sites are now suggested. It was 
near “the plain,” i. e. the great mari- 
time lowland of Philistia (ver. 5) ; and 
was visible from the sea. El-Medyeh, 
about 6 miles from Lydda, seems the 
most probable location. There are ruins 
there which might be those of the tomb 
of the Maccabees, among others. 

Moradah (mol'a-dah) (birth, race), 
a city in the extreme south of Judah, 
assigned to the Simeonites. Josh. 15 : 
26; 19:2. In the latter tribe it re- 
mained at any rate till the reign of 
David, 1 Chron. 4 : 28, but by the time 
of the captivity it seems to have come 
back into the hands of Judah, by whom 
it was reinhabited after the captivity. 
Neh. 11 : 26. Robinson places it at el- 
Milh, which is about 7 English miles 
from Tell Arad, 22 from Hebron, and 
14 east of Beersheba. This site is, how- 
ever, disputed. 

Mole. 1. Tinshemeth. Lev. 11:30. 
It is probable that the animals men- 
tioned with the tinshemeth in the above 
passage denote different kinds of liz- 
ards ; perhaps, therefore, the chameleon 
is the animal intended. Many scholars, 
however, still consider “ mole ” nearer 
the true meaning; probably the Greek 
Aspalax, not the true mole but a kind 
of blind mole-rat, from 8 to 12 inches 
long, feeding on vegetables, and bur- 
rowing like a mole, but on a larger 
scale. 

2. Chaphor pcroth is rendered 
“ moles ” in Isa. 2 : 20. The word 
means burrowers, hole-diggers, and 
may designate any of the small animals, 
as rats and weasels, which burrow 
among ruins. 

Mo'lech (mo'lek) (king). The fire- 
god Molech was the tutelary deity of 
the children of Ammon, and essentially 
identical with the Moabitish Chemosh. 
Fire-gods appear to have been common 
to all the Canaanite, Syrian and Arab 
tribes, who worshipped fire under an 
outward symbol, with the most inhu- 
man rites. According to Jewish tradi- 
tion, the image of Molech was of brass, 
hollow within, and was situated without 
Jerusalem. Many instances of human 
sacrifices are found in ancient writers, 
which may be compared with the de- 
scription in the Old Testament of the 
manner in which Molech was wor- 
shipped. Molech was the lord and 




MOL 


417 


MON 


master of the Ammonites; their coun- 
try was his possession, Jer. 49 : 1, as 
Moab was the heritage of Chemosh. 
His priests were men of rank, Jer. 49: 
3, taking precedence of the princes. 
The priests of Molech, like those of 
other idols, were called Chemarim. 2 
Kings 23 : 5 ; Hos. 10:5; Zeph. 1 : 4. 
Solomon erected an altar to this god ; 
Ahaz burnt children at his altar; and 
Manasseh made at least one of his sons 
pass through the fire. (1 Kings 11:7; 
2 Kings 21:6; 2 Chron. 28:3). Josiah 


evidence of the use of coined money 
by the Hebrews before the return 
from the Babylonian captivity; but sil- 
ver was used for money, in quantities 
determined by weight, at least as early 
as the time of Abraham ; and its earliest 
mention is in the generic sense of the 
price paid for a slave. Gen. 17 : 13. 
The 1000 pieces of silver paid by Abim- 
elech to Abraham, Gen. 20 : 16, and the 
20 pieces of silver for which Joseph 
was sold to the Ishmaelites, Gen. 37 : 28, 
were probably rings such as we see on 



THE PALESTINIAN MOLE ( SpaloX typhilus). 


destroyed and defiled these high places. 
The name was also written Malcam, 
Milcom and Moloch. 

Mo'lid (mo'lid) {begetter), the son 
of Abishur by his wife Abihail, and de- 
scendant of Jerahmeel. 1 Chron. 2:29. 

Mo'Ioch (md'lok). The same as 
Molech. 

Money. 1. Uncoined money . — It is 
well known that ancient nations that 
were without a coinage weighed the 
precious metals, a practice represented 
on the Egyptian monuments, on which 
gold and silver are shown to have been 
kept in the form of rings. We have no 
27 


the Egyptian monuments in the act of 
being weighed. In the first recorded 
transaction of commerce, the cave of 
Machpelah is purchased by Abraham for 
400 shekels of silver. The shekel weight 
of silver was the unit of value through 
the whole age of Hebrew history, down 
to the Babylonian captivity. 

2. Coined money . — After the captivity 
we have the earliest mention of coined 
money, in allusion, as might have been 
expected, to the Persian coinage, the 
gold daric (Authorized Version dram). 
Ezra 2:69; (cf. 8:27); Neh. 7:70, 71, 
72. [Daric.] No native Jewish coinage 


MON 


418 


MON 


appears to have existed till Antiochus 
VII. Sidetes granted Simon Maccabaeus 
the license to coin money, b.c. 140 ; and it 
is now generally agreed that the oldest 



THE PERSIAN (o T golden) DARIC. 


Jewish silver coins belong to this pe- 
riod. They are shekels and half-shekels, 
of the weight of 220 and 110 grains. 
With this silver there was associated 



DENARIUS OF CESAR. 

a copper coinage. The abundant money 
of Herod the Great, which is of a thor- 
oughly Greek character, and of copper 
only, seems to have been a continuation 



(Matt. 17 : 27 ) — value, 32 cents. 

of the copper coinage of the Maccabees, 
with some adaptation to the Roman 
standard. In the money of the New 
Testament we see the native copper 




assarxon (farthing). Actual size. 

coinage side by side with the Graeco- 
Roman copper, silver and gold. The 
coins mentioned by the evangelists, are 
the following : The didrachm, A. V. 


“ tribute money”; R. V. “half-shekel.” 
Matt. 17 : 24. Stater, A. V. “ piece of 
money”; R. V. “shekel”; Matt. 17:27. 
A Roman coin worth 64 cents, about 



the same value as the Jewish coined 
shekel. The denarius, or Roman penny, 
rather better translated in the R. V. 
shilling, as well as the Greek drachma, 
then of about the same weight, are 
spoken of as current coins. Matt. 22: 
15-21 ; Luke 20 : 19-25. They were 
worth about 16 cents. Of copper coins 
the farthing and its half, the mite, are 
spoken of, and these probably formed 
the chief native currency. The Roman 
farthing ( quadrans ) was a brass coin 
worth % oi a. cent. The Greek far- 
thing (as or assarion ) was worth four 
Roman farthings, i. e. about one cent. 
A mite was half a farthing, and there- 
fore was worth about % of a cent. See 
table of Jewish iveights and measures 
and Money, in Appendix. 

Moneychangers. Matt. 21 : 12 ; 
Mark 11 : 15 ; John 2 : 15. Money- 
changers were a necessity because coins 
of so many countries were in use; and 
especially because Jews came from all 
parts of the world with the money which 
belonged to the country where they 
lived, and often not current in any 
other land. Moreover, according to 
Ex. 30:13-15, every Israelite who had 
reached or passed the age of twenty 
must pay into the sacred treasury, 
whenever the nation was numbered, a 
half-shekel as an offering to Jehovah. 
The money-changers whom Christ, for 
their impiety, avarice and fraudulent 
dealing, expelled from the temple were 
the dealers who supplied half-shekels, 
for such a premium as they might be 
able to exact, for they were required to 
pay their tribute or ransom money in 
the Hebrew coin. 

Month. From the time of the insti- 
tution of the Mosaic law downward, the 
month was a lunar one. The cycle of 
religious feasts commencing with the 


MON 


419 


MOR 


passover depended not simply on the 
month, but on the moon; the 14th of 
Abib was coincident with the full moon ; 
and the new moons themselves were the 
occasions of regular festivals. Num. 10 : 
10 ; 28 : 11-14. The commencement of 
the month was generally decided by ob- 
servation of the new moon. The usual 
number of months in a year was twelve, 
'as implied in 1 Kings 4: 7; 1 Chron. 27: 
1-15 ; but since twelve lunar months 
would make but 354% days, the years 
would be short twelve days of the true 
year, and therefore it follows as a mat- 
ter of course that an additional month 
must have been inserted about every 
third year, which would bring the num- 
ber up to thirteen. No notice, however, 
is taken of this month in the Bible. In 
the modern Jewish calendar the inter- 
calary month is introduced seven times 
in every nineteen years. The usual 
method of designating the months was 
by their numerical order, e. g. “ the 
second month,” Gen. 7 : 11, “ the fourth 
month,” 2 Kings 25:3; and this was 
generally retained even when the names 
were given,' e. g. “ in the month Zif, 
which is the second month.” 1 Kings 
6 : 1. The names of the months belong 
to two distinct periods. In the first 
place we have those peculiar to the pe- 
riod of Jewish independence, of which 
four only, even including Abib, which 
we hardly regard as a proper name, are 
mentioned, viz. : Abib, in which the 
passover fell, Ex. 13:4; 23:15; 34:18; 
Deut. 16 : 1, and which was established 
as the first month in commemoration of 
the Exodus, Ex. 12:2; Zif, the second 
month, 1 Kings 6:1, 37 ; Bui, the eighth, 
1 Kings 6 : 38 ; and Ethanim, the seventh, 
1 Kings 8:2. In the second place we 
have the names which prevailed subse- 
quent to the Babylonish captivity; of 
these the following seven appear in the 
Bible: Nisan, the first, in which the 
passover was held, Neh. 2:1; Esther 3: 
7 ; Sivan, the third, Esther 8:9; Bar. 
1:8; Elul, the sixth, Neh. 6 : 15 ; 1 Macc. 
14:27; Chislev, the ninth, Neh. 1:1; 
Zech. 7:1; 1 Macc. 1 : 54 ; Tebeth, the 
tenth, Esther 2 : 16 ; Shebat, the eleventh, 
Zech. 1:7; 1 Macc. 16 : 14 ; and Adar, 
the twelfth. Esther 3:7; 8:12; 2 

Macc. 15 : 36. The names of the re- 
maining five occur in the Talmud and 
other works; they were, Iyar, the sec- 
ond, Targum; 2 Chron. 30:2; Tammuz, 
the fourth ; Ab, the fifth ; Tisri, the 


se.venth ; and Marchesvan, the eighth. 
The name of the intercalary month was 
Ve-adar, i. e. the additional Adar. The 
identification of the Jewish months with 
our own cannot be effected with pre- 
cision on account of the variations that 
must inevitably exist between the lunar 
and the solar month. Nisan (or Abib) 
answers to April; Zif or Iyar to May; 
Sivan to June; Tammuz to July; Ab to 
August; Elul to September; Ethanim or 
Tisri to October; Bui or Marchesvan 
to November; Chislev to December; 
Tebeth to January; Shebat to February; 
and Adar to March. In the Appendix 
is given a table of the Jewish months 
and the exact corresponding days of our 
months, for two years. 

The Jews of our time begin their 
year in September, with Tisri, so that 
there are two Jewish years recognized. 
But in the Old Testament the year al- 
most without exception begins in the 
spring with Abib (Nisan). 

Moon. The moon held an important 
place in the kingdom of nature, as 
known to the Hebrews. Conjointly 
with the sun, it was appointed “ for 
signs and for seasons, and for days and 
years;” though in this respect it exer- 
cised a more important influence, if by 
the “ seasons ” we understand the great 
religious festivals of the Jews, as is par- 
ticularly stated in Ps. 104 : 19, and more 
at length in Ecclus. 43 : 6, 7. The wor- 
ship of the moon prevailed extensively 
among the nations of the East, and un- 
der a variety of aspects. It was one of 
the only two deities which commanded 
the reverence of all the Egyptians. The 
worship of the heavenly bodies is re- 
ferred to in Job 31 : 26, 27, and Moses 
directly warns the Jews against it. Deut. 
4 : 19. In the figurative language of 
Scripture, the moon is frequently no- 
ticed as presaging events of the greatest 
importance through the temporary or 
permanent withdrawal of its light. Isa. 
13:10; Joel 2:31; Matt. 24:29; Mark 
13 : 24. 

Moon, New. [New Moon.] 

Mor'acthite (mo'ras-thite), The, that 
is, the native of a place named More- 
sheth. It occurs twice — Jer. 26:18; 
Micah 1 : 1 — each time as the description 
of the prophet Micah. 

Mor'decai (mor'de-ki) ( little man, 
or worshipper of Merodach ) , the de- 
liverer, under divine Providence, of the 
Jews from the destruction plotted 


MOR 


420 


MOS 


against them by Haman the chief min- 
ister of Xerxes; the institutor of the 
feast of Purim. The incidents of his 
history are too well known to need to 
be dwelt upon. [Esther.] Three things 
are predicated of Mordecai in the book 
of Esther: (1) That he lived in Shu- 
shan; (2) That his name was Mordecai, 
son of Jair, son of Shimei, son of Kish 
the Benjamite who was taken captive 
with Jehoiachin; (3) That he brought 
up Esther. 

Mo'reh (mo'reh) {teacher). 1 . The 
plain or plains (or, as it should rather 
be rendered, the oak or oaks) of Moreh. 
The oak (or terebinth) of Moreh was 
the first recorded halting-place of Abram 
after his entrance into the land of Ca- 
naan. Gen. 12 : 6. It was at the “ place 
of Shechem,” ch. 12 : 6, close to the 
mountains of Ebal and Gerizim. Deut. 
11 : 30. 

2. The hill of Moreh, at the foot of 
which the Midianites and Amalekites 
were encamped before Gideon’s attack 
upon them. Judges 7:1. It is not pos- 
itively identified, but probably lay in the 
valley of Jezreel, rather on the north 
side of the valley, and north also of the 
eminence on which Gideon’s little band 
of heroes was clustered. A suggestion 
is Jebel ed-Duhy, the “ Little Hermon ” 
of the modern travelers. 

Mor'esheth=gath (mor'esh-eth-gath) 
( possession of Gath), a place named by 
the prophet Micah. Micah 1 : 14. The 
prophet was himself a native of a place 
called Moresheth. 

Mori'ah (mo-rl'ah). 1 . The land of 
Moriah. — On “ one of the mountains ” 
in this district took place the sacrifice 
of Isaac. Gen. 22 : 2. A tradition first 
given by Josephus that this mountain 
was the one afterwards the site of the 
Temple has long had credence. There 
are many however who dispute it. 

2. Mount Moriah. — The elevation on 
which Solomon built the temple, where 
God appeared to David “ in the thresh- 
ing-floor of Araunah the Jebusite.” It 
is the eastern eminence of Jerusalem. 
The top was levelled by Solomon, and 
immense walls were built around it from 
the base to enlarge the level surface 
for the temple area. 

Mortar, “ a wide-mouthed vessel in 
form of an inverted bell, in which sub- 
stances are pounded or bruised with a 
pestle.” — Webster. The simplest and 
probably most ancient method of prepar- 


ing grain for food was by pounding it 
between two stones. The Israelites in 
the desert appear to have possessed 
mortars and handmills among their 
necessary domestic utensils. When the 
manna fell they gathered it, and either 
ground it in the mill or pounded it in 
the mortar till it was fit for use. Num. 
11 : 8. So in the present day stone mor- 
tars are used by the Arabs to pound 
wheat for their national dish kibby. 
Another word occurring in Prov. 27 : 22 
probably denotes a mortar of a larger 
kind in which grain was pounded : 
“ Though thou shouldest bray a fool in 
a mortar among wheat with a pestle, 
yet will not his foolishness depart from 
him.” Grain may be separated from its 
husk and all its good properties pre- 
served by such an operation, but the 
fool’s folly is so essential a part of 
himself that no analogous process can 
remove it from him. Such seems the 
natural interpretation of this remarkable 
proverb. The language is intentionally 
exaggerated, and there is no necessity 
for supposing an allusion to a mode of 
punishment by which criminals were put 
to death by being pounded in a mortar. 
A custom of this kind existed among 
the Turks, but there is no distinct trace 
of it among the Hebrews. Such, how- 
ever, is supposed to be the reference in 
the proverb by Mr. Roberts, who illus- 
trates it from his Indian experience. 

Mortar. Gen. 11 : 3 ; Ex. 1 : 14 ; Lev. 
14:42, 45; Isa. 41:25; Ezek. 13:10, 11, 
14, 15; 22:28; Nah. 3:14. The various 
compacting substances used in Oriental 
buildings appear to be — 1. Bitumen, as 
in the Babylonian structures; 2. Com- 
mon mud or moistened clay; 3. A very 
firm cement compounded of sand and 
lime, well pounded, sometimes mixed 
and sometimes coated with oil, so as to 
form a surface almost impenetrable to 
wet or the weather. In Assyrian and 
also Egyptian brick buildings, stubble or 
straw, as hair or wool among ourselves, 
was added to increase the tenacity. 

Mose'rah (mo-se'ra) {bonds), Deut. 
10 : 6, apparently the same as Moseroth, 
Num. 33 : 30, its plural form, the name 
of a place near Mount Hor. 

Mo'ses (mo'zez) (from Egyptian 
mes or mesu; extraction, a son. For- 
merly thought from Coptic “ saved from 
the water”), the legislator of the Jew- 
ish people, and in a certain sense the 
founder of the Jewish religion. 


MOS 


421 


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The history of Moses as given in the 
Pentateuch, naturally divides itself into 
three periods of 40 years each. Moses 
was born at Goshen, in Egypt, b.c. 1571, 
if we accept Ussher’s date for the Exo- 
dus. The story of his birth is thor- 
oughly .Egyptian in its scene. His 
mother made extraordinary efforts for 
his preservation from the general de- 
struction of the male children of Israel. 
For three months the child was con- 
cealed in the house. Then his mother 
placed him in a small boat or basket of 
papyrus, closed against the water by 
bitumen. This was placed among the 
aquatic vegetation by the side of one of 
the canals of the Nile. The sister lin- 
gered to watch her brother’s fate. The 
Egyptian princess, who, tradition says, 
was a childless wife, came down to 
bathe in the sacred river. Her attend- 
ant slaves followed her. She saw the 
basket in the flags, and ordered it to be 
opened. The cry of the child moved 
the princess to compassion. She deter- 
mined to rear it as her own. The sis- 
ter was at hand to recommend a Hebrew 
nurse, the child’s own mother. Here 
was the first part of Moses’ training, — 
a training at home in the true religion, 
in faith in God, in the promises to his 
nation, in the life of a saint, — a training 
which he never forgot, even amid the 
splendors and gilded sin of Pharaoh’s 
court. The child was adopted by the 
princess. From this time for many 
years Moses must be considered as an 
Egyptian. As an Egyptian prince he 
must have a princely education ; and 
he became “ learned in all the wisdom 
of the Egyptians” (Acts 7:22), who 
were then unsurpassed in civilization 
and learning by any people in the world. 
This was the second part of Moses’ 
training, fitting him for high office, and 
for leadership. 

The second period of Moses’ life be- 
gan when he was forty years old. 
Seeing the sufferings of his people, 
Moses determined to go to them as 
their helper, and made his great life- 
choice, to be their guide and deliverer. 
Heb. 11 : 25, 26. Seeing an Israelite ill- 
treated by an Egyptian, and thinking 
that they were alone, he slew the Egyp- 
tian, and buried the corpse in the sand. 
But the people soon showed themselves 
unfitted as yet to obtain their freedom, 
nor was Moses yet fitted to be their 
leader. He was compelled to leave 


Egypt when the slaying of the Egyp- 
tian became known, and he fled to the 
land of Midian, in the southern and 
southeastern part of the Sinai peninsula. 
There, wearied, he sat down by a well 
where the Midianite herdsmen were 
watering their sheep. He aided the 
daughters of Jethro, and by this means 
was introduced to Jethro, who was a 
priest. He gave him hospitality and 
employment, and also one of his daugh- 
ters to wife. For forty years Moses 
communed with God and with nature, 
and enjoyed intimate association with 
Jethro, a man of sound judgment (Ex. 
18). This was the third process of his 
training for his work; and from this 
training he learned infinitely more than 
from Egypt. One advantage of this 
life was the familiarity it gave him 
with the desert, its roads and its re- 
sources. Finally God met him on Ho- 
reb, appearing in a burning bush, and, 
communicating with him, appointed him 
to be the leader and deliverer of his 
people. 

Now begins the third period of forty 
years in Moses’ life. He meets Aaron, 
his brother, as promised, whom God 
permitted to be the spokesman, and to- 
gether they return to Goshen in Egypt. * 
From this time the history of Moses is 
the history of Israel. Aaron spoke and 
acted for Moses, and was the permanent 
inheritor of the sacred staff of power. 
But Moses was the inspiring soul behind. 
He is incontestably the chief personage 
of the history, in a sense in which no 
one else is described before or since. 
He was led into a closer communion 
with the invisible world than was vouch- 
safed to any other in the Old Testa- 
ment. On approaching Palestine the 
office of the leader becomes blended 
with that of the general or the con- 
queror. By Moses the spies were sent 
to explore the country. Against his ad- 
vice took place the first disastrous battle 
at Hormah. To his guidance is ascribed 
the circuitous route by which the nation 
approached Palestine from the east, and 
to his generalship the two successful 
campaigns in which Sihon and Og were 
defeated. The narrative is told so 
briefly that we are in danger of for- 
getting that at this last stage of his life 
Moses must have been as much a con- 
queror and victorious soldier as was 
Joshua. 

His character. Moses stands among 


MOS 


422 


MOS 


the few greatest men in all history. In 
every direction he was great and good. 

1. As a prophet. A prophet ' is one 
who speaks and acts under the direction 
of God, the medium through which God 
reveals his will to men. 

2. As a saint. Moses’ goodness 
shines as brightly as his greatness. He 
was unselfish. He devoted himself at 
every cost to the good of his people. 
He encountered every danger for their 
sakes. He was willing to die to save 
them. He was the embodiment of love 
to God and love to man. By seeing 
God face to face he was becoming 
transformed into his spiritual likeness. 

3. His meekness. Moses was in a 
sense peculiar to himself the founder 
and representative of his people ; and 
in accordance with this complete identi- 
fication of himself with- his nation is 
the only strong personal trait which we 
are able to gather from his history. 
Num. 12:3. The word “meek” is 
hardly an adequate reading of the He- 
brew term, which should be rather 
“ much enduring.” It represents what 
we should now designate by the word 
“ disinterested.” All that is told of him 
indicates a withdrawal of himself, a 
preference of the cause of his nation 
to his own interests, which makes him 
the most complete example of Jewish 
patriotism. 

4. His imperfection. Two or three 
times some fault is attributed to Moses, 
as every saint has failed in some point 
at some time. There is no garden but 
has some weeds. But the most unjust 
thing we can do is to measure its value 
by its weeds and not by its fruits. “ By 
their fruits ye shall know them.” Moses’ 
few faults are such that they would 
never be noticed at all in a worldly 
man. They are like a broken limb on a 
tree loaded with magnificent fruit. All 
God’s works through men are done by 
imperfect instruments. 

5. As a statesman. “ Inspiration 
apart, Moses possessed all those endow- 
ments and qualities which form the con- 
summate statesman and chief magis- 
trate : an intellect of the highest order ; 
a perfect mastery of all the civil wisdom 
of the age ; a penetrating, comprehen- 
sive, and sagacious judgment ; great 
promptness and energy in action; pa- 
triotism which neither ingratitude, ill 
treatment nor rebellion could quench, 
or even cool ; a commanding and per- 


suasive eloquence ; a hearty love of 
truth; an incorruptible virtue; an entire 
freedom from selfish ambition ; an in- 
vincible hatred of tyranny and injustice; 
a patient endurance of toil ; a courageous 
contempt of danger; and a greatness of 
soul in which he has never been sur- 
passed- by the most admired heroes of 
ancient or modern times. Comprehen- 
siveness, grasp, force, sagacity were, the 
predominant characteristics of his mind; 
magnanimity, disinterestedness, an en- 
thusiastic devotion to liberty, and an 
ardent but rational piety, the leading 
qualities of his heart.” 

6. As a general Moses delivered his 
people from the most powerful nation 
on earth ; maintained them amid the 
perils of the desert for forty years, and 
led them in confidence against a country 
settled by fierce tribes, which they con- 
quered. 

7. As a lawgiver. However much 
may have been added by the develop- 
ment of the people, like the amendments 
to the Constitution and laws of the 
United States, yet through Moses was 
instituted the great system of civil and 
religious law. 

8. As a poet. The two songs in Deu- 
teronomy, 32 and 33, and Psalm 90. 

9. As an orator. The great orations 
in Deuteronomy stand among the few 
greatest masterpieces of eloquence in 
the world’s history, if not at their head. 

Close of his life. The song and the 
blessing of the tribes conclude the fare- 
well, chs. 32, 33. And then comes the 
mysterious close. He is told that he is 
to see the good land beyond the Jor- 
dan, but not to possess it himself. He 
ascends the mount of Pisgah and stands 
on Nebo, one of its summits, and sur- 
veys the four great masses of Palestine 
west of the Jordan, so far as it can be 
discerned from that height. The view 
has passed into a proverb for all na- 
tions. “ So Moses the servant of Je- 
hovah died there in the land of Moab, 
according to the word of Jehovah. And 
he buried him in a ‘ravine’ in the 
land of Moab, ‘before’ Beth-peor: but 
no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto 
this day. . . . And the children of 

Israel wept for Moses in the plains of 
Moab thirty days.” Deut. 34 : 5, 6, 8. 
This is all that is said in the sacred 
record. 

Moses is spoken of as a likeness of 
Christ; and as this is a point of view 


MOT 


423 


MOU 


which has been almost lost in the 
Church, compared with the more fa- 
miliar comparisons of Christ to Adam, 
David, Joshua, and yet has as firm a 
basis in fact as any of them, it may be 
well to draw it out in detail, (l) Moses 
is, as it would seem, the only character 
of the Old Testament to whom Christ 
expressly likens himself : “ Moses wrote 

of me.” John 5: 46. v It suggests three 
main points of likeness : (a) Christ was, 
like Moses, the great prophet of the 
people — the last, as Moses was the first. 

( b ) Christ, like Moses, is a lawgiver: 
“ Him shall ye hear.” (c) Christ, like 
Moses, was a prophet out of the midst 
of the nation, “ from their brethren.” 
As Moses was the entire representative 
of his people, feeling for them more 
than for himself, absorbed in their inter- 
ests, hopes and fears, so, with reverence 
be it said, was Christ. (2) In Heb. 3 : 
1-19 ; 12 : 24-29 ; Acts 7 : 37, Christ is 
described, though more obscurely, as the 
Moses of the new dispensation — as the 
apostle or messenger or mediator of God 
to the people — as the controller and 
leader of the flock or household of God. 
(3) The details of their lives are some- 
times, though not often, compared. Acts 
7 : 24-28, 35. 

Moth. By the Hebrew word we are 
certainly to understand some species of 
clothes-moth (tinea). Reference to the 
destructive habits of the clothes-moth is 
made in the Bible; reference being made 
to its destruction of clothing (Job 13 : 
28; Matt. 6:19; Jas. 5:2); its feeding 
on wool (Isa. 51:8) and building for 
itself a frail covering from it (Job 27 : 
18). There are many kinds of moths, 
the clothes-moth in its larva state being 
the one which creates this havoc. 

Mother. The superiority of the He- 
brew over all contemporaneous systems 
of legislation and of morals is strongly 
shown in the higher estimation of the 
mother in the Jewish family, as con- 
trasted with modern Oriental as well as 
ancient Oriental and classical usage. 
The king’s mother, as appears in the 
case of Bath-sheba, was treated with 
special honor. Ex. 20 : 12 ; Lev. 19 : 3 ; 
Deut. 5:16; 21 : 18, 21 ; 1 Kings 2 : 19 ; 
Prov. 10 : 1 ; 15 : 20 ; 17 : 25 ; 29 : 15 ; 31 : 
1, 30. 

Mount, Mountain. The Hebrew 
word har, like the English “mountain,” 
is employed for both single eminences 
more or less isolated, such as Sinai, Ger- 


izim, Ebal, Zion and Olivet, and for 
ranges, such as Lebanon. It is also ap- 
plied to a mountainous country or dis- 
trict. 

Mourning. One marked feature of 
Oriental mourning is what may be 
called its studied publicity and the care- 
ful observance of the prescribed cere- 
monies. Gen. 23:2; Job 1:20; 2:12. 
1. Among the particular forms observed 
the following may be mentioned: (a) 
Rending the clothes. Gen. 37 : 29, 34 ; 
44:13, etc. (b) Dressing in sackcloth. 
Gen. 37:34; 2 Sam. 3:31; 21:10, etc. 

( c ) Ashes, dust or earth sprinkled on 
the person. 2 Sam. 13 : 19 ; 15 : 32, etc. 

( d ) Black or sad-colored garments. 2 

Sam. 14:2; Jer. 8:21, etc. ( e ) Re- 
moval of ornaments or neglect of per- 
son. Deut. 21 : 12, 13, etc. (/) Shaving 
the head, plucking out the hair of the 
head or beard. Lev. 10 : 6 ; 2 Sam. 19 : 
24, etc. ( g ) Laying bare some part of 
the body. Isa. 20:2; 47:2, etc. ( h ) 
Fasting or abstinence in meat and drink. 
2 Sam. 1 : 12 ; 3 : 35 ; 12 : 16, 22, etc. 
( i ) In the same direction may be men - 
tioned diminution in offerings to God, 
and prohibition to partake of sacrificial 
food. Lev. 7:20; Deut. 26:14. ( k ) 

Covering the “ upper lip,” i. e. the lower 
part of the face, and sometimes the 
head, in token of silence. Lev. 13 : 45 ; 
2 Sam. 15 : 30 ; 19 : 4. (/) Cutting the 

flesh, Jer. 16:6, 7; 41:5; beating the 
body. Ezek. 21:12; Jer. 31:19. ( m ) 

Employment of persons hired for the 
purpose of mourning. Eccles. 12 : 5 ; 
Jer. 9:17; Amos 5:16; Matt. 9:23. 
(n) Akin to the foregoing usage the 
custom for friends or passers-by to 
join in the lamentations of bereaved or 
afflicted persons. Gen. 50:3; Judges 
11 : 40 ; Job 2:11; 30 : 25, etc. (o) The 
sitting or lying posture in silence indica- 
tive of grief. Gen. 23 : 3 ; Judges 20 : 
26, etc. ( p ) Mourning feast and cup 
of consolation. Jer. 16 : 7, 8. 2. The 
period of mourning varied. The ordi- 
nary time was seven days. The period 
for Aaron and Moses was thirty days 
(Num. 20:29; Deut. 34:8), and for 
Jacob seventy days in Egypt (including 
however the forty days of the embalm- 
ing) (Gen. 50:3) and seven days on 
arrival in Canaan (Gen. 50:10). 

With the practices above mentioned, 
Oriental and other customs, ancient and 
modern, in great measure agree. Arab 
men are silent in grief, but the women 


MOU 


424 


MUR 


scream, tear their hair, hands and face, 
and throw earth or sand on their heads. 
Both Mohammedans and Christians in 
Egypt hire wailing-women, and wail at 
stated times. Burckhardt says the 
women of Atbara in Nubia shave their 
heads on the death of their nearest 
relatives — a custom prevalent also 
among several of the peasant tribes of 
upper Egypt. He also mentions wail- 
ing-women, and a man in distress be- 
smearing his face with dirt and dust in 
token of grief. In the “ Arabian 
Nights ” are frequent allusions to similar 
practices. It also mentions ten days 
and forty days as periods of mourning. 
Lane, speaking of the modern Egyp- 
tians, says, “ After death the women of 
the family raise cries of lamentation 
called welweleh or wilwal, uttering the 
most piercing shrieks, and calling upon 
the name of the deceased, ‘ Oh, my 
master ! Oh, my resource ! Oh, my 
misfortune! Oh, my glory !’ See Jer. 
22 : 18. The females of the neighbor- 
hood come to join with them in this 
conclamation : generally, also, the family 
send for two or more neddabehs or 
public wailing-women. Each brings a 
tambourine, and beating them they ex- 
claim, ‘ Alas for him ! ’ The female 
relatives, domestics and friends, with 
their hair dishevelled and sometimes 
with rent clothes, beating their faces, 
cry in like manner, ‘ Alas for him ! ’ 
These make no alteration in dress, but 
women, in some cases, dye their shirts, 
head-veils and handkerchiefs of a dark- 
blue color. They visit the tombs at 
stated periods.” 

Mouse. The name of this animal 
occurs in Lev. 11 : 29 ; 1 Sam. 6:4, 5 ; 
Isa. 66 : 17. The Hebrew word is in 
all probability generic, and is not in- 
tended to denote any particular species 
of mouse. The original word denotes a 
field-ravager, and may therefore com- 
prehend any destructive rodent. Trist- 
ram found twenty-five species of mice 
in Palestine. It is probable that in 1 
Sam. 6 : 5 the expression “ the mice that 
mar the land ” includes and more par- 
ticularly refers to the short-tailed field- 
mice ( Arvicola avails) , which cause 
great destruction to the grain-lands of 
Syria. 

Mowing. As the great heat of the 
climate in Palestine and other similarly- 
situated countries soon dries up the 
herbage itself, hay-making in our sense 


of the term is not in use. The “king’s 
mowings,” Amos 7 : 1, may perhaps re- 
fer to some royal right of early pas- 
turage for the use of the cavalry. 

Mo'za (mo'za) (fountain). 1 . Son 
of Caleb the son of Hezron. 1 Chron. 
2: 46. 

2. Son of Zimri and descendant of 
Saul. 1 Chron. 8 : 36, 37 ; 9 : 42, 43. 

Mo'zah (mo'zah) (fountain) , one of 
the cities in the allotment of Benjamin, 
Josh. 18:26 only, named between hac- 
Cephirah and Rekem. Possibly Beit 
Mizzeh, 5 miles northwest of Jerusa- 
lem. 

Mulberry trees (Heb. 'becalm). 
Mention of these is made only in 2 
Sam. 5 : 23, 24 and 1 Chron. 14 : 14. We 
are quite unable to determine what kind 
of tree is denoted by the Hebrew word. 
Some believe pear trees are meant ; 
others the aspen or poplar, whose leaves 
tremble and rustle with the slightest 
breeze, even when the breeze is not 
otherwise perceptible. It may have 
been to the rustling of these leaves that 
the “ going in the tree tops ” .refers. 2 
Sam, 5 : 23, 24. 

Mule, a hybrid animal, the offspring 
of a horse and an ass. The mule is a 
remarkably hardy, patient, obstinate, 
sure-footed animal, living, ordinarily, 
twice as long as a horse. It was for- 
bidden to the Israelites to breed mules, 
but # sometimes they imported them. 
David and other kings rode on mules. 
(2 Sam. 13:29; 18:9; 1 Kings 1:33). 
Ezra’s company brought 245 from Baby- 
lon. They are now universally used in 
Bible lands. 

Mup'pim (mup'pim), a Benjamite, 
and one of the fourteen descendants of 
Rachel who belonged to the original 
colony of the sons of Jacob in Egypt 
Gen. 46:21. (b.c. 1706.) In Num. 26: 

39 the name is given as Shupham. 

Murder. The law of Moses, while it 
protected the accidental homicide, de- 
fined with additional strictness the crime 
of murder. It prohibited compensation 
or reprieve of the murderer, or his pro- 
tection if he took refuge in the refuge 
city, or even at the altar of Jehovah 
Ex. 21 : 12, 14 ; Lev. 24 : 17, 21 ; 1 Kings 
2:5, 6, 31. The duty of executing pun- 
ishment on the murderer is in the law 
expressly laid on the “ Avenger of 
blood;” but the question of guilt was to 
be previously decided by the Levitical 
tribunal. In regal times the duty of ex- 


MUS 


425 


MUS 


ecution of justice on a murderer seems 
to have been assumed to some extent 
by the sovereign, as was also the privi- 
lege of pardon. 2 Sam. 13 : 39 ; 14 : 7, 
11 ; 1 Kings 2 : 34. It was lawful to 
kill a burglar taken at night in the act, 
but unlawful to do so after sunrise. Ex. 
22 : 2, 3. . 

Mu'shi (mu'shi), the son of Merari 
the son of Levi. Ex. 6 : 19 ; Num. 3 : 
20 ; 1 Chron. 6 : 19, 47 ; 23 : 21, 23 ; 24 : 
26, 30. 

Music. 1 . The most ancient music. — 
The inventor of musical instruments, 
like the first poet and the first forger 
of metals, was a Cainite. We learn 
from Gen. 4 : 21 that Jubal the son of 
Lamech was “the father of all such 
as handle the harp and organ,” that is, 
of all players upon stringed and wind 
instruments. The first mention of music 
in the times after the deluge is in the 
narrative of Laban’s interview with 
Jacob, Gen. 31:27; and Job 21:12 re- 
fers to music as a common feature in 
a prosperous life. On the banks of the 
Red Sea Moses and the children of 
Israel sang their triumphal song of de- 
liverance from the hosts of Egypt; and 
Miriam, in celebration of the same 
event, exercised one of her functions as 
a prophetess by leading a procession of 
the women of the camp, chanting in 
chorus the burden of the song of Moses. 
The song of Deborah and Barak is 
cast in a distinctly metrical form, and 
was probably intended to be sung with 
a musical accompaniment as one of the 
people’s songs. The simpler impromptu 
with which the women from the cities 
of Israel greeted David after the slaugh- 
ter of the Philistines was apparently 
struck off on the spur of the moment, 
under the influence of the wild joy 
with which they welcomed their na- 
tional champion, “ the darling of the 
sons of Israel.” 1 Sam. 18 : 6, 7. Up 
to this time we meet with nothing like 
a systematic cultivation of music among 
the Hebrews, but the establishment of 
the schools of the prophets appears to 
have supplied this want. Whatever the 
students of these schools may have been 
taught, music was an essential part of 
their practice. Professional musicians 
soon became attached to the court. 

2 . The golden age of Hebrew music . — 
David seems to have gathered round him 
“singing men and singing women.” 2 


Sam. 19 : 35. Solomon did the same, 
Eccles. 2 : 8, adding to the luxury of his 
court by his patronage of art, and ob- 
taining a reputation himself as no mean 
composer. 1 Kings 4 : 32. But the tem- 
ple was the great school of music, and it 
was consecrated to its highest service in 
the worship of Jehovah. Before, how- 
ever, the elaborate arrangements had 
been made by David for the temple 
choir, there must have been a considera- 
ble body of musicians throughout the 
country. 2 Sam. 6 : 5. David chose 
4000 musicians from the Levites. Of 
these musicians 288 were specially 
trained for leaders. 1 Chron. 25 : 6, 7. 
The whole number was divided into 24 
courses, each of which would thus con- 
sist of a full band of 154 musicians, 
presided over by a body of 12 specially- 
trained leaders, under one of the twenty- 
four sons of Asaph, Heman or Jedu- 
thun as conductor. The leaders appear 
to have played on the cymbals, perhaps 
to mark the time. 1 Chron. 15 : 19 ; 16 : 
5. These great choirs answered one to 
another in responsive singing; thus the 
temple music must have been grand 
and inspiring beyond anything known 
before that time. 

3. Character of Hebrew music. — As in 
all Oriental nations, the music of the 
Hebrews was melody rather than har- 
mony, which latter in our sense of the 
term was then unknown. All, old and 
young, men and maidens, singers and 
instruments, appear to have sung one 
part only in unison, or in octaves. “ The 
beauty of the music consisted altogether 
in the melody;” but this with so many 
instruments and voices was so charming 
that “ the whole of antiquity is full of 
the praises of this music. By its means 
battles were won, cities conquered, muti- 
nies quelled, diseases cured.” 

4. Uses of music. — In the private as 
well as in the religious life of the He- 
brews music held a prominent place. 
The kings had their court musicians, 2 
Chron. 35 : 25 ; Eccles. 2:8; and in the 
luxurious times of the later monarchy 
the effeminate gallants of Israel amused 
themselves with devising musical instru- 
ments while their nation was perishing 
“ as Nero fiddled while Rome was burn- 
ing.” But music was also the legitimate 
expression of mirth and gladness. The 
bridal processions as they passed through 
the streets were accompanied with 


MUS 


426 


MUS 


music and song. Jer. 7 : 34. The music 
of the banquets was accompanied with 
songs and dancing, Luke 15 : 25. The 
triumphal processions which celebrated 
a victory were enlivened by minstrels 
and singers. Ex. 15 : 1, 20 ; Judges 5 : 
1 ; 11 : 34. There were also religious 
songs. Isa. 30:29; James 5:13. Love 
songs are alluded to in Ps. 45, title, and 
Isa. 5 : 1. There were also the doleful 


Egyptians had a long drum, of wood 
or copper, 2 Y 2 fbet long, resembling the 
tom-tom of India, and beaten by the 
hand. Another form was shaped like 
a cask with bulging centre, and was 
made of copper. It was of the same 
length as the other, but larger around, 
and was beaten with sticks. Another 
drum was more like our kettle-drum ; 
and one of these, the rabbins say, was 



ASSYRIAN BAND. 


songs of the funeral procession, and the 
wailing chant of the mourners. The 
grape-gatherers sang at their work, and 
the women sang as they toiled at the 
mill, and on every occasion the land of 
the Hebrews during their national pros- 
perity was a land of music and melody. 

Musical instruments of the He= 
brews. There has been great obscur- 
ity as to the instruments of music in 
use among the Hebrews, but the dis- 
coveries on the monuments of Egypt 
and Assyria have thrown much light 
upon their form and nature. 

I. Stringed instruments. — 1. The 
kinnor, the harp or lyre. [See illus- 
tration.] 2. The nebel or psaltery , the 
name of various large instruments of 
the harp kind. 3. The sackbut , probably 
the Latin Sambuca, a harp-like instru- 
ment of four strings and of triangular 
form. Some have considered the terms 
Mahalath and Gittith found in the titles 
of several of the Psalms to be musical 
instruments, and have gone so far as 
to describe them. While the idea has 
not been really confuted there is too 
much doubt to warrant any description. 

II. Instruments of percussion. — 1. 
The tabret or timbrel ( toph ), a form of 
tambourine, a narrow hoop covered with 
a tightened skin, and struck with the 
hand. On the Egyptian monuments are 
three kinds — the circular, the square, 
and another formed by two squares 
separated by a bar. 2. The drum. Of 
this there were many varieties, some of 
them resembling modern drums. The 


placed in the temple court to call the 
priests to prayer, and could be heard 
from Jerusalem to Jericho. 3. Bells 
( paamon ), attached to the high priest’s 
dress, and rung by striking against the 
knobs, shaped like pomegranates, which 
were hung near them. 4. Cymbals. 
The earliest cymbals were probably 
finger-cymbals, castanets, — small plates 
of metal fastened to ( the thumb and 



EGYPTIAN PICTURE OF A BED- 
OUIN PLAYING THE LYRE. 


middle finger, and struck together. Af- 
terward there were the large cymbals, 
I played with both hands. 5. Systra 



MUS 


427 


MUS 


( menaanim ), 2 Sam. 6:5, there trans- 
lated “cornets” in the A. V. but “cas- 



tanets ” in the R. V. The systrum was 
a carved bronze or copper frame, with 
a handle, in all from 8 to 18 inches long, 
with movable rings and bam. It was 



II. INSTRUMENTS OF PERCUSSION. 


shaken with the hand, and the rings and 
bars made a piercing metallic sound by 


striking against the bronze frame. 6. 
The shalishim, 1 Sam. 18:6, a musical 
instrument used for accompanying the 
dance, and several times translated 
dancing. Ps. 150 : 3, 4, 5. It is doubtful 
what instrument is intended. Many 
consider that, it was either a triangle 
with a metallic rim or frame, sometimes 
with a handle, and small bells attached 
to it, a systrum with three parallel bars 
across it on which were strung metallic 



III. WIND INSTRUMENTS. 


rings or plates. It was held in the hand, 
and was played by the women at wed- 
dings and 1 merry-makings. 

III. Wind instruments. — 1. Th eugab, 
translated “ organ ” in Gen. 4 : 21, A. V. 
and “ pipe ” in R. V. The meaning is 
very uncertain. It is considered by 
different authorities as a pipe, bagpipe, 
Pan's pipe, syrinx, or as a general term 
for a wind instrument. Each authority 
brings strong objections to all but the 
one he selects. 2. The horn, in the form 
of an animal’s horn even when made of 
metal, but originating in the use of the 
horns of cattle. 3. The trumpet ( sho - 
phar), same as the horn. 4. The 
straight trumpet reserved for the priests. 
5. The flute ( halil , meaning “bored 
through ”), a pipe perforated with holes, 
originally made from reeds, but after- 
ward of wood, bone, horn or ivory. It 
was chiefly consecrated to joy or pleas- 
ure. 6. The flute, alluded to in Dan. 3 : 
5 ; probably the syrinx. Perhaps the 


MUS 


428 


MYR 


same as the ugab. 7. The dulcimer * 
Dan. 3 : 5, the Symphonia, perhaps the 
bagpipe. The modern dulcimer is a tri- 
angular instrument strung with about 
50 brass wires, and played upon with 
little sticks or metallic rods. It more 
resembles the ancient psaltery than the 
dulcimer of Dan. 3 : 5. 

Mustard is mentioned in Matt. 13 : 
31; 17:20; Mark 4:31; Luke 13:19; 
17 : 6. It is generally agreed that the 
mustard tree of Scripture is the black 
mustard ( Sinapis nigra). The objection 
commonly made against any sinapis be- 
ing the plant of the parable is that the 
seed grew into “ a tree,” in which the 
fowls of the air are said to come and 
lodge. As to this objection, it is urged 
with great truth that the expression is 
figurative and Oriental, and that in a 
proverbial simile no literal accuracy is 
to be expected. It is an error, for which 



THE MUSTARD PLANT. 


the language of Scripture is not ac- 
countable, to assert that the passage im- 
plies that birds “ built their nests ” in 
the tree : the Greek word has no such 
meaning; the word merely means “to 
settle or rest upon ” anything for a 
longer or shorter time ; nor is there any 
occasion to suppose that the expression 
“ fowls of the air ” denotes any other 
than the smaller insessorial kinds — 
linnets, finches, etc. Hiller’s explanation 
is probably the correct one, — that the 
birds came and settled on the mustard- 
plant for the sake of the seed, of which 
they are very fond. Dr. Thomson also 


says he has seen the wild mustard on 
the rich plain of Akkar as tall as the 
horse and the rider. If, then, the wild 
plant on the rich plain of Akkar grows 
as high as a man on horseback, it might 
attain to the same or a greater height 
when in a cultivated garden. The ex- 
pression “ which is indeed the least of 
all seeds ” is in all probability hyperbol- 
ical, to denote a very small seed indeed, 
as there are many seeds which are 
smaller than mustard. “ The Lord in 
his popular teaching,” says Trench 
(“Notes on Parables,” 108), “adhered 
to the popular language;” and the mus- 
tard-seed was used proverbially to de- 
note anything very minute ; or it may 
mean that it was the smallest of all 
garden seeds, which it is in truth. 

Muth=labben (muth-lab'ben). “To 
the chief musician upon Muth-labben ” 
is the title of Ps. 9, which has given 
rise to infinite conjecture. Most mod- 
erns think Muth-labben to be the open- 
ing words of an air or song to the 
melody of which the Psalm is to be 
sung. Possibly to the tune “ Death of 
the son ” or “ Death makes wise.” 

My'ra (mi'ra), an important town in 
Lycia, on the southwest coast of Asia 
Minor, on the river Andriacus, 2 1 /2 
miles from its mouth, referred to in 
Acts 27 : 5. Myra (now called Dembra) 
is remarkable still for its remains of 
various periods of history. 

Myrrh. This substance is mentioned 
in Ex. 30 : 23 as one of the ingredients 
of the “ oil of holy ointment ;” in Esther 
2 : 12, as one of the substances used in 
the purification of women ; in Ps. 45 : 8, 
Prov. 7 : 17, and in several passages in 
Canticles, as a perfume. The Greek oc- 
curs in Matt. 2:11 among the gifts 
brought by the wise men to the infant 
Jesus; and in Mark 15: 23 it is said that 
“ wine mingled with myrrh ” was offered 
to, but refused by, our Lord on the 
cross. Myrrh was also used for em- 
balming. See John 19:39 and Herod, 
ii. 86. The Balsamodendron myrrha, 
which produces the myrrh of commerce, 
has a wood and bark which emit a 
strong odor ; the gum which exudes 
from the bark is at first oily, but be- 
comes hard by exposure to the air. 
This myrrh is in small yellowish or 
white globules or tears. The tree is 
small, with a stunted trunk, covered 
with light-gray bark. It is found in 
Arabia Felix. The myrrh of Gen. 37: 


MYR 


429 


MYS 


25 was probably ladanum, a highly-fra- 
grant resin and volatile oil used as a 
cosmetic, and stimulative as a medicine. 
It is yielded by the cistus, known in 
Europe as the rock rose, a shrub with 
rose-colored flowers, growing in Pales- 



MYRRH. 


tine and along the shores of the Med- 
iterranean. For wine mingled with 
myrrh see Gall. 

Myrtle, a plant mentioned in Neh. 8 : 
15 ; Isa. 41 : 19 ; 55 : 13 ; Zech. 1 : 8, 10, 
11. The modern Jews still adorn with 
myrtle the booths and sheds at the feast 
of tabernacles. Formerly, as we learn 
from Nehemiah, Neh. 8 : 15, myrtles 
grew on the hills about Jerusalem. The 
Myrtus communis is the kind denoted 


by the Hebrew word. It is a shrub or 
low tree, sometimes ten feet high, with 
green shining leaves, and snow-white 
flowers bordered with purple, “ which 
emit a perfume more exquisite than 
that of the rose.” The seeds of the 



MYRTLE. 


myrtle, dried before they are ripe, form 
our allspice. The plant is common in 
Palestine to-day. 

Mys'ia (mis'ia), Acts 16:7, 8, the 
name customarily used for the north- 
western part of Asia Minor, bounded 
on the east and south by Bithynia, 
Phrygia and Lydia. Its boundaries 
were vague and undeterminable. 


N 


Na'am (na'am) {pleasantness) , one 
of the sons of Caleb the son of Jephun- 
neh. 1 Chron. 4 : 15. 

Na'amah (na'a-mah) {pleasant) . 1. 

One of the four women whose names 
are preserved in the records of the 
world before the flood; all except Eve 
being Cainites. She was daughter of 
Lamech by his wife Zillah, and sister, 
as is expressly mentioned, to Tubal- 
cain. Gen. 4 : 22 only. 

2, Mother of King Rehoboam. 1 
Kings 14:21, 31; 2 Chron. • 12 : 13. In 
each of these passages she is distin- 
guished by the title “ the (not ‘ an/ as 
in Authorized Version) Ammonitess.” 
She was therefore one of the foreign 
women whom Solomon took into his 
establishment. 1 Kings 11 : 1. 

Na'amah (na'a-mah), one of the 
towns of Judah in the district of the 
lowland or Shefelah. Josh. 15 : 41. It 
is proposed to identify it with Naneh, 
a small mud village 6 miles south of 
Lydda. 

Na'aman (na'a-man) {pleasantness). 
l.-“ Naaman the Syrian.” Luke 4:27. 
Naaman was commander-in-chief of the 
army of Syria, and was nearest to the 
person of the king, Ben-hadad II., whom 
he accompanied officially and supported 
when he went to worship in the temple 
of Rimmon, 2 Kings 5 : 18, at Damascus, 
the capital, about b.c. 840. A Jewish 
tradition apparently accepted by Jose- 
phus, which may very well be a gen- 
uine one, identifies him with the archer 
whose arrow, whether at random or 
not, struck Ahab with his mortal 
wound. The expression in 2 Kings 5: 
1 is remarkable — “because that by him 
Jehovah had given deliverance to Syria.” 
Whatever the particular exploit referred 
to was, it had given Naaman a great 
position at the court of Ben-hadad. 
Naaman was afflicted with a leprosy 
which had hitherto defied cure. A lit- 
tle Israelitish captive maiden tells him 
of the fame and skill of Elisha, and 


he is cured by him by following his 
simple directions to bathe in the Jordan 
seven times. See 2 Kings 5 : 14. His 
first business after his cure is to thank 
his benefactor and gratefully acknowl- 
edge the power of the God of Israel, 
and promise “ henceforth to offer neither 
burnt offering nor sacrifice unto other 
gods, but unto the Lord.” 

2. One of the family of Benjamin 
who came down to Egypt with Jacob, 
as read in Gen. 46 : 21. He was the 
son of Bela, and head of the family 
of the Naamites. Num. 26:40; 1 

Chron. 8:3, 4. (b.c. 1706.) 

Na'amathite (na'a-math-ite), the gen- 
tilic name of one of Job’s friends, Zo- 
phar the Naamathite. Job 2:11; 11: 
1 ; 20 : 1 ; 42 : 9. There is no other trace 
of this name in the Bible, and the town 
whence it is derived is unknown. But 
as Uz was in Arabia, probably the 
Naamah where he lived was .on the 
Arabian borders of Syria. 

Na'amites (na'a-mltes), The, the 
family descended from Naaman, the 
grandson of Benjamin. Num. 26:40 
only. 

Na'arah (na'a-ra) {a maiden), the 
second wife of Ashur; a descendant of 
Judah. 1 Chron. 4 : 5, 6. 

Na'ara=i (na'a-ra-i), one of the val- 
iant men of David’s armies. 1 Chron. 
11 : 37. In 1 Chron. he is called the 
son of Ezbai, but in 2 Sam. 23 : 35 he 
appears as “ Paarai the Arbite.” It is 
impossible to decide between the read- 
ings. 

N.a'aran (na'a-ran), a city of Eph- 
raim, which 1 Chron. 7 : 28 mentions 
as the eastern limit of the tribe. It is 
very probably identical with Naarath, or 
more accurately Naarah. 

Na'arath (na'a-rath) (properly Na- 
arah), a place named, Josh. 16:7 only, 
as one of the landmarks on the southern 
boundary of Ephraim. It appears to 
have lain between Ataroth and Jericho, 
in the Jordan valley. Eusebius and 


430 


NAA 


431 


NAD 


Jerome speak of it as if well known to 
them — “ Naorath, a small village of the 
Jews, five miles from Jericho.” The 
modern village of el-Aujah is a suita- 
ble identification. 

Na=ash'on (na-ash'on). [Nah- 
shon.] 

Na=as'son (na-as'son) ( enchanting ), 
the Greek form of the name Nahshon. 
Matt. 1 : 4, Luke 3 : 32, only. 

Nabal (na'bal) (foolish), a sheep- 
master on the confines of Judea and the 
desert, in that part of the country which 
bore from its great conqueror the name 
of Caleb. He was a resident of Carmel 
near to Ziph, and a descendant of Caleb. 
1 Sam. 25 : 3, 5 ; 30 : 14. (b.c. about 

1059.) His residence was on the south- 
ern Carmel, in the pasture lands of 
Maon. His wealth, as might be ex- 
pected from his abode, consisted chiefly 
of sheep and goats. David was living 
in the desert adjoining, and levying 
tribute on the large sheepmasters as 
reward for his protection. 1 Sam. 25 : 
7, 15, 16. Once a year there was a 
grand shearing-feast on Carmel, “ like 
the feast of a king,” ch. 25 : 2, 4, 36. It 
was on one of these occasions that ten 
young men of David’s band came to 
ask the tribute, in the courteous lan- 
guage of the East, “ whatsoever cometh 
into thy hand for thy servants and for 
thy son David.” The great sheepmas- 
ter peremptorily refused with insulting 
words as to masterless men in the dis- 
trict. The moment that the messengers 
were gone, the shepherds that stood by 
perceived the danger that their master 
and themselves would incur. To Nabal 
himself they durst not speak, ch. 25 : 17. 
To his wife, as to the good angel of the 
household, one of the shepherds told 
the state of affairs. She, with the ex- 
pected tribute and doubtless the addi- 
tional offerings usual on such occasions, 
with her attendants running before her, 
rode down the hill toward David’s en- 
campment. David had already made 
the fatal vow of extermination, ch. 25 : 
22. At this moment, as it would seem, 
Abigail appeared, threw herself on her 
face before him, and poured forth her 
petition in language which in both form 
and expression almost assumes the tone 
of poetry. She returned with the news 
of David’s recantation of his vow. 
Nabal was then at the height of his 
orgies, and his wife dared not com- 
municate to him either his danger or 


his escape, ch. 25 : 36. At break of day 
she told him both. The stupid reveller 
was suddenly roused to a sense of that 
which impended over him. “ His heart 
died within him, and he became as a 
stone.” It was as if a stroke of apo- 
plexy or paralysis had fallen upon him. 
Ten days he lingered, “ and the Lord 
smote Nabal, and he died,” ch. 25 : 37, 
38. Abigail shortly after became Da- 
vid’s wife. 

Na'both (na'both), the Victim of 
Ahab and Jezebel, was the owner of a 
small vineyard at Jezreel, close to the 
royal palace of Ahab. 1 Kings 21 : 1, 
2. (b.c. 854.) It thus became an ob- 

ject of desire to the king, who offered 
an equivalent in money or another vine- 
yard in exchange for this. Naboth, in 
the independent spirit of a Jewish land- 
holder, refused: “The- Lord forbid it 
me that I should give the inheritance of 
my fathers unto thee.” Ahab knowing 
the temper of his people was about to 
yield, when Jezebel, a foreigner with 
Phoenician ideas of royal authority, took 
the matter into her own hands. A fast 
was proclaimed, as on the announce- 
ment of some impending calamity. Na- 
both was “ set on high ” in the public 
place of Samaria ; two men of worthless 
character accused him of having “ cursed 
God and the king.” He and his chil- 
dren, 2 Kings 9 : 26, were dragged out 
of the city and stoned the same night. 
For the signal retribution taken on this 
judicial murder — a remarkable proof of 
the high regard paid in the old dispen- 
sation to the claims of justice and in- 
dependence — see Ahab; Jehu; Jezebel. 

Na'chon’s (na'kon) threshing=floor, 
the place at which the ark had arrived 
in its progress from Kirjath-jearim to 
Jerusalem, when Uzzah lost his life in 
his too-hasty zeal for its safety. 2 Sam. 
6:6. (b.c. 1042.) 

Na'chor (na'kor). [Nahor.] 

Na'dab (na'dab) (liberal). 1. The 
eldest son of Aaron and Elisheba. Ex. 
6:23; Num. 3:2. He, his father and 
brother, and seventy elders of Israel 
were led out from the midst of the as- 
sembled people, Ex. 24 : 1, and were 
commanded to stay and worship God 
“ afar off,” below the lofty summit of 
Sinai, where Moses alone was to come 
near to the Lord. Subsequently, Lev. 
10 : 1, Nadab and his brother were 
struck dead before the sanctuary by 
fire from the Lord. Their offence was 


NAG 


432 


NAH 


kindling the incense in their censers 
with “ strange ” fire, i. e. not taken from 
that which burned perpetually, Lev. 6: 
13, on the altar, (b.c. 1490.) 

2. King Jeroboam’s son, who suc- 
ceeded to the throne of Israel b.c. 915, 
and reigned two years. 1 Kings 15 : 25- 
31. At the siege of Gibbethon a con- 
spiracy broke out in the midst of the 
army, and the king was slain by Baasha, 
a man of Issachar. 

3. A son of Shammai, 1 Chron. 2 : 28, 
of the tribe of Judah. 

4. A son of Gibeon, 1 Chron. 8:30; 
9: 36, of the tribe of Benjamin. 

Nag'ga=i (nag'ga-i) ( illuminating ), 
the true form of Nagge, Luke 3 : 25, 
and so given in the Revised Version. 

Nag'ge (nag'ge), one of the ances- 
tors of Christ. Luke 3:25. [See Nag- 

GAI.] 

Nahal'al (na-hal'al) {pasture), one 
of the cities of Zebulun, given with its 
“ suburbs ” to the Merarite Levites. 
Josh. 21:35. It is the same which in 
Josh. 19 : 15 is inaccurately given in the 
Authorized Version as Nahallal, the He- 
brew being in both cases identical. In 
Judges 1:30 it is called Nahalol. It 
is identified with the modern Malul, a 
village 3% miles west of Nazareth. 
Another site proposed is Ain Mahil a 
little north of Nazareth. 

Naha'Iiel (na-ha'li-el) {torrent-valley 
of God), one of the halting-places of 
Israel in the latter part of their progress 
to Canaan. Num. 21 : 19. It lay “ be- 
yond,” that is, north of, the Arnon, ver. 
13. It may be either on Wady Waleh, 
a tributary to the Arnon, or Wady 
Zerka Main , which flows into the Dead 
Sea. 

Nahal'ol. [Nahalal.] 

Naham (na'ham) {consolation) , the 
brother of the wife of Hodiah. The 
translation in the A. V. is impossible. 1 
Chron. 4 : 19. 

Naham'ani (na-ham'a-nl) {merci- 
ful), a chief man among those who 
returned from Babylon with Zerubbabel 
and Jeshua. Neh. 7 : 7. (b.c. 536.) 

Na'harai (na'har-i) {snoring), the 
armor-bearer of Joab, called Nahari in 
the Authorized Version of 2 Sam. 23 : 
37. He was a native of Beeroth. 1 
Chron. 11 : 39. 

Na'hari. The same as Naharai. 2 
Sam. 23: 37. In the Authorized Version 
of 1611 the name is printed “ Naharai 
the Berothite.” 


Nahash (na'hash) {serpent). 1. 
King of the Ammonites who dictated 
to the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead that 
cruel alternative of the loss of their 
right eyes or slavery, which roused the 
swift wrath of Saul, and caused the de- 
struction of the Ammonite force. 1 
Sam. 11 : 2-11. (b.c. 1092.) Either the 

same Nahash or his son “ Nahash the 
father of Hanun ” rendered David some 
special and valuable service, which 
David was anxious for an opportunity 
of requiting. 2 Sam. 10 : 2. 

2. A person mentioned once only — 2 
Sam. 17 : 25 — in stating the parentage of 
Amasa, the commander-in-chief of Ab- 
salom’s army. Amasa is there said to 
have been the son of a certain Ithra 
by Abigail, “daughter of Nahash and 
sister to Zeruiah.” Some consider him 
the same as the preceding. 

Na'hath (na'hath) {rest). 1. One of 
the “dukes” of Edom, eldest son of 
Reuel the son of Esau. Gen. 36 : 13, 17 ; 
1 Chron. 1 : 37. 

2. A Kohathite Levite, son of Zophai. 

1 Chron. 6:26. Elsewhere called Toah, 
and Tohu. 

3. A Levite in the reign of Hezekiah. 

2 Chron. 31 : 13. 

Nah'bi (nah'bi) {hidden), the son of 
Vophsi, a Naphtalite, and one of the 
twelve spies. Num. 13:14. 

Nahor (na'hor) {snorting), the 
name of two persons in the family of 
Abraham. 1. His grandfather; the son 
of Serug and father of Terah. Gen. 
11 : 22-25. 

2. Grandson of the preceding, son of 
Terah and brother of Abraham and Ha- 
ran. Gen. 11 : 26, 27. He married 

Milcah, the daughter of his brother Ha- 
ran ; and when Abraham and Lot mi- 
grated to Canaan, Nahor remained be- 
hind in the land of his birth, on the 
eastern side of the Euphrates. 

Nah'shon (nah'shon), or Na=ash'on 
{enchanting), son of Amminadab, and 
prince of the children of Judah (as he 
is styled in the genealogy of Judah, 1 
Chron. 2 : 10) at the time of the first 
numbering in the wilderness. Ex. 6 : 
23 ; Num. 1 : 7, etc. His sister, Elishe- 
ba, was wife to Aaron, and his son, Sal- 
mon, was husband to Rahab after the 
taking of Jericho. He died in the wil- 
derness, according to Num. 26 : 64, 65. 

Na'hum (na'hum) {consolation) . 
Nahum, called “the Elkoshite,” is the 
seventh in order of the minor prophets. 


NAH 


433 


NAM 


His personal history is quite unknown. 
The site of Elkosh, his native place, 
is disputed, some placing it in Galilee, 
others in Assyria. Th« imagery of his 
prophecy is such as would be natural to 
an inhabitant of Palestine, Nah. 1:4, to 
whom the rich pastures of Bashan, the 
vineyards of Carmel and the blossoms 
of Lebanon were emblems of all that 
was luxuriant and fertile. The. lan- 
guage employed in ch. 1 : 15 ; 2 : 2 is ap- 
propriate to one who wrote for his 
countrymen in their native land. Hast- 
ings thinks that most probably Elkosh 
was the modern Beit-Jibrin, half way 
between Jerusalem and Gaza. McClin- 
tock and Strong come to the conclusion 
that Nahum was a native of Galilee, 
that at the captivity of the ten tribes 
he escaped into Judah, and prophesied 
in the reign of Hezekiah. 

Nahum, Book of. Date. It is cer- 
tain that the prophecy was written be- 
fore the final downfall of Nineveh and 
its capture by the Medes and Chaldeans, 
b.c. 606. The allusions to the Assyrian 
power imply that it was still unbroken, 
ch. 1 : 12 ; 2 : 8, 13 ; 3 : 15-17. And as the 
prophet reports the destruction of No- 
arnrnon the capital of Upper Egypt by 
the Assyrians, which took place b.c. 664, 
his book must have been written be- 
tween these two dates, in the reigns of 
Manasseh or Josiah. Place. He prob- 
ably wrote his prophecy either in Jeru- 
salem or its neighborhood. The subject 
of the prophecy is, in accordance with 
.the superscription, “the burden of Nine- 
veh,” the destruction of which he pre- 
dicts. As a poet Nahum occupies a 
high place in the first rank of Hebrew 
literature. His style is clear and unin- 
volved, though pregnant and forcible; 
his diction sonorous and rhythmical, the 
words t re-echoing to the sense. Comp. 
2:4; 3:3. 

Nail. The translation of three He- 
brew words. 1. (a) A finger nail. 
Deut. 21:12; Dan. 4:33. (b) A point 

or style, e. g. for writing; see Jer. 17 : 1. 
2. A tent-peg. Judges 4: 21. Tent-pegs 
were usually of wood and of large size ; 
but sometimes, • as was the case with 
those used to fasten the curtains of the 
tabernacle, of metal. Ex. 27:19; 38: 
20. 3. A nail, primarily a point, com- 

monly of metal. We are told that Da- 
vid prepared iron for the nails to be 
used in the temple; and as the Holy of 
Holies was plated with gold, the nads 
28 


for fastening the plates were probably 
of gold. 

Na'in (na'in) {beauty), a village of 
Galilee, the gate of which is made illus- 
trious by the raising of the widow’s son, 
Luke 7 : 12. The modern Nein is sit- 
uated on the northwestern edge of the 
“ Little Hermon,” or J ebel-ed-Duhy, 
where the ground falls into the plain 
of Esdraelon. The entrance to the 
place, where our Saviour met the fu- 
neral, must probably always have been 
up the steep ascent from the plain ; and 
here, on the west side of the village, 
the rock is full of sepulchral caves. 

Na'ioth (na'yoth) ( habitations ), or 
more fully, “ Naioth in Ramah,” a place 
of Mount Ephraim, in which Samuel and 
David took refuge together after the lat- 
ter had made his escape from the jealous 
fury of Saul. 1 Sam. 19 : 18, 19, 22, 23 ; 
20 : 1. An explanation generally ac- 
cepted is the huts or dwellings of a 
school or college of prophets over which 
Samuel presided, as Elisha did over 
those at Gilgal and Jericho. This is dis- 
puted by some modern scholars, e. g. 
Driver, partly on philological grounds. 

Names. 1. Names of places. — These 
may be divided into two general classes 
— descriptive and historical. The for- 
mer are such as mark some peculiarity 
of the locality, usually a natural one, 
e. g. Sharon, “ plain ;” Gibeah, “ hill ;” 
Ramah, “height.” Of the second class 
of local names, some were given in 
honor of individual men, e. g. the city 
Enoch, Gen. 4 : 17, etc. More commonly, 
however, such names were given to per- 
petuate the memory of some important 
historic occurrence. Bethel perpetuated 
through all Jewish history the early rev- 
elations of God to Jacob. Gen. 28:19; 
35:15. So Jehovah- jireh, Gen. 22:14; 
Mahanaim, Gen. 32 : 2 ; Peniel, etc. In 
forming compounds to serve as names 
of towns or other localities, some of 
the most common terms employed were 
Kir, a “ wall ” or “ fortress ;” Kirjath, 
“city;” En, “ fountain;” Beer, “a well,” 
etc. The names of countries were al- 
most universally derived from the name 
of the first settlers or earliest historic 
population. Many of the names in 
common use in Palestine, and once sup- 
posed Israelitish, with a decipherable 
meaning, have been found on the Tel-el- 
Amarna tablets ; showing their exist- 
ence by name before the entrance of 
Israel. This is an indication that still 


NAM 


434 


NAO 


other names may be of Canaanitish ori- 
gin. Among these is Jerusalem. 

2. Names of persons . — Among the He- 
brews each person received but a single 
name. In the case of boys this was con- 
ferred upon the eighth day, in connec- 
tion with the rite of circumcision. Luke 
1 : 59 ; comp. Gen. 17 : 5-14. To distin- 
guish an individual from others of the 
same name it was customary to add to 


compounded either (1) with terms de- 
noting relationship, as Abi or Ab, father, 
as Abihud, “ father of praise,” Abime- 
lech, “ father of the king;” Ben, son, as 
Benoni, “ son of my sorrow,” Benjamin, 
“son of the right hand;” or (2) nouns 
denoting natural life, as am, “ people,” 
melech, “king;” or (3) with names of 
God, as El, “ God,” and J ah or Ja, 
shortened from “Jehovah.” Among the 





RUINS OF NAIN. 


his own proper name that of his father 
or ancestors. Sometimes the mother’s 
was used instead. Simple names in He- 
brew, as in all languages, were largely 
borrowed from nature; e. g. Deborah, 
“bee;” Tamar, “a palm tree;” Jonah, 
“ dove.” Many names of women were 
derived from those of men by change 
of termination; e. g. Hammelech, . “ the 
king;” Hammoleketh, “the queen.” The 
majority of compound names have spe- 
cial religious or social significance, being 


Oriental nations, it is customary to mark 
one’s entrance into a new relation by a 
new name, in which case the acceptance 
of the new name involves the acknowl- 
edgment of the sovereignty of the name- 
giver. Examples of this are Abraham, 
Gen. 17:5; Sarah, Gen. 17:15; Israel, 
as the designation of the spiritual char- 
acter, in place of Jacob, which desig- 
nated the natural character. Gen. 32: 
28. 

Naomi, or Nao'mi (na-6'ml) ( pleas - 


NAP 


435 


NAV 


ant), the wife of Elimelech and mother- 
in-law of Ruth, Ruth 1 : 2, etc., prob- 
ably in the time of Gideon. Naomi left 
Judea with her husband and two sons, 
in a time of famine, and went to the 
land of Moab. Here her husband and 
sons died ; and she later returned to 
Bethlehem with Ruth. 

Na'phish (na'fish) ( respiration ), the 
last but one of the sons of Ishmael. 
Gen. 25 : 15 ; 1 Chron. 1 : 31. 

Naph'tali (naf'ta-li) ( wrestling ), the 
fifth son of Jacob; the second child 
borne to him by Bilhah, Rachel’s slave. 
His birth and the bestowal of his name 
are recorded in Gen. 30 : 8. When the 
census was taken at Mount Sinai the 
tribe of Naphtali numbered no less than 
53,400 fighting men, Num. 1:43; 2:30; 
but when the borders of the promised 
land were reached, its numbers were re- 
duced to 45,400. Num. 26 : 48-50. Dur- 
ing the march through the wilderness 
Naphtali occupied a position on the 
north of the sacred tent with Dan and 
Asher. Num. 2 ; 25-31. In the appor- 
tionment of the land, was given some 
of the finest land in Palestine. Its 
northern boundary was the boundary of 
Israel — on the east the Jordan on the 
west and south Asher, Zebulun and Is- 
sachar. It was a part of Galilee in the 
time of Christ, and included the cities 
of Chorazin, Capernaum and Tiberias. 

Naph'tali (naf'ta-li), Mount, the 
northernmost portion of the central 
range of western Palestine, Josh. 20 : 7, 
answering to “Mount Ephraim” in the 
centre and “ Mount Judah” in the south 
of Palestine. 

Naph'tuhim (naf'tu-him), a Mizraite 
(Egyptian) nation or tribe, mentioned 
only in the account of the descendants 
of Noah. Gen. 10:13; 1 Chron. 1 : 11. 
If we may judge from .their position in 
the list of the Mizraites, the Naphtuhim 
- were probably settled, at first, either in 
Egypt or immediately to the west of it. 

Narcis'sus (nar-cis'sus), a dweller at 
Rome, Rom. 16 : 11, some members of 
whose household were known as Chris-* 
tians to St. Paul. Some have assumed 
the identity of this Narcissus with the 
secretary of the emperor Claudius. 

Nard. [Spikenard.] 

Na'than (na'than) (he has given). 

1. An eminent Hebrew prophet in the 
reigns of David and Solomon. He 
first appears in the consultation with 
David about the building of the temple. 


2 Sam. 7 : 2, 3, 17. He next comes for- 
ward as the reprover of David for the 
sin with Bath-sheba ; and his famous 
apologue on the rich man and the ewe 
lamb, which is the only direct example 
of his prophetic power, shows it to have 
been of a very high order. 2 Sam. 12 : 
1 - 12 . 

2. A son of David; one of the four 
who were borne to him by Bath-sheba. 
1 Chron. 3:5; comp. 14 : 4 and 2 Sam. 
5:14. 

3. Father of one and brother of an- 
other of one of the members of David’s 
guard. 2 Sam. 23:36; 1 Chron. 11:38. 

4. One of the head men who returned 
from Babylon with Ezra on his second 
expedition. Ezra 8:16; 1 Esdr. 8:44. 
It is not impossible that he may be the 
same with the “ son of Bani.” Ezra 10 : 
39. 

Nathan'ael (na-than'a-el) (God has 
given), a disciple of Jesus Christ, con- 
cerning whom, under that name at least, 
we learn from Scripture little more than 
his birthplace, Cana of Galilee, John 21 : 
2, and his simple, truthful character. 
John 1 : 47. The name does not occur 
in the first three Gospels; but it is com- 
monly believed that Nathanael and 
Bartholomew are the same person. The 
evidence for that belief is as follows: 
St. John, who twice mentions Nathanael, 
never introduces the name of Bartholo- 
mew at all. St. Matthew, Matt. 10 : 3, 
St. Mark, Mark 3 : 18, and St. Luke, 
Luke 6 : 14, all speak of Bartholomew, 
but never of Nathanael. But the identi- 
fication was not made till about the 9th 
century, and it may not be correct. It 
was Philip who first brought Nathanael 
to Jesus, just as Andrew had brought 
his brother Simon. 

Na'than=me'lech (na'than-me'lek) 
(Melech, i. e. the king gave), a eunuch 
(Authorized Version “chamberlain”) in 
the court of Josiah. 2 Kings 23 : 11 
(b.c. 628.) 

Na'um (na'um) (consolation), son 
of Esli and father of Amos, in the ge- 
nealogy of Christ, Luke 3 : 25. 

Nave (Heb. gao), anything convex or 
arched, as the boss of a shield, Job 15 : 
26 ; the eyebrows, Lev. 14 : 9 ; an eminent 
place. Ezek. 16 : 31. It is rendered once 
only in the plural, “ naves,” 1 Kings 7 : 
33, meaning the centres of the wheels 
in which the spokes are inserted, i. e. the 
hubs. In Ezek. 1 : 18 it is rendered twice 
“ rings,” and margin “ strakes,” an old 


NAZ 


436 


NAZ 


word apparently used for the nave (hub) 
of a wheel and also more probably for 
the felloe or the tire, as making the 
streak or stroke upon the ground. 

Nazarene' (naz-a-rene'), an inhabit- 
ant of Nazareth. This appellative is 
applied to Jesus in many passages in 
the New Testament. This name, made 
striking in so many ways, and which, 
if first given in scorn, was adopted and 
gloried in by the disciples, we are told 
in Matt. 2 : 23 possesses a prophetic sig- 
nificance. Its application to Jesus, in 


consequence of the providential arrange- 
ments by which his parents were led to 
take up their abode in Nazareth, was 
the filling out of the predictions in 
which the promised Messiah is de- 
scribed as a netser, i. e. a shoot, sprout, 
of Jesse, a humble and despised de- 
scendant of the decayed royal family. 
Once, Acts 24: 5, the term Nazarenes is 
applied to the followers of Jesus by way 
of contempt. The name still exists in 
Arabic as the ordinary designation of 
Christians. 



THE FOUNTAIN OF THE VIRGIN AT NAZARETH 



NAZ 


437 


NEA 


Naz'areth (naz'a-reth) ( verdant , off- 
shoot ), the ordinary residence of our 
Saviour, is not mentioned in the Old 
Testament, but occurs first in Matt. 2: 
23. It is not even mentioned in Jo- 
sephus, a fact explained by some as in- 
dicating its recent origin, or small size; 
by others as merely the result of its se- 
cluded position. It derives its celebrity 
from its connection with the history of 
Christ, and in that respect has a hold 
on the imagination and feelings of men 
which it shares only with Jerusalem 
and Bethlehem. It is situated among 
the hills which constitute the south 
ridges of Lebanon, just before they sink 
down into the plain of Esdraelon. It 
must have been a place of considerable 
importance in the time of Christ, as the 
word Polls, “ city ” is always used of 
it, and not koine, “ village.” Merrill 
represents it as a city of 15,000 to 20,000 
inhabitants. Of the identification of the 
ancient site there can be no doubt. The 
name of the present village is en-Nazi- 
rah, the same, therefore, as of old; it is 
on a hill or mountain, Luke 4 : 29 ; it is 
within the limits of the province of Gal- 
ilee, Mark 1:9; it is near Cana, accord- 
ing to the implication in John 2:1, 2, 
11 ; a precipice exists .in the neighbor- 
hood. Luke 4 : 29. The modern Naz- 
areth belongs to the better class of 
eastern villages. It has a population of 
about 7500 ; a few are Mohammedans, 
the rest Latin and Greek Christians. 
Near this town Napoleon once encamped 
(1799), after the battle of Mount Ta- 
bor. The expression used in John 1 : 
47 to the disparagement of Nazareth 
less probably refers to any particular 
viciousness of Nazareth, than to the sur- 
prise felt by Nathanael that the Messiah- 
King could come from such an insig- 
nificant place. Above the town are sev- 
eral rocky ledges, over which a person 
could not be thrown without almost 
certain destruction. There is one very 
remarkable precipice, almost perpendicu- 
lar and forty or fifty feet high, near 
the Maronite church, which may well 
be supposed to be the identical one over 
which his infuriated fellow townsmen 
attempted to hurl Jesus. 

Naz'arite (naz'a-rite), more properly 
Naz'irite ( one separated ) , one of either 
sex who was bound by a vow of a 
peculiar kind to be set apart from 
others for the service of God. The ob- 
ligation was either for life or for a de- 


fined time. There is no notice in the 
Pentateuch of Nazirites for life; but 
the regulations for the vow of a Naz- 
irite of days are given Num. 6 : 1-21. 
The Nazirite, during the term of his con- 
secration, was bound to abstain from 
wine,. grapes, with every production of 
the vine, and from every kind of intoxi- 
cating drink. He was forbidden to cut 
the hair of his head, or to approach any 
dead body, even that of his nearest re- 
lation. When the period of his vow 
was fulfilled, he was brought to the door 
of the tabernacle, and was required to 
offer a he lamb for a burnt offering, a 
ewe lamb for a sin offering, and a ram 
for a peace offering, with the usual ac- 
companiments of peace offerings, Lev. 
7 : 12, 13, and of the offering made at 
the consecration of priests. Ex. 29:2; 
Num. 6:15. He brought also a meat 
offering and a drink offering, which ap- 
pear to have been presented by them- 
selves as a distinct act of service, ver. 
17. He was to cut off the hair of “the 
head of his separation” (that is, the 
hair which. had grown during the period 
of his consecration) at the door of 
the tabernacle, and to put it into the fire 
under the sacrifice on the altar. Of the 
Nazirites for life three are mentioned in 
the Scriptures — Samson, Samuel and St. 
John the Baptist. The only one of these 
actually called a Nazirite is Samson. 
The regulations governing them are not 
exactly the same as those governing the 
Nazirite of days. We do not know 
whether the vow for life was ever vol- 
untarily taken by the individual. In all 
the cases mentioned in the sacred his- 
tory, it was made by the parents be- 
fore the birth of the Nazirite himself. 
The consecration of the Nazirite bore a 
striking resemblance to that of the high 
priest. Lev. 21 : 10-12. The meaning 
of the Nazirite vow has been regarded 
in different lights. It may be regarded 
as an act of self-sacrifice. That it was 
essentially a sacrifice of the person to 
the Lord is obviously in accordance with 
the terms of the law. Num. 6 : 2. The 
man was separated from his brethren 
that he might be peculiarly devoted to 
the Lord. They were more numerous 
than the references in the Old Testa- 
ment would lead one to think. Amos 
2 : 11 shows their existence late in the 
history; while Acts. 21:23 doubtless 
refers to the same thing. 

Ne'ah (ne'ah) {emotion), a place 


438 



NAZARETH 











NEA 


439 


NEB 


which was one of the landmarks on the 
boundary of Zebulun. Josh. 19: 13 only. 
It has not been identified. 

Ne=ap'olis (ne-ap'o-lis) ( new city ) 
is the place in northern Greece where 
Paul and his associates first landed in 
Europe, Acts 16 : 11, where, no doubt, 
he landed also on his second visit to 
Macedonia, Acts 20 : 1, and whence cer- 
tainly he embarked on his last journey 
through that province to Troas and 
Jerusalem. Acts 20:6. Philippi being 
an inland town, Neapolis was evidently 
the port, and is represented by the pres- 
ent Kavalla. Kavalla is a city of 4000 
or 5000 inhabitants, Greeks and Turks. 
Neapolis was ten miles from Philippi, 
on a high rocky promontory jutting 
out into the Aigean Sea, while a temple 
of Diana crowned the hill-top. 

Ne=ari'ah (ne'a-ri'ah). 1. One of 
the sons of Shemaiah in the line of the 
royal family of Judah after the cap- 
tivity. 1 Chron. 3 : 22, 23. 

2. A son of Ishi, and one of the cap- 
tains of the 500 Simeonites who, in the 
days of Hezekiah, drove out the Ama- 
lekites from Mount Seir. 1 Chron. 4 : 
42. 

Neba'i (neb-a'I), a family of the 
heads of the people who signed the cov- 
enant with Nehemiah. Neh. 10:19. 

Neba'ioth, Neba'joth (ne-ba'yoth) 
(heights), the “first-born of Ishmael,” 
Gen. 25 : 13 ; 1 Chron. 1 : 29, and father 
of a pastoral tribe named after him, the 
“rams of Nebaioth” being mentioned 
by the prophet Isaiah, Isa. 60:7, with 
the flocks of Kedar. From the days of 
Jerome this people has been identified 
with the Nabathseans of Greek and 
Roman history who took possession of 
Mount Seir in the 4th century b.c., and 
spread thence over the entire region 
east of the Jordan. Petra was their 
capital. Some modern scholars, how- 
ever, reject this identification. 

Nebal'lat (ne-bal'lat), a town of 
Benjamin, one of those which the Ben- 
jamites reoccupied after the captivity. 
Neh. 11: 34. 

Ne'bat (ne'bat), the father of Jero- 
boam, 1 Kings 11 : 26 ; 12 : 2, 15, etc., is 
described as an Ephraimite of Zereda. 

Ne'bo (ne'bo) (prophet), Mount, 
the mountain from which Moses took 
his first and last view of the promised 
land. Deut. 32:49; 34:1. It is de- 

scribed as in the land of Moab, facing 
Jericho; the head or summit of a moun- 


tain called Pisgah, which again seems 
to have formed a portion of the gen- 
eral range of Abarim. Notwithstanding 
the minuteness of this description, it is 
only recently that any one has suc- 
ceeded in pointing out any spot which 
answers to Nebo. Tristram identifies 
it with a peak (Jebel Nebbah) of the 
Abarim or Moab mountains, about five 
miles southwest of Heshban (Heshbon) 
and about 9 1 A west of the northeast 
end of the Dead Sea. From the western 
summit, Siaghah, the whole of the Jor- 
dan valley opens out to view, and could 
well be called “ all the land.” 

Ne'bo. 1 . A town of Reuben on the 
east side of Jordan. Num. 32:3, 38. 
In the remarkable prophecy adopted by 
Isaiah, Isa. 15:2, and Jeremiah, Jer. 48: 
1, 22, concerning Moab, Nebo is men- 
tioned in the same connection as before, 
but in the hands of Moab. Eusebius 
and Jerome identify it with Nobah or 
Kenath, and place it eight miles south 
of Heshbon. Others identify it with 
some ruins on Mount Nebo. 

2. The children of Nebo returned 
from Babylon with Zerubbabel. Ezra 
2:29; 10:43; Neh. 7:33. The name 
occurs between Bethel and Ai and 
Lydda, which implies that it was situated 
in the territory of Benjamin to the 
northwest of Jerusalem. This is possi- 
bly the modern Beit-Nubah, about 12 
miles northwest by west of Jerusalem, 8 
from Lydda. 

3. Nebo, which occurs both in Isaiah, 
Isa. 46:1, and Jeremiah, Jer. 48:1, as 
the name of a Chaldean god, is a well- 
known deity of the Babylonians and As- 
syrians. He was the god who presided 
over learning and letters. His general 
character corresponds to that of the 
Egyptian Thoth, the Greek Hermes and 
the Latin Mercury. In Babylonia Nebo 
held a prominent place from an early 
time. The ancient town of Borsippa 
was especially under his protection, and 
the great temple here, the modern 
Birs-Nimrud, was dedicated to him 
from a very remote age. He was the 
tutelar god of the most important Baby- 
lonian kings, in whose names the word 
Nabu or Nebo appears as an element. 

Nebuchadnez'zar (neb-u-kad-nez'- 
zar), or Nebuchadrez'zar (O Nebo pro- 
tect the landmark), was one of the 
greatest and most powerful of the Baby- 
lonian kings. He was the son and suc- 
cessor of Nabopolassar, the founder of 


NEB 


440 


NEB 


the Babylonian empire. In the lifetime 
of his father, Nebuchadnezzar led an 
army against Pharaoh-necho, king of 
Egypt, defeated him at Carchemish, b.c. 
605, in a great battle, Jer. 46:2-12, re- 
covered Coele-Syria, Phoenicia and Pales- 
tine, took Jerusalem, Dan. 1:1, 2, 

pressed forward to Egypt, and was en- 
gaged in that country or upon its bor- 
ders when intelligence arrived which re- 
called him hastily to Babylon. Nabo- 
polassar, after reigning twenty-one 
years, had died and the throne was va- 
cant. In alarm about the succession 
Nebuchadnezzar returned to the capi- 
tal, accompanied only by his light 
troops ; and crossing the desert, prob- 
ably by way of Tadmor or Palmyra, 
reached Babylon before any disturb- 
ance had arisen, and entered peace- 
ably on his kingdom, b.c. 604. With- 
in three years of Nebuchadnezzar’s 
first expedition into Syria and Pales- 
tine, disaffection again showed itself 
in those countries. Jehoiakim, who, 
although threatened at first with cap- 
tivity, 2 Chron. 36 : 6, had been finally 
maintained on the throne as a Baby- 
lonian vassal, after three years of 
service “ turned and rebelled ” against 
his suzerain, probably trusting to be 
supported by Egypt. 2 Kings 24 : 1. 

Not long afterward Phoenicia seems 
to have broken into revolt, and the 
Chaldean monarch once more took the 
field in person, and marched first of 
all against Tyre. Having invested that 
city and left a portion of his army there 
to continue the siege, he proceeded 
against Jerusalem, which submitted 
without a struggle. According to Jo- 
sephus, who is here our chief authority, 
Nebuchadnezzar punished Jehoiakim 
with death, comp. Jer. 22: 18, 19 and 36: 
30, but placed his son Jehoiachin upon 
the throne. Jehoiachin reigned only 
three months ; for, on his showing symp- 
toms of disaffection, Nebuchadnezzar 
came up against Jerusalem for the third 
time, deposed the young prince (whom 
he carried to Babylon, together with a 
large portion of the population of the 
city and the chief of the temple treas- 
ures), and made his uncle, Zedekiah, 
king in his room. Tyre still held out ; 
and it was not till the thirteenth year 
from the time of its first investment that 
the city of merchants fell, b.c. 585. Ere 
this happened, Jerusalem had been to- 
tally destroyed. Nebuchadnezzar had 


commenced the final siege of Jerusalem 
in the ninth year of Zedekiah — his own 
seventeenth year (b.c. 588) — and took 
it two years later, b.c. 586. Zedekiah 
escaped from the city, but was captured 
near Jericho, Jer. 39 : 5, and brought to 
Nebuchadnezzar at Riblah in the terri- 
tory of Hamath, where his eyes were 
put out by the king’s order, while his 
sons and his chief nobles were slain. ' 
Nebuchadnezzar then returned to Baby- 
lon with Zedekiah, whom he imprisoned 
for the remainder of his life. The mil- 
itary successes of Nebuchadnezzar can- 


inscription: on a brick of Nebuchadnezzar. 

not be traced minutely beyond this 
point. It may be gathered from the 
prophetical Scriptures and from Jo- 
sephus that the conquest of Jerusalem 
was rapidly followed by the fall of 
Tyre and the complete submission of 
Phoenicia, Ezek. 26-28; after which the 
Babylonians . carried their arms into 
Egypt, and inflicted severe injuries on 
that fertile country. Jer. 46:13-26; 
Ezek. 29:2-20. We are told that the 
first care of Nebuchadnezzar, on obtain- 
ing quiet possession of his kingdom 
after the first Syrian expedition, was to 
rebuild the temple of Bel ( Bel-Mero - 
dach ) at Babylon out of the spoils of 
the Syrian war. He next proceeded to 
strengthen and beautify the city, which 
he renovated throughout and surrounded 
with several lines of fortifications, him- 
self adding one entirely new quarter. 
Having finished the walls and adorned 
the gates magnificently, he constructed 
a new palace. In the grounds of this 
palace he formed the celebrated “ hang- 
ing garden,” which the Greeks placed 


jfcz ^ HT<T 

E3= ^ If 

ft E> EE>JiH 

TSeT 


NEB 


441 


NEH 


among the seven wonders of the world. 
But he did not confine his efforts to 
the ornamentation and improvement of 
his capital. Throughout the empire, at 
Borsippa, Sippara, and a multitude of 
other places, he built or rebuilt cities, 
repaired temples, constructed quays, 
reservoirs, canals and aqueducts, on a 
scale of grandeur and magnificence sur- 
passing everything of the kind recorded 
in history, unless it be the constructions 
of one or two of the greatest Egyptian 
monarchs. The wealth, greatness and 
general prosperity of Nebuchadnezzar 
are strikingly placed before us in the 
book of Daniel. Toward the close of 
his reign the glory of Nebuchadnezzar 
suffered a temporary eclipse. As a pun- 
ishment for his pride and vanity, that 
strange form of madness was sent upon 
him which the Greeks called Lycan- 
thropy, wherein the sufferer imagines 
himself a beast, and, quitting the haunts 
of men, insists on leading the life of 
a beast. Dan. 4 : 33. This strange 
malady is thought by some to receive 
illustration from an inscription which 
speaks of a period of four years during 
which he took no part in public affairs. 
After an interval of four or perhaps 
seven years, Dan. 4:16, Nebuchadnez- 
zar’s malady left him. We are told 
that “his reason returned, and for the 
glory of his kingdom his honor and 
brightness returned and he “ was es- 
tablished in his kingdom, and excellent 
majesty was added to him.” Dan. 4: 
36. He died in the year b.c. 561, at an 
advanced age (eighty-three or eighty- 
four), having reigned forty-three years. 
A son, Evil-merodach, succeeded him. 

Nebushas'ban (neb-u-shas'ban) (Ne- 
bo, save me), one of the officers of 
Nebuchadnezzar at the time of the cap- 
ture of Jerusalem. He was Rab-saris, 
i. e. chief of the eunuchs. Jer. 39:13. 
Nebushasban’s office and title were the 
same as those of Ashpenaz, Dan. 1 : 3. 
There were probably several who held 
the same office. See Jer. 39:3. 

Nebuzar=a'dan (neb-u-zar-a'dan) 
( Nebo hath given offspring), the cap- 
tain of Nebuchadnezzar’s body guard. 
On the capture of Jerusalem he was 
left by Nebuchadnezzar in charge of 
the city. Comp. Jer. 39:11. He seems 
to have quitted Judea when he took 
down the chief people of Jerusalem to 
his master at Riblah. 2 Kings 25 : 18- 
20. In five years he again appeared. 


Jer. 52 : 30. Nebuchadnezzar in his 
twenty-third year made a descent on 
the regions east of Jordan, including 
the Ammonites and Moabites, who es- 
caped when Jerusalem was. destroyed. 
Thence he proceeded to Egypt, and, 
either on the way thither or on the re- 
turn, Nebuzar-adan again passed 
through the country and carried off 
more captives. Jer. 52:30. 

Ne'cho (ne'ko). 2 Chron. 35:20, 22; 
36:4. [Pharaoh-necho.] 

Nedabi'ah (ned-a-bi'ah) ( Jehovah 
hath impelled), one of the sons of 
Jeconiah or Jehoiachin, king of Judah. 
1 Chron. 3 : 18. 

Neginah (neg'i-nah) ( stringed in - 
strument), the singular of Neginoth. 
It occurs in the title of several psalms. 
It is the general term by which all 
stringed instruments are described. 
“The chief musician on Neginoth ” 
was, therefore, the conductor of that 
portion of the temple choir who played 
upon the stringed instruments. 

Neginoth. [Neginah./ 

Nehel'amite (ne-h<Ta-mite), The, 
the designation of a man named She- 
maiah, a false prophet, who opposed 
Jeremiah. Jer. 29:24, 31, 32. The 

name is no doubt formed from that 
either of Shemaiah’s native place or 
the progenitor of his family; which of 
the two is uncertain. 

Nehemi'ah (nehe-mi'ah) ( Jehovah 
hath consoled). 1 . Son of Hachaliah, 
and apparently of the tribe of Judah. 
All that we know certainly concerning 
him is contained in the book which 
bears his name. We first find him at 
Shushan, the winter residence of the 
kings of Persia, in high office as the 
cupbearer of King Artaxerxes Longi- 
manus. In the twentieth year of the 
king’s reign, i. e. b.c. 445, certain Jews 
arrived from Judea, and gave Nehemiah 
a deplorable account of the state of Je- 
rusalem. He immediately conceived the 
idea of going to Jerusalem to endeavor 
to better their state, and obtained the 
king’s consent to his mission. Having 
received his appointment as governor of 
Judea, he started upon his journey, be- 
ing under promise to return to Persia 
within a given time. Nehemiah’s great 
work was rebuilding, for the first time 
since their destruction by Nebuzar-adan, 
the walls of Jerusalem, and restoring 
that city to its former state and dignity 


NEH 


442 


NEH 


as a fortified town. To this great ob- 
ject therefore Nehemiah directed his 
whole energies without an hour’s un- 
necessary delay. In a wonderfully 
short time the walls seemed to emerge 
from the heaps of burnt rubbish, and 
to encircle the city as in the days of 
old. It soon became apparent how 
wisely Nehemiah had acted in hastening 
on the work. On his very first arrival, 
as governor, Sanballat and Tobiah had 
given unequivocal proof of their mor- 
tification at his appointment; but when 
the restoration was seen to be rapidly 
progressing, their indignation knew no 
bounds. They made a great conspiracy 
to fall upon the builders with an armed 
force and put a stop to the undertaking. 
The project was defeated by the vigi- 
lance and prudence of Nehemiah. Va- 
rious stratagems were then resorted to 
to get Nehemiah away from Jerusalem, 
and if possible to take his life; but that 
which most nearly succeeded was the 
attempt to bring him into suspicion 
with the king of Persia, as .if he in- 
tended to set himself up as an independ- 
ent king as soon as the walls were com- 
pleted. The artful letter of Sanballat 
so far wrought upon Artaxerxes that 
he issued a decree stopping the work 
till further orders. It is probable that 
at the same time he recalled Nehemiah, 
or perhaps his leave of absence had 
previously expired. But after a delay, 
perhaps of several years, he was per- 
mitted to return to Jerusalem and to 
crown his work by repairing the temple 
and dedicating the walls. During his 
government Nehemiah firmly repressed 
the exactions of the nobles and the 
usury of the rich, and rescued the poor 
Jews from spoliation and slavery. He 
refused to receive his lawful allowance 
as governor from the people, in con- 
sideration of their poverty, during the 
whole twelve years that he was in 
office, but kept at his own charge a 
table for 150 Jews, at which any who re- 
turned from captivity were welcome. 
He made most careful provision for the 
maintenance of the ministering priests 
and Levites, and for the due and con- 
stant celebration of divine worship. He 
insisted upon the sanctity of the pre- 
cincts of the temple being preserved in- 
violable, and peremptorily ejected the 
powerful Tobiah from one of the 
chambers which Eliashib had assigned 
to him. With no less firmness and im- 


partiality he expelled from all sacred 
functions those of the high priest’s 
family who had contracted heathen 
marriages, and rebuked and punished 
those of the common people who had 
likewise intermarried with foreigners ; 
and lastly, he provided for keeping holy 
the Sabbath day, which was shamefully 
profaned by many, both Jews and for- 
eign merchants, and by his resolute 
conduct succeeded in repressing the 
lawless traffic on the day of rest. Be- 
yond the thirty-second year of Artaxer- 
xes, to which Nehemiah’s own narrative 
leads us, we have no account of him 
whatever. 

2. One of the leaders of the first ex- 
pedition from Babylon to Jerusalem 
under Zerubbabel. Ezra 2:2; Neh. 7 : 
7. 

3. Son of Azbuk and ruler of the half 
part of Beth-zur, who helped to repair 
the wall of Jerusalem. Neh. 3 : 16. 

Nehemi'ah (nehe-mi'ah), The book 
of, like the preceding one of Ezra, is 
clearly and certainly not all by the 
same hand. [Ezra, Book of.] By far 
the most important portion, indeed, is 
the work of Nehemiah; but other por- 
tions are either extracts from various 
chronicles and registers or supplemen- 
tary narratives and reflections, some 
apparently by Ezra, others, perhaps, the 
work of the same person who inserted 
the latest genealogical extracts from 
the public chronicles. The main his- 
tory contained in the book of Nehemiah 
covers about twelve years, viz., from the 
twentieth to the thirty-second year of 
Artaxerxes Longimanus, i. e. from b.c. 
445 to 433. The whole narrative gives 
us a graphic and interesting account of 
the state of Jerusalem and the returned 
captives in the writer’s times, and, inci- 
dentally, of the nature of the Persian 
government and the condition of its re- 
mote provinces. The book of Nehemiah 
has always had an undisputed place in 
the Canon, being included by the He- 
brews under the general head of the 
book of Ezra, and, as Jerome tells us 
in the Prolog. Gal., by the Greeks and 
Latins under the name of the second 
book of Ezra. 

Nehiloth (ne'hl-loth). The title of 
Ps. 5 in the Authorized Version is ren- 
dered “ To the chief musician upon 
Nehiloth .” It is most likely that nehi- 
loth is the general term for perforated 
wind-instruments of all kinds, as negi- 


NEH 


443 


NER 


noth denotes all manner of stringed 
instruments. 

Ne'hum (ne'hum) ( consolation ), one 
of those who returned from Babylon 
with Zerubbabel. Neh. 7:7. 

Nehush'ta (ne-hush'ta), the daugh- 
ter of Elnathan of Jerusalem, wife of 
Jehoiakim and mother of Jehoiachin, 
kings of Judah. 2 Kings 24 : 8. 

Nehush'tan (ne-hush'tan) (a thing 
of brass), the name by which the brazen 
serpent made by Moses in the wilder- 
ness, Num. 21 : 9, was worshipped in 
the time of Hezekiah. 2 Kings 18 : 4. 
It is evident that our translators by 
their rendering “and he called it Ne- 
hushtan ” understood that the subject 
of the sentence is Hezekiah, and that 
when he destroyed the brazen serpent 
he gave it the name Nehushtan, “ a 
brazen thing,” in token of his utter 
contempt. But it is better to under- 
stand the Hebrew as referring to the 
name by which the serpent was gen- 
erally known, the subject of the verb 
being indefinite — “ and one called it 
‘ Nehushtan/ ” 

Nei'el (ne-i'el) ( moved by God), a 
place which formed one of the land- 
marks of the boundary of the tribe of 
Asher. Josh. 19 : 27 only. It occurs 
between Jiphthah-el and Cabul. It is 
not identified. But if the common 
identifications of Jiphthah-el and Cabul 
are correct, it may possibly be repre- 
sented by Mi’ar, a village conspicuously 
placed on a lofty mountain brow, just 
halfway between the two. 

Ne'keb (ne'keb) {cavern), one of 
the towns on the boundary of Naph- 
tali. Josh. 19 : 33. It lay between 
Adami and Jabneel. A great number 
of commentators have taken this name 
as being connected with the preceding, 
— “ Adami-nekeb.” The Talmud called 
i f Sindatha and Conder suggests _ an 
identification with Seiyadeh, near Tibe- 
rias. 

Neko'da (ne-ko'da) {distinguished). 
1. The descendants of Nekoda returned 
among the Nethinim after the captivity. 
Ezra -2: 48; Neh. 7: 50. 

2. The sons of Nekoda were among 
those who went up after the captivity 
from Tel-melah, Tel-harsa, and other 
places, but were unable to prove their 
descent from Israel. Ezra 2:60; Neh. 
7: 62. 

Nem'uel (nem'uel). 1. A Reubenite, 


son of Eliab and eldest brother of 
Dathan and Abiram. Num. 26 : 9. 

2. The eldest son of Simeon, Num. 
26 : 12 ; 1 Chron. 4 : 24, from whom 

were descended the family of the Nem- 
uelites. In Gen. 46 : 10 he is called 
Jemuel. 

Ne'pheg (ne'feg) {sprout). 1. One 
of the sons of Izhar the son of Ko- 
hath. Ex. 6 : 21. 

2. One of David’s sons born to him 
in Jerusalem. 2 Sam. 5:15; 1 Chron. 
3:7; 14 : 6. 

Ne'phish (ne-fish), an inaccurate va- 
riation (found in 1 Chron. 5:19 only) 
of the name Naphish. 

Nephish'esim (ne-fish'e-sim) {ex- 
panded ones). The children of Nephi- 
shesim were among the Nethinim who 
returned with Zerubbabel. Neh. 7 : 52. 

Neph'thalim (nef'tha-lim), a form 
of the name Naphtali. Tob. 7:3; 
Matt. 4 : 13, 15 ; Rev. 7 : 6. 

Neph'toah (nef'to-ah), or Nephto'ah 
{opening), The water of. The spring 
or source of the water or (inaccurately) 
waters of Nephtoah was one of the 
landmarks in the boundary line which 
separated Judah from Benjamin. Josh. 
15:9; 18:15. It lay northwest of Je- 
rusalem, in which direction it seems to 
have been satisfactorily identified in 
Ain- Lift a, a spring situated a little dis- 
tance above the village of the same 
name. 

Nephu'sim (ne-fu'sim), the same as 
Nephishesim, of which name according 
to Gesenius it is the proper form. 
Ezra 2 : 50. 

Ner {light or lamp), the father of 
Abner, the chief of the army under 
Saul and his son Ishbosheth. There is 
quite a difference of opinion as to his 
relationship to Saul. Some consider 
Ner Saul’s uncle and Abner his first 
cousin. Others that Abner himself was 
Saul’s uncle. Still others consider 
there might be two men of the name 
(1) the father of Abner, (2) the grand- 
father of Saul, who would be identical 
with (1) if Abner were considered 
Saul’s uncle. 1 Sam. 14 : 51 ; 1 Chron. 
8 : 33 ; 9:35, 36. 

Ne'reus (ne're-iis), a Christian at 
Rome, saluted by St. Paul. Rom. 16 : 
15. According to tradition he was be- 
headed at Terracina, probably in the 
reign of Nerva. 

Ner' gal (ner'gal), one of the chief 


NER 


444 


NET 


Assyrian and Babylonian deities, seems 
to have corresponded closely to the 
classical Mars. 2 Kings 17 : 30. It is 
conjectured that he may represent the 
deified Nimrod. 

Ner'gaLshare'zer (ner'gal-sha-re'- 
zer) (O Nergal, defend the king), oc- 
curs only in Jer. 39:3 and 13. One of 
the “ princes of the king of Babylon ” 
who accompanied Nebuchadnezzar on 
his last expedition against Jerusalem. 
He had the honorable distinction of 
Rab-mag, probably meaning chief of 
the Magi [see Rab-mag]. In sacred 
Scripture he appears among the per- 
sons who, by command of Nebu- 
chadnezzar, released Jeremiah from 
prison. He is usually considered, 
though against some opposition, as one 
who not long afterward mounted the 
Babylonian throne. This latter is the 
same as the monarch called Neriglissar 
or Neriglissor, who murdered Evil- 
merodach, the son of Nebuchadnezzar, 
and succeeded him upon the throne. 
His reign lasted from b.c. 559 to b.c. 
556. 

Ne'ri (ne'ri), short form for Neriah, 
son of Melchi and father of Salathiel, 
in the genealogy of Christ. Luke 3 : 27. 

Neri'ah (ne-ri'ah) ( lamp of Jeho- 
vah), the son of Maaseiah and father 
of Baruch and Seraiah. Jer. 32:12. 

Net. [See Fishing.] 

Nethan'e=el (ne-than'e-el) ( given of 
God). 1. The son of Zuar, and prince 
of the tribe of Issachar at the time of 
the Exodus. Num. 1:8; 2:5; 7:18. 
(b.c. 1491.) 

2. The fourth son of Jesse and 
brother of David. 1 Chron. 2 : 14. 

3. A priest in the reign of David who 

blew the trumpet before the ark when it 
was brought from the house of Obed- 
edom. 1 Chron. 15 : 24. (b.c. 1042.) 

4. A Levite, father of Shemaiah the 
scribe. 1 Chron. 24 : 6. 

5. A son of Obed-edom. 1 Chron. 26 : 
4. 

6. One of the princes of Judah whom - 

Jehoshaphat sent to teach in the cities 
of his kingdom. 2 Chron. 17 : 7. (b.c. 

870.) 

7. A chief of the Levites in the reign 

of Josiah. 2 Chron. 35 : 9. (b.c. 628.) 

8. A priest of the family of Pashur, 

in the time of Ezra, who had married 
a foreign wife. Ezra 10 : 22. (b.c. 

458.) 

9. The representative of the priestly 


family of Jedaiah in the time of Joia- 
kim. Neh. 12:21. 

10. A Levite, of the sons of Asaph, 
who with his brethren played upon the 
musical instruments of David at the 
dedication of the wall of Jerusalem un- 
der Ezra and Nehemiah. Neh. 12:36. 
(b.c. 446.) 

Nethani'ah (neth-a-ni'ah) ( given of 
Jehovah). 1. The son of Elishama, and 
father of Ishmael who murdered Ge- 
daliah. 2 Kings 25 : 23, 25. 

2. One of the four sons of Asaph the 
minstrel. 1 Chron. 25 : 12. 

3. A Levite in the reign of Jehosha- 
phat. 2 Chron. 17 ; 8. (b.c. 870.) 

4. The father of Jehudi. Jer. 36:14. 
(b.C. 638.) 

Neth'inim (neth'i-mm) {given, dedi- 
cated). As applied specifically to a dis- 
tinct body of men connected with the 
services of the temple, this name first 
meets us in the later books of the Old 
Testament — in 1 Chronicles, Ezra and 
Nehemiah. The word and the ideas 
embodied in it may, however, be traced 
to a much earlier period. As derived 
from the verb nathan, i. e. give, set 
apart, dedicate, it was applied to those 
who were specially appointed to the lit- 
urgical offices of the tabernacle. At the 
close of the campaign against the Mid- 
ianites captives from them were given by 
Moses to the Levites for the menial 
work of the . tabernacle. Num. 31:47. 
This disposition to devolve the more 
laborious offices of the ritual upon 
slaves of another race showed itself 
again in the treatment of the Gibeonites. 
Josh. 9 : 27. The number of these was 
likely to be quite inadequate for the 
greater stateliness of the new worship 
at Jerusalem. It is to this period ac- 
cordingly that the origin of the class 
bearing this name may be traced. The 
Nethinim were those “ whom David and 
the princes appointed (Heb. gave) for 
the service of the Levites.” Ezra 8 : 20. 
At this time the Nethinim probably 
lived within the precincts of the tem- 
ple, doing its rougher work and so 
enabling the Levites to take a higher 
position as the religious representatives 
and instructors of the people. The ex- 
ample set by David was followed by 
his successors. The principal references 
to them being in Ezra and Nehemiah. 

Neto'phah (ne-to'fa) {dropping ) , a 
town the name of which occurs only in 
the catalogue of those who returned 


NET 


445 


NEW 


with Zerubbabel from the captivity. 
Ezra 2:22; Neh. 7:26; 1 Esdr. 5:18. 
But, though not directly mentioned till 
so late a period, Netophah was really 
a much older place. Two of David’s 
guard, 1 Chron. 27:13, 15, were Neto- 
phathites. The “villages of the Neto- 
phathites ” were the residence of the 
Levites. 1 Chron. 9 : 16. From an- 
other notice . we learn that the particular 
Levites who inhabited these villages 
were singers. Neh. 12:28. To Judge 
from Neh. 7 : 26 the town was in the 
neighborhood of, or closely connected 
with, Bethlehem. A suggested site is 
Khurbet umm-Tobah, between Jerusa- 
lem and Bethlehem, another, Beit Netlif 
at the entrance to the Vale of Elah. 

Nethoph'athite (ne-tof'a-thite), an 
inhabitant of Netophah. 

Nettle, a well-known plant covered 
with minute sharp hairs, containing a 
poison that produces a painful, stinging 



THE NETTLE OF PALESTINE. 


sensation. It grows on neglected 
ground. Isa. 34:13; Hos. 9:6. A dif- 
ferent Hebrew word in Job 30 : 7 : Prov. 
24 : 31 ; Zeph. 2 : 9 seems to indicate a 
different species. 

New Moon. The first day of the lu- 
nar month was observed as a holy day. 
In addition to the daily sacrifice there 
were offered two young bullocks, a ram 
and seven lambs of the first year as a 
burnt offering, with the proper meat of- 
ferings and drink offerings, and a kid as 
a sin offering. Num. 28 : 11-15. As on 


the Sabbath, trade and handicraft work 
were stopped, Amos 8 : 5, and the temple 
was opened for public worship. Isa. 
66 : 23 ; Ezek. 46 : 3. The trumpets were 
blown at the offering of the special sac- 
rifices for the day, as on the solemn fes- 
tivals. Num. 10 : 10 ; Ps. 81 : 3. It was 
an occasion for state banquets. 1 Sam. 
20 : 5-24. In later, if not in earlier, 
times fasting was intermitted at the 
new moons. Judith 8 : 6. The new 
moons are generally mentioned so as to 
show that they were regarded as a pe- 
culiar class of holy days, distinguished 
from the solemn feasts and the Sab- 
baths. 1 Chron. 23 : 31 ; 2 Chron. 2:4; 
8:13; 31:3; Ezra 3:5; Neh. 10:33; 
Ezek. 45 : 17. The seventh new moon 
of the religious year, being that of 
Tisri, commenced the civil year, and 
had a significance and rites of its own. 
It was a day of holy convocation. The 
religious observance of the day of the 
new moon may plainly be regarded as 
the consecration of a natural division of 
time. 

New Testament. The name Testa- 
ment is derived from the Latin Testa- 
mentum, an erroneous translation of 
the Greek and Hebrew words meaning 
Covenant, used to designate the Old 
and the New Dispensations. Hence the 
Revisions have altered the word “ Tes- 
tament ” in the common version to 
“ Covenant.” There are 27 books in 
the New Testament, 4 Gospels, 22 Epis- 
tles and Revelation. 

The history of the written text. — 
The early history of the apostolic writ- 
ings externally, as far as it can be 
traced, is the same as that of other 
contemporary books. St. Paul, like 
Cicero or Pliny, often employed the 
services of an amanuensis, to whom 
he dictated his letters, affixing the salu- 
tation “ with his own hand.” 1 Cor. 
16 : 21 ; 2 Thess. 3 : 17 ; Col. 4 : 18. The 
originals seem to have soon perished. 

In the natural course of things the 
apostolic autographs would be likely to 
perish soon. The material which was 
commonly used for letters, the papyrus 
paper, to which St. John incidentally al- 
ludes, 2 John 12, comp. 3 John 13, was 
singularly fragile, and even the stouter 
kinds, likely to be used for the historical 
books, were not fitted to bear constant 
use. The papyrus fragments which 
have come down to the present time 
have been preserved under peculiar cir- 


NEW 


446 


NEW 


cumstances, as at Herculaneum or in 
the Egyptian tombs. 

In the time of the Diocletian persecu- 
tion, a.d. 303, copies of the Christian 
Scriptures were sufficiently numerous to 
furnish a special object for persecutors, 
who searched for copies of the Chris- 
tian writings to destroy them. Owing 
to the destruction thus caused, but still 
more from the natural effects of time, 
no MS. of the New Testament of the 
first three centuries remains. But 
though no fragment of the New Testa- 
ment of the first century still remains, 
the Italian and Egyptian papyri, which 
are of that date, give a clear notion 
of the caligraphy of the period. In 
these the text is written in columns, 
rudely divided, in Uncials, in separate 
capital letters printed with a pen, with- 
out any punctuation or division of 
words ; and there is no trace of accents 
or breathings. These manuscripts are 
called Uncials. The elder of the church 
at Ephesus, when he arose to read 
Paul’s letter to that church, “ must have 
held in his hand a roll of white or yel- 
low material about 4 feet in length and 
some 10 inches in height. The Acts of 
the Apostles might have formed a 
portly roll of 30 feet, or might even 
have been divided into two or more sec- 
tions.” 

Uncial Manuscripts are the oldest, the 
rarest and most important. Only two 
contain all the books of the New 
Testament; and there are only 112 in all 
including even the smallest fragments. 
These are the only New Testament 
manuscripts from the fourth to the ninth 
century. 

Cursives are manuscripts written in 
smaller letters in a more or less run- 
ning hand. They range from the ninth 
to the fifteenth century when printing 
was invented. Every great library pos- 
sesses some of them, and 2429 are 
known to exist. 

As soon as definite controversies 
arose among Christians, the text of the 
New Testament assumed its true im- 
portance. Several very important con- 
clusions follow from this earliest appear- 
ance of textual criticism. It is in the 
first place evident that various readings 
existed in the books of the New Testa- 
ment at a time prior to all extant author- 
ities. History affords no trace of the 
pure apostolic originals. Again, from the 


preservation of the first variations no- 
ticed, which are often extremely minute, 
in one or more of the primary docu- 
ments still left, we may be certain that 
no important changes have been made 
in the sacred text which we cannot now 
detect. 

Passing from these isolated quota- 
tions, we find the first great witnesses 
to the apostolic text in the early Syriac 
and Latin versions, and in the rich quo- 
tations of Clement of Alexandria (f 
cir. a.d. 220) and Origen (a.d. 184-254). 
From the extant works of Origen alone 
no inconsiderable portion of the whole 
New Testament might be transcribed; 
and his writings are an almost inex- 
haustible storehouse for the history of 
the text. There can be no doubt that in 
Origen’s time the variations in the New 
Testament MSS. were beginning to lead 
to the formation of specific groups of 
copies. The most ancient MSS. and 
versions now extant exhibit the char- 
acteristic differences which have been 
found to exist in different parts of the 
works of Origen. These cannot have 
had their source later than the begin- 
ning of the third century, and probably 
were much earlier. Bengel was the 
first (1734) who pointed out the affinity 
of certain groups of MSS., which, as 
he remarks, must have arisen before the 
first versions were made. The honor 
of carefully determining the relations 
of critical authorities for the New 
Testament text belongs to Griesbach. 
According to him two distinct recen- 
sions of the Gospels existed at the be- 
ginning of the third century — the Alex- 
andrine and the Western. A MS. of 
the fourth century, the Codex Vaticanus, 
may be taken as a type. The writing is 
in elegant continuous uncials (capitals), 
in three columns, without initial letters 
or iota subscript or adscript. A small 
interval serves as a simple punctuation; 
and there are no accents or breathings 
by the hand of the first writer, though 
these have been added subsequently. 
Uncial writing continued in general use 
till the middle of the tenth century. 
From the eleventh century downward 
cursive writing prevailed. The earliest 
cursive biblical MS. is dated 964 a.d. 
The MSS. of the fourteenth and fif- 
teenth centuries abound in the contrac- 
tions which afterward passed into the 
early printed books. The oldest MSS. 
are written on the thinnest and finest 


NEW 


447 


NEW 


vellum ; in later copies the parchment 
is thick and coarse. Papyrus was very 
rarely used after the ninth century. In 
the tenth century cotton paper was gen- 
erally employed in Europe ; and one 
example at least occurs of its use in the 
ninth century. In the twelfth century 
the common linen or rag paper came 
into use. One other kind of material 
requires notice — re-dressed parchment, 
called palimpsests. Even at a very early 
period the original text of a parchment 
MS. was often erased, that the material 
might be used afresh. In lapse of time 
the original writing frequently reap- 
peared in faint lines below the later 
text, and in this way many precious 
fragments of biblical MSS., which had 
been once obliterated for the transcrip- 
tion of other works, have been recov- 
ered. A complete description of these 
MSS. is given in the great critical edi- 
tions of the New Testament. Here 
those only can be briefly noticed which 
are of primary importance. 

The Codex Sinaiticus at St. Peters- 
burg, the latest discovered and the most 
complete, was obtained by Tischendorf 
from the convent of St. Catherine, 
Mount Sinai, in 1859. The New Testa- 
ment is entire, and the Epistle of Barna- 
bas and parts of the Shepherd of Her- 
nias are added. It is probably the old- 
est of the MSS. of the New Testament 
and of the fourth century. 

Codex Alexandrinus (Brit. Mus.), a 
MS. of the entire Greek Bible, with 
the Epistles of Clement added. It was 
given by Cyril Lucar, patriarch of Con- 
stantinople, to Charles I. in 1628, and is 
now in the British Museum. It con- 
tains the whole of the New Testament, 
with some chasms. It was probably 
written in the first half of the fifth 
century. 

Codex Vaticanus (1209), a MS. of 
the entire Greek Bible, which seems to 
have been in the Vatican Library almost 
from its commencement ( cir . a.d. 1450). 
It contains the New Testament entire 
to Heb. 9 : 14, Kada : the rest of the 
Epistle to the Hebrews, the Pastoral 
Epistles and the Apocalypse were added 
in the fifteenth century. The MS. is as- 
signed to the fourth century. 

Codex Ephraemi rescriptus (Paris, 
Bihl. Imp. 9), a palimpsest MS. which 
contains fragments of the LXX. and of 
every part of the New Testament. In 
the twelfth century the original writing | 


was effaced and some Greek writings of 
Ephraem Syrus were written over it. 
The MS. was brought to Florence from 
the East at the beginning of the six- 
teenth century, and came thence to 
Paris with Catherine de Medici. The 
only entire books which have perished 
are 2 Thess. and 2 John. 

Variations. Having surveyed in out- 
line the history of the transmission of 
the written text and the chief char- 
acteristics of the MSS. in which it is 
preserved, we are in a position to con- 
sider the extent and nature of the va- 
riations which exist in different copies. 
It is impossible to estimate the number 
of these exactly, but they cannot be 
less than 150,000 in all, though of these 
a very large proportion consists of dif- 
ferences of spelling and isolated aber- 
rations of scribes, and of the remain- 
der comparatively few alterations are 
sufficiently well supported to create rea- 
sonable doubt as to the final judgment. 
Probably there are not more than 1600- 
2000 places in which the true reading is a 
matter of uncertainty. Various readings 
are due to different causes : some arose 
from accidental variations. Many are 
mere variations of spelling, such as we 
see in comparing the English and Amer- 
ican revisions, as judgement and judg- 
ment, Neighbour and neighbor; other 
variations are due to errors of sight. 
Others may be described as errors of 
impression or memory. The copyist, 
after reading a sentence from the text 
before him, often failed to reproduce 
it exactly. Variations of order are the 
most frequent and very commonly the 
most puzzling questions of textual criti- 
cism. Examples occur in every page, 
almost in every verse, of the New Tes- 
tament. The number of readings which 
seem to have been altered for distinctly 
dogmatic reasons is extremely small. 
In spite of the great revolutions in 
thought, feeling and practice through 
which the Christian Church passed in 
fifteen centuries, the copyists of the New 
Testament faithfully preserved, accord- 
ing to their ability, the sacred trust 
committed to them. There is not any 
trace of intentional revision designed to 
give support to current opinions. Matt. 
17 : 21, Mark 9 : 29, 1 Cor. 7 : 5, need 
scarcely be noticed. There are no va- 
riations which change any doctrine or 
great truth. The great mass of various 
readings are simply variations in form. 


NEW 


448 


NIC 


There are, however, one or two greater 
variations of a different character. The 
most important of these are Mark 16 : 9- 
end ; John 7 : 53-8 : 12 ; Rom. 16 : 25-27. 
The second stands quite by itself ; and 
there seems to be little doubt that it 
contains' an authentic narrative, but not 
by the hand of St. John. The two 
others, taken in connection with the last 
chapter of St. John’s Gospel, suggest 
the possibility that the apostolic writ- 
ings may have undergone in some cases 
authoritative revision. Manuscripts, it 
must' be remembered, are but one of the 
three sources of textual criticism. The 
versions and patristic quotations are 
scarcely less important in doubtful 
cases. 

The history of the printed text. — 
The first complete book produced by 
the printing press was the Bible in 1456. 
It was in Latin, the language of litera- 
ture in western Europe. 

The following are the earliest edi- 
tions : 1 . The Complutensian Polyglot, 
so called because it was printed at Coin- 
plutum in Spain. The glory of print- 
ing the first Greek Testament is due to 
the princely Cardinal Ximenes. This 
great prelate as early as 1502 engaged 
the services of a number of scholars 
to superintend an edition of the whole 
Bible in the original Hebrew and Greek, 
with the addition of the Chaldee Targum 
of Onkelos, the LXX. version and the 
Vulgate. The volume containing the 
New Testament was printed first, and 
was completed on January 10, 1514. The 
whole work was not finished till July 10, 
1517. 2. The edition of Erasmus. — The 
edition of Erasmus was the first pub- 
lished edition of the New Testament. 
Erasmus had paid considerable attention 
to the study of the New Testament, 
when he received an application from 
Froben, a printer of Basle with whom 
he was acquainted, to prepare a Greek 
text for the press. The request was 
made on April 17, 1515, and the whole 
work was finished in February, 1516. 3. 

The edition of Stephens. — The scene of 
our history now changes from Basle 
to Paris. In 1543, Simon de Colines 
(Colinaeus) published a Greek text of 
the New Testament, corrected in about 
150 places on fresh MS. authority. Not 
long after it appeared, R. Estienne 
(StephanusJ published his first edition 
(1546), which was based on a collation 
of MSS. in the Royal Library with the 


Complutensian text. 4. The editions of 
Beza and Elzevir. — The Greek text of 
Beza (dedicated to Queen Elizabeth) 
was printed by H. Stephens in 1565, and 
a second edition in 1576; but the chief 
edition was the third, printed in 1582, 
which contained readings from Codex 
Bezce and Codex Claromontanus. 

The literal sense of the apostolic writ- 
ings must be gained in the same way 
as the literal sense of any other writings 
— by the fullest use of every appliance 
of scholarship, and the most complete 
confidence in the necessary and absolute 
connection of words and thoughts. No 
variation of phrase, no peculiarity of 
idiom, no change of tense, no change, of 
order, can be neglected. The truth lies 
in the whole expression, and no one 
can presume to set aside any part as 
trivial or indifferent. The importance 
of investigating most patiently and most 
faithfully the literal meaning of the 
sacred text must be felt with tenfold 
force when it is remembered that the 
literal sense is the outward embodiment 
of a spiritual sense, which lies beneath 
and quickens every part of Holy Scrip- 
ture. 

New Year. [Trumpets, Feast of.] 

Neziah (ne-zi'ah) ( illustrious ). The 
descendants of Neziah were among the 
Nethinim who returned with Zerubbabel. 
Ezra 2 : 54 ; Neh. 7 : 56. 

Ne'zib (ne'zib) {garrison) , a city of 
Judah, Josh. 15:43 only, in the district 
of the Shefelah or lowland, one of the 
same group with Keilah and Mareshah. 
To Eusebius and Jerome it was evi- 
dently known. They place it on the 
road between Eleutheropolis and He- 
bron, seven or nine miles from the for- 
mer, and there it still stands under the 
almost identical name of Beit Nusib. 

Nib'haz (nib'haz) {the barker ), a 
deity of the Avites, introduced by them 
into Samaria in the time of Sargon. 2 
Kings 17 : 31. The rabbins derived the 
name from a Hebrew root nabach, “to 
bark,” and hence assigned to it the 
figure of a dog, or a dog-headed man. 
But there is no reason to think them 
correct, and any identification is re- 
garded as hopeless by modern scholars. 

Nib'shan (nib'shan) {soft soil), one 
of the six cities of Judah, Josh. 15:62, 
which were in the wilderness. 

Nica'nor (nf-ka'nor) {conqueror) . 
l.'Son of Patroculus, 2 Macc. 8:9, a 
general who was engaged in the Jewish 


NIC 


449 


NIL 


wars under Antiochus Epiphanes and 
Demetrius I. 1 Macc. 3:38; 4; 7:26, 
49. ( B.c. 166.) . 

2. One of the first seven deacons. 
Acts 6 : 5. 

Nicode'mus (mk-o-de'mus) ( con- 
queror of the people), a Pharisee, a 
ruler of the Jews and a teacher of Is- 
rael, John 3 : 1, 10, whose secret visit 
to our Lord was the occasion of the 
discourse recorded only by St. John. In 
Nicodemus a noble candor and a simple 
love of truth shine out in the midst of 
hesitation and fear of man. He finally 
became a follower of Christ, and came 
with Joseph of Arimathsea to take down 
and embalm the body of Jesus. 

Nicola'itans (nik-o-la'i-tans) ( fol- 
lowers of Nicolas), a sect mentioned in 
Rev. 2 : 6, 15, whose deeds were strongly 
condemned. They may have been iden- 
tical with those who held the doctrine 
of Balaam. They seem to have held 
that it was lawful to eat things sacrificed 
to idols, and to commit the immoral ex- 
cesses of the heathen, in opposition to 
the decree of the Church rendered in 
Acts 15 : 20, 29. Mingling themselves in 
the orgies of idolatrous feasts, they 
brought the impurities of those feasts 
into the meetings of the Christian 
Church. And all this was done, it must 
be remembered, not simply as an in- 
dulgence of appetite, but as a part of a 
system, supported by a “doctrine,” ac- 
companied by the boast of a prophetic 
illumination. 2 Pet. 2 : 1. 

Nicolas (nik'o-las) ( victor of the 
people ), Acts 6:5, a native of Antioch 
and a proselyte to the Jewish faith. 
When the church was still confined to 
Jerusalem, he became a convert; and 
being a man of honest report, full of 
the Holy Ghost and of wisdom, he was 
chosen by the whole multitude of the 
disciples to be one of the first seven 
deacons, and was ordained by the apos- 
tles. He is very likely the one from 
whom the Nicolaitans claimed to have 
derived their doctrines. But there is 
no proof that he actually taught them. 
All heretics of that day were very anx- 
ious to father their peculiar beliefs on 
an apostle or a prominent officer of the 
church. The traditions in their details 
are of no value. 

Nicop'olis (ni-kop'o-lis) {city of vic- 
tory) is mentioned in Titus 3 : 12 as the 
place where St. Paul was intending to 
pass the winter. Nothing is to be found 
29 


in the epistle itself to determine which 
Nicopolis is here intended. One Nicop- 
olis was in Thrace, near the borders of 
Macedonia. The subscription (which, 
however, is of no authority) fixes on 
this place, calling it the Macedonian 
Nicopolis. But there is little doubt that 
Jerome’s view is correct, and that the 
Pauline Nicopolis was the celebrated 
city of Epirus. This city (the “ city of 
victory”) was built by Augustus in 
memory of the battle of Actium. It 
was on a peninsula to the west of the 
bay of Actium. 

Ni'ger (ni'jer) {black) is the addi- 
tional or distinctive name given to the 
Simeon who was one of the teachers 
and prophets in the church at Antioch. 
Acts 13 : 1. 

Night. [Day.] 

Night=hawk. The Hebrew word so 
translated, Lev. 11 : 16 ; Deut. 14 : 15, is 
impossible to identify. It may be the 
night jar, or some kind of owl. 

Nile, the great river of Egypt. The 
word Nile nowhere occurs in the Au- 
thorized Version; but it is spoken of un- 
der the names of Sihor [Sihor] and the 
“ river of Egypt.” Gen. 15 : 18. At 
Khartoom, the capital of Nubia, is the 
junction of the two great branches, the 
White Nile and the Blue Nile, so called 
from the color of the clay which tinges 
their waters. The Blue Nile rises in 
the mountains of Abyssinia, and is the 
chief source of the deposit which the 
Nile brings to Egypt. The White Nile 
is the larger branch. Its true beginning 
is in the river Kagera, 3° south of the 
equator, flowing into the Lake Victoria 
Nyanza. The total length of the Nile 
is therefore about 4000 miles. From the 
First Cataract, at Syene, the river flows 
smoothly at the rate of two or three 
miles an hour, with a width of half a 
mile, to Cairo. A little north of Cairo 
it divides into two branches, one flow- 
ing to Rosetta and the other to Da- 
mietta, from which places the mouths 
are named. Originally there were seven 
of these mouths, but the rest have been 
filled up by the deposit brought down 
from the upper course of the river. 
The great peculiarity of the river is its 
annual overflow, caused by the period- 
ical tropical rains. Egypt is said to be 
“the gift of the Nile”; and it is very 
certain that were the overflow to cease 
famine would be the result. Something 
of this sort is doubtless the cause of 


l 


NIL 


450 


NIM 


the famine in the time of Joseph, and 
those of later years. Modern enter- 
prise is attempting to guard against this, 
and provide a natural and uniform sup- 
ply of water by the great dam at As- 
souan, which is to hold back any sur- 
plus ready for a later year of deficit. 
The monuments and the narratives of 
ancient writers show us in the Nile of 
Egypt in old times a stream bordered 
by flags and reeds, the covert of abun- 
dant wild fowl, and bearing on its 
waters the fragrant flowers of the va- 


square sail, white or with variegated 
pattern and many oars, to the little 
papyrus skiff dancing on the water and 
carrying the seekers of pleasure where 
they could shoot with arrows or knock 
down with the throw-stick the wild fowl 
that abounded among the reeds, or en- 
gage in the dangerous chase of the hip- 
popotamus or the crocodile. The Nile 
is constantly before us in the history 
of Israel in Egypt. 

Nim'rah (mm'rah) {leopard), a place 
mentioned by this name in Num. 32 : 3 



A SCENE ON THE NILE. 


rious-colored lotus. Now in Egypt 
scarcely any reeds or waterplants — the 
famous papyrus being nearly if not 
quite extinct, and the lotus almost un- 
known — are to be seen, excepting in the 
marshes near the Mediterranean. Of 
old the great river must have shown a 
more fair and busy scene than now. 
Boats of many kinds were ever passing 
along it, by the painted walls of tem- 
ples and the gardens that extended 
around the light summer pavilions, from 
the pleasure-galley, with one great 


only. Given as Beth-nimrah, ver. 36. 
It belonged to the tribe of Gad. It was 
east of the Jordan, and if Jerome’s 
identification is correct it is the same 
as. Nimrim, and is represented by the 
ruined mound Tell Nimrin opposite 
Jericho. 

Nim rim (mm'rim), The waters of, 

a stream or brook within the country 
of Moab, which is mentioned in the de- 
nunciations of that nation by Isaiah, Isa. 
15 : 6, and Jeremiah. Jer. 48 : 34. Opin- 
ions differ as to its identification. That 



NIM 


451 


NIN 


with Nimrah has been given. Another 
is with Wady Nemeirah eight miles 
from Zoar. 

Nimrod (nim'rod), a Cushite, a 
mighty hunter, and a powerful monarch 
mentioned in Gen. 10 : 8 ff. It is hard 
to determine the identity of this man. 
According to the account in Genesis he 
established an empire in Shinar (the 
classical Babylonia), the chief towns 
being Babel, Erech, Accad and Calneh; 
and that he extended this empire north- 
ward along the course of the Tigris 
over Assyria, where he founded a sec- 
ond group of capitals, Nineveh, Reho- 
both, Calah and Resen. He is some- 
times thought the same as the Baby- 
lonian king Izdubar or Gilgamesh, 
around whose name many legends have 
gathered. Others regard him as Mero- 
dach who was later deified. 

Nim'shi (mm'shl), the grandfather 
of Jehu, who is generally called “ the 
son of Nimshi.” 1 Kings 19:16; 2 
Kings 9 : 2, 14, 20 ; 2 Chron. 22 : 7. 

Nin'eveh (nin'e-veh), the capital of 
the ancient kingdom and empire of As- 
syria. The name appears to be com- 
pounded from that of an Assyrian deity, 
“ Nina,” probably the original of Ninos, 
who in the Greek myth was the founder 
of the city. It is first mentioned in 
the Old Testament as founded by Nim- 
rod. Gen. 10 : 11.* Hence Assyria was 
subsequently known to the Jews as “ the 
land of Nimrod,” cf. Micah 5 : 6. The 
kingdom of Assyria and of the Assy- 
rians is referred to in the Old Testa- 
ment as connected with the Jews at a 
very early period, as in Num. 24: 22, 24. 
It was probably founded by a colony 
from Babylonia, as far back as the year 
2000 b.c., if not earlier. Records are 
found for that date. For its history see 
the article Assyria. Jonah was sent to 
preach to the king and people of Nine- 
veh. Nahum prophesied its complete 
destruction, so that it should not again 
rise from its ruins, while Zephaniah 
gives the fullest and most poetical pic- 
ture of Nineveh’s ruined and deserted 
condition. This is the last mention of 
Nineveh as an existing city. The de- 
struction of Nineveh occurred b.c. 606. 
The city was then laid waste, its monu- 
ments destroyed, and its inhabitants 
scattered or carried away into captivity. 
It never rose again from its ruins. This 
total disappearance of Nineveh is fully 


confirmed by the records of profane 
history. 

# The site of the city. Nineveh is 
situated on the eastern bank of the 
river Tigris, 550 miles from its mouth 
and 250 miles north of Babylon. Pre- 
vious to recent excavations and re- 
searches, the ruins which occupied the 
presumed site of Nineveh seemed to 
consist of mere shapeless heaps or 
mounds of earth and rubbish. Unlike 
the vast masses of brick masonry which 
mark the site of Babylon, they showed 
externally no signs of artificial con- 
struction, except perhaps here and there 
the traces of a rude wall of sun-dried 
bricks. Some of these mounds were of 
enormous dimensions, looking in the 
distance rather like natural elevations 
than the work of men’s hands. They 
differ greatly in form, size and height. 
Some are mere conical heaps, varying 
from 50 to 150 feet high; others have 
a broad flat summit, and very precipi- 
tous cliff-like sides furrowed by deep 
ravines worn by the winter rains. The 
first investigations of the site of 
Nineveh were made by Rich, English 
resident at Bagdad, who in 1820 made 
a survey of the mound called Kouyun- 
jik, and became convinced that it con- 
cealed the ruins of Nineveh. Others, 
notably the Frenchman Botta, con- 
tinued the explorations at other points 
near by, and considerable differences of 
opinion existed as to the true site of 
Nineveh proper; also as to whether the 
various mounds were the remains of 
distinct cities, or of various portions 
and suburbs of the same city. Layard 
between 1845 and 1850 began operations 
at Nimroud, 18 miles south of Kouyun- 
jik; then he made excavations at the 
latter place itself, which proved con- 
clusively that it was Nineveh itself. 
Later discoveries have brought to light 
many ruins, inscriptions, etc., throwing 
much light on the history. 

Description of the city. The prin- 
cipal ruins are — (1) the group imme- 
diately opposite Mosul, including the 
great mounds of Kouyunjik and Nebbi 
Yunus, which are proved the site of 
Nineveh proper; (2) that near the 
junction of the Tigris and Zab, com- 
prising the mounds of Nimroud and 
Athur, or Calah; (3) Khorsabad, about 
ten miles to the east of the former 
river; (4) Shereef Khan, about 5 Vi 


NIN 


452 


NIN 


miles to the north of Kouyunjik; and 
(5) Selamiyah , three miles to the north 
of Nimroud. These were all, without 
much doubt, included within the great 
city — those farthest away being the 
magnificent palaces in the suburbs. We 
find by the remains that the city was 
rectangular in shape, surrounded by a 
wall pierced with gates and protected 
by towers. This wall enclosed about 
1800 acres, and had a circumference of 
about 7 Ms miles, being about 3 miles 
long, and very narrow. 

The statement in Jonah 4 : 11 that 
Nineveh contained “ more than six 
score thousand ” infants, would indi- 
cate a population of about 600,000. Cap- 
tain Jones, who surveyed the site in 
1853, reckons a possible population of 
only about 175,000. Traditions of the 
first century b.c. give its size as much 
larger than Babylon. Probably the 
older writers reckoned in the “ suburbs ” 
as a part of the city, — since they be- 
longed to the people of Nineveh — as 
we used to say “ Greater New York ” 
before the actual union of the cities 
and towns. The Assyrian edifices were 
built upon artificial mounds or plat- 
forms, varying in height often from 30 
to 50 feet. This platform was prob- 
ably faced with stone masonry, remains 
of which were discovered at Nimroud, 
and broad flights of steps or inclined 
ways led up to its summit. Although 
only the general plan of the ground- 
floor can now be traced, it is evident 
that the palaces had several stories 
built of wood and sun-dried bricks, 
which, when the building was deserted 
and allowed to fall to decay, gradually 
buried the lower chambers with their 
ruins, and protected the sculptured slabs 
from the effects of the weather. The 
depth of soil and rubbish above the 
alabaster slabs varied from a few inches 
to about 20 feet. It is to this accumu- 
lation of rubbish above them that the 
bas-reliefs owe their extraordinary 
preservation. The portions of the edi- 
fices still remaining consist of halls, 
chambers and galleries, opening for the 
most part into large uncovered courts. 
The wall above the wainscoting of ala- 
baster was plastered, and painted with 
figures and ornaments. The sculptures, 
with the exception of the human-headed 
lions and bulls, were for the most part 
in low relief. The colossal figures usu- 
ally represent the king, his attendants 


and the gods; the smaller sculptures, 
which either cover the whole face of 
the slab or are divided into two com- 
partments by bands of inscriptions, rep- 
resent battles, sieges, the chase, single 
combats with wild beasts, religious cere- 
monies, etc., etc. All refer to public or 
national events; the hunting-scenes evi- 
dently recording the prowess and per- 
sonal valor of the king as the head of 
the people — “the mighty hunter before 
the Lord.” The sculptures . appear to 
have been painted, remains of color 
having been found on most of them. 
Thus decorated without and within, the 
Assyrian palaces must have displayed a 
barbaric magnificence, not, however, de- 
void of a certain grandeur and beauty 
which probably no ancient or modern 
edifice has exceeded. These great edi- 
fices, the depositories of the national 
records, appear to have been at the 
same time the abode of the king and 
the temple of the gods. 

The literature of Nineveh. In the 
ruins of Nineveh have been found the 
remains of an ancient library written 
on stone tablets. These leaves or tab- 
lets were from an inch to a foot square, 
made of terra-cotta clay, on which when 
soft the inscriptions were written ; the 
tablets were then hardened and placed 
upon the walls of the library rooms, so 
as to cover the walls. Judging from 
the fragments discovered this royal li- 
brary must have contained over 10,000 
tablets, including almost every subject 
in ancient literature. The character 
employed was the arrow-headed or 
cuneiform — so called from each letter 
being formed by marks or elements re- 
sembling an arrow-head or a wedge. It 
was begun by Shalmaneser b.c. 860 ; his 
successors added to it, and Sardanapalus 
(b.c. 673) almost doubled it. Stories 
or subjects were begun on tablets, and 
continued on tablets of the same size 
sometimes to the number of one hun- 
dred. Some of the most interesting of 
these give accounts of the creation and 
of the deluge, and all agree with or 
confirm the Bible. One of the most im- 
portant inscriptions discovered in con- 
nection with biblical history is that upon 
a pair of colossal human-headed bulls 
from Kouyunjik, now in the British 
Museum, containing the records of Sen- 
nacherib, and describing, among other 
events, his wars with Hezekiah. It is 
accompanied by a series of bas-reliefs 


NIN 


453 


NOA 


believed to represent the siege and cap- 
ture of Lachish. The people of Nin- 
eveh spoke a Semitic dialect, connected 
with the Hebrew and with the so-called 
Chaldee of the books of Daniel and 
Ezra. This agrees with the testimony 
of the Old Testament. 

Nin'evites (mn'e-vites), the inhabit- 
ants of Nineveh. Luke 11 : 30. 

Ni'san. [Month.] 

Nis'roch (ms'rok), an idol of Nin- 
eveh, in whose temple Sennacherib was 
worshipping when assassinated by his 
sons, Adrammelech and Sharezer. 2 
Kings 19 : 37 ; Isa. 37 : 38. This idol has 
been identified with the eagle-headed 
human figure, which is one of the most 
prominent on the earliest Assyrian mon- 
uments, and is always represented as 
contending with and conquering the lion 
or the bull. Some of the later scholars, 
however, consider it a Hebrew corrup- 
tion of the name Ashur, the national 
god of Assyria. 

Nitre. Mention of this substance is 
made in Prov. 25 : 20 — “ and as vinegar 
upon nitre ” — and in Jer. 2 : 22. The 
article denoted is not that which we 
now understand by the term nitre , i. e. 
nitrate of potash — “ saltpetre ” — but the 
nitrum of the Latins and the natron or 
native carbonate of soda of modern 
chemistry. Natron was and still . is 
used by the Egyptians for washing 
linen. The value of soda in this re- 
spect is well known. This explains the 
passage in Jeremiah. Natron is found 
in great abundance in the well-known 
soda lakes of Egypt. 

No. [No-amon.] 

No=adi'ah (no-a-di'ah) ( meeting with 
Jehovah). 1. A Levite, son of Binnui, 
who with Meremoth, Eleazar and Joza- 
bad weighed the vessels of gold and sil- 
ver belonging to the temple which were 
brought back from Babylon. Ezra 8: 
33. (b.c. 459.) 

2. The prophetess Noadiah joined 
Sanballat and Tobiah in their attempt 
to intimidate Nehemiah. Neh. 6:14. 
(b.c. 446.) 

No'ah (no'ah) ( rest ), the tenth in de- 
scent from Adam, in the line of Seth, 
was the son of Lamech and grandson 
of Methuselah, (b.c. 2948-1998, Us- 

sher.) We hear nothing of Noah till 
he is 500 years old, when it is said 
he begat three sons, Shem, Ham and 
Japhet. In consequence of the grievous 
and hopeless wickedness of the world at 


this time, God resolved to destroy it. 
Of Noah’s life during this age of almost 
universal apostasy we are told but little. 
It is merely said that he was a righteous 
man and perfect in his generations (i. e. 
among his contemporaries), and that he, 
like Enoch, walked with God. St. Peter 
calls him “ a preacher of righteousness.” 
2 Pet. 2 : 5. Besides this we are merely 
told that he had three sons, each of 
whom had married a wife; that he built 
the ark in accordance with divine direc- 
tion; and that he was 600 years old 
when the flood came.’ Gen. 7 : 6. 

The ark . — The same Hebrew word is 
used for the Ark of Noah, and for that 
in which the infant Moses was laid. 
This “ chest ” or “ boat ” was to be made 
of gopher wood, probably cypress, which 
both for its lightness and its durability 
was employed by the Phoenicians for 
building their vessels. The planks of 
the ark, after being put together, were 
to be protected by a coating of pitch, 
or rather bitumen, both inside and out- 
side, to make it water-tight, and per- 
haps also as a protection against the at- 
tacks of marine animals. The ark was 
to consist of a number of “ nests ” or 
small compartments, with a view, no 
doubt, to the convenient distribution of 
the different animals and their food. 
These were to be arranged in three 
tiers, one above another; “with lower, 
second and third (stories) shalt thou 
make it.” Means were also to be pro- 
vided for letting light into the ark. 
There was to be a door; this was to be 
placed in the side of the ark. Of the 
shape of the ark nothing is said, but 
its dimensions are given. It was to be 
300 cubits in length, 50 in breadth and 
30 in height. Taking 21 inches for the 
cubit, the ark would be 525 feet in 
length, 87 feet 6 inches in breadth and 
52 feet 6 inches in height. This is very 
considerably larger than the most of the 
vessels we usually see, but not as large 
as some modern ships. It should be re- 
membered that this huge structure was 
only intended to float on the water, and 
was not in the proper sense of the word 
a ship. It had neither mast, sail nor 
rudder; it was in fact nothing but an 
enormous floating house, or rather ob- 
long box. The inmates of the ark were 
Noah and his wife and his three sons 
with their wives. Noah was directed 
to take also animals of all kinds into 
the ark with him, that they might be 


NOA 


454 


NOA 


preserved alive. Many discussions on 
this point are given in fuller treatises. 
Most of the objections raised to the 
Bible narrative are based on the suppo- 
sition that Noah would try to obtain 
specimens of every existing animal. 
The more natural supposition seems to 
be that only those which were useful 
to man were preserved, and that no wild 
animals were taken into the ark. There 


erful and impressive description is given 
of the appalling catastrophe. The waters 
of the flood increased for a period of 
190 days (40+150, comparing Gen. 7: 
12 and 24) ; and then “ God remembered 
Noah/’ and made a wind to pass over 
the earth, so that the waters were as- 
suaged. The ark rested on the seven- 
teenth day of the seventh month on the 
mountains of Ararat. After this the 



THE BABYLONIAN DELUGE STORY. 

The eleventh tablet of the Gilgamesh epic. 


would then be no difficulty from the 
great number of different species of 
animal life existing in the world. 

The Hood . — The ark was finished, and 
all its living freight was gathered into 
it as a place of safety. Jehovah shut 
' him in, says the chronicler, speaking of 
Noah; and then there ensued a solemn 
pause of seven days before the threat- 
ened destruction was let loose. At last 
the flood came; the waters were upon 
the earth. A very simple but very pow- 


waters gradually decreased till the first 
day of the tenth month, when the tops 
of the mountains were seen; but Noah 
and his family did not disembark till 
they had been in the ark over a year. 
Whether the flood was universal or par- 
tial has given rise to much controversy. 
The language of the book of Genesis 
does not compel us to suppose that the 
whole surface of the globe was actually 
covered with water. It is natural to 
suppose that the writer, when he speaks 



NOA 


455 


NOA 


of “ all flesh," “ all in whose nostrils 
was the breath of life," refers only to 
his own locality. This sort of language 
is common enough in the Bible when 
only a small part of the globe is intended. 
Thus, for instance, it is said that " all 
countries came into Egypt to Joseph to 
buy corn ;" and that “ a decree went out 
from Caesar Augustus that all the world 
should be taxed." The language must 
be understood in the. sense it would 
bear to the authors. The world as then 
known was very small — travel was much 
circumscribed. The eye witnesses who 
handed down the story saw no part 
omitted, they met no survivors. The 
truth of the Bible would not be shaken 
were the flood to be limited to a com- 
paratively small area in Asia. There 
are traditions held by people all over the 
globe which have preserved the memory 
of a great and destructive flood, from 
which but a small part of mankind es- 
caped. They seem to point back to a 
common centre, whence they were car- 
ried by the different families of man 
as they wandered east and west, but 
may be explained otherwise. The tra- 
ditions which come nearest to the bibli- 
cal account are those of the nations 
of western Asia. Foremost among 
these is the Chaldean. Other notices of 
a flood may be found in the Phoenician 
mythology. There is a medal or coin 


of Apamea in Phrygia, struck as late as 
the time of Septimius Severus, in which 
the Phrygian deluge is commemorated. 
This medal represents a kind of square 
vessel floating in the water. Through 
an opening in it are seen two persons, 
a man and a woman. Upon the top of 
this chest or ark is perched a bird, 
whilst another flies toward it carrying a 


branch between its feet. Before the 
vessel are represented the same pair as 
having just quitted it and got upon the 
dry land. Singularly enough, too, on 
some specimens of this medal the let- 
ters M2 or M2E have been found on 
the vessel, as in the cut on this page. 
Tayler Lewis deduces “the partial ex- 
tent of the flood from the very face of 
the Hebrew text." “ Earth,” where it 
speaks of “ all the earth," often is, and 
here should be, translated “ land,” the 
home of the race, from which there ap- 
pears to have been little inclination to 
wander. Even after the flood God had 
to compel them to disperse. “ Under 
the whole heavens " simply includes the 
horizon reaching around “ all the land " 
— the visible horizon. We still use the 
words in the same sense, and so does 
the Bible. Nearly all commentators 
now agree on the partial extent of the 
deluge. And very many of them sup- 
pose it to have taken place in that part 
of Asia which includes the modern 
Mount Ararat. 

After the Hood. — Noah’s first act after 
he left the ark was to build an altar and 
to offer sacrifices. Then follows the 
blessing of God upon Noah and his sons. 
Noah is clearly the head of a new hu- 
man family, the representative of the 
whole race. It is as such that God 
makes his covenant with him ; and hence 
selects a natural 
phenomenon as the 
sign of that cove- 
nant. The b o w in 
the cloud, seen b y 
every nation under 
heaven, is an un- 
failing witness t o 
the truth of God. 
Noah now for the 
rest of his life be- 
took himself to ag- 
ricultural pursuits. 
It is particularly no- 
ticed that he planted 
a vineyard. 
Whether i n igno- 
rance of its properties or otherwise 
we are not informed, but he drank of 
the juice of the grape till he became 
intoxicated and shamefully exposed 
himself in his own tent. One of his 
sons, Ham, mocked openly at his father’s 
disgrace. The others, with dutiful care 
and reverence, endeavored to hide it. 
When he recovered from the effects of 



APAMEAN COIN SHOWING THE WORD. “ NOE ” ON THE ARK. 


NOA 


456 


NOG 


his intoxication, he declared that a 
curse should rest upon the sons of Ham. 
With the curse on his youngest son was 
joined a blessing on the other two. 
After this prophetic blessing we hear no 
more of the patriarch but the sum of 
his years, 950. 

No'ah (no' ah) {motion), one of the 
five daughters of Zelophehad. Num. 26 : 
33; 27:1; 36:11; Josh. 17:3. (b.c. 

1450.) 

No=a'mon (no-a'mon) {city of 
Amon), Nah. 3:8; No, Jer. 46:25; 
Ezek. 30 : 14, 15, 16, a city of Egypt, bet- 
ter known under the name of Thebes, 
the ancient and splendid metropolis of 
upper Egypt. The second part of the 
first form is the name of Amon, the 


Nob (nob), 1 Sam. 22:19; Neh. 11: 
32, a sacerdotal city in the tribe of Ben- 
jamin, and situated on some eminence 
near Jerusalem. It was one of the 
places where the ark of Jehovah was 
kept for a time during the days of its 
wanderings. 2 Sam. 6 : 1, etc. But the 
event for which Nob was most, noted 
in the Scripture annals was a frightful 
massacre which occurred there in the 
reign of Saul. 1 Sam. 22:17-19. 

No'bah (no'bah) {barking), an Is- 
raelite warrior, Num. 32 : 42, who dur- 
ing the conquest of the territory on 
the east of Jordan possessed himself of 
the town of Kenath and the villages or 
hamlets dependent upon it, and gave 
them his own name. (b.c. 1450.) For 



SITE OF NOB. 


chief divinity of Thebes. Nahum refers 
to the capture and sack of Thebes, prob- 
ably in Assurbanipal’s last invasion, b.c. 
663. The description of No-amon as 
“ situate among the rivers, the waters 
round about it” (Nah. /. c.), remarkably 
characterizes Thebes. It lay on both 
sides of the Nile, and was celebrated 
for its hundred gates, for its temples, 
obelisks, statues, etc. It was emphatic- 
ally the city of temples, in the ruins 
of which many monuments of ancient 
Egypt are preserved. The plan of the 
city was a parallelogram, two miles 
from north to south and four from 
east to ‘west, but none suppose that in its 
glory it really extended 33 miles along 
both sides of the Nile. Thebes was de- 
stroyed by Ptolemy, b.c. 81, and since 
then its population has dwelt in vil- 
lages only. 


a certain period after the establishment 
of the Israelite rule the new name re- 
mained, Judges 8: 11; but it is not again 
heard of, and the original appellation, 
as is usual in such cases, appears to 
have recovered its hold, which it has 
since retained; for in the slightly-modi- 
fied form of Kunawat it is the name 
of the place to the present day. 

Nod (nod) {wandering), the land to 
which Cain fled after the murder of 
Abel. Gen. 4 : 16. 

No'dab (no'dab) {nobility), the name 
of an Arab tribe mentioned only in 1 
Chron. 5 : 19, in the account of the war 
of the Reubenites against the Hagar- 
ites. vs. 9-22. 

No'gah ( no'gah) {splendor), one of 
the thirteen sons of David who were 
born to him in Jerusalem. 1 Chron. 3: 
7; 14:6. 



NOH 


457 


NUM 


No'hah (no'hah) {rest), the fourth 
son of Benjamin. 1 Chron. 8:2. 

Non (fish). Nun, the father of 
Joshua. 1 Chron. 7:27. 

Noph (nof). [Memphis.] 

Nophah (no'fah) {blast), a place 
mentioned only in Num. 21 : 30, in the 
remarkable song apparently composed 
by the Amorites after their conquest of 
Heshbon from the Moabites, and there- 
fore of an earlier date than the Israelite 
invasion. It is named with Dibon and 
Medeba, and was possibly in the neigh- 
borhood of Heshbon. A name very 
similar to Nophah is Nobah, which is 
twice mentioned. Ewald decides that 
Nophah is identical with the latter of 
these. 

Nose=jeweI, Gen. 24 : 22, Ex. 35 : 22, 
“earring;” Isa. 3:21, Ezek. 16:12, 
“ jewel on the forehead,” a ring of 
metal, sometimes of gold or silver, 
passed usually through the right nos- 
tril, and worn by way of ornament by 



women in the East. Upon it are strung 
beads, coral or jewels. In Egypt it is 
now almost confined to the lower 
classes. 

Number. Like most Oriental nations, 
it is probable that the Hebrews in their 
written calculations made use of the let- 
ters of the alphabet That they did so 
in post-Babylonian times we have con- 
clusive evidence in the Maccabsean coins ; 
and it is highly probable that this was 
the case also in earlier times. Although 
it is certain that the words were often 
spelled out, the fact that signs were 
often, though not universally, used, 
would be enough to account for all the 
discrepancies in numbers found in the 
Old Testament. Numbers are often 
given approximately, as writers give 
them to-day. They are also used sym- 
bolically and conventionally. Certain 


numbers, as 7, 10, 40, 100, were re- 
garded as giving the idea of complete- 
ness. Such approximation is extremely 
common among eastern nations, who 
have a prejudice against counting their 
possessions accurately. 1. Seven is 
used in an exact sense, as in the case 
of the seven days in the week (Gen. 
2:2; Ex. 20:9), but more often either 
symbolically or to give the idea of com- 
pleteness. It was early a sacred num- 
ber, perhaps because of the sanctity of 
the Sabbath. It is so frequent as to 
make a selection only of instances nec- 
essary, e. g. seven fold, Gen. 4: 15 ; seven 
times, i. e. completely, Lev. 26 : 24 ; Ps. 
12:6; seven {i. e. many) ways, Deut. 
28:25. 2. Ten as a preferential number 
is exemplified in the Ten Command- 
ments and the law of tithe. 3. Seventy, 
as compounded of 7X10, appears fre- 
quently, e. g. seventy fold. Gen. 4 : 24 ; 
Matt. 18 : 22. Its definite use appears in 
the offerings of 70 shekels, Num. 7 : 13, 
19 ff. ; the 70 elders, ch. 11 : 16 ; 70 
years of captivity. Jer. 25:11. 4. Five 
appears in the table of punishments, of 
legal requirements, Ex. 22 : 1 ; Lev. 5 : 
16; 22:14; 27:15; Num. 5:7; 18:16, 
and in the five empires of Daniel. Dan. 
2. 5. Four is used in reference to the 

4 winds, Dan. 7 : 2, and the so-called 4 
corners of the earth ; the 4 creatures, 
each with 4 wings and 4 faces, of Eze- 
kiel, Ezek. 1 : 5 ff. ; 4 rivers of Paradise, 
Gen. 2 : 10 ; 4 beasts, Dan. 7 and Rev. 4 : 
6 ; the 4 equal-sided temple-chamber. 
Ezek. 40:47. 6. Three was very often 

used - for a small total. 7. Twelve 
(3X4) appears in 12 tribes, 12 stones 
in the high priest’s breastplate, 12 apos- 
tles, 12 foundation-stones, and 12 gates. 
Rev. 21 : 19-21. 8. Lastly, the mystic 

number 666. Rev. 13 : 18. 

Num'bers, the fourth book of the law 
or Pentateuch. It takes its name in the 
LXX. and Vulgate (whence our “ Num- 
bers ”) from the double numbering or 
census of the people; the first of which 
is given in chs. 1-4, and the second in 
ch. 26. Contents. — The book may be 
said to contain generally the history of 
the Israelites from the time of their 
leaving Sinai, in the second year after 
the Exodus, till their arrival at the bor- 
ders of the promised land, in the for- 
tieth year of their journeyings. It con- 
sists of the following principal divisions: 
1. The preparations for the departure 
from Sinai. Num. 1 : 1-10 : 10. 2. The 


NUN 


458 


NYM 


journey from Sinai to the borders of 
Canaan, ch. 10 : 11-14 : 45. 3. A brief 

notice of laws given and events which 
transpired during the thirty-seven years 
wandering in the wilderness, ch. 15 : 1- 
19 : 22. 4. The history of the last year, 

from the second arrival of the Israel- 
ites in Kadesh till they reached “ the 
plains of Moab by Jordan near Jer- 
icho.” ch. 20 : 1-36 : 13. The book of 
Numbers is rich in fragments of an- 
cient poetry, some of them of great 
beauty and all throwing an interesting 
light on the character of the times in 
which they were composed. Such, for 
instance, is the blessing of the high 
priest, ch. 6 : 24-26. Such too are 
chants which were the signal for the 
ark to move when the people journeyed, 
and for it to rest when they were 
about to encamp. In ch. 21 we have a 
passage cited from a book called the 
“Book of the Wars of Jehovah.” This 
was probably a collection of ballads and 
songs composed on different occasions 
by the watch-fires of the camp, and for 
the most part, though not perhaps exclu- 
sively, in commemoration of the vic- 
tories of the Israelites over their ene- 
mies. 

Nun (fish), the father of the Jewish 
captain Joshua. Ex. 33 : 11, etc. His 
genealogical descent from Ephraim is 
recorded in 1 Chron. 7. 

Nurse. In ancient times the position 
of the nurse, wherever one was main- 
tained, was one of much honor and im- 
portance. See Gen. 24:59; 35 : 8 ; 2 

Sam. 4:4; 2 Kings 11 : 2. The * same 
term is applied to a foster-father or 
mother, e. g. Num. 11:12; Isa. 49:23; 
Gen. 24 : 59. 

Nuts are mentioned among the good 


things of the land which the sons of Is- 
rael were to take as a present to Joseph 
in Egypt. Gen. 43 : 11. There can 
scarcely be a doubt that the Hebrew 
word, here translated “nuts,” denotes 
the fruit of the pistachio tree (Pistacia 
vera), for which Syria and Palestine 



have been long famous. In Cant. 6 : 11 
a different Hebrew word is translated 
“ nuts.” In all probability it here re- 
fers to the walnut tree. According to 
Josephus the walnut tree was formerly 
common, and grew most luxuriantly 
around the Lake of Gennesareth. 

Nym'phas (nim'fas) (sacred to the 
Muses), a wealthy and zealous Chris- 
tian in Laodicea. Col. 4:15. (a.d. 60.) 


o 


Oak (Heb. strong or prominent). 
There is much difficulty in determining 
the exact meanings of the several varie- 
ties of the term mentioned above. 
Sometimes, evidently, the terebinth or 
elm is intended, and at others the oak. 
There are a number of varieties of oak 
in Palestine. Dr. Robinson contends 
that the oak is generally intended, and 
that it is a very common tree in the 
East. Oaks grow to a large size, reach 
an old age, and are every way worthy 
the venerable associations connected 
with the tree. Two oaks, Quercus coc- 
ci f era and Q. cegilops, are well worthy 
of the name of mighty trees; though 
it is equally true that over a greater 
part of the country the oaks of Pales- 
tine are at present merely bushes. 

Oath. The principle on which an 
oath is held to be binding is incidentally 
laid down in Heb. 6 : 16, viz. as an ulti- 
mate appeal to divine authority to ratify 
an assertion. On the same principle, 
that oath has always been held most 
binding which appealed to the highest 
authority, as regards both individuals 
and communities. As a consequence of 
this principle, appeals to God’s name on 
the one hand, and to heathen deities on 
the other, are treated in Scripture as 
tests of allegiance. Ex. 23:13; Deut. 
12 : 3 ; 29 : 12, etc. So also the sover- 
eign’s name is sometimes used as a 
form of obligation. Gen. 42 : 15 ; 2 

Sam. 11:11; 14:19. Other forms of 
oath, serious or frivolous, are men- 
tioned, some of which are condemned 
by our Lord. Matt. 5 : 33 ; 23 : 16-22 ; 
and see James 5 : 12. There is, however, 
a world-wide difference between a sol- 
emn appeal to God and profane swear- 
ing. The forms of adjuration men- 
tioned in Scripture are — 1. Lifting up 
the hand. Witnesses laid their hands 
on the head of the accused. Gen. 14: 
22 ; Lev. 24 : 14 ; Deut. 17 : 7 ; Isa. 3 : 7. 

2. Putting the hand under the thigh of 
the person to whom the promise was 


made. Gen. 24:2; 47 : 29. 3. Oaths 

were sometimes taken before the altar, 
or, as some understand the passage, if 
the persons were not in Jerusalem, in a 
position looking toward the temple. 1 
Kings 8:31; 2 Chron. 6 : 22. 4. Divid- 

ing a victim and passing between or 
distributing the pieces. Gen. 15 : 10, 17 ; 
Jer. 34:18. As the sanctity of oaths 
was carefully inculcated by the law, so 
the crime of perjury was strongly con- 
demned ; and to a false witness the 
same punishment was assigned which 
was due for the crime to which he 
testified. Ex. 20 : 7 ; Lev. 19 : 12. 

Obadi'ah (o-ba-dl'ah) ( worshipper of 
Jehovah). 1. A man whose sons are 
enumerated in the genealogy of the tribe 
of Judah. 1 Chron. 3 : 21. 

2. A descendant of Issachar and a 
chief man of his tribe. 1 Chron. - 7: 3. 

3. One of the six sons of Azel, a de- 
scendant of Saul. 1 Chron. 8:38; 9 : 44. 

4. A Levite, son of Shemaiah, and de- 
scended from Jeduthun. 1 Chron. 9: 
16; Neh. 12 : 25. 

5. The second of the lion-faced Gad- 
ites who joined David at Ziklag. 1 
Chron. 12 : 9. 

6. One of the princes of Judah in the 
reign of Jehoshaphat. 2 Chron. 17 : 7. 
(b.c. 867.) 

7. The son of Jehiel, of the Sons of 
Joab, who came up in the second caravan 
with Ezra. Ezra 8 : 9. 

8. A priest, or family of priests, who 
sealed the covenant with Nehemiah. 
Neh. 10 : 5. 

9. An officer of high rank in the court 

of Ahab. 1 Kings 18 : 3. He was a 
devout worshipper of Jehovah, and at 
the peril of his life concealed over a 
hundred prophets during the persecution 
by Jezebel. 1 Kings 18 : 3-16. (b.c. 

862.) 

10. The father of Ishmaiah, who was 
chief of the tribe of Zebulun in David’s 
reign. 1 Chron. 27 : 19. 

11. A Merarite Levite in the reign of 


459 


OBA 


460 


OFF 


Josiah, and one of the overseers of the 
workmen in the restoration of the tem- 
ple. 2 Chron. 34:12. (b.c. 623.) 

12. The fourth of the twelve minor 
prophets. We know nothing of him ex- 
cept what we can gather from the short 
book which bears his name. The ques- 
tion of his date must depend upon the 
interpretation of the 11th verse of his 
prophecy. See below. 

Obadiah, Book of, is the shortest 
book in the Old Testament, consisting 
of one chapter of 21 verses. It is a 
sustained denunciation of the Edomites, 
melting into a vision of the future 
glories of Zion when the arm of the 
Lord should have wrought her deliver- 
ance and have repaid double upon her 
enemies. There is a close resemblance 
between vs. 1-9 and Jeremiah 49 : 7-22, 
which leads to critical questions depend- 
ing on which was written first. 

Critics see two distinct prophecies in 
the book, the first including vs. 1-9, the 
other vs. 10-21, with a difference in 
style, and in tense, and therefore writ- 
ten at different dates. Verses 1-9 be- 
long to the time of the destruction of 
Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, b.c. 586, 
and vs. 10-21 to the early part of the 
exile, not long after the fall of Jeru- 
salem. To this latter date George Adam 
Smith assigns the book. 

O'bal (o'bal), a son of Joktan, and, 
like the rest of his family, apparently 
the founder of an Arab tribe. Gen. 10: 
28. In 1 Chron. 1 : 22 the name is writ- 
ten Ebal. 

O'bed (o'bed) ( serving ). 1. Son of 
Boaz and Ruth the Moabitess and father 
of Jesse. Ruth 4 : 17. The circum- 
stances of his birth, which make up all 
that we know about him, are given with 
much beauty in the book of Ruth. The 
name of Obed occurs only Ruth 4 : 17, 
and in the four genealogies, Ruth 4 : 21, 
22 ; 1 Chron. 2 : 12 ; Matt. 1:5; Luke 3 : 
32. 

2. A descendant of Jarha, the Egyp- 
tian slave of Sheshan, in the line of 
Jerahmeel. 1 Chron. 2:37, 38. 

3. One of David’s mighty men. 1 
Chron. 11 : 47. 

4. One of the gate-keepers of the tem- 
ple; son of Shemaiah the first-born of 
Obed-edom. 1 Chron. 26 : 7. 

5. Father of Azariah, one of the cap- 
tains of hundreds who joined with Je- 
hoiada in the revolution by which Atha- 
liah fell. 2 Chron. 23 : 1. 


0'bed=e'dom (o'bed-e'dom) ( servant 
of Edom). 1. A Gittite, 2 Sam. 6:10, 
11, that is, probably, a native either of 
Gath or of the Levitical city of Gath- 
rimmon. (b.c. 1042.) After the death 
of Uzzah, the ark, which was being 
conducted from the house of Abinadab 
in Gibeah to the city of David, was car- 
ried aside into the house of Obed-edom, 
where it continued three, months. It 
was brought thence by David. 2 Sam. 
6 : 12 ; 1 Chron. 15 : 25. He is also de- 
scribed as a Levite. If so he was 
doubtless identical with Obed-edom the 
Korahite. (No. 3 below.) 

2. A Levite of the second degree who 
with others was a gate-keeper for the 
Ark, 1 Chron. 15 : 18 ; and was a musi- 
cian appointed to play the harp to lead 
the singing. 1 Chron. 15 : 21 ; 16 : 5. 

3. A Levite who also served as door- 
keeper, 1 Chron. 15 : 24. Probably the 
same as Obed-edom, the son of Jedu- 
thun. 1 Chron. 16 : 38, and Obed-edom 
the Korahite, 1 Chron. 26:1, 4, 8, 15. 
The same family was on duty in the 
reign of Amaziah. 2 Chron. 25 : 24. 
There is considerable difference of 
opinion as to the identification of the 
different men by this name. 

O'bil (o'bil) ( keeper of the camels), 
a keeper of the herds of camels in the 
reign of David. 1 Chron. 27 : 30. 

Oblation. [Sacrifice.] 

O'both (o'both) ( water skins), one 
of the encampments of the Israelites, 
east of Moab. Num. 21 : 10 ; 33 : 43. 
Its exact site is unknown, but it was 
in the neighborhood of Moab. 

Oc'ran (ok' ran) (troubled) , an Ash- 
erite, father of Pagiel. Num. 1:13; 2: 
27 ; 7 : 72, 77 ; 10 : 26. 

O'ded (o'ded) (restoring) . 1. The 

father of Azariah the prophet, in the 
reign of Asa. 2 Chron. 15 : 1. 

2. A prophet of Jehovah in Samaria, 
at the time of Pekah’s invasion of Ju- 
dah. 2 Chron. 28:9. (b.c. 732.) 

Odoriam. [Adullam.] 

Offerings. [Sacrifice.] 

Officer. It is obvious that most, if 
not all, of the Hebrew words rendered 
“ officer ” are either of an indefinite 
character or are synonymous terms for 
functionaries known under other and 
more specific names, as “ scribe,” “ eu- 
nuch,” etc. The two words so rendered 
in the New Testament denote — 1. An 
inferior officer of a court of justice, a 
messenger or bailiff, like the Roman 


OG 


461 


OLD 


viator or lictor. Matt. 5:25; Acts 5 : 22. 
2. Officers whose duty it was to regis- 
ter and collect fines imposed by courts 
of justice. Luke 12 : 58. 

Og (og), an Amoritish king of 
Bashan, whose rule extended over sixty 
cities. Josh. 13 : 12. He was one of 
the last representatives of the giant 
race of Rephaim, and was, with his 
children and his people, defeated and 
exterminated by the Israelites at Edrei 
immediately after the conquest of Sihon. 
Num. 32 : 33 ; Deut. 3 : 1-13. Also Deut. 
1:4; 4:47; 31:4; Josh. 2:10; 9:10; 
13 : 12, 30. The belief in Og’s enormous 
stature is corroborated by an allusion to 
his iron bedstead (or sarcophagus) 
preserved in “ Rabbath of the children 
of Ammon.” Deut. 3:11. (b.c. 1451.) 

Oil. Of the numerous substances, 
animal and vegetable, which were known 
to the ancients as yielding oil, the olive 
berry is the one of which most frequent 
mention is made in the Scriptures. 1. 
Gathering. — The olive berry was either 
gathered by hand or shaken off carefully 
. with a light reed or stick. 2. Pressing. 
— In order to make oil, the fruit was 
either bruised in a mortar, crushed in a 
press loaded with wood or stones, 
ground in a mill, or trodden with the 
feet. The “ beaten” oil of Ex. 27:20; 
29 : 40 ; Lev. 24 : 2 ; Num. 28 : 5 was prob- 
ably made by bruising in a mortar. It 
was used — (1) As food. Dried wheat, 
boiled with either butter or oil, but 
generally the former, is a common dish 
for all classes in Syria. Ex. 29 : 2. (2) 

Cosmetic. Oil was used by the Jews 
for anointing the body, e. g. after the 
bath, and giving to the skin and hair a 
smooth and comely appearance, e. g. be- 
fore an entertainment. (3) Funereal. 
The bodies of the dead were anointed 
with oil. 2 Sam. 14:2. (4) Medicinal. 

Isaiah alludes to the use of oil in med- 
ical treatment. Isa. 1:6; see also Mark 
6 : 13 ; James 5 : 14. (5) For light. The 

oil for “ the light ” was expressly or- 
dered to be olive oil, beaten. Exod. 27 : 
20. (6) Ritual. Oil was poured on or 

mixed with the flour or meal used in 
offerings. Kings, priests and prophets 
were anointed with oil or ointment, 
Lev. 8 : 12. (7) In offerings. As so im- 

portant a necessary of life, the Jew was 
required to include oil among his first- 
fruit offerings. Ex. 22 : 29 ; 23 : 16 ; 

Num. 18 : 12. Tithes of oil were also 
required. Deut. 12:17. [Olive.] 


Oil tree (Heb. ets shemen). The He- 
brew words occur in Neh. 8 : 15 (Author- 
ized Version “pine branches”), 1 Kings 
6 : 23 (“ olive tree,” R. V. “ olive 

wood”), and in Isa. 41: 19 (“oil tree”). 
From the passage in Nehemiah, where 
the ets shemen is mentioned as distinct 
from the olive tree, it may perhaps be 
identified with the zackum tree of the 
Arabs, the Balanites cegyptiaca, a well- 
known and abundant shrub or small 
tree in the plain of Jordan. The zackum 
oil is held in high repute by the Arabs 
for its medicinal properties. [Olive.] 

Ointment. An oily or unctuous sub- 
stance, usually compounded of oil with 
various spices and resins and aromatics, 
and preserved in small alabaster boxes 
or cruses, in which the delicious aroma 
was best preserved. Some of the oint- 
ments have been known to retain their 
fragrance for several hundred years. 
They were a much-coveted luxury, and 
often very expensive. 1. Cosmetic. — 
The Greek and Roman practice of 
anointing the head and clothes on festive 
occasions prevailed also among the 
Egyptians, and appears to have had 
place among the Jews. Ruth 3:3. 2. 

Funereal. — Ointments as well as oil 
were used to anoint dead bodies and 
the clothes in which they were wrapped. 
Matt. 26 : 12. 3. Medicinal. — Ointment 
formed an important feature in ancient 
medical treatment. Isa. 1:6; Jer. 8 : 
22 ; John 9:6; Rev. 3 : 18, etc. 4. 
Ritual. — Besides the oil used in many 
ceremonial observances, a special oint- 
ment was appointed to be used in con- 
secration. Ex. 30:23, 33 ; 29 : 7 ; 37 : 29 ; 
40 : 9, 15. A person whose business it 
was to compound ointments in general 
was called an “ apothecary.” R. V. 
mar. “ perfumer.” Neh. 3 : 8. The work 
was sometimes carried on by woman 
“ confectionaries.” 1 Sam. 8 : 13. R. V. 
mar. “ perfumers.” 

Old Testament. Properly the Old 
Covenant, or the relations of man with 
God before the coming of Christ. It 
describes the training of man in re- 
ligion. 

Classification'. It consists of 39 
books. These are with us divided into 
three classes — 17 Historical, 17 Pro- 
phetic, and 5 Poetical. Poems are 
quoted in the historical books, and much 
of the prophetical is in poetic form. 
The Jews also made three divisions, but 
with a different classification (1) The 


OLD 


462 


OLD 


Law, comprising the 5 books of the Pen- 
tateuch ; (2) The Prophets, comprising 
all the prophets except Daniel, and the 
historical books except Chronicles, Ezra 
and Nehemiah; (3) The Hagiographa, 
or sacred writings, comprising all the 
other books of the Old Testament, 
books of the most heterogeneous sorts, 
poetry, ethics, philosophy, prophecy. 

Form of the books. As regards the 
form in which the sacred writings were 
preserved, there can be little doubt that 
the text was ordinarily written on 
skins, rolled up into volumes, like the 
modern synagogue rolls. 

The language. The whole Old Tes- 
tament was originally written in the 
Hebrew language, except certain short 
passages which are in Aramaic (one 
branch of the Syriac), viz., Ezra 4:8; 
6: 18; 7: 12-26; Jer. 10 : 11 ; Dan.'2: 4-7: 
28. The letters of the two languages 
are the same in both languages, just 
as the letters of English and French 
and Latin. 

One of the difficulties in understand- 
ing the true meaning of the Hebrew 
lies in the fact that originally the writ- 
ing consisted of consonants only, the 
vowels to be vocalized in speech being 
taught orally, as we learn to pronounce 
the consonants, cts., lbs., “ cents ” and 
“ pounds.” We can see the difficulty 
more clearly if we take the consonants 
which are translated “ raven ” in the 
story of Elijah, and see how many 
different Hebrew words have exactly 
the same. The first consonant of the 
three is merely a sign to show that some 
vowel is to be understood. 

oReB = raven ; aRoB = gadfly ; eRaB 
•= Arabian; EReB'=wolf; eReB = even- 
ing; oRBo = name of a village ; in 
plural, inhabitants of Orbo. So with 
three English consonants, different 
vowels entirely change the meaning, as 
G-R-T might mean GReaT, GReeT, 
GiRT, GRiT, GRaTe, eGReT, GRoTe 
(the historian). Therefore, says Far- 
rar, “ It is as perfectly open to any one 
who chooses to say that ‘ Arabians/ or 
‘ Orebites/ or ‘ merchants/ or ‘ people of 
the rock Oreb’ fed Elijah, as to say 
that the ‘ raven ’ did so.” 

Between the seventh and tenth cen- 
turies of the Christian era certain Jew- 
ish scholars called Masoretes (from 
Masorah = tradition) resident chiefly 
at Tiberias on the sea of Galilee, placed 
under these consonants the signs which 


indicated the vowel sounds belonging 
according to tradition to the consonants. 

Forms of literature. Almost _ every 
form of literature is employed in the 
Old Testament, prose, poetry, history, 
story, parable, drama, dialogue, lyric, 
epic, oratory, proverb, epigram, satire, 
hymns, songs, visions, symbols. And 
each form must be interpreted accord- 
ing to its own laws; or error will re- 
sult. Every great truth is presented in 
various forms, in order that it may be 
seen from every point of view. No one 
form of language can make it clearly 
understood. 

Evolution or development. The 
story of the Old Testament is the his- 
tory of the gradual teaching and un- 
folding of the great truths of religion, 
as far and as fast as the people were 
able to understand. What is necessary 
for the childhood of the race, is not 
the fulness of the truth for its man- 
hood. The method of dealing with its 
childhood, its ignorant and untrained 
age, is not the one used as the race or 
as God’s people grew in intelligence. 
To realize this is to avoid many of the 
mistakes and misunderstandings of the 
morality of the Old Testament. 

The higher criticism has been very 
busy with the Old Testament. Perhaps 
the most help it has given to the aver- 
age reader is the viewing of every book 
in its own place in the history. No one 
can understand a prophet’s message 
without realizing the circumstance in 
which and the people to which it was 
delivered. 

Manuscripts. — The Old Testament 
MSS. known to us fall into two main 
classes: synagogue rolls and MSS. for 
private use. Of the latter, some are 
written in the square, others in the 
rabbinic or cursive, character. The 
synagogue rolls contain, separate from 
each other, the Pentateuch, the Haphta- 
roth or appointed sections of the Proph- 
ets, and the so-called Megilloth, viz. 
Canticles, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesi- 
astes and Esther. Private MSS. in the 
square character are in the book form, 
either on parchment or on paper, and of 
various sizes, from folio to 12mo. Some 
contain the Hebrew text alone; others 
add the Targum, or an Arabic or other 
translation, either interspersed with the 
text or in a separate column, occasion- 
ally in the margin. The upper and 
lower margins are generally occupied 


OLD 


463 


OLD 


by the Masorah, sometimes by rabbinical 
commentaries, etc. The date of a MS. 
is ordinarily given in the subscription ; 
but as the subscriptions are often con- 
cealed in the Masorah or elsewhere, it is 
occasionally difficult to find them; occa- 
sionally also it is difficult to decipher 
them. No satisfactory criteria have been 
yet established by which the ages of 
MSS. are to be determined. Few existing 
MSS. are supposed to be older than the 
twelfth century. Kennicott and Bruns 
assigned one of their collation (No. 
590) to the tenth century; De Rossi 
dates it a.d. 1018 ; on the other hand, 
one of his own (No. 634) he adjudges 
to the eighth century. Since the days 
of Kennicott and De Rossi modern re- 
search has discovered MSS. beyond the 
limits of Europe. Of m^ny of these 
there seems no reason to suppose that 
they will add much to our knowledge of 
the Hebrew text. It is different with 
the MSS. examined by Pinner at Odes- 
sa. One of these MSS. (A, No. 1), a 
Pentateuch roll, unpointed, brought 
from Derbend in Daghestan, appears by 
the subscription to have been written 
previous to a.d. 580, and if so is the 
oldest known biblical Hebrew MS. in 
existence. The forms of the letters are 
remarkable. Another MS. (B, No. 3) 
containing the Prophets, on parchment, 
in small folio, although only dating, ac- 
cording to the inscription, from a.d. 916, 
and furnished with a Masorah, is a yet 
greater treasure. Its vowels and ac- 
cents are wholly different from those 
now in use, both in form and in posi- 
tion, being all above the letters: they 
have accordingly been the theme of 
much discussion among Hebrew scho- 
lars. 3. Printed text . — The history of 
the printed text of the Hebrew Bible 
commences with the early Jewish edi- 
tions of the separate books. First ap- 
peared the Psalter, in 1477, probably at 
Bologna, in 4to, with Kimchi’s commen- 
tary interspersed among the verses. 
Only the first four psalms had the 
vowel-points, and these but clumsily ex- 
pressed. At Bologna there subsequently 
appeared, in 1482, the Pentateuch, in 
folio, pointed, with the .Targum and 
the commentary of Rashi ; and the five 
Megilloth (Ruth— Esther), in folio, 
with the commentaries of Rashi and 
Aben Ezra. From Soncino, near Cre- 
mona, issued in 1486 the Prophetse 
priores (Joshua — Kings), folio, un- 


pointed, with Kimchi’s commentary. 
The honor of printing the first entire 
Hebrew Bible belongs to the above- 
mentioned town of Soncino. The edi- 
tion is in folio, pointed and accentuated. 
Nine copies only of it are now known, 
of which one belongs to Exeter College, 
Oxford. This was followed, in 1494, 
by the 4to or 8vo edition printed by 
Gersom at Brescia, remarkable as being 
the edition from which Luther’s German 
translation was made. After the Bres- 
cian, the next primary edition was that 
contained in the Complutensian Poly- 
glot, published at Complutum (Alcala) 
in Spain, at the expense of Cardinal 
Ximenes, dated 1514-17, but not issued 
till 1522. To this succeeded an edition 
which has had more influence than any 
on the text of later times — the Second 
Rabbinical Bible, printed by Bomberg 
at Venice, 4 vols. fob, 1525-6. The 
editor was the learned Tunisian Jew R. 
Jacob ben Chaim. The great feature of 
his work lay in the correction of the 
text by the precepts of the Masorah, in 
which he was profoundly skilled, and on 
which, as well as on the text itself, his 
labors were employed. The Hebrew 
Bible which became the standard to sub- 
sequent generations was that of Joseph 
Athias, a learned rabbi and printer at 
Amsterdam. His text was based on a 
comparison of the previous editions with 
two MSS.; one bearing date 1299, the 
other a Spanish MS. boasting an an- 
tiquity of 900 years. It appeared at 
Amsterdam, 2 vols. 8vo, 1661. 4. Prin- 
ciples of criticism . — The method of pro- 
cedure required in the criticism of the 
Old Testament is widely different from 
that practised in the criticism of the 
New Testament. Our Old Testament 
textus receptus is a far more faithful 
representation of the genuine Scripture; 
but, on the other hand, the means of 
detecting and correcting the errors con- 
tained in it are more precarious, the re- 
sults are more uncertain, and the ratio 
borne by the value of the diplomatic 
evidence of MSS. to that of a good 
critical judgment and sagacity is greatly 
diminished. It is indeed to the. direct 
testimony of the MSS. that, in en- 
deavoring to establish the true text, we 
must first have recourse. The com- 
parative purity of the Hebrew text is 
probably different in different parts of 
the Old Testament. 

II. Quotations from the Old Testa- 


OLI 


464 


OLI 


MENT IN THE NEW TESTAMENT. — The 
New Testament quotations from the 
Old form one of the outward bonds of 
connection between the two parts of the 
Bible. They are manifold in kind. In 
the quotations of all kinds from the 
Old Testament in the New, we find a 
continual variation from the letter of 
the older Scriptures. To this variation 
three causes may be specified as having 
contributed: First, all the New Testa- 
ment writers quoted from the Septua- 
gint; correcting it indeed more or less 
by the Hebrew, especially when it 
was needful for their purpose; oc- 
casionally deserting it altogether ; 
still abiding by it to so large an 
extent as to show that it was the 
primary source whence their quo- 
tations were drawn. Secondly, the 
New Testament writers must have 
frequently quoted from memory. 
Thirdly, combined with this there 
was an alteration of conscious or 
unconscious design. Sometimes 
the object of this was to obtain 
increased force. Sometimes a n 
Old Testament passage is abridged, 
and in the abridgment so adjusted, 
by a little alteration, as to present 
an aspect of completeness, and yet 
omit what is foreign to the imme- 
diate purpose. Acts 1 : 20 ; 1 Cor. 

1 : 31. At other times a passage is 
enlarged by the incorporation of a 
passage from another source: thus 
in Luke 4 : 18 , 19 , although the 
contents are professedly those read 
by our Lord from Isa. 61, we have 
the words “ to set at liberty them 
that are bruised,” introduced from 
Isa. 58:6 (Sept.); similarly in 
Rom. 11 : 8 , Deut. 29 : 4 is com- 
bined with Isa. 29 : 10. In some 
cases still greater liberty of altera- 
tion is assumed. In some places, 
again, the actual words of the original 
are taken up, but employed with a new 
meaning. Almost more remarkable 
than any alteration in the quotation 
itself is the circumstance that in Matt. 
27 : 9 Jeremiah should be named as the 
author of a prophecy really delivered by 
Zechariah ; the reason being that the 
prophecy is based upon that in Jer. 18, 
19, and that without a reference to this 
original source the most essential fea- 
tures of the fulfilment of Zechariah’s 
prophecy would be misunderstood. 

Olive. The olive was among the 


most abundant and characteristic vege- 
tation of Judea. The olive tree grows 
freely almost everywhere on the shores 
of the Mediterranean, but it was pe- 
culiarly abundant in Palestine. See 
Deut. 6 : 11 ; 8 : 8 ; 28 : 40. Oliveyards 
are a matter of course in descriptions 
of the country, like vineyards and 
cornfields. Judges 15 : 5 ; 1 Sam. 8 : 14. 
The kings had very extensive ones. 1 
Chron. 27 : 28. Even now the tree is 
very abundant in the country. Almost 
every village has its olive grove. Cer- 



OLIVE BRANCHES AND OLIVES. 

tain districts may be specified where at 
various times this tree has been very 
luxuriant. The cultivation of the olive 
tree had the closest connection with the 
domestic life of the Israelites, 2 Chron. 
2 : 10 , their trade, Ezek. ■ 27 : 17 ; LIos. 
12 : 1 , and even their public ceremonies 
and religious worship. In Solomon’s 
temple the cherubim were “of olive 
tree,” 1- Kings 6:23, as also the doors, 
vs. 31, 32, and the posts, ver. 33 . For 
the various uses of olive oil see Oil. 
The wind was dreaded by the cultivator 
of the olive, for the least ruffling of a 


c 


OLI 


465 


OLI 


breeze is apt to cause the flowers to 
fall. Job 15 : 33. It is needless to add 
that the locust was a formidable enemy 
of the olive. It happened not unfre- 
quently that hopes were disappointed, 
and that “ the labor of the olive failed/’ 
Hab. 3:17. As to the growth of the 
tree, it thrives best in warm and sunny 
situations. It is of moderate height, 
growing from 20 to 40 feet high, with 
knotty gnarled trunk and a smooth ash- 
colored bark. In general appearance it 
resembles the apple tree; in leaves and 
stems, the willow. The flowers are 
white and appear in June. The fruit is 
like a plum in shape, but much smaller, 


Those who see olives for the first time 
are occasionajly disappointed by the 
dusty color of their foliage; but those 
who are familiar with them find an in- 
expressible charm in the rippling 
changes of their slender gray-green 
leaves.. (See Ruskin’s “ Stones •of Ven- 
ice,” iii. 175-177.) The olive furnishes 
the basis of one of Paul’s allegories. 
Rom. 11 : 16-25. The Gentiles are the 
“ wild olive ” grafted in upon the “ good 
olive,”. to which once the Jews belonged, 
and with which they may again be in- 
corporated. Olive trees were so abun- 
dant in Galilee that at the siege of 
Jotapata by Vespasian the Roman army 



OLIVE TREE AND OIL PRESS. 


and at first is green, but gradually be- 
comes purple, and even black, with a 
hard stony kernel, and is remarkable 
from the outer fleshy part being that 
in which much oil is lodged, and not, 
as is usual, in the seed. The fruit 
ripens from August to September. It is 
sometimes eaten green, but its chief 
value is in its oil. The wood is hard, 
fine, beautifully veined, and is often 
used for cabinet work. It grows slow- 
ly, but lives to an immense age. Its 
look is singularly indicative of tenacious 
vigor ; and this is the force of what is 
said in Scripture of its “ greenness,” as 
emblematic of strength and prosperity. 
The leaves, too, are not deciduous. 
30 


were driven from the ascent of the 
walls by hot olive oil poured upon them 
and scalding them underneath their 
armor. — Josephus, Wars , 3 : 7 : 28. 

Olives, Mount of. The term 
“ Mount of Olives ” occurs in the Old 
Testament in Zech. 14:4 only. In 2 
Sam. 15 : 30 it is called “ Olivet ;” liter- 
ally as in R. V. “ Olives.” The word 
“ Mount ” is supplied in each case by 
the translators, in other places simply 
‘'the mount,” Neh. 8:15, “the mount 
that is before Jerusalem,” 1 Kings 11: 
7, or “ the mountain which is on the 
east side of the city.” Ezek. 11:23. In 
the New Testament the usual . form is 
“ the Mount of Olives.” It is called 



OLI 


466 


OLI 


also “ Olivet.” Acts 1 : 12. This moun- 
tain is the well-known eminence on the 
east of Jerusalem, intimately connected 
with some of the gravest events of the 
history of the Old Testament and the 
New Testament, the scene of the flight 
of David and the triumphal progress of 
the Son of David, of the idolatry of 
Solomon, and the agony and betrayal 
of Christ. It is a ridge of rather more 
than a mile in length, running in gen- 
eral direction north and south, covering 
the whole eastern side of the city. At 
its northern end the ridge bends round 
to the west, so as to form an enclosure 
to the city on that side also. On the 
north a space of nearly a mile of tol- 
erably level surface intervenes between 
the walls of the city and the rising 
ground ; on the east the mount is 
close to the walls, parted only by the 
narrow ravine of the Kidron. It is this 
portion which is the real Mount of 
Olives of the history. In general 
height it is not very much above the 
city : 200 feet higher than the temple 
mount, 2637 feet above sea-level. It is 
rounded, swelling and regular in form. 
Proceeding from north to south there 
occur four independent summits, called 
— 1, “ Galilee,” or “ Scopus ;” 2, 

“ Mount of Ascension ;” 3, “ Prophets ” 
— subordinate to the last and almost a 
part of it; 4, “Mount of Offence.” 1. 
Of these the central one — the “ Mount 
of Ascension ” — is the most important. 
Three paths lead from the valley to 
the summit — one on the north, in the 
hollow between the two crests of the 
hill, another over the summit, and a 
third winding around the southern 
shoulder, still the most frequented and 
the best. The central hill, which we 
are now considering, purports to contain 
the sites of some of the most sacred 
and impressive events of Christian his- 
tory. The majority of these sacred 
spots now command little or no atten- 
tion; but three still remain, sufficiently 
/sacred — if authentic — to consecrate any 
place. These are — (1) Gethsemane, at 
the foot of the mount ; (2) The spot 
from which our Saviour ascended on 
the summit; (3) The place of the lam- 
entation of Christ over Jerusalem, 
halfway up. Of these, Gethsemane is 
the only one which has any claim to 
be authentic. [Gethsemane.] 2. Next 
to the central summit, on the southern 
side, is a hill remarkable only for the 


fact that it contains the “ singular cata- 
comb ” known as the “Tombs of the 
Prophets,” probably in allusion to the 
words of Christ. Matt. 23 : 29. 3. The 

most southern portion of the Mount of 
Olives is that usually known as the 
“ Mount of Offence,” Mons Offensionis. 
It rises next to that last mentioned. 
The title “ Mount of Offence,” or “ Scan- 
dal,” was bestowed on the supposition 
that it is the “ Mount of Corruption ” 
on which Solomon erected the high 
places for the gods of his foreign 
wives. 2 Kings 23:13; 1 Kings . 11: 7. 
The southern summit is considerably 
lower than the centre one. 4. There 
remains “ Galilee,” the “ Scopus ” of 
Josephus, about 400 yards from the 
“ Mount of Ascension.” It stands di- 
rectly opposite the northeast corner of 
Jerusalem, and is approached by the 
path between it and the “ Mount of As- 
cension.” The presence of a number of 
churches and other edifices must have 
rendered the Mount of Olives, during 
the early and middle ages of Chris- 
tianity, entirely unlike what it was in 
the time of the Jewish kingdom or of 
our Lord. Except the high places on 
the summit, the only buildings then to 
be seen were probably the walls of the 
vineyards and gardens and the towers 
and presses which were their invariable 
accompaniment. But though the 
churches are nearly all demolished, 
there must be a considerable difference 
between the aspect of the mountain now 
and in those days when it received its 
name from the abundance of its olive 
groves. It does not now stand so pre- 
eminent in this respect among the hills 
in the neighborhood of Jerusalem. It 
is only in the deeper and more seclud- 
ed slope leading up to the northernmost 
summit that these venerable trees spread 
into anything like a forest. The cedars 
commemorated by the Talmud and the 
date-palms implied in the name Bethany 
have fared still worse ; there is not one 
of either to be found within many miles. 
Two religious ceremonies performed 
there must have done much to increase 
the numbers who resorted to the mount. 
The appearance of the new moon was 
probably watched for, certainly pro- 
claimed, from the summit. The second 
ceremony referred to was the burning of 
the red heifer. This solemn ceremonial 
was enacted on the central mount, and 
in a spot so carefully specified that it 


467 





MOUNT OF OLIVES 




OLI 


468 


ONA 


would seem not difficult to fix it. It 
was due east of the sanctuary, and at 
such an elevation on the mount that 
the officiating priest, as he slew the ani- 
mal and sprinkled her blood, could see 
the fagade of the sanctuary through the 
east gate of the temple. 

Ol'ivet {olive-yard) . 2 Sam. 15:30; 

Acts 1 : 12. [Olives, Mount of.] 

Olym'pas, a Christian at Rome. 
Rom. 16:15. (a.d. 60.) 

O mar (o^ar) ( eloquent , talkative ), 
son of Eliphaz the first-born of Esau. 
Gen. 36 : 11, 15 ; 1 Chron. 1 : 36. 

Ome'ga (o-me'ga), or o'mega, the 
last letter of the Greek alphabet. It is 
used metaphorically to denote the end 
of anything. Rev. 1 : 8, 11. 

Omer. [Weights and Measures.] 

Om'ri (om'ri). 1. Originally “cap- 
tain of the host” to Elah, was after- 
ward himself king of Israel, and founder 
of the third dynasty, (b.c. 885.) Omri 
was engaged in the siege of Gibbethon, 
situated in the tribe of Dan, which had 
been occupied by the Philistines. As 
soon as the army heard that Zimri had 
murdered Elah, they proclaimed Omri 
king. Thereupon he broke up the siege 
of Gibbethon, and attacked Tirzah, 
where Zimri was holding his court as 
king of Israel. The city was taken, and 
Zimri perished in the flames of the pal- 
ace, after a reign of seven days. Omri, 
however, was not allowed to establish 
his dynasty without a struggle against 
Tibni, whom “ half the people,” 1 
Kings 16 : 21, desired to raise to the 
throne. The civil war lasted four years. 
Comp. 1 Kings 16:15 with 23. After 
he was firmly on the throne he trans- 
ferred the capital to Samaria which he 
built for the purpose. He seems to have 
been a vigorous and unscrupulous ruler, 
anxious to strengthen his dynasty by 
intercourse and alliances with foreign 
states. The length of his reign is dis- 
puted. It is generally called 12 years, 
but the date of the beginning of the 12 
years is uncertain. Some think he 
reigned considerably longer, some of 
the time generally reckoned to his son 
Ahab belonging to him. He conducted 
a vigorous and very successful cam- 
paign against the Moabites which is 
mentioned on the Moabite Stone. 

2. One of the sons of Becher the son 
of Benjamin. 1 Chron. 7 : 8. 

3; A descendant of Pharez the son of 
Judah. 1 Chron. 9 : 4. 


4. Son of Michael, and chief of the 
tribe of Issachar in the reign of David. 

1 Chron. 27 : 18. 

On, the son of Peleth, and one of the 
chiefs of the tribe of Reuben, who took 
part with Korah, Dathan and Abiram in 
their revolt against Moses. Num. 16 : 1. 
(b.c. 1491.) His name does not again 
appear in the narrative of the conspiracy, 
nor is he alluded to when reference is 
made to the final catastrophe; it is 
therefore thought by some to be a mis- 
reading. 

On {light), a town of lower Egypt, 
called Beth-shemesh in Jer. 43 : 13. 
On is better known under its Greek 
name Heliopolis or “ city of the Sun.” 
It was situated on the east side of the 
Pelusiac branch of the Nile, just below 
the point of the Delta, and about twenty 
miles northeast of Memphis. The chief 
object of worship at Heliopolis was the 
sun, whose temple, described by Strabo, 
is now only represented by the single 
beautiful obelisk, of red granite, 68 feet 

2 inches high above the pedestal, which 
has stood for more than 4000 years, hav- 
ing been erected by Usirtesen, the sec- 
ond king of the twelfth dynasty. Helio- 
polis was anciently famous for its learn- 
ing, and Eudoxus and Plato studied 
under its priests. The first mention of 
this place in the Bible is in the history 
of Joseph, to whom we read Pharaoh 
gave “ to wife Asenath the daughter of 
Potipherah priest of On.” Gen. 41 : 45, 
comp. ver. 50, and 46 : 20. On is to be 
remembered not only as the home of 
Joseph, but as the traditional place to 
which his far-off namesake took Mary 
and the babe Jesus in the flight to Egypt. 
The two famous obelisks, long called 
“ Cleopatra’s Needles,” one of which 
now stands in London and the other in 
Central Park in New York city, once 
stood before this city, and were seen by 
the children of Israel before the Exodus 
having been quarried at Syene on the 
Nile, erected at On (Heliopolis) by 
Thothmes III., b.c. 1500 (?), and in- 
scriptions added by Rameses II. (Sesos- 
tris) two hundred years later. They 
were taken to Alexandria by Augustus 
Caesar a.d. 23, from which they were re- 
moved to their present places. 

O'nam (o'nam) {strong). 1. One of 
the sons of Shobal the son of Seir. 
Gen. 36 : 23 ; 1 Chron. 1 : 40. 

2. The son of Jerahmeel by his wife 
Atarah. 1 Chron. 2 : 26, 28. 


ONA 


469 


OPH 


O'nan (o'nan) {strong), the second 
son of Judah by the Canaanitess, “ the 
daughter of Shua.” Gen. 38:4; 1 

Chron. 2:3. “ What he did was evil 
in the eyes of Jehovah, and he slew him 
also,” as he had slain his elder brother. 
Gen. 38 : 9. His death took place before 
the family of Jacob went down into 
Egypt. Gen. 46 : 12 ; Num. 26 : 19. 

Ones'imus (o-nes'imus) (profitable, 
useful ), the name of the servant or 
slave in whose behalf Paul wrote the 
Epistle to Philemon. He was a native, 
or certainly an inhabitant, of Colosse. 
Col. 4:9. (a.d. 61.) He fled from his 

master and escaped to Rome, where he 
was led to embrace the gospel through 
Paul’s instrumentality. After his con- 
version the most happy and friendly 
relations sprung up between the teacher 
and disciple. 

Onesiph'orus (on-e-sTf'o-rus) (bring- 
ing profit ) is named twice only in the 
New Testament, viz. 2 Tim. 1:16-18 
and 4 : 19. Paul mentions him in terms 
of grateful love as having a noble 
courage and generosity in his behalf, 
amid his trials as a prisoner at Rome, 
when others from whom he expected 
better things had deserted him. 2 Tim. 
4 : 16. Probably other members of the 
family were also active Christians. 2 
Tim. 4:19. It is evident from 2 Tim. 
1 : 18 that Onesiphorus had his home 
at Ephesus, (a.d. 64.) 

Oni'as (oni'as), the name of five high 
priests in the period between the Old 
and the New Testament. They are only 
mentioned in the Apocrypha. 

Onion. This product is mentioned 
only in Num. 11 : 5, as one of the good 
things of Egypt of which the Israelites 
regretted the loss. Onions have been 
from time immemorial a favorite article 
of food among the Egyptians. The 
onions of Egypt are much milder in 
flavor and less pungent than those of 
this country. 

O'no (o'no) (strong), one of ^ the 
towns of Benjamin, is first found in 1 
Chron. 8 : 12. A plain was attached to 
the town, called “ the plain of Ono,” 
Neh. 6:2, perhaps identical with the 
“valley of craftsmen.” Neh. 11:35. It 
is the modern Kefr Ana north of 
Lydda. 

Onycha (on'ika), spoken of in Ex. 
30 : 34, was one of the ingredients of the 
sacred perfume. It consists of the shells 


of several kinds of mussels, which when 
burned emit a strong odor. 

Onyx (a finger-nail) is the transla- 
tion of the Hebrew shoham; but there 
is some doubt as to its signification. 
Some writers believe that the “ beryl ” 
is intended ; while others favor “ car- 
buncle ” “ chalcedony ” or “ turquoise ;” 
but the balance of authority is in favor 
of some variety of the onyx. The onyx 
varies greatly in value, according to the 
size, variety or special beauty. White 
and reddish stripes alternating form the 
sardonyx ; white and reddish gray, the 
chalcedony. When polished it has a fine 
lustre and is easily engraved. It was 
much used for signets during the Roman 
period. 

O'phel (o'fel) (hill), a part of an- 
cient Jerusalem. Ophel was the swelling 
declivity by which the mount of the 
temple slopes off on its southern side 
into the valley of Hinnom — a long, nar- 
rowish, rounded spur or promontory, 
which intervenes between the mouth of 
the central valley of Jerusalem (the 
Tyropceon) and the Kidron, or valley 
of Jehoshaphat. Halfway down it on 
its eastern face is the “ Fount of the 
Virgin,” so called; and at its foot the 
lower outlet of the same spring — the 
Pool of Siloam. In 2 Chron. 27 : 3 Jo- 
tham is said to have built much “ on 
the wall of Ophel.” Manasseh, among 
his other defensive works, “ compassed 
about Ophel.” 2 Chron. 33 : 14. It ap- 
pears to have been near the “ water- 
gate,” Neh. 3:26, and the “great tower 
that lieth out.” ver. 27. It was evidently 
the residence of the Nethinim. Neh. 
11 : 21 . 

O'phir (o' fir). 1. The eleventh in 
order of the sons of Joktan. Gen. 10: 
29 ; 1 Chron. 1 : 23. 

2. A seaport or region from which the 
Hebrews in the time of Solomon ob- 
tained gold. The gold was proverbial 
for its fineness, so that “ gold of Ophir ” 
is several times used as an expression 
for fine gold, 1 Chron. 29 : 4 ; Job 28 : 16 ; 
Ps. 45: 9; Isa. 13:12; and in one pas- 
sage, Job 22 : 24, the word “ Ophir ” by 
itself is used for gold of Ophir, and 
for gold generally. In addition to 
gold, the vessels brought from Ophir 
almug wood and precious stones. The 
precise geographical situation of Ophir 
has long been a subject of doubt and 
discussion. The two countries which 


OPH 


470 


ORN 


have divided the opinions of the learned 
have been Arabia and India, while some 
have placed it in Africa. In five pas- 
sages Ophir is mentioned by name — 1 
JCings 9:28; 10:11; 22:48; 2 Chron. 
8:18; 9:10. If the three passages of 
the book of Kings are carefully exam- 
ined, it will be seen that all the informa- 
tion given respecting Ophir is that it 
was a place or region accessible by sea 
from Ezion-geber on the Red Sea, from 
which imports of gold, almug trees and 
precious stones were brought back by 
the Tyrian and Hebrew sailors. The 
author oif the tenth chapter of Genesis 
certainly regarded Ophir as the name of 
some city, region or tribe in Arabia. It 
is almost certain that the Ophir of Gen- 
esis is the Ophir of the book of Kings, 
although it cannot be proved to be so. 
The characteristics of Arabia as found 
by modern investigation seem to prove 
Ophir was in southern Arabia, upon the 
border of the Indian Ocean; for even if 
all the things brought over in Solomon’s 
ships are not now found in Arabia, but 
are found in India, yet there is evidence 
that many now unknown once were 
known in Arabia; and, moreover, Ophir 
may not have been the original place 
of production of some of them, but the 
great market for traffic in them. 

Oph'ni (of'ni), a town of Benjamin, 
mentioned in Josh. 18 : 24. It may be 
the same as the Gophna of Josephus, a 
place which at the time of Vespasian’s 
invasion was apparently so important as 
to be second only to Jerusalem. This 
still survives in the modern Jufna, 2% 
miles northwest of Bethel. 

Oph'rah (of'rah) (fawn). 1. A 
town in the tribe of Benjamin. Josh. 
18:23; 1 Sam. 13:17. Jerome places 
it five miles east of Bethel. It is per- 
haps et-Taiyibeh, a small village on the 
crown of a conspicuous hill, four miles 
east-northeast of Beitin (Bethel). 

2. More fully, Ophrah of the Abi- 
ezrites, the native place of Gideon, 
Judges 6 : 11, and the scene of his ex- 
ploits against Baal, ver. 24; his resi- 
dence after his accession to power, ch. 
9 : 5, and the place of his burial in the 
family sepulchre, ch. 8 : 32. It was 
probably in Manasseh, ch. 6 : 15, and not 
far distant from Shechem. Judges 9 : 1, 
5. 

3. The son of Meonothai. 1 Chron. 
4:14. 


Orchard. [Garden.] 

O'reb (o'reb) (raven), one of the 
chieftains of the Midianite host which 
invaded Israel, and was defeated and 
driven back by Gideon. Judges 7 : 25. 
Isaiah, Isa. 10:26, refers to the magni- 
tude of this disaster. Comp. Ps. 83. 

O'reb, The rock, the “ raven’s crag,” 
the spot, east of Jordan, at which the 
Midianite chieftain Oreb, with thou- 
sands of his countrymen, fell by the 
hand of the Ephraimites, *and which 
probably acquired its name therefrom. 
It is mentioned in Judges 7: 25; Isa. 10: 
26. 

O'ren (o'ren) (-fir tree), one of the 
sons of Jerahmeel, the first-born of 
Hezron. 1 Chron. 2 : 25. 

Organ. Gen. 4 : 21 ; Job 21 : 12 ; 30 : 
31 ; Ps. 150 : 4. The Hebrew word 
thus rendered probably denotes a pipe 
or perforated wind-instrument. In Gen. 
4 : 21 it appears to be a general term 
for all wind-instruments. In Job 21 : 12 
are enumerated - three kinds of musical 
instruments which are possible, under 
the general terms of the timbrel, harp 
and organ. Some identify it with the 
pandean pipe or syrinx, an instrument 
of unquestionably ancient origin, and 
common in the East. [See Music.] 

Ori'on (o-ri'on), a large and bright 
constellation visible in all latitudes. It 
is named after a mythical personage of 
the Greeks, of gigantic stature, and “ the 
handsomest man in the world.” The 
Arabs called it “ the giant,” referring to 
Nimrod, the mighty hunter, who was 
fabled to have been bound in the sky 
for his impiety. Job 9:9. Also alluded 
to in Job 38 : 31. 

Ornaments, Personal. The num- 
ber, variety and weight of the ornaments 
ordinarily worn upon the person form 
one of the characteristic features of 
Oriental costume, in both ancient and 
modern times. The monuments of an- 
cient Egypt exhibit the persons of ladies 
loaded with rings, earrings of very 
great size, anklets, armlets, bracelets of 
the most varied forms, richly-orna- 
mented necklaces, and chains of various 
kinds. There is sufficient evidence in 
the Bible that the inhabitants of Pales- 
tine were equally devoted to finery. In 
the Old Testament, Isaiah, Isa. 3:18- 
23, supplies us with a detailed descrip- 
tion of the articles with which the lux- 
urious women of his day were decorated. 


ORN 


471 


OST 


Eliezer decorated Rebekah with “ a gol- 
den nose-ring of half a shekel (% oz.) 
weight, and two bracelets for her hands 




of ten shekels ( 4 V 2 oz.) weight of gold.” 
Gen. 24 : 22. Earrings were worn by- 
Jacob’s wives. Gen. 35 : 4. The num- 
ber of personal ornaments worn by the 


wife of Chilion son of Naomi, and 
thereby -sister-in-law to Ruth. Ruth 1: 
4, 14. Probably about the time of 

Gideon. 

0'she=a (o'she-a). [Joshua.] 

Osprey. The Hebrew word occurs 
in Lev. 11 : 13 and Deut. 14 : 12, as the 
name of some unclean bird. It is prob- 
ably the osprey ( Pandion haliaetus). 

Ossifrage ( the bone-breaker). The 
Hebrew word occurs, as the name of an 
unclean bird, in Lev. 11 : 13 and Deut. 
14 : 12. It is probably the lammergeyer, 
or bearded vulture as it is sometimes 
called, one of the largest of the birds of 
prey. It derives its name from its prac- 
tice of dropping tortoises and bones 
from a height in order to break them 
and get at their contents. 

Ostrich, a large bird, native of Africa 
and Arabia, nearly ten feet high, having 
a long neck and short wings. It seeks 
retired places, Job 30 : 29 ; Lam. 4 : 3, 
and has a peculiar mournful cry that is 
sometimes mistaken by the Arabs for 
that of the lion. Micah 1:8. In Job 
39 : 13-18 will be found a description of 
the bird’s habits. The eggs are laid in 
a hole scratched in the sand, perhaps 6 
feet in diameter; the eggs are then cov- 
ered over to the depth of about a foot, 
and are, in the case of those birds 
which are found within the tropics, gen- 
erally left for the greater part of the 



ASSYRIAN AND EGYPTIAN ORNAMENTS. 


Egyptians, particularly by the females, 
is incidentally noticed in Ex. 3 : 22. 

Or'nan (dr'nan). 1 Chron. 21:15; 2 
Chron. 3:1. [Araunah.] 

Or'pah (or'pah), a Moabite woman, 


day to the heat of the sun, the parent- 
birds taking their turns at incubation 
during the night. The habit of the os- 
trich leaving its eggs to be matured by 
the sun’s heat is usually appealed to in 


OTH 


472 


OWL 


order to confirm the scriptural account, 
“ she leaveth her eggs to the earth ” ; 
but this is probably the case only with 
the tropical birds. The true explanation 
of this passage may be that some of the 
eggs are left exposed around the nest 
for the nourishment of the young birds. 
It is a general belief among the Arabs 
that the ostrich is a very stupid bird; 
indeed they have a proverb, “ stupid as 
an ostrich.” As is well known, the os- 
trich will swallow almost any substance, 
iron, stones, and even has been known 



THE OSTRICH. 


to swallow “ several leaden bullets 
scorching hot from the mould.” But in 
many other respects the ostrich is not as 
stupid as this would indicate, and is 
very hard to capture. It is the largest 
of all known birds, and perhaps the 
swiftest of all runners. The feathers 
so much prized are the long white 
plumes of the wings. The best are 
brought from Barbary and the west 
coast of Africa. 

Oth'ni (oth'ni) (lion of [God]), son 
of Shemaiah, the first-born of Obed- 
edom. 1 Chron. 26 : 7. 

Oth'ni=el (oth'ni-el) (lion of God), 
son of Kenaz and younger brother of 
Caleb. Josh. 15 : 17 ; Judges 1 : 13 ; 3:9; 
1 Chron. 4 : 13. (b.c. 1450.) The first 

mention of Othniel is on occasion of 
the taking of Kirjath-sepher, or Debir 
as it was afterward called. Caleb prom- 
ised to give his daughter Achsah to 
whosoever should assault and take the 
city. Othniel won the prize. The next 
mention of him is in Judges 3 : 9, where 
he appears as the first judge of Israel 
after the death of Joshua, and the de- 
liverer of his countrymen from the op- 


pression of Chushan-rishathaim. Judges 
3 : 8-9. 

Oven. The eastern oven is of two 
kinds— fixed and portable. The former 
is found in towns, where regular bakers 
are employed., Hos. 7:4. It is now in 
a more or less perfect state the common 
oven in use in Palestine. It consists of 
a hole in the ground, plastered with 
cement which will resist the action of 
fire. The latter consists of a large jar 



AN EASTERN OVEN. 


made of clay, about three feet high and 
widening toward the bottom, with a hole 
for the extraction of the ashes. Each 
household possessed such an article, 
Ex. 8:3; and it was only in times of 
extreme dearth that the same oven 
sufficed for several families. Lev. 26: 
26. It was heated with dry twigs and 
grass, Matt. 6 : 30, and the loaves were 
placed both inside and outside of it. 

Owl. There are five Hebrew words 
translated “ owl ” in the Authorized 
Version of the Old Testament. 1. Bath 
hayyaanah, Lev. 11 : 16. Correctly in 
R. V. “ ostrich.” 2. Yanshuph, Lev. 11 : 
17; Deut. 14:16; Is. 34:11. This is 
variously interpreted. The Septuagint 
renders it “ ibis.” 3. Kos, Lev. 11 : 17 ; 
Deut. 14 : 16 ; Ps. 102 : 6. Without doubt 
some sort of owl. 4. Kippoz, Is. 34 : 15. 
R. V. “ Arrowsnake.” 5. Lilith , Is. 34: 
14. R. V. “ Screech owl.” 



473 



A PAGE OF THE OXYRHYNCHUS PAPYRI. 

Part of a sheet from a papyrus book containing verses 1-9, 12, 14-fo °f the first chapter 
of St. Matthew’s Gospel. From the style of the writing it may probably be. assigned to the 
third century and may thus be a fragment of the oldest known manuscript of the JNew 
Testament. 



ox 


474 


OZN 



OWL. 


Ox. There was no animal in the 
rural economy of the Israelites, or in- 
deed in that of the ancient Orientals 
generally, that was held in higher es- 
teem than the ox ; and deservedly so, 
for the ox was the animal upon whose 



SYRIAN CATTLE. 


patient labors depended all the ordinary 
operations of farming. Cattle were 
used for ploughing, Deut. 22:10; 1 
Kings 19 : 20, etc.; for treading out corn, 
Deut. 25:4; Hos. 10:11, etc.; for 


draught purposes, when they were gen- 
erally yoked in pairs, Num. 7 : 3 ; 1 Sam. 
6 : 7, etc. ; as beasts of burden, 1 Chron. 
12 : 40 ; their flesh was eaten, Deut. 14 : 
4; 1 Kings 1:9; etc.; they were used 
in the sacrifices ; cows supplied milk, 
butter,- etc. Deut. 32 : 14 ; 2 Sam. 17 : 29 ; 
Isa. 7 : 22. Connected with the impor- 
tance of oxen in the rural economy of 
the Jews is the strict code of laws which 
was mercifully enacted by God for their 
protection and preservation. The ox 
that threshed the corn was by no means 
to be muzzled; he was to enjoy rest on 
the Sabbath as well as his master. Ex. 
23 : 12 ; Deut. 5 : 14. The ox was seldom 
slaughtered. Lev. 17 : 1-6. It seems 
clear from Prov. 15: 17 and 1 Kings 4: 
23 that cattle were sometimes stall-fed, 
though as a general rule it is probable 
that they fed in the plains or on the 
hills of Palestine. The cattle that 
grazed at large in the open country 
would no doubt often become fierce and 
wild, for it is to be remembered that in 
primitive times the lion and other wild 
beasts of prey roamed about Palestine. 
Hence the force of the Psalmist’s com- 
plaint of his enemies. Ps. 22 : 13. 

Oxyrhyn'chus (ok-si-ring'kus). An- 
cient name of a town in Egypt, now 
called Belmesa. It is now merely a 
heap of mounds which cover an area 
once occupied by a few Egyptian towns. 
These mounds have lately been opened 
and explored and rich finds of papyri 
have resulted containing many treasures 
of lost classical and early Christian lit- 
erature. The Greek papyri which were 
found include a 3rd century fragment 
of so-called “Logia” or “Sayings of 
Jesus.” Among the Latin papyri is a 
fragment containing the largest piece of 
the New Testament yet discovered, 
namely: The Epistle to the Hebrews. 

O'zem (o'zem). 1. The sixth son of 
Jesse, the next eldest above David. 1 
Chron. 2 : 15. 

2. Son of Jerahmeel. 1 Chron. 2:25. 

Ozi'as (o-zi'as) ( strength from Je- 
hovah). 1. One of the ancestors of 
Ezra. 2 Esd. 2 : 2. Same as Uzza, Ezr. 
2: 49. 

2. Uzziah, king of Judah. Matt. 1 : 8, 
9. 

Oz'ni (oz'ni) {attentive) , one of the 
sons of Gad, Num. 26 : 16, and founder 
of the family of the Oznites. Num. 26: 
16. 


Pa'arai (pa'a-ri). In the list of 2 
Sam. 23 : 35, “ Paarai the Arbite ” is one 
of David’s mighty men. In 1 Chron. 
11 : 37 he is called “ Naarai the son of 
Ezbai.” 

Pa'dan (pa'dan). Padan-aram. Gen. 
48 : 7. 

Pa'dan=a'ram (pa'dan-a'ram). By 
this name, which signifies the plain or 
field of Aram, i. e. Syria, the Hebrews 
designated the tract of country which 
they otherwise called Arain-naharaim, 
“ Aram of the two rivers,” the Greek 
Mesopotamia, . Gen. 24 : 10, and “ the 
field (Authorized Version, ‘country’) 
of Syria.” Hos. 12 : 12. The term was 
perhaps more especially applied to the 
northern portion of Mesopotamia. It is 
elsewhere called Padan simply. Gen. 
48 : 7. Abraham obtained a wife for 
Isaac from Padan-aram. Gen. 25:20. 
Jacob’s wives were also from Padan- 
aram. Gen. 28 : 2, 5, 6, 7 ; 31 : 18 ; 33 : 
18. 

Pa'don (pa'don) ( redemption ), the 
ancestor of a family of Nethinim who 
returned with Zerubbabel. Ezra 2 : 44 ; 
Neh. 7 : 47. 

Pa'gi=el (pa'gi-el) (a meeting with 
God), the son of Ocran and chief of 
the tribe of Asher at the time of the 
exodus. Num. 1:13; 2:27; 7:72, 77; 
10:26. (b.c. 1491.) 

Pa'hath=mo'ab (pa'hath-mo'ab) 

( governor of Moab), head of one of 
the chief houses of the tribe of Judah. 
Of the individual or the occasion of his 
receiving so singular a name nothing is 
known certainly; but as we read in 1 
Chron. 4 : 22 of a family of Shilonites, 
of the tribe of Judah, who in very early 
times “ had dominion in Moab,” it may 
be conjectured that this was the origin 
of the name. 

Pa'i {bleating). [Pau.] 

Paint (as a cosmetic). The use of 
cosmetic dyes has prevailed in all ages 
in eastern countries. We ha.ve abundant 
evidence of the practice of painting the 


eyes both in ancient Egypt and in As- 
syria; and in modern times no usage is 
more general. It does not appear, how- 
ever, to have been by any means univer- 
sal among the Hebrews. The notices 
of it are few; and in each instance it 
seems to have been used as a meretri- 
cious art, unworthy of a woman of high 
character. The Bible gives no indica- 
tion of the substance out of which the 
dye was formed. The old versions 
agree in pronouncing the dye to have 
been produced from antimony. Anti- 
mony is still used for the purpose in 
Arabia and in Persia, but in Egypt the 
kohl is a soot produced by burning 
either a kind of frankincense or the 
shells of almonds. The dye-stuff was 
moistened with oil and kept in a small 
jar. Whether the custom of staining 
the hands and feet, particularly the nails, 
now so prevalent in the East, was known 
to the Hebrews is doubtful. Painting 
as an art was not cultivated by the He- 
brews, but they decorated their build- 
ings with paint. 

Palace. Palace in the Bible, in the 
singular and plural, is the rendering of 
several words of diverse meaning. 1 
Chron. 29 : 1 ; Ezra 4 : 14 ; Amos 4 : 3, 
etc. It often designates the royal res- 
idence, and usually suggests a fortress or 
battlemented house. The word occa- 
sionally included the whole city, as in 
Esther 9:12; and again, as in 1 Kings 
16 : 18, it is restricted to a part of the 
royal apartments. It is applied, as in 1 
Chron. 29: 1 , to the temple in Jerusalem. 
The site of the palace of Solomon was 
almost certainly in the city itself, on the 
brow opposite to the temple, and over- 
looking it and the whole city of David. 
It is impossible, of course, to be at all 
certain what was either the form or the 
exact disposition of such a palace. 
When there are taken into connection 
with the royal residence all the offices 
and public rooms besides the residences 
for the chief palace officials, it reaches 


475 


PAL 


476 


PAL 


the dimensions of a city. The principal 
building situated within the palace was, 
as in all eastern palaces, the great hall 
of state and audience, called “the house 
of the forest of Lebanon,” apparently 
from the four rows of cedar pillars by 
which it was supported. It was 100 cu- 
bits (175 feet) long, 50 (87 % feet) wide, 
and 30 (52% feet) high. Next in im- 
portance was the hall or “ porch of 
judgment,” a quadrangular building sup- 
ported by columns, as we learn from 
Josephus, which apparently stood on the 
other side of the great court, opposite 
the house of the forest of Lebanon. 
The third edifice is merely called a 
“ porch of pillars.” Its dimensions 
were 50 by 30 cubits. Its use cannot 
be considered as doubtful, as it was an 
indispensable adjunct to an eastern pal- 
ace. It was the ordinary place of busi- 
ness of the palace, and the reception- 
room when the king received ordinary 
visitors, and sat, except on great state 
occasions, to transact the business of 
the kingdom. Behind this, we are told, 
was the inner court, adorned with gar- 
dens and fountains, and surrounded by 
cloisters for shade ; and there were 
other courts for the residence of the at- 
tendants and guards, and for the women 
of the harem. Apart from this palace, 
but attached, as Josephus tells us, to 
the hall of judgment, was the palace of 
Pharaoh’s daughter — too proud and im- 
portant a personage to be grouped with 
the ladies of the harem, and requiring a 
residence of her own. The recent dis- 
coveries at Nineveh have enabled us to 
understand many of the architectural 
details of this palace, which before they 
were made were nearly wholly inexpli- 
cable. Solomon constructed an ascent 
from his own house to the temple, “ the 
house of Jehovah,” 1 Kings 10: 5, which 
was a subterranean passage 250 feet 
long by 42 feet wide, of which the re- 
mains may still be traced. 

Pa'lal (pa'lal) {judge), the son of 
Uzai, who assisted in restoring the walls 
of Jerusalem in the time of Nehemiah. 
Neh. 3:25. (b.c. 446.) 

Palesti'na (pal-es-ti'na) and Pal'- 
estine. These two forms occur in the 
Authorized Version but four times in 
all, always in poetical passages ; the 
first in Ex. 15 : 14 and Isa. 14 : 29, 31 ; 
the second, Joel 3:4. In each case the 
Hebrew is Pelesheth, a word found, 
besides the above, only in Ps. 60:8; 83 : 


7 ; 87 : 4 and 108 : 9, in all which our 
translators have rendered it by “ Philis- 
tia ” or “ Philistines.” Palestine in the 
Authorized Version really means noth- 
ing but Philistia. The original Hebrew 
word Pelesheth to the Hebrews signi- 
fied merely the long and broad strip 
of maritime plain inhabited by their 
encroaching neighbors ; nor does it ap- 
pear that at first it signified more to 
the Greeks. As lying next the sea, and 
as being also the high road from 
Egypt to Phoenicia and the richer re- 
gions north of it, the Philistine plain 
became sooner known to the western 
world than the country farther inland, 
and was called by them Syria Palestina 
— Philistine Syria. From thence it was 
gradually extended to the country far- 
ther inland, till in the Roman and later 
Greek authors, both heathen and Chris- 
tian, it became the usual appellation for 
the whole country of the Jews, both 
west and east of Jordan. The word is 
now so commonly employed in our more 
familiar language to designate the whole 
country of Israel that, although bibli- 
cally a misnomer, it has been chosen 
here as the most convenient heading 
under which to give a general descrip- 
tion of the Holy Land, embracing those 
points which have not been treated un- 
der the separate headings of cities or 
tribes. This description will most con- 
veniently divide itself into three sec- 
tions: — I. The Names applied to the 
country of Israel in the Bible and else- 
where. II. The Land : its situation, as- 
pect, climate, physical characteristics in 
connection with its history, its structure, 
botany and natural history. III. The 
History of the country; which, how- 
ever, is so fully given under its various 
headings throughout the work that it is 
unnecessary to recapitulate it here. 

I. The names. — Palestine, then, is 
designated in the Bible by more than 
one name. 1. During the patriarchal 
period, the conquest and the age of the 
judges, and also where those early pe- 
riods are referred to in the later liter- 
ature (as Ps. 105:11), it is spoken of 
as “ Canaan,” or more frequently “ the 
land of Canaan,” meaning thereby the 
country west of the Jordan, as opposed 
to “the land of Gilead,” on the east. 
2. During the monarchy the name usu- 
ally, though not frequently, employed is 
“ land of Israel.” 1 Sam. 13 : 19. 3. 

Between the captivity and the time of 


PAL 


477 


PAL 


our Lord the name “Judea” had ex- 
tended itself from the southern portion 
to the whole of the country, and even 
that beyond the Jordan. Matt. 19 : 1. 
4. The Roman division of the country 
hardly coincided with the biblical one, 
and it does not appear that the Romans 
had any distinct name for that which 
we understand . by Palestine. 5. Soon 
after the Christian era we find the name 
Palestina in possession of the country. 
6. The name most frequently used 
throughout the middle ages, and down 
to our own time, is Terra Sancta — the 
Holy Land. 

II. The land. — The Holy Land is not 
in size or physical characteristics pro- 
portioned to its moral and historical 
position as the theatre of the most mo-* 
mentous events in the world’s history. 
Western Palestine, Palestine proper ac- 
cording to common usage of the name, 
is but a strip of country about the size 
of Wales, about 145 miles in length and 
barely 40 in average breadth, on the 
very frontier of the East, hemmed in 
between the Mediterranean Sea on the 
one hand and the enormous trench of 
the Jordan valley on the other, by which 
it is effectually cut off from the main- 
land of Asia behind it. On the north 
it is shut in by the high ranges of Leb- 
anon and Anti-Lebanon, and by the 
chasm of the Litany. On the south it 
is no less enclosed by the arid and in- 
hospitable deserts of the upper parts of 
the peninsula of Sinai. Eastern Pales- 
tine, rightly to be considered a part of 
the country, since it was settled by the 
Hebrews, extended to the Syrian desert. 

1. Its position . — Its position on the 
map of the world — as the world was 
when the Holy Land first made its ap- 
pearance in history — is a remarkable 
one. It is on the very outpost — on the 
extremest western edge of the East 
On the shore of the Mediterranean it 
stands, as if it had advanced as far as 
possible toward the west, separated 
therefrom by that which, when the time 
arrived, proved to be no barrier, but 
the readiest medium of communication 
— the wide waters of the “great sea.” 
Thus it was open to all the gradual in- 
fluences of the rising communities of 
the West, while it was saved from the 
retrogression and decrepitude which 
have ultimately been the doom of all 
purely eastern states whose connec- 
tions were limited to the East only. 


There was one channel, and but one, 
by which it could reach and be reached 
by the great Oriental empires. The only 
road by which the two great rivals of 
the ancient world could approach one 
another — by which alone Egypt could 
get to Assyria and Assyria to Egypt — 
lay along the broad flat strip of coast 
which formed the maritime portion of 
the Holy Land, and thence by the plain 
of the Lebanon to the Euphrates. Be- 
cause of this the Holy Land became 
(like the Netherlands in Europe) the 
convenient arena on which in successive 
ages the hostile powers who contended 
for the empire of the East fought their 
battles. 

2. Physical features . — Palestine is es- 
sentially a mountainous country. Not 
that it contains independent mountain 
chains, as in Greece, for example, but 
that every part of the highland is in 
greater or less undulation. But it is 
not only a mountainous country. The 
mass of hills which occupies the centre 
of the country is bordered or framed 
on both sides, east and west, by a broad 
belt of lowland, sunk deep below its own 
level. The slopes or cliffs which form, 
as it were, the retaining walls of this 
depression are furrowed and cleft by 
the torrent beds which discharge the 
waters of the hills and form the means 
of communication between the upper 
and lower level. On the west this low- 
land interposes between the mountains 
and the sea, and is the plain of Philistia 
and of Sharon. On the east it is the 
broad bottom of the Jordan valley, deep 
down in which rushes the one river of 
Palestine to its grave in the Dead Sea. 
Such is the first general impression of 
the physiognomy of the Holy Land. It 
is a physiognomy compounded of the 
three main features already named — the 
plains, the highland hills, and the tor- 
:nt beds: features which are marked 
in the words of its earliest describers, 
Num. 13:29; Josh. 11:16; 12:8, and 
which must be Comprehended by every 
one who wishes to understand the coun- 
try and the intimate connection exist- 
ing between its structure and its history. 
About halfway up the coast the mari- 
time plain is suddenly interrupted by a 
long ridge thrown out from the cen- 
tral mass, rising considerably above the 
general level and terminating in a bold 
promontory on the very edge of the 
Mediterranean. This ridge is Mount 


PAL 


478 


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Carmel. On its upper side, the plain, as 
if to compensate for its temporary dis- 
placement, invades the centre of the 
country, and forms an undulating hol- 
low right across it from the Mediter- 
ranean to the Jordan valley. This cen- 
tral lowland, which divides with its 
broad depression the mountains of 
Ephraim from the mountains of Galilee, 
is the plain of Esdraelon or Jezreel, the 
great battle-field of Palestine. North of 
Carmel the lowland resumes its position 
by the seaside till it is again interrupted 
and finally put an end to by the north- 
ern mountains, which push their way out 
of the sea, ending in the white promon- 
tory of the Ras Nakhura. Above this 
is the ancient Phoenicia. The country 
thus roughly portrayed is to all intents 
and purposes the whole land of Israel. 
The northern portion is Galilee; the 
centre, Samaria; the south, Judea. This 
is the land of Canaan which was be- 
stowed on Abraham, — the covenanted 
home of his descendants. The highland 
district, surrounded and intersected by 
its broad lowland plains, preserves from 
north to south a remarkably even and 
horizontal profile. Its average height 
may be taken as 1500 to 1800 feet above 
the Mediterranean. It can hardly be 
denominated a plateau ; yet so evenly is 
the general level preserved, and so 
thickly do the hills stand behind and 
between one another, that, when seen 
from the coast or the western part of 
the maritime plain, it has quite the ap- 
pearance of a wall. This general mo- 
notony of profile is, however, relieved 
at intervals by certain centres of eleva- 
tion. Between these elevated points 
runs the watershed o.f the country, send- 
ing off on either hand — to the Jordan 
valley on the east and the Mediterranean 
on the west — the long, tortuous arms of 
its many torrent beds. The valleys on 
the two sides of the watershed differ 
considerably in character. Those on the 
east are extremely steep and rugged ; 
the western valleys are more gradual in 
their slope. 

3. Fertility . — When the highlands of 
the country are more closely examined, 
a considerable difference will be found 
to exist in the natural condition and ap- 
pearance of their different portions. The 
south, as being nearer the arid desert 
and farther removed from the drainage 
of the mountains, is drier and less pro- 
ductive than the north. The tract below 


Hebron, which forms the link between 
the hills of Judah and the desert, was 
known t® the ancient Hebrews by a term 
originally derived from its dryness — Ne- 
geb. This was the south country. As 
the traveler advances north of this 
tract there is an improvement ; but per- 
haps no country equally cultivated is 
more monotonous, bare or uninviting in 
its aspect than a great part of the high- 
lands of Judah and Benjamin during the 
larger portion of the year. The spring 
covers even those bald gray rocks with 
verdure and color, and fills the ravines 
with torrents of rushing water ; but in 
summer and autumn the look of the 
country from Hebron up to Bethel is 
very dreary and desolate. At Jerusalem 
this reaches its climax. To the west 
and northwest of the highlands, where 
the sea-breezes are felt, there is con- 
siderably more vegetation. Hitherto we 
have spoken of the central and north- 
ern portions of Judea. Its eastern por- 
tion — a tract some nine or ten miles in 
width by about thirty-five in length, 
which intervenes between the centre and 
the abrupt descent to the Dead Sea — is 
far more wild and desolate, and that not 
for a portion of the year only, but 
throughout it. This must have been al- 
ways what it is now — an uninhabited 
desert, because uninhabitable. No de- 
scriptive sketch of this part of the coun-^ 
try can be complete which does not al- 
lude to the caverns, characteristic of all 
limestone districts, but here existing in 
astonishing numbers. Every hill and ra- 
vine is pierced with them, some very 
large and of curious formation — perhaps 
partly natural, partly artificial — others 
mere grottos. Many of them are con- 
nected with most important and inter- 
esting events of the ancient history of 
the country. Especially is this true of 
the district now under consideration. 
Machpelah, Makkedah, Adullam, En- 
gedi, names inseparably connected with 
the lives, adventures and deaths of Abra- 
ham, Joshua, David and other Old-Tes- 
tament worthies, are all within the small 
circle of the territory of Judea. The 
bareness and dryness which prevail 
more or less in Judea are owing partly 
to the absence of wood, partly to its 
proximity to the desert, and partly to a 
scarcity of water arising from its dis- 
tance from the Lebanon. But to this 
discouraging aspect there are some im- 
portant exceptions. The valley of Ur- 


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479 


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tas, south of Bethlehem, contains springs 
which in abundance and excellence rival 
even those of Nablus; the huge “ Pools 
of Solomon ” are enough to supply a 
district for many miles round them; 
and the cultivation now going on in that 
neighborhood shows what might be done 
with a soil which requires only irriga- 
tion and a moderate amount of labor 
to evoke a boundless produce. It is ob- 
vious that in the ancient days of the 
nation, when Judah and Benjamin pos- 
sessed the teeming population indicated 
in the Bible, the condition and aspect of 
the country must have been very differ- 
ent. Of this there are not wanting sure 
evidences. There is no country in which 
the ruined towns bear so large a propor- 
tion to those still existing. Hardly a 
hill-top of the many within sight that is 
not covered with vestiges of some for- 
tress or city. But, besides this, forests 
appear to have stood in many parts of 
Judea until the repeated invasions and 
sieges caused their fall ; and all this 
vegetation must have reacted on the 
moisture of the climate, and, by pre- 
serving the water in many a ravine and 
natural reservoir where now it is rapidly 
dried by the fierce sun of the early 
summer, must have influenced materially 
the look and the resources of the coun- 
try. Advancing northward from Judea, 
the country (Samaria) becomes grad- 
ually more open and pleasant. Plains 
of good soil occur between the hills, at 
first small, but afterward comparatively 
large. The hills assume here a more 
varied aspect than in the- southern dis- 
tricts, springs are more abundant and 
more permanent, until at last, when the 
district of Jebel Nablus is reached — the 
ancient Mount Ephraim — the traveler 
encounters an atmosphere and an 
amount of vegetation and water which 
are greatly superior to anything he has 
met with in Judea, and even sufficient 
to recall much of the scenery of the 
West. Perhaps the springs are the only 
objects which in themselves, and apart 
from their associations, really strike an 
English traveler with astonishment and 
admiration. Such glorious fountains as 
those of Ain-jalud or the Ras el-Mukat- 
t a — where a great body of the clearest 
water wells silently but swiftly out 
from deep blue recesses worn in the 
foot of a low cliff of limestone rock, 
and at once forms a considerable 
stream— are rarely to be met with out 


of irregular, rocky, mountainous coun- 
tries, and being such unusual sights, can 
hardly be looked on by the traveler 
without surprise and emotion. The val- 
leys which lead down from the upper 
level in this district to the valley of 
the Jordan are less precipitous than in 
Judea. The eastern district of the Jebel 
Nablus contains some of the most fer- 
tile and valuable spots in the Holy Land. 
Hardly less rich is the extensive region 
which lies northwest of the city of She- 
chem {Nablus), between it and Carmel, 
in which the mountains gradually break 
down into the plain of Sharon. But 
with all its richness and all its advance 
on the southern part of the country, 
there is a strange dearth of natural 
wood about this central district. It is 
this which makes the wooded sides of 
Carmel and the park-like scenery of the 
adjacent slopes and plains so remark- 
able. No sooner, however, is the plain 
of Esdraelon passed than a considerable 
improvement is perceptible. The low 
hills which spread down from the moun- 
tains of Galilee, and form the barrier 
between the plains of Akka and Esdrae- 
lon, are covered with timber, of mod- 
erate size it is true, but of thick, vigor- 
ous growth, and pleasant to the eye. 
Eastward of these hills rises the round 
mass of Tabor, dark with its copses of 
oak, and set off by contrast with the 
bare slopes of Jebel ed-Duhy (the so- 
called “ Little Hermon ”) and the white 
hills of Nazareth. A few words must 
be said in general description of the 
maritime lowland, which intervenes be- 
tween the sea and the highlands. This 
region, only slightly elevated above the 
level of the Mediterranean, extends 
without interruption from el-Arish, 
south of Gaza, to Mount Carmel. It 
naturally divides itself into two por- 
tions, each of about half its length; the 
lower one the wider, the upper one the 
narrower. The lower half is the plain 
of the Philistines — Philistia. The upper 
part is the plain of Sharon, or Saron. 
The Philistine plain is on an average 15 
or 16 miles in width from the coast to 
the beginning of the belt of hills which 
forms the gradual approach to the high 
land of the mountains of Judah. The 
larger towns, as Gaza and Ashdod, 
which stand near the shore, are sur- 
rounded with huge groves of olive, 
sycamore and palm, as in the days of 
King David. 1 Chron. 27 : 28. The 


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480 


PAL 


whole plain appears to consist of brown 
loamy soil, light but rich, and almost 
without a stone. It is now, as it was 
when the Philistines possessed it, one 
enormous grainfield; an ocean of wheat 
covers the wide expanse between the 
hills and the sand dunes of the seashore, 
without interruption of any kind — no 
break or hedge, hardly even a single 
olive tree. Its fertility is marvelous ; 
for the prodigious crops which it raises 
are produced, and probably have been 
produced almost year by year for the 
last forty centuries, without any of the 
appliances which we find necessary for 
success. The plain of Sharon is much 
narrower than Philistia. It is about 10 
miles wide from the sea to the foot of 
the mountains, which are here of a more 
abrupt character than those of Philistia, 
and without the intermediate hilly re- 
gion there occurring. The one ancient 
port of the Jews, the “ beautiful ” city 
of Joppa, was at the southern boundary. 
Roads led from these various cities to 
each other, to Jerusalem, Neapolis and 
Sebaste in the interior, and to Ptolemais 
and Gaza on the north and south. The 
commerce of Damascus, and, beyond 
Damascus, of Persia and India, passed 
this way to Egypt, Rome and the infant 
colonies of the West; and that traffic 
and the constant movement of troops 
backward and forward must have made 
this plain, at the time of Christ, one of 
the busiest and most populous regions 
of Syria. 

4. The Jordan valley. — The character- 
istics already described are hardly pe- 
culiar to Palestine. But there is one 
feature, as yet only alluded to, in which 
she stands alone. This feature is the 
Jordan — the one river of the country. 
The river is elsewhere described [Jor- 
dan] ; but it and the valley through 
which it rushes down its extraordinary 
descent must be here chiefly character- 
ized. This valley begins with the river 
at its remotest springs of Hasbeiya, on 
the northwest side of Hermon, and ac- 
companies it to the lower end of the 
Dead Sea, a length of about 150 miles. 
During the whole of this distance its 
course is straight and its direction near- 
ly due north and south. The springs of 
Hasbeiya are 1700 feet above the level 
of the Mediterranean, and the northern 
end of the Dead Sea is 1292 feet below 
it, so that between these two points the 
valley falls with more or less regularity 


through a height of almost 3000 feet. 
But though the river disappears at this 
point, the valley still continues its de- 
scent below the waters of the Dead Sea, 
so that the bottom of this extraordinary 
crevasse is actually more than 2600 feet 
below the surface of the ocean. In 
width the valley varies. In its upper 
and shallower portion, as between Ba- 
nias and the lake of Merom ( Huleh ), 
it is about five miles across. Between 
the lake of Merom and the Sea of Gali- 
lee it contracts, and becomes more of 
an ordinary ravine or glen. It is in its 
third and lower portion that the valley 
assumes its more definite and regular 
character. During the greatei part of this 
portion it is about ten miles wide from 
the one wall to the other. North of Jeri- 
cho the valley becomes twelve miles broad 
— a breadth which it thenceforward re- 
tains to the southern extremity of the 
Dead Sea. . Buried as it is between such 
lofty ranges, and shielded from every 
breeze, the climate of the Jordan valley 
is extremely hot and relaxing. Its en- 
ervating influence is shown by the in- 
habitants of Jericho. All the irrigation 
necessary for the cultivation which 
formerly existed is obtained from the 
torrents of the western mountains. For 
all purposes to which a river is ordi- 
narily applied the Jordan is useless. 
The Dead Sea,' which is the final recep- 
tacle of the Jordan, is described else- 
where. [Sea, The Salt.] 

5. Climate . — The climate of Palestine 
presents more variety than that of any 
other country t»f its size. The traveler 
in a short journey of a hundred miles 
passes from the Alpine snows of Mt. 
Hermon to the tropical plains of the 
Dead Sea region. Its plants and ani- 
mals range from those of northern 
Europe to those of Africa. Ice, snow 
and hail _ are named ; sun stroke and 
desert winds; while on the hills near 
Bethlehem shepherds with their flocks 
could pass a December night in the open 
air. As in the time of our Saviour, 
Luke 12 : 54, the rains come chiefly from 
the south or southwest. They com- 
mence at the end of October or begin- 
ning of November and continue with 
greater or less constancy till the end of 
February or March. It is not a heavy, 
continuous rain so much as a succession 
of severe showers or storms, with inter- 
vening periods of fine, bright weather. 
Between April and November there is, 


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481 


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with the rarest exceptions, an uninter- 
rupted succession of fine weather and 
skies without a cloud. Thus the year 
divides itself into two and only two 
seasons — as indeed we see it constantly 
divided in the Bible — “ winter and sum- 
mer,” “ cold and heat,” “ seed-time and 
harvest” 

6. Botany. — The botany of Syria and 
Palestine differs but little from that of 
Asia Minor, which is one of the most 
rich and varied on the globe. Among 
trees the oak is by far the most preva- 
lent. The trees of the genus Pistacia 
rank next to the oak in abundance, and 
of these there are three species in Syria. 
There is also the carob or locust tree 
( Ceratonia siliqua ), the pine, sycomore, 
poplar and walnut. Of planted trees 
and large shrubs the first in importance 
is the vine, which is most abundantly 
cultivated all over the country, and pro- 
duces, as in the time of the Canaanites, 
enormous bunches of grapes. This is 
especially the case in the southern dis- 
tricts, those of Eschol being still partic- 
ularly famous. Next to the vine, or 
even in some respects its superior in 
importance, ranks the olive, which no- 
where grows in greater luxuriance and 
abundance than in Palestine, where the 
olive orchards form a prominent fea- 
ture throughout the landscape, and have 
done so from time immemorial. The 
fig forms another most important crop 
in Syria and Palestine. Besides these 
are the almond, pomegranate, orange, 
pear, banana, quince and mulberry 
among fruit trees. Of vegetables there 
are many varieties, as the egg plant, 
pumpkin, asparagus, lettuce, melon and 
cucumber. Palestine is especially dis- 
tinguished for its wild flowers, of which 
there are more than five hundred varie- 
ties. The geranium, pink, poppy, nar- 
cissus, honeysuckle, oleander, jessamine, 
tulip and iris are abundant. The va- 
rious grains are also very largely cul- 
tivated. 

7. Zoology.— It will be sufficient in 
this article to give a general survey of 
the fauna of Palestine, as the reader 
will find more particular information in 
the several articles which treat of the 
various animals under their respective 
names. Jackals and foxes are common ; 
the hyena and wolf are also occasionally 
observed; the lion is no longer a resi- 
dent in Palestine or Syria. A species 
of squirrel which the Arabs term orki- 

31 


daun, “ the leaper,” has been noticed on 
the lower and middle parts of Lebanon. 
Two kinds of hare, rats and mice, which 
are said to abound, the jerboa, the por- 
cupine, the short-tailed field-mouse, may 
be considered as the representatives of 
the Rodentia. Of the Pachydermata, 
the wild boar, which is frequently met 
with on Tabor and Little Hermon, ap- 
pears to be the only living wild example. 
There does not appear to be at present 
any wild ox in Palestine. Of domestic 
animals we need only mention the Ara- 
bian or one-humped camel, the ass, the 
mule and the horse, all of which are in 
general use. The buffalo ( Bubalus buf- 
falo ) is common. The ox of the coun- 
try is small and unsightly in the neigh- 
borhood of Jerusalem, but in the richer 
pastures the cattle, though small, are not 
unsightly. The common sheep of Pales- 
tine is the broadtail, with its varieties. 
Goats are extremely common every- 
where. Palestine abounds in numerous 
kinds of birds. Vultures, eagles, fal- 
cons, kites, owls of different kinds, rep- 
resent the Raptorial order. In the 
south of Palestine especially, reptiles of 
various kinds abound. It has been re- 
marked that in its physical character 
Palestine presents on a small scale an 
epitome of the natural features of all 
regions, mountainous and desert, north- 
ern and tropical, maritime and inland, 
pastoral, arable and volcanic. 

8. Antiquities. — In the preceding de- 
scription allusion has > been made to 
many of the characteristic features of 
the Holy Land ; but it is impossible to 
close this account without mentioning 
a defect which is even more characteris- 
tic — its lack of monuments and personal 
relics of the nation which possessed it 
for so many centuries and gave it its 
claim to our veneration and affection. 
When compared with other nations of 
equal antiquity — Egypt, Greece, Assyria 
— the contrast is truly remarkable. In 
Egypt and Greece, and also in Assyria, 
as far as our knowledge at present ex- 
tends, we find a series of buildings 
reaching down from the most remote 
and mysterious antiquity, a chain of 
which hardly a link is wanting, and 
which records the progress of the peo- 
ple in civilization, art and religion, as 
certainly as the buildings of the mediae- 
val architects do that of the various 
nations of modern Europe. . In Pales- 
tine there are but few remains of any 


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482 


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sort. At Lachish pottery and flint in- 
struments have been found dating back, 
probably to the times of the Egyptian 
or the Hittite occupation. Rude stone 
monuments like cromlechs are numerous 
in ancient Moab and even farther north, 
— but none are found in western Pales- 
tine. It is perhaps not too much to say 
of Palestine proper, the portion actually 
under the control of Israel, that there 
does not exist a single edifice or part of 
an edifice of 'which we can be sure that 
it is of a date anterior to the Christian 
era. And as with the buildings, so with 
other memorials. With one exception, 
the museums of Europe do not possess 
a single piece of pottery or metal work, 
a single weapon or household utensil, 
an ornament or a piece of armor, of 
Israelite make, which can give us the 
least conception of the manners or out- 
ward appliances of the nation before 
the date of the destruction of Jerusalem 
by Titus. The coins form the single 
exception. M. Renan has named two 
circumstances which must have had a 
great effect in suppressing art or arch- 
itecture amongst the ancient Israelites, 
while their very existence proves that 
the people had no genius in that direc- 
tion. These are (1) the prohibition of 
sculptured representations of living 
creatures, and (2) the command not to 
build a temple anywhere but at Jeru- 
salem. 

Paliu (pal'lu) ( distinguished ), the 
second son of Reuben, father of Eliab, 
Ex. 6 : 14 ; Num. 26:5, 8 ; 1 Chron. 5 : 3, 
and founder of the family of 

Paliuites (pal'lu-ites), The. Num. 
26: 5. 

Palmer=worm (Heb. gazam ) occurs 
Joel 1:4; 2:25; Amos 4:9. Many re- 
gard it as a stage of the locust — as none 
of the moth or butterfly larvae now 
found in Syria are greatly harmful. 
The word palmer-worm is an old name 
for some species of caterpillar. 

Palm tree (Heb. tamar). Under this 
generic term many species are botani- 
cally included ; . but the palm of Scrip- 
ture is the date palm, the Phoenix dactyl- 
ifera of Linnaeus. While this tree was 
abundant generally in the Levant, it was 
regarded by the ancients as peculiarly 
characteristic of Palestine and the neigh- 
boring regions, though now it is rare. 
It may grow to the height of 50 tb 100 
feet, usually from 60 to 80. Its trunk 
is straight, tall and unbroken, termi- 


nating in a crown of emerald-green 
plumes, like a diadem of gigantic os- 
trich-feathers; these leaves are from 6 
to 12 feet long, often even more, droop 
slightly at the ends, and whisper music- 
ally in the breeze. The palm is, in 
truth, a beautiful and most useful tree. 
Its fruit is the daily use of millions; 
from them, and from the sap of the 
tree wine is prepared. Even the seeds 
are ground and fed to camels. The 
fibres of the base of its leaves are 
woven into ropes and rigging; its tall 
stem supplies a valuable timber ; its 



leaves are manufactured into brushes, 
mats, bags, couches and baskets. This 
one tree supplies almost all the wants 
of the Arab or Egyptian. Many places 
are mentioned in the Bible as having 
connection with palm trees; Elim, where 
grew three score and ten palm trees, Ex. 
15:27. Jericho was the city of “palm 
trees.” Deut. 34 : 3. Hazezon-tamar, 
possibly means “ the felling of the palm 
tree.” There is also Tamar, “the palm.” 
Ezek. 47 : 19. Bethany means the 
“ house of dates.” The word Phoenicia, 
which occurs twice in the New Testa- 
ment — Acts 11 : 19 ; 15 : 3 — is in all prob- 
ability derived from the Greek word for 
a palm. The striking appearance of the 


PAL 


483 


PAP 


tree, its uprightness and beauty, would 
naturally suggest the giving of its name 
occasionally to women. Gen. 38 : 6 ; 2 
Sam. 13 : 1 ; 14 : 27. There is in the 
Psalms, 92 : 12, the familiar comparison, 
“ The righteous shall flourish like the 
palm tree,” which suggests a world of 
illustration, whether respect be had to 
the orderly and regular aspect of the 
tree, its fruitfulness, the perpetual green- 
ness of its foliage, or the height at 
which the foliage grows, as far as pos- 
sible from earth and as near as possible 
to heaven. The passage in Rev. 7 : 9, 
where the glorified of all nations are 
described as “ clothed with white robes 
and palms in their hands,” might seem 
to us a purely classical image ; but palm 
branches, that is, the long plumes, were 
used by the Jews in token of victory 
and peace. To these points of com- 
parison may be added, its principle of 
growth : it is an endogen, and grows 
from within ; its usefulness : the Syrians 
enumerating 360 different uses to which 
it may be put; and the statement that it 
bears its best fruit in old age. It is 
curious that this tree, once so abundant 
in Judea, is now comparatively rare, ex- 
cept in the Philistine plain and in the 
old Phoenicia about Beyrout, though it 
is being cultivated anew around Jeri- 
cho. 

Palsy (contracted from paralysis). 
The loss of sensation or the power of 
motion, or both, in any part of the 
body. The infirmities included under 
this name in the New Testament were 
various : — 1. The paralytic shock affect- 
ing the whole body, or apoplexy. 2. 
That affecting only one side. 3. Af- 
fecting the whole system below the neck. 
4. Catalepsy, caused by the contraction 
of the muscles in the whole or a part 
of the body. This was very dangerous 
and often fatal. The part affected re- 
mains immovable, and diminishes in 
size and dries up. A hand thus affected 
was called “ a withered hand.” Matt. 
12 : 10-13. 5. Cramp. This was a most 
dreadful disease, caused by the chills 
of the nights. The limbs remain im- 
movably fixed in the same position a's 
when seized by it, and the person 
seems like one suffering torture. It is 
frequently followed in a few days by 
death. Several paralytics were cured by 
Jesus. Matt. 4:24; 8:13, etc. 

Pal'ti (parti) {deliverance by [God]). 


1. The Benjamite spy, son of Raphu. 
Num. 13 : 9. 

2. See Phalti. (b.c. 1490.) 

Pal'ti=el (pal'ti-el) {deliverance by 
God). 1. The son of Azzan and prince 
of the tribe of Issachar. Num. 34:26. 
He was one of the twelve appointed to 
divide the land of Canaan among the 
tribes west of Jordan, (b.c. 1450.) 2. 

See Phaltiel. 

Pal'tite (pal'tite). The. Helez “the 
Paltite ” is named in 2 Sam. 23 : 26 
among David’s mighty men. 

Pamphyl'ia (pam-fil'i-a) {of every 
tribe), one of the coast-regions in the 
south of Asia Minor, having Cilicia on 
the east and Lycia on the west. In St. 
Paul’s time it was not only a regular 
province, but the emperor Claudius had 
united Lycia with it, and perhaps also 
a part of Pisidia. It was in Pamphylia 
that St. Paul first entered Asia Minor, 
after preaching the gospel in Cyprus. 
He and Barnabas sailed up the river 
Cestrus to Perga. Acts 13 : 13. The 
two missionaries finally left Pamphylia 
by its chief seaport, Attalia. Many 
years afterward St. Paul sailed near the 
coast. Acts 27 : 5. 

Pan. Of the words so rendered in 
the Authorized Version, one or two 
seem to imply a shallow pan or plate, 
such as is used by the Bedouins and 
Syrians for baking or dressing rapidly 
their cakes of meal, such as were used 
in legal oblations ; the others, a deeper 
vessel or caldron for boiling meat, 
placed during the process on three 
stones ; or in other cases for ashes. 

Pannag, an article of commerce ex- 
ported from Palestine to Tyre, Ezek. 
27 : 17, the nature of which is a pure 
matter of conjecture, as the term oc- 
curs nowhere else. It is explained by 
some as a sort of pastry, or confection. 

Paper. [Writing.] 

Pa'phos (pa'fos), a town at the west 
end of Cyprus, connected by a road 
with Salamis at the east end. Its foun- 
dation is ascribed to the legendary Kiny- 
ras. Paul and Barnabas traveled, on 
their first missionary expedition, 
“through the isle,” from the latter 
place to the former. Acts 13 : 6. The 
celebrity of the city was due to the 
worship of the “ Paphian goddess ” 
identified by the Greeks with Aphrodite. 
Her temple, however, was at “ Old Pa- 
phos,” now called Kuklia. The harbor 


PAR 


484 


PAR 


and the chief town were at “ New Pa- 
phos,” ten miles to the northwest. The 
place is still called Baffa. 

Parable. The word parable is in 
Greek parabole, which signifies placing 
beside or together, a comparison. A 
parable is therefore literally a placing 
beside, a comparison, a similitude, an 
illustration of one subject by another. — 
As used in the Old Testament it had 
a very wide application, being applied 
sometimes to the shortest proverbs, 1 
Sam. 10:12; 24:13; 2 Chron. 7:20, 
sometimes to dark prophetic utterances, 
Num. 23:7, 18; 24:3; Ezek. 20:49, 
sometimes to enigmatic maxims, Ps. 78 : 
2 ; Prov. 1:6, or metaphors expanded 
into a narrative. Ezek. 12 : 22. In the 
New Testament itself the word is used 
with a like latitude in Matt. 24:32; 
Luke 4 : 23 ; Heb. 9:9. It was often 
used in a more restricted sense to de- 
note a short narrative under which 
some important truth is veiled. Of this 
sort were the parables of Christ. The 
parable differs from the fable (1) in ex- 
cluding brute and inanimate creatures 
passing out of the laws of their nature, 
and speaking or acting like men; (2) in 
its higher ethical significance. It differs 
from the allegory in that the latter, with 
its direct personification of ideas or at- 
tributes, and the names which designate 
them, involves really no comparison. 
The virtues and vices of mankind appear 
as in a drama, in their own character 
and costume. It differs from the apo- 
logue “ in that it deals with events which, 
though fictitious, might reasonably have 
happened in nature.” The allegory is 
self-interpreting; the parable demands 
attention, insight, sometimes an actual 
explanation. It differs from a proverb 
in that it must include a similitude of 
some kind, while the proverb may as- 
sert, without a similitude, some wide 
generalization of experience. Jesus 
used the parabolic form of preaching 
at every period of his teaching ; but 
there came a time when a distinct 
change took place, and a larger place 
was given to parables in his public min- 
istry. The direct teaching was met with 
scorn, unbelief, hardness, and he seemed 
for a time to abandon it for that which 
took the form of parables. The worth 
of parables as instruments of teaching 
lies in their being at once a test of 
character and in their presenting each 
form of character with that which, as a 


penalty or blessing, is adapted to it. 
They withdraw the light from those 
who love darkness. They protect the 
truth which they enshrine from the 
mockery of the scoffer. They leave 
something even with the careless which 
may be interpreted and understood af- 
terward. They reveal, on the other 
hand, the seekers after truth. These 
ask the meaning of the parable, and 
will not rest until the teacher has ex- 
plained it. In this way the parable did 
its work, found out the fit hearers and 
led them on. In most of the parables it 
is possible to trace something like an 
order. 1. There is a group which have 
for their subject the laws of the divine 
kingdom. Under this head we have the 
sower, Matt. 13, Mark 4, Luke 8; the 
wheat and the tares. Matt. 13, etc. 2. 
When the next parables meet us they 
are of a different type and occupy a dif- 
ferent position. They are drawn from 
the life of men rather than from the 
world of nature. They are such as these 
— the two debtors, Luke 7 ; the merciless 
servant, Matt. 18; the good Samaritan, 
Luke 10, etc. 3. Toward the close of 
our Lord’s ministry the parables are 
again theocratic, but the phase of the 
divine kingdom on which they chiefly 
dwell is that of its final consummation. 
In interpreting parables note — (1) The 
analogies must be real, not arbitrary; 
(2) The parables are to be considered 
as parts of a whole, and the interpreta- 
tion of one is not to override or en- 
croach upon the lessons taught by oth- 
ers; (3) The direct teaching of Christ 
presents the standard to which all our 
interpretations are to be referred. See 
Appendix for list of Parables. 

Par'adise. This is a word of Per- 
sian origin, and is used in the Septuagint 
as the translation of Eden. It means 
“ an orchard of pleasure and fruits,” a 
“ garden ” or “ pleasure ground,” some- 
thing like an English park. It is applied 
figuratively to the celestial dwelling of 
the righteous, in allusion to the garden 
of Eden. 2 Cor. 12 : 4 ; Rev. 2:7. It 
has thus come into familiar use to de- 
note both that garden and the heaven of 
the just. 

Pa'rah (pa'rah) {heifer), one of the 
cities in the territory allotted to Benja- 
min, named only in the lists of the con- 
quest. Josh. 18 : 23. Now the ruin 
Farah about 5 miles from Jerusalem. 

Pa'ran (pa'ran), ELpa'ran {place of 


PAR 


485 


PAR 


caverns ), a desert or wilderness, appar- 
ently bounded on the north by Palestine, 
on the east by Edom, and on the south 
by the desert of Sinai. The notices of 
it are however not distinct enough to 
exactly determine its boundaries. The 
first notice of Paran is in connection 
with the invasion of the confederate 
kings. Gen. 14 : 6. The detailed itin- 
erary of the children of Israel in Num. 
33 does not mention Paran because it 
was the name of a wide region; but the 
many stations in Paran are recorded, 
vss. 17-36, and probably all the eighteen 
stations there mentioned between Haze- 
roth and Kadesh were in Paran. 
Through this very wide wilderness, from 
pasture to pasture as do modern Arab 
tribes, the Israelites wandered in irreg- 
ular lines of march. This region 
through which the Israelites journeyed 
so long is now called by the name it 
has borne for ages — Bedu et-Tih, “the 
wilderness of wandering.” “ Mount ” 
Paran occurs only in two poetic pas- 
sages, Deut. 33 : 2 ; Hab. 3:3. It prob- 
ably denotes the northwestern member 
of the Sinaitic mountain group which 
lies adjacent to the Wady Teiran. It 
is probably the ridge or series of ridges 
lying on the northeastern part of the 
desert of Paran, not far from Kadesh. 

Par'bar, a word occurring in Hebrew 
and Authorized Version only in 1 
Chron. 26 : 18. Parbar was probably a 
precinct some where on the west side of 
the temple enclosure, where six gate 
keepers were stationed. It was perhaps 
a colonnade, but contained chambers 
for the officials and stalls for the cattle. 
See 2 Kings 23 : 11, where the same He- 
brew word, used in the plural, is ren- 
dered in the R. V. by “ colonnades.” 
In later Hebrew the word is occasionally 
used of “ suburbs ” and that is the ren- 
dering in the A. V. of 2 Kings 23 : 11. 
But that is not considered the correct 
translation by modern scholars. 

Parchment. [Writing.] 

Parlor, a word in English usage 
meaning the common room of the fam- 
ily, and hence probably in Authorized 
Version denoting the king’s aiidience- 
chamber, so used in reference to Eglon. 
Judges 3 : 20-25. 

Parmash'ta (par-mash'ta) (supe- 
rior), one of the ten sons of Haman 
slain by the Jews in Shushan. Esther 
9 : 9. (b.C. 473.) 

Par'menas (par'me-nas) (faithful), 
one of the seven deacons, “ men of hon- 


est report, full of the Holy Ghost and 
wisdom.” Acts 6 : 5. There is a tradi- 
tion that he suffered martyrdom at 
Philippi in the reign of Trajan. 

Par'nach (par'nak), father or ances- 
tor of Elizaphan prince of the tribe of 
Zebulun. Num. 34:25. 

Pa'rosh (pa'rosh) (ilea). The de- 
scendants of Parosh, in number 2172, 
returned from Babylon with Zerubbabel. 
Ezra 2:3; Neh. 7 : 8. Another detach- 
ment of 150 males, with Zechariah at 
their head, accompanied Ezra. Ezra 8 
3. They assisted in the building of the 
wall of Jerusalem, Neh. 3 : 25, and 
signed the covenant with Nehemiah. 
Neh. 10: 14. 

Parshan'datha (par-shan'da-tha) 
(given by prayer), the eldest of Ha- 
man’s ten sons who were slain by the 
Jews in Shushan. Esther 9:7. (b.c. 

473.) 

Par'thians (par'thi-ans). This name 
occurs only in Acts 2 : 9, where it desig- 
nates Jews settled in Parthia. Parthia 
was a mountainous district situated 
south of the Caspian sea, and nearly 
corresponding with the modern Persian 
province of Khorasan. The ancient 
Parthians are called a “Scythic” race, 
and probably belonged to the great Tu- 
ranian family. After being subject in 
succession to the Persians and the Seleu- 
cidse, they revolted in b.c. 256, and under 
Arsaces succeeded in establishing their 
independence. Parthia, in the mind of 
the writer of the Acts, would designate 
this empire, which extended from India 
to the Tigris and from the Chorasmian 
desert to the shores of the Southern 
Ocean; hence the prominent position of 
the name Parthians in the list of those 
present at Pentecost. Parthia was a 
power almost rivalling Rome — the only 
existing power which had tried its 
strength against Rome and not been 
worsted in the encounter. The Parthian 
dominion lasted for nearly five centuries, 
commencing in the third century before 
and terminating in the third century 
after our era. 

Partridge (Heb. kore) occurs only 1 
Sam. 26:20 and Jer. 17:11. David’s 
comparison of himself to a partridge is 
exactly suited by the Caccabis Chukar 
or red-legged partridge, a larger va- 
riety of the Greek partridge, and the 
Animoperdix Heyii, the sand partridge, 
both of which are common in Pales- 
tine. The Chukar is the most common. 
In every part of the hill country it 


PAR 


486 


PAS 


abounds, .and its ringing call-note in 
early morning echoes from cliff to cliff 
alike amid the barrenness of the hills 
of Judea and in the glens of the forest 



THE GREEK PARTRIDGE. 


of Carmel. The flesh of the partridge 
and the eggs are highly esteemed as 
food, and the search for the eggs at the 
proper time of the year is made a reg- 
ular business. 

Paru'ah (par-u'ah) (flourishing ) , the 
father of Jehoshaphat, Solomon’s com- 
missariat officer in Issachar. 1 Kings 
4: 17. 

Parva'im (par-va'im), the name of 
an unknown place or country whence 
the gold was procured for the decoration 
of Solomon’s temple. 2 Chron. 3 : 6. 
We may notice the conjecture that it is 
derived from the Sanscrit purva, “ east- 
ern,” and is a general term for the east. 

Pa'sach (pa'sach) (divider), son of 
Japhlet, of the tribe of Asher. 1 Chron. 
7: 33. 

Pas=dam'mim (pas-dam'mim). [Ep- 

HES-DAMMIM.] 

Pase'ah (pa-se'ah) (lame). 1. Son 
of Eshton, in an obscure fragment of 
the genealogies of Judah. 1 Chron. 4 : 
12 . 

2. The “ sons of Paseah ” were among 
the Nethinim who returned with Zerub- 
babel. Ezra 2 : 49. 

Pash'ur (pash'ur). 1. One of the 
families of priests of the chief house of 
Malchijah. 1 Chron. 9:12; 24:9; Neh. 
11:12; Jer. 21:1;. 38:1. In the time 
of Nehemiah this family appears to have 
become a chief house, and its head the 
head of a course. Ezra 2:38; Neh. 7: 


41; 10:3. The individual from whom 
the family was named was probably 
Pashur the son of Malchiah, who in the 
reign of Zedekiah was one of the chief 
princes of the court. Jer. 38:1. (b.c. 

607.) He was sent, with others, by 
Zedekiah to Jeremiah at the time when 
Nebuchadnezzar was preparing his at- 
tack upon Jerusalem. Jer. 21. Again, 
somewhat later, Pashur joined with sev- 
eral other chief men in petitioning the 
king that Jeremiah might be put to death 
as a traitor. Jer. 38 : 4. 

2. Another person of this name, also 
a priest, and “ chief governor of the 
house of the Lord,” is mentioned in Jer. 
20 : 1. He is described as “ the son of 
Immer,” 1 Chron. 24 : 14, probably the 
same as Amariah. Neh. 10:3;. 12:2, 
etc. In the reign of Jehoiakim he 
showed himself as hostile to Jeremiah as 
his namesake the son of Malchiah did 
afterward, and ptit him in the stocks by 
the gate of Benjamin. For this indig-' 
nity to God’s prophet Pashur was 
told by Jeremiah that his name was 
changed to Magor-missabib (terror on 
every side), and that he and all his 
house should be carried captives to 
Babylon and there die. Jer. 20 : 1-6. 
Some think these are 4 distinct men. 

Passage. Used in the plural, Jer. 
22 : 20, probably to denote the mountain 
region of Abarim, on the east side of 
Jordan. It also denotes a river ford or 
a mountain gorge or pass. 

Pass'over, the first of the three great 
annual festivals of the Israelites, cele- 
brated in the month Nisan (March- 
April), from the 14th to the 21st. 
Strictly speaking the Passover only ap- 
plied to the paschal supper, and the feast 
of unleavened bread followed, which 
was celebrated to the 21st. (For the 
corresponding dates in our month, see 
Jewish calendar in the Appendix to this 
volume.) The following are the prin- 
cipal passages in the Pentateuch relating 
to the Passover : Ex. 12 : 1-51 ; 13 : 3-10 ; 
23 : 14-19 ; 34 : 18-26 ; Lev. 23 : 4-14 ; 

Num. 9:1-14; 28:16-25; Deut. 16:1-6. 

Why instituted. — This feast was insti- 
tuted by God to commemorate the deliv- 
erance of the Israelites from Egyptian 
bondage and the sparing of their first- 
born when the destroying angel smote 
the first-born of the Egyptians. The de- 
liverance from Egypt was regarded as 
the starting-point of the Hebrew nation. 
The Israelites were then raised from the 


* 


PAS 


487 


PAS 


condition of bondmen under a foreign 
tyrant to that of a free people owing al- 
legiance to no one but Jehovah. The 
prophet in a later age spoke of the event 
as a creation and a redemption of the 
nation. God declares himself to be “ the 
Creator of Israel.” The Exodus was 
thus looked upon as the birth of the na- 
tion; the Passover was its annual birth- 
day feast. It was the yearly memorial 
of the dedication of the people to him 
who had saved their first-born from the 
destroyer, in order that they might be 
made holy to himself. 

First celebration of the Passover. — On 
the tenth day of the month, the head of 
each family was to select from the flock 
either a lamb or a kid, a male of the 
first year, without blemish. If his fam- 
ily was too small to eat the whole of the 
lamb, he was permitted to invite his 
nearest neighbor to join the party. On 
the fourteenth day of the month he was 
to kill his lamb, while the sun was set- 
ting. He was then to take blood in a 
basin, and with a sprig of hyssop to 
sprinkle it on the two side-posts and the 
lintel of the door of the house. The 
lamb was then thoroughly roasted, 
whole. It was expressly forbidden that 
it should be boiled, or that a bone of it 
should be broken. Unleavened bread 
and bitter herbs were to be eaten with 
the flesh. No male who was uncircum- 
cised was to join the company. Each 
one was to have his loins girt, to hold 
a staff in his hand, and to have shoes 
on his feet. He was to eat in haste, 
and it would seem that he was to stand 
during the meal. The number of the 
party was to be calculated as nearly as 
possible, so that all the flesh of the lamb 
might be eaten; but if any portion of it 
happened to remain, it was to be burned 
in the morning. No morsel of it was 
to be carried out of the house. The 
lambs were selected, on the fourteenth 
they were slain and the blood sprinkled, 
and in the following evening, after the 
fifteenth day of the month had com- 
menced, the first paschal meal was eaten. 
At midnight the first-born of the Egyp- 
tians were smitten. The king and his 
people were now urgent that the Israel- 
ites should start immediately, and read- 
ily bestowed on them supplies for the 
journey. In such haste did the Israel- 
ites depart, on that very day, Num. 33 : 
3, that they packed up their kneading- 
troughs containing the dough prepared 


for the morrow’s provisions, which was 
not yet leavened. 

Observance of the Passover in later 
times. — As the original institution of the 
Passover in Egypt preceded the estab- 
lishment of the priesthood and the reg- 
ulation of the service of the tabernacle, 
it necessarily fell short in several par- 
ticulars of the observance of the festival 
according to the fully-developed cere- 
monial law. The head of the family 
slew the lamb in his own house, not in 
the holy place ; the blood was sprinkled 
on the doorway, not on the altar. But 
when the law was perfected, certain 
particulars were altered in order to as- 
similate the Passover to the accustomed 
order of religious service. In the 
twelfth and thirteenth chapters of Ex- 
odus there are not only distinct refer- 
ences to the observance of the festival 
in future ages ( e . g. 12:2, 14, 17, 24-27, 
42; 13: 2, 5, 8-10), but there are several 
injunctions which were evidently not in- 
tended for the first Passover, and which 
indeed could not possibly have been ob- 
served. Besides the private family fes- 
tival, there were public and national sac- 
rifices offered each of the seven days of 
unleavened bread. Num. 28 : 19. On 
the second day also the first-fruits of 
the barley harvest were offered in the 
temple. Lev. 23 : 10. In the later no- 
tices of the festival in the books of the 
law there are particulars added which 
appear as modifications of the original 
institution. Lev. 23:10-14; Num. 28: 
16-25 ; Deut. 16 : 1-6. Hence it is not 
without reason that the Jewish writers 
have laid great stress on the distinction 
between “the Egyptian Passover” and 
“ the perpetual Passover.” 

Mode and order of the paschal meal . — 
All work except that belonging to a few 
trades connected with daily life was sus- 
pended for some hours before the even- 
ing of the 14th Nisan. It was not lawful 
to eat any ordinary food after midday. 
No male was admitted to the table unless 
he was circumcised, even if he were of 
the seed of Israel. Ex. 12 : 48. It was 
customary for the number of a party to 
be not less than ten. They were organ- 
ized indiscriminately and the number 
fixed beforehand. When the meal was 
prepared, the family was placed round 
the table, the head of the family taking 
a place of honor, probably somewhat 
raised above the rest. When the party 
was arranged the first cup of wine was 


PAS 


488 


PAT 


filled, and a blessing was asked by the 
head of the family on the feast, as well 
as a special one on the cup. The bitter 
herbs were then placed on the table, and 
a portion of them eaten, either with or 
without the sauce. The unleavened 
bread was handed round next, and after- 
ward the lamb was placed on the table 
in front of the head of the family. 
The paschal lamb could be legally slain 
and the blood and fat offered only in 
the national sanctuary. Deut. 16 : 2. 
Before the lamb was eaten the second 
cup of wine was filled, and the son, in 
accordance with Ex. 12 : 26, asked his 
father the meaning of the feast. In 
reply, an account was given of the suf- 
ferings of the Israelites in Egypt and 
of their deliverance, with a particular 
explanation of Deut. 26:5, and the first 
part of the Hallel (a contraction from 
Hallelujah), Ps. 113, 114, was sung. 
This being gone through, the lamb was 
carved and eaten. The third cup of 
wine was poured out and drunk, and 
the fourth followed the second part of 
the Hallel, Ps. 115 to 118. The Israel- 
ites who lived in the country appear to 
have been accommodated at the feast by 
the inhabitants of Jerusalem in their 
houses, so far as there was room for 
them. Matt. 26 : 18 ; Luke 22 : 10-12. 
Those who could not be received into 
the city encamped without the walls in 
tents, as the pilgrims now do at Mecca. 

The Passover as a type . — The Pass- 
over was not only commemorative but 
also typical. “ The deliverance which it 
commemorated was a type of the great 
salvation it foretold.” No other shadow 
of good things to come contained in the 
law can vie with the festival of the 
Passover in expressiveness and com- 
pleteness. (1) The paschal lamb must 
of course be regarded as the leading 
feature in the ceremonial of the festi- 
val. The lamb slain typified Christ the 
“ Lamb of God,” slain for the sins of 
the world. Christ “ our Passover is 
sacrificed for us.” 1 Cor. 5 : 7. (2) 

The unleavened bread ranks next in 
importance to the paschal lamb. The 
bread of the first passover was un- 
leavened, and having no leaven in their 
houses the dough carried away in their 
hurried flight was unleavened. Hence- 
forth unleavened bread was associated 
in their minds with the hurried flight 
from Egypt as well as the thought of 
sincerity and truth, which was the es- 


sential idea. (3) The offering of the 
omer or first sheaf of the harvest, Lev. 
23 : 10-14, signified deliverance from 
winter, the bondage of Egypt being well 
considered as a winter in the history of 
the nation. (4) The consecration of the 
first-fruits, the first-born of the soil, is 
an easy type of the consecration of the 
first-born of the Israelites, and of our 
own best selves, to God. Further than 
this (1) the Passover is a type of de- 
liverance from the slavery of sin. (2) 
It is the passing over of the doom we 
deserve for our sins, because the blood 
of Christ has been applied to us by faith. 

(3) The sprinkling of the blood upon 
the door-posts was a symbol of open 
confession of our allegiance and love. 

(4) The Passover was useless unless 
eaten; so we live upon the Lord Jesus 
Christ. (5) It was eaten with bitter 
herbs, as we must eat our passover with 
the bitter herbs of repentance and con- 
fession, which yet, like the bitter herbs 
of the Passover, are a fitting and natural 
accompaniment. (6) As the Israelites 
ate the Passover all prepared for the 
journey, so do we with a readiness and 
desire to enter the active service of 
Christ, and to go on the journey toward 
heaven. 

Pat'ara (pat'a-ra), a city situated on 
the southwestern shore of Lycia, not 
far from the left bank of the river Xan- 
thus. The coast here is very moun- 
tainous and bold. Immediately opposite 
is the island of Rhodes. Patara was 
practically the seaport of the city of 
Xanthus, which was ten miles distant. 
These notices of its position and mari- 
time importance introduce us to the sin- 
gle mention of the place in the Bible — 
Acts 21 : 1, 2. 

Path'ros (path'ros) ( region of the 
south), a part of Egypt, and a Mizraite 
tribe whose people were called Pathru- 
sim. In the list of the Mizraites the 
Pathrusim occur after the Naphtuhim 
and before the Casluhim ; the latter be- 
ing followed by the notice of the Phi- 
listines and by the Caphtorim. Gen. 
10:13, 14; 1 Chron. 1:12. Pathros is 
mentioned in the prophecies of Isaiah, 
Isa. 11:11, Jeremiah, Jer. 44:1, 15, and 
Ezekiel. Ezek. 29 : 14 ; 30 : 13-18. It 

was probably part or all of upper Egypt, 
and we may trace its name in the Pathy- 
rite nome, in which Thebes was situated. 

Pathru'sim (path-ru'sim) (people of 
Pathros. [ Pathros. ] 


PAT 


489 


PAU 


Pat'mos (pat'mos) ? Rev. 1 : 9, a rug- 
ged and bare island in the yEgean Sea 
off the coast of Asia Minor, and 30 
miles south of Samos and 24 west of 
Asia Minor. It was the scene of the 
banishment of St. John in the reign of 
Domitian, a.d. 95! Patmos is divided 
into two nearly equal parts, a northern 
and a southern, by a very narrow isth- 
mus, where, on the east side, are the 
harbor and the town. On the hill to the 
south, crowning a commanding height, 
is the celebrated monastery which bears 
the name of “John the Divine.” Half- 
way up the ascent is the cave or grotto 
where tradition says that St. John re- 
ceived the Revelation. 

Patriarch ( father of a tribe), the 
name given to the head of a family or 
tribe in Old Testament times. In com- 
mon usage the title of patriarch is as- 
signed especially to those whose lives are 
recorded in Scripture previous to the 
time of Moses, as Adam, Abraham, Isaac 
and Jacob. In the early history of the 
Hebrews we find the patriarchal or pa- 
ternal form of government, the founder 
of the tribe possessing authority over 
his children and his children’s children 
so long as he lived, whatever new con- 
nections they might form. When the 
father died the power descended to 
his eldest son, or the eldest lineal 
male descendant. He was honored as 
the central point of connection, and as 
the representative of the whole kin- 
dred. The head of each several family 
into which the increasing tribe expanded 
held authority over his dependents, un- 
der the head of the entire tribe. After 
the destruction of Jerusalem, patriarch 
was the title of the chief religious rulers 
of the Jews in Asia; and in early Chris- 
tian times it became the designation of 
the bishops of Rome, Constantinople, 
Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem. 

Pat'robas (pat'ro-bas), a Christian at 
Rome to whom St. Paul sends his salu- 
tation. Rom. 16 : 14. Like many other 
names mentioned in Rom. 16, this was 
borne by at least one member of the 
emperor’s household. Suet. Galba. 20 ; 
Martial, Ep. ii. 32, 3. (a.d. 57.) 

Pau (pa'u) ( bleating ) (but in 1 
Chron. 1 : 50, Pai), the capital of Hadar 
king of Edom. Gen. 36 : 39. Its posi- 
tion is unknown. 

Paul {small, little). Nearly all the 
original materials for the life of St. 
Paul are contained in the Acts of the 


Apostles and in the Pauline epistles. 
Paul was born in Tarsus, a city of 
Cilicia, very likely about b.c. 1. His 
Jewish name was Saul, and his Latin 
name, to which as a Roman citizen he 
was entitled, was Paul. The latter was 
exclusively used after he became the 
apostle to the Gentiles. Of his parents 
we know nothing, except that his father 
was of the tribe of Benjamin, Philip. 
3 : 5, and a Pharisee, Acts 23 : 6 ; that 
he had acquired by some means the 
Roman franchise (“ I was free born,” 
Acts 22:28), and that he was settled in 
Tarsus. At Tarsus Paul must have 
learned to use the Greek language with 
freedom and mastery in both speaking 
and writing. He was sent to Jerusalem 
for his education, “ at the feet of Ga- 
maliel,” one of the most eminent of all 
the doctors of the law. Saul was yet 
“ a young man,” Acts 7 : 58, at Ste- 
phen’s martyrdom. Among those who 
disputed with Stephen were some “ of 
them of Cilicia.” We naturally think of 
Saul as having been one of these, when 
we find him afterward keeping the 
clothes of those who stoned Stephen. 

Saul’s conversion, a.d. 36. — The per- 
secutor was to be converted. Having 
undertaken to follow up the believers 
“ unto strange cities,” Saul naturally 
turned his thoughts to Damascus. What 
befell him as he journeyed thither is re- 
lated in detail three times in the Acts, 
first by the historian in his own person, 
then in the two addresses made by St. 
Paul at Jerusalem and before Agrippa. 
The sudden light from heaven ; the 
voice of Jesus speaking with authority 
to his persecutor; Saul struck to the 
ground, blinded, overcome ; the three- 
days suspense; the coming of Ananias 
as a messenger of the Lord, and Saul’s 
baptism, were the leading features of 
the great event. It was in Damascus 
that he was received into the church by 
Ananias, and here, to the astonishment 
of all his hearers, he proclaimed Jesus 
in the synagogues, declaring him to be 
the Son of God. The narrative in the 
Acts tells us simply that he was occupied 
in this work, with increasing vigor, for 
“ many days,” up to the time when im- 
minent danger drove him from Damas- 
cus. From the Epistle to the Galatians, 
Gal. 1 : 17, 18, we learn that Saul went 
after his conversion into Arabia, and re- 
turned from thence to Damascus. We 
know nothing whatever of this visit to 


PAU 


490 


PAU 


Arabia; but upon his departure from 
Damascus we are again upon historical 
ground, and have the double evidence 
of St. Luke in the Acts and of the 
apostle in his Second Epistle to the 
Corinthians. According to the former, 
the Jews lay in wait for Saul, intending 
to kill him, and watched the gates of 
the city that he might not escape from 
them. Knowing this, the disciples took 
him by night and let him down in a 
basket from the wall. Having escaped 
from Damascus, Saul betook himself to 
Jerusalem (a.d. 38), and there “assayed 
to join himself to the disciples; but they 
were all afraid of him, and believed not 
that he was a disciple.” Barnabas’ in- 
troduction removed the fears of the 
apostles, and Saul “ was with them 
coming in and going out at Jerusalem.” 
But it is not strange that the former 
persecutor was soon singled out from 
the other believers as the object of a 
murderous hostility. He, therefore, be- 
took himself to his native city, Tarsus. 
Later (perhaps 43 a.d.) Barnabas was 
sent on a special mission to Antioch. 
As the work grew under his hands, he 
felt the need of help, went himself to 
Tarsus to seek Saul, and succeeded in 
bringing him to Antioch. There they 
labored together unremittingly for “ a 
whole year.” All this time Saul was 
subordinate to Barnabas. In b.c. 44 the 
Holy Ghost spoke to the leaders of the 
church : “ Separate me Barnabas and 

Saul for the work whereunto I have 
called them.” So after fasting and 
prayer they laid their hands on them, 
and so they departed. 

The -first missionary journey, a.d. 47- 
49. — Barnabas and Saul began their work 
in Cyprus, “to Jews only.” After going 
through the island, from Salamis to 
Paphos, they preached in the latter place 
to the Proconsul, Sergius Paulus, who 
was converted. Here comes the incident 
of Elymas. Saul here began to use his 
Gentile name Paul, and began to take 
precedence of Barnabas. From Paphos 
“Paul and his company” set sail for 
the mainland, and arrived at Perga in 
Pamphylia. Here the heart of their 
companion John failed him, and he re- 
turned to Jerusalem. From Perga they 
traveled to Antioch in Pisidia. Re- 
jected by the Jews, they turned from 
them to the Gentiles. At Antioch now, 
as in every city afterward,' the unbe- 
lieving Jews used their influence with 


their own adherents among the Gentiles 
to persuade the authorities or the pop- 
ulace to persecute the apostles and to 
drive them from the place. Paul and 
Barnabas now traveled to Iconium, 
where the occurrences at Antioch were 
repeated, and from thence to the Lyca- 
onian country which contained the cit- 
ies Lystra and Derbe. At Lystra the 
healing of a cripple took place, on which 
account the people took the apostles for 
gods, calling Barnabas, who was of the 
more imposing presence, Jupiter, and 
Paul, who was the chief speaker, Mer- 
curius. Although the people of Lystra 
had been so ready to worship Paul and 
Barnabas, the repulse of their idolatrous 
instincts appears to have provoked them, 
and they allowed themselves to be per- 
suaded into hostility by Jews who came 
from Antioch and Iconium, so that they 
attacked Paul with stones, and thought 
they had killed him. He recovered, 
however, as the disciples were standing 
around him, and went again into the 
city. The next day he left it with Bar- 
nabas, and went to Derbe, and thence 
they returned once more to Lystra, and 
so to Iconium and Antioch, appointing 
“ elders ” in every church. Then they 
came down to the coast, and from At- 
talia they sailed home to Antioch in 
Syria, where they related the successes 
which had been granted to them, and 
especially the “ opening of the door of 
faith to the Gentiles.” 

The council at Jerusalem. — Upon that 
missionary journey follows most natu- 
rally the next important scene which 
the historian sets before us — the council 
held at Jerusalem to determine the re- 
lations of Gentile believers to the law of 
Moses. Acts 15 : 1-29 ; Gal. 2. 

Second missionary journey, a.d. 50- 
52. At the beginning of the next jour- 
ney came the memorable difference of 
opinion between Paul and Barnabas, 
Acts 15 : 35-40. Barnabas and Mark 
went to Cyprus. Paul with a new com- 
panion Silas went through Syria and 
Cilicia, visiting the churches, and so 
came to Derbe and Lystra. Here they 
find Timotheus, who had become a dis- 
ciple on the former visit of the apostle. 
Him St. Paul took and circumcised. 
After some time in Galatia he was “ for- 
bidden ” to preach in Asia — so passed 
by portions they would otherwise have 
visited and came down to Troas. St. 
Paul saw in a vision a man of Mace- 


PAU 


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donia, who besought him, saying, “ Come 
over into Macedonia and help us.” The 
party, therefore, probably joined by 
Luke (“we”) immediately set sail from 
Troas, touched at Samothrace, then 
landed on the continent at Neapolis, and 
thence journeyed to Philippi. The first 
convert in Macedonia was Lydia, an 


ing the magistrates sent word to the 
prison that the men might be let go ; 
but Paul held out for their rights as 
Roman citizens. The magistrates, in 
great alarm, saw the necessity of hum- 
bling themselves. They came and begged 
them to leave the city. Paul and Silas 
consented to do so, and, after pay- 



TRADITIONAL PORTRAITS OF PETER AND PAUL. 

These portraits are copied, same size as the original, from the bottom of a gilded glass cup 
found in the catacombs of St. Sebastian at Rome. The earliest interments by the: Christians 
in the Roman catacombs included, besides Christian symbols, some objects of pagan regard. 
This having been the case in the section in which the glass cup bearing the group of the 
Saviour, Paul and Peter was discovered, it seems conclusive that the age was probably the 
fourth, if not the third, gentury. The absence of the nimbus (glory or circle)* about the 
heads of Peter and Paul, and its presence around the Saviour’s, may indicate the third cen- 
tury or early in the fourth; for the nimbus was generally used around the heads of all 
saints and divine persons in the latter part of the fourth century. Tertullian speaks of glass 
cups as used in sacramental services, as also does Eusebius. In this picture the Saviour is 
represented as presenting a crown of life to the apostles; the inscription is a prayer of the 
friends of the dead, who was laid in the tomb in the faith of. Christ, and may be paraphrased, 
“ Friendship’s blessing; may you live forever with thy (Saviour).” 


Asiatic woman, at Philippi. Acts 16 : 
13 , 14 . At Philippi Paul and Silas were 
arrested, beaten and put in prison, hav- 
ing cast out the spirit of divination 
from a female slave who had brought 
her masters much gain by her power. 
The narrative tells of the earthquake, 
the jailer’s terror, his conversion and 
baptism. Acts 16 : 26 - 34 . In the morn- 


ing a visit to “ the brethren ” in the 
house of Lydia, they departed. Leaving 
St. Luke at Philippi, Paul and Silas 
traveled through Amphipolis and Apol- 
lonia, and stopped again at Thessalo- 
nica. Here again, as in Pisidian An- 
tioch, the envy of the Jews was excited, 
and the mob assaulted the house of 
Jason, with whom Paul and Silas were 


PAU 


492 


PAU 


staying as guests, and, not finding 
them, dragged Jason himself and some 
other brethren before the magistrates. 
After these signs of danger the brethren 
immediately sent away Paul and Silas 
by night. They next came to Berea. 
Here they found the Jews more noble 
than those at Thessalonica had been. 
Accordingly they gained many converts, 
both Jews and Greeks; but the Jews of 
Thessalonica, hearing of it, sent emis- 
saries to stir up the people, and it was 
thought best that Paul should himself 
leave the city. Some of the brethren 
went with him as far as Athens. Here 
the apostle delivered that wonderful dis- 
course reported in Acts 17 : 22-31. He 
gained but few converts at Athens, and 
soon took his departure and went to 
Corinth, where he became acquainted 
with Aquila and Priscilla, and where 
Silas and Timothy joined him. The 
two epistles to the Thessalonians — and 
these alone — belong to the present mis- 
sionary journey. They were written 
from Corinth a.d. 51, 52. The Jews of 
Corinth accused Paul to the proconsul 
Gallio of being an innovator in. religion. 
But Gallio perceived at once, before 
Paul could “ open his mouth ” to de- 
fend himself, that the movement was 
due to Jewish prejudice, and refused to 
go into the question. Then a singular 
scene occurred. The Corinthian spec- 
tators, either favoring Paul or actuated 
only by anger against the Jews, seized 
on the principal person of those who had 
brought the charge, and beat him before 
the judgment-seat. Gallio left these re- 
ligious quarrels to settle themselves. 
The apostle, therefore, was not allowed 
to be “ hurt/’ and remained some time 
longer at Corinth unmolested, and ac- 
complished a good work. In a.d. 52, 
he left for Jerusalem, wishing to attend 
a festival there. From Jerusalem the 
apostle went almost immediately down 
to Antioch, thus returning to the same 
place from which he had started with 
Silas. 

Third missionary journey, including 
the stay at Ephesus, a.d. 53-57. Acts 
18 : 23-21 : 17. — St. Paul “ spent some 
time ” at Antioch, and during this stay, 
as we are inclined to believe, his col- 
lision with St. Peter, Gal. 2 : 11-14, took 
place. When he left Antioch, he “ went 
over all the country of Galatia and 
Phrygia in order, strengthening all the 
disciples,” and giving orders concerning 


the collection for the saints. 1 Cor. 16: 
1. From the upper districts of Phrygia 
he came down to Ephesus. Here he en- 
tered upon his usual work preaching 
three months in the synagogue, and for 
two years thereafter in “ the school of 
Tyrannus,” probably a lecture hall. 
During this time many things occurred 
of which the historian of the Acts 
chooses two examples, the triumph over 
magical arts and the great disturbance 
raised by the silversmiths who made 
shrines for Diana — among which we are 
to note / further the writing of the First 
Epistle to the Corinthians, probably in 
the spring of a.d. 57. He sent Titus 
to Corinth to see and report the con- 
dition of affairs there. On his return 
with good news Paul wrote the second 
Epistle to the Corinthians, in the au- 
tumn of the same year, and sent it 
by the hands of Titus and two other 
brethren. After writing this epistle, St. 
Paul traveled through Macedonia, per- 
haps to the borders of Illyricum, Rom. 
15 : 19, and then went to Corinth. 
While in Greece Paul wrote the Epis- 
tle to the Galatians, and that to the 
Romans, both in the autumn of a.d. 57. 
The writing of Romans at Corinth has 
never been doubted, being confirmed 
from passages in the letter itself. Paul 
now starts on his last journey to Jeru- 
salem, intending to go by sea. But he 
was made aware of some plot of the 
Jews for his destruction, to be carried 
out through this voyage ; so he changed 
his route. Several brethren were asso- 
ciated with him in this expedition, the 
bearers, no doubt, of the collections 
made in all the churches for the poor 
at Jerusalem. These were sent on by 
sea, and probably the money with them, 
to Troas, where they were to await Paul. 
He went round by way of Philippi, where 
Luke joined him, to Troas where 
the incident of Eutychus occurred, and 
thence to Assos. At Assos he went on 
board again. At Miletus, there was 
time to send to Ephesus, and the elders 
of the church were invited to come 
down to him there. At Tyre Paul and 
his company spent seven days. From 
Tyre they sailed to Ptolemais, where 
they spent one day, and from Ptolemais 
proceeded, apparently by land, to Caes- 
area. They now “ tarried many days ” 
at Caesarea. During this interval the 
prophet Agabus, Acts 11 : 28, came down 
from Jerusalem, and crowned the pre- 


PAU 


493 


PAU 


vious intimations of danger with a pre- 
diction expressively delivered. At this 
stage a final effort was made to dis- 
suade Paul from going up to Jerusalem, 
by the Christians of Caesarea and by his 
traveling companions. After a while they 
went up to Jerusalem and were gladly 
received by the brethren. This is St. 
Paul’s fifth and last visit to Jerusalem. 

St. Paul’s imprisonment: Jerusalem. 
Spring, a.d. 57. — Paul’s preaching to the 
Gentiles had made him especially ob- 
noxious to the Jewish leaders. He was 
now approaching a crisis in the long 
struggle, and the shadow of it has been 
made to rest upon his mind throughout 
his journey to Jerusalem. He came 
“ ready to die for the name of the 
Lord Jesus,” but he came expressly to 
prove himself a faithful Jew, and this 
purpose is shown at every point of the 
history. Certain Jews from “Asia,” 
who had come up for the pentecostal 
feast, and who had a personal knowl- 
edge of Paul, saw him in the temple. 
They set upon him at once, and stirred 
up the people against him. There was 
instantly a great commotion ; Paul was 
dragged out of the temple, the doors of 
which were immediately shut, and the 
people, having him in their hands, were 
proposing to kill him. Paul was res- 
cued from the violence of the multitude 
by the Roman officer, who made him 
his own prisoner, causing him to be 
chained to two soldiers, and then pro- 
ceeded to inquire who he was and what 
he had done. The inquiry only elicited 
confused outcries, and the “ chief cap- 
tain ” seems to have imagined him a 
certain Egyptian pretender who had re- 
cently stirred up a considerable rising 
of the people. The account in Acts, 
21 : 34-40, tells us with graphic touches 
how St. Paul obtained leave and oppor- 
tunity to address the people in a dis- 
course which is related at length. Un- 
til the hated word of a mission to the 
Gentiles had been spoken, the Jews had 
listened to the speaker. “ Away with 
such a fellow from the earth,” the mul- 
titude now shouted ; “ it is not fit that 
he should live.” The Roman comman- 
der, seeing the tumult that arose, might 
well conclude that St. Paul had com- 
mitted some heinous offence; and car- 
rying him off, he gave orders that he 
should be forced by scourging to con- 
fess his crime. Again the apostle took 
advantage of his Roman citizenship to 


protect himself from such an outrage. 
The chief captain set him free from 
bonds, but on the next day called to- 
gether the chief priests and the Sanhe- 
drin, and brought Paul as a prisoner 
before them. When a plot of more than 
forty of the Jews who had bound them- 
selves under a curse neither to eat nor 
drink until they had killed Paul was 
discovered, St. Paul was hurried away 
from Jerusalem. The chief captain, 
Claudius Lysias, determined to send 
him to Caesarea to Felix, the governor 
or procurator of Judea. He therefore 
put him in charge of a strong guard 
of soldiers, who took him by night as 
far as Antipatris. From thence a 
smaller detachment conveyed him to 
Caesarea, where they delivered up their 
prisoner into the hands of the gov- 
ernor. 

Imprisonment at Ccesarea. a.d. 58-59. 
— St. Paul was henceforth, to the end of 
the period embraced in the Acts, if not 
to the end of his life, in Roman cus- 
tody. This custody was in fact a pro- 
tection to him, without which he would 
have fallen a victim to the animosity of 
the Jews. He seems to have been 
treated throughout with humanity and 
consideration. The governor before 
whom he was now to be tried, accord- 
ing to Tacitus and Josephus, was a 
mean and dissolute tyrant. After hear- 
ing St. Paul’s accusers and the apostle’s 
defence, Felix made an excuse for put- 
ting off the matter, and gave orders 
that the prisoner should be treated with 
indulgence, and that his friends should 
be allowed free access to him. After a 
while he heard him again. St. Paul re- 
mained in custody until Felix left the 
province. The unprincipled governor 
had good reason to seek to ingratiate 
himself with the Jews; and to please 
them, he handed over Paul, as an un- 
tried prisoner, to his successor, Festus. 
Upon his arrival in the province, Festus 
went up without delay from Caesarea 
to Jerusalem, and the leading Jews 
seized the opportunity of asking that 
Paul might be brought up there for 
trial, intending to assassinate him by 
the way. But Festus would not com- 
ply with their request. He invited them 
to follow him on his speedy return to 
Caesarea, and a trial took place there, 
closely resembling that before Felix. 
The proposal that he should go to Je- 
rusalem for trial was the occasion of 


PAU 


494 


PAU 


St. Paul’s appeal to Caesar. The appeal 
having been allowed, Festus took ad- 
vantage of an opportunity which offered 
itself in a few days to seek some help 
as to the report to be sent with him. 
The Jewish prince Agrippa arrived with 
his sister Berenice on a visit to the 
new governor, and Agrippa expressed 
a desire to hear Paul himself. Accord- 
ingly Paul conducted his defence before 
the king ; and when it was concluded 
Festus and Agrippa, and their com- 
panions, consulted together, and came 
to the conclusion that the 
accused was guilty of 
nothing that deserved 
death or imprisonment. 

And Agrippa’s final answer 
to the inquiry of Festus was, 

“ This man might have been 
set at liberty, if he had not 
appealed unto Caesar.” 

The voyage to Rome and 
shipwreck. Autumn, a.d. 

59-60. “ Paul and certain 

other prisoners,” were sent 
i n t h e custody o f a cen- 
turion named Julius, into 
Italy, and amongst the 
company whether by favor 
or from any other reason, 
we find Luke, who in chap- 
ters 27 and 28 gives a 
graphic description o f the 
voyage to Rome and the 
shipwreck on the island of 
Melita o r Malta. After a 
three-months stay in Malta 
the soldiers and their pris- 
oners left in an Alexan- 
drian ship for Italy. A t 
Puteoli they found “ breth- 
ren,” for it was an impor- 
tant place, and especially 
a chief port for the traffic 

between Alexandria and 

Rome; and by these brethren they were 
exhorted to stay a while with them. 
Permission seems to have been granted 
by the centurion ; and whilst they were 
spending seven days at Puteoli news 

of the apostle’s arrival was sent to 
Rome. (Spring, a.d. 60.) 

First imprisonment of St. Paul at 
Rome. a.d. 60-62. — On their arrival at 
Rome the centurion delivered up his 

prisoners into the proper custody, that 
of the praetorian prefect. Paul was at 
once treated with special consideration, 
and was allowed to dwell by himself 


with the soldier who guarded him. He 
was now therefore free “ to preach the 
gospel to them that were at Rome also ;” 
and proceeded without delay to act upon 
his rule — “to the Jews first.” But as of 
old, the reception of his message by the 
Jews was not favorable. He turned, 
therefore, again to the Gentiles, and for 
two years he dwelt in his own hired 
house. These are the last words of the 
Acts. 

Period of the later epistles. — To the 
imprisonment belongs the group of let- 



THE APPIAN WAY. 

St. Paul probably took this rodd on his journey to Rome. 

ters to Philemon, to the Colossians, to 
the Ephesians and to the Philippians: 
According to the general opinion the 
apostle was liberated from imprison- 
ment at the end of two years, having 
been acquitted by Nero a.d. 63, and left 
Rome. He spent some time in visits to 
Macedonia, Greece, Asia Minor and 
Spain, and during the latter part of this 
time wrote the letters to Timothy and 
Titus from Macedonia. After these 
were written he was apprehended again 
and sent to Rome. 

Second imprisonment at Rome. a.d. 



PAV 


495 


PED 


66-67. — The apostle appears now to 
have been treated not as an honorable 
state prisoner, but as a felon, 2 Tim. 
2:9; but he was allowed to write the 
second letter to Timothy, a.d. 67. For 
what remains we have the concurrent 
testimony of ecclesiastical antiquity that 
he was beheaded at Rome, by Nero, in 
the great persecutions of the Christians 
by that emperor, a.d. 67 or 68. 

Pavement. [Gabbatha.] 

Pavilion, a temporary movable tent 
or habitation. 1 . Sok, properly an en- 
closed place, also rendered “ tabernacle/’ 
“ covert ” and “ den once only “ pavil- 
ion.” Ps. 27 : 5. Among the Egyptians 
pavilions were built in a similar style to 
houses, though on a smaller scale, in 
various parts of the country, and in the 
foreign districts through which the 
Egyptian armies passed, for the use of 
the king. 2. Sukkah, usually “ taber- 
nacle ” and “ booth.” 3. Shaphrur, a 
word used once only, in Jer. 43:10, to 
signify glory or splendor, and hence 
probably to be understood of the splen- 
did covering of the royal throne. R. V. 
“ glittering pavilion.” 

Peacocks (Heb. tukkiyyim) . Among 
the natural products which Solomon’s 



THE PEACOCK. 


fleet brought home to Jerusalem, men- 
tion is made of “ peacocks,” 1 Kings 10 : 
22 ; 2 Chron. 9 : 21, which is probably 
the correct translation. The Hebrew 
word may be traced to the Tamul or 
Malabaric togei, . “ peacock.” 


Pearl (Heb. gabish). The Hebrew 
word in Job 28:18 probably means 
“ crystal.” Pearls, however, are fre- 
quently mentioned in the -New Testa- 
ment, Matt. 13 : 45 ; 1 Tim. 2:9; Rev. 
17 : 4 ; 21 : 21, and were considered by the 
ancients among the most precious of 
gems, and were highly esteemed as or- 



PEARL OYSTER. 


naments. The kingdom of heaven is 
compared to a “ pearl of great price.” 
In Matt. 7 : 6 pearls are used metaphori- 
cally for anything of value, or perhaps 
more especially for “ wise sayings.” 
The finest specimens of the pearl are 
yielded by the pearl oyster ( Avicula 
margaritifera) , still found in abundance 
in the Persian Gulf and near the coasts 
of Ceylon, Java and Sumatra. The 
oysters grow in clusters on rocks in 
deep water, and the pearl is found in- 
side the shell, and is the result of a 
diseased secretion caused by the intro- 
duction of foreign bodies, as sand, etc., 
between the mantle and the shell. They 
are obtained by divers trained to the 
business. In the pearl fisheries of Cey- 
lon and Coromandel March or April is 
the time for pearl fishing. A single 
shell may contain from eight to twenty 
pearls. The size of a good Oriental 
pearl varies from that of a pea to 
about three times that size. 

Ped'ahel (ped'a-hel) {God hath 
saved), the son of Ammihud, and prince 
of the tribe of Naphtali. Num. 34:28. 

Pedah'zur (pe-dah'zur) {the rock) 
(i. e. God hath saved), father of Ga- 
maliel, the chief of the tribe of Manas- 
seh at the time of the Exodus. Num. 
1: 10; 2:20; 7:54, 59; 10: 23. 

Peda'iah (pe-da'yah) {Jehovah has 
redeemed) . 1 . The father of Zebudah, 


PEK 


496 


PEL 


mother of King Jehoiakim. 2 Kings 23 : 
36. 

2. The brother of Salathiel or Sheal- 
tiel. 1 Chron. 3 : 17-19. In 1 Chron. 3 : 
19 he is named as father of Zerubbabel, 
who is usually called the “ son of 
Shealtiel.” Probably he was legal son 
of Shealtiel, though son of Pedaiah, by 
Levirate marriage, in consequence of 
the failure of issue in the direct line. 

3. Son of Parosh, that is, one of the 

family of that name, who assisted Ne- 
hemiah in repairing the walls of Jeru- 
salem. Neh. 3:25. (b.c. about 446.) 

4. Apparently a priest; one of those 

who stood on the left hand o-f Ezra 
when he read the law to the people. 
Neh. 8:4. (b.c. 445.) 

5. A Benjamite, ancestor of Sallu. 
Neh. 11: 7. 

6. A Levite in the time of Nehemiah, 
Neh. 13 : 13. 

7. The father of Joel, prince of the 
half tribe of Manasseh in the reign of 
David. 1 Chron. 27 : 20. 

Pe'kah (pe'kah) (open-eyed) , son of 
Remaliah, originally a captain of Peka- 
hiah, king of Israel, murdered his mas- 
ter, seized the throne, and became the 
18th sovereign of the northern kingdom, 
b.c. 736-729. Under his predecessors 
Israel had been much weakened through 
the payment of enormous tribute to the 
Assyrians (see especially 2 Kings 15: 
20), and by internal wars and conspira- 
cies. Pekah seems to have steadily ap- 
plied himself to the restoration of its 
power. Judah, now under Jotham, may 
have been asked to join, but no men- 
tion is made of the fact. Either by 
original intention or in consequence of 
Jotham’s refusal, the allied armies be- 
gan an attempt to force Judah to join 
them. Just as the campaign opened 
Jotham died (b.c. 735), and the youth- 
ful Ahaz succeeded him. The history 
of the war is found in 2 Kings 16 and 
2 Chron. 28. It is famous as the occa- 
sion of the great prophecies in Isa. 7-9. 
Its chief result was the Jewish port of 
Elath on the Red Sea; but the unnat- 
ural alliance of Damascus and Samaria 
was punished through the complete over- 
throw of the ferocious confederates by 
Tiglath-pileser whom Ahaz had sum- 
moned to his aid. The kingdom of 
Damascus was finally suppressed and 
Rezin put to death, while Pekah was 
deprived of at least half his kiijjdom, 


including all the northern portion and 
the whole district to the east of Jordan. 
Pekah himself, now fallen into the posi- 
tion of an Assyrian vassal, was of 
course compelled to abstain from fur- 
ther attacks on Judah. By the con- 
nivance, if not by the direct instigation 
of Tiglath-pileser he was killed by 
Hoshea the son of Elah in 729 b.c. 

Pekahi'ah (pek-a-hi'ah) ( whose eyes 
Jehovah opened), son and successor of 
Menahem, was the 17th king of the 
separate kingdom of Israel, b.c. 737-736. 
After a brief reign of scarcely two 
years a conspiracy was organized against 
him by Pekah, who murdered him and 
seized the throne. 

Pe'kod (pe'kod), an appellative ap- 
plied to the Chaldeans. Jer. 50:21; 
Ezek. 23:23. In the Assyrian inscrip- 
tions the name of a people called Pukudu 
appears, and it probably refers to them. 

Pela'iah (pe-la'iah) (distinguished by 
Jehovah). 1 . A son of Elioenai, of the 
royal line of Judah. 1 Chron. 3 : 24. 

2. One of the Levites who assisted 
Ezra in expounding the law. Neh. 8 : 
7. He afterward sealed the covenant 
with Nehemiah. Neh. 10:10. (b.c. 

445.) 

Pelali'ah (pel-a-li'ah) (Jehovah hath 
judged), the son of Amzi and ancestor 
of Adaiah. Neh. 11 : 12. 

Pelati'ah (pel-a-ti'ah) (Jehovah hath 
set free (or delivered). 1 . Son of Ha- 
naniah the son of Zerubbabel. 1 Chron. 
3: 21. 

2. One of the captains of the ma- 
rauding band of Simeonites who in the 
reign of Hezekiah made an expedition 
to Mount Seir and smote the Amale- 
kites. 1 Chron. 4 : 42. 

3. One of the heads of the people, and 
probably the name of a family who 
sealed the covenant with Nehemiah. 
Neh. 10:22. 

4. The son of Benaiah, and one of the 

princes of the people against whom Eze- 
kiel was directed to utter the words of 
doom recorded in Ezek. 11 : 5-12. (b.c. 

about 592.) 

Pe'Ieg (pe'leg) (division, part), son 
of Eber and brother of Joktan. Gen. 
10 : 25 ; 11 : 16. The only incident con- 
nected with his history is the statement 
that “ in his days was the earth divided,” 
an eivent embodied in the meaning of 
his name — “division.” It may refer to 
the separation of the children of Eber, 


PEL 


PEN 


49? 


or to that caused by the confusion of 
tongues at the Tower of Babel. 

Pe'let (pe'let) {liberation) . 1. A son 

of Jahdai in an obscure genealogy. 1 
Chron. 2 : 47. 

2 . The son of Azmaveth, possibly a 
native of the place of that name. One 
of David’s heroes. 1 Chron. 12:3. 

Pe'leth (pe'leth) ( swiftness ). 1 . The 
father of On the Reubenite, who joined 
Dathan and Abiram in their rebellion. 
Num. 16 : 1. (b.c. 1490.) Perhaps more 

correctly Pallu. 

2. Son of Jonathan, and a descendant 
of Jerahmeel. 1 Chron. 2:33. 

Pel'ethites (pel'eth-ites). [Chereth- 

ITES.] 

Pelican (Heb. kaath, sometimes trans- 
lated “ cormorant,” as Isa. 34 : 11 ; Zeph. 
2 : 14, though in the margin correctly 
rendered “pelican”), a voracious water- 
bird, found most abundantly in tropical 
regions. It is equal to the swan in size. 
It has a flat bill, fifteen inches long, and 
the female has under the bill a pouch, 
capable of great distension. It is capa- 
cious enough to hold fish sufficient for 
the dinner of half a dozen men. The 
young are fed from this pouch, which is 
emptied of the food by pressing the 
pouch against the breast. The pelican’s 
bill has a crimson tip, and the contrast 
of this red tip against the white breast 
probably gave rise to the tradition that 
the bird tore her own breast to feed her 
young with her blood. The flesh of the 
pelican was forbidden to the Jews. Lev. 
11 : 18. The psalmist, in comparing his 
pitiable condition to the pelican, Ps. 102 : 
6, probably has reference to its general 
aspect as it sits in apparent melancholy 
mood, with its bill resting on its breast. 

Pel'onite (pel'o-nite), The. Two of 
David’s mighty men, Helez and Ahijah, 
are called Pelonites. 1 Chron. li : 27, 
36. From 1 Chron. 27 : 10 it appears 
that the former was of the tribe of 
Ephraim, and “ Pelonite ” would there- 
fore be an appellation derived from 
his place of birth or residence or very 
possibly a corruption of the text. 
“Ahijah the Pelonite ” appears in 2 
Sam. 23:34 as “ Eliam the son of 
Ahithophel the Gilonite,” of which the 
former is a corruption. 

Pen. [Writing.] 

Peni'el {face of God), the name 
which Jacob gave to the place in which 
he had wrestled with God : “ He called 

32 


the name of the place ‘ face of El,’ for 
I have seen Elohim face to face.” Gen. 
32 : 30. It has been generally supposed 
that Penuel in Gen. 32 : 31, is another 
form of the same name. But the cele- 
brated traveller Agnes Smith Lewis, 
D.D., has lately (1908) been over the 
ground, and she says that Peniel is a 
ford over the Jabbok, while Penuel is a 
mountain. Jacob crossed over the ford 
Peniel, then as “ he passed over ” the 
mountain “ Penuel, the sun rose upon 
him.” On either side, of the Peniel 
ford, called the Mispeh ford, is a 
meadow full of rank grass and flowers, 
above the Wady es Zerka. Below this 
point the stream winds between steep 
mountains. It was a fitting place for 
the scenes in the life of Jacob, described 
in Genesis 32. 

Penin'nah (pe-nin'nah) {coral, or 
pearl), one of the two wives of Elka- 
nah, the father of Samuel. 1 Sam. 1 : 
2 . 

Penny, Pennyworth. In the New 

Testament “ penny,” either alone or in 
the compound “ pennyworth,” occurs as 
the rendering of the Roman denarius. 
Matt. 20:2; 22 : 19 ; Mark 6 : 37 ; 12 : 
15; Luke 20:24; John 6:7; Rev. 6:6. 
The denarius was the chief Roman sil- 
ver coin, and was worth about 16 cents. 

Pen'tateuch, The, is the Greek name 
given to the five books commonly called 
the “ five books of Moses.” This title 
is derived from Pente, five, and teuchos, 
which, meaning originally “ vessel,” “ in- 
strument,” etc.,- came in Alexandrine 
Greek to mean “book,” hence the live- 
fold book. In the time of Ezra and Ne- 
hemiah it was called “ the law of 
Moses,” Ezra 7:6, or “ the book of the 
law of Moses,” Neh. 8:1, or simply 
“ the book of Moses.” 2 Chron. 25 : 4 ; 
35:12; Ezra 6:18; Neh. 13:1. This 
was beyond all reasonable doubt our 
existing Pentateuch. The Jews usually 
called the whole by the name of Torah, 
i. e. “ the Law,” or Torath Mosheh, “ the 
Law of Moses.” The division of the 
whole work into five parts was probably 
made by the Greek translators; for the 
titles of the several books are not of 
Hebrew but of Greek origin. The He- 
brew names are merely taken from the 
first words of each book, and in the 
first instance only designated particular 
sections and not whole books. The 
MSS. of the Pentateuch form a single 


PEN 


498 


PEN 


roll or volume, and are divided, not into 
books but into the larger and smaller 
sections. The five books of the Pen- 
tateuch form a consecutive whole. The 
work, beginning with the record of 


The Pentateuch is now one of the 
great battle grounds of criticism and in- 
terpretation, concerning which it may 
be wise to make some statement. Till 
the middle of the last century it was the 



PENTATEUCH AT SHECHEM. 


creation and the history of the primi- 
tive world, passes on to deal more es- 
pecially with the early history of the 
Jewish family, and finally concludes 
with Moses’ last discourses and his 
death. 


general opinion of both Jews and 
Christians that the whole of the Pen- 
tateuch was written by Moses, with the 
exception of a few manifestly later ad- 
ditions,— such as the 34th chapter of 
Deuteronomy, which gives the account 




PEN 


499 


PEN 


of Moses’ death. Since then there has 
been a wide difference of opinion. 

Many scholars, still regard Moses as 
the chief author and the accounts given 
in the Pentateuch as real history. 

The popular Biblical scholarship of 
the day attributes very little of the Pen- 
tateuch to Moses. 

It has made a revolutionary recon- 
struction of the history of Israel and 
its development, very different from that 
which appears in the continuous narra- 
tive as arranged by the Jews in our 
present Scriptures. It claims to have 
made a new Bible of the Old Testa- 
ment, better and truer than that of the 
old arrangement. 

It regards the early narratives as con- 
sisting more or less largely of legends 
and myths and traditions, not of real 
history, but often with a substratum of 
history. 

It finds in the Old Testament his- 
tory three or four narratives, and claims 

1. that they were written at different 
dates, interwoven together as we have 
them, at a late period of Israelitish his- 
tory, but including many ancient docu- 
ments ; as we sometimes see the four 
Gospels interwoven into one continuous 
narrative or diatessaron ; 

2. that these narratives they have sep- 
arated, and enabled each to tell its own 
distinct story; 

3. that thus arranged there are many 
contradictions between the different ac- 
counts, and errors of statement, which 
do not for the most part appear such 
in the continuous narrative. 

The lateness of the date at which 
they regard the various narratives as 
finally written, favors the unreliability 
of the stories as true history. 

It claims that much that we find here 
came from Babylonian influence. 

The more moderate critics of this 
school believe in a real inspiration and 
a real revelation from God, as Profes- 
sor Budde, the eminent German critic, 
writes that as for himself his “belief 
in a genuine revelation of God in the 
Old Testament remains rock-fast.” 
They teach that the legends, myths, and 
traditions of the far-off past were trans- 
formed and inspired by God to convey 
great religious truths. The history of 
Israel is the record of “ a divine guid- 
ance in the strictest sense supernatural 
and unique.” 


They claim that while the faith of not 
a few has been shaken by these new 
views, yet “ that those who have been 
led into unbelief by modern criticism 
are not to be compared in number with 
those who have fallen from faith over 
the edge of the opposite extreme;” that 
great numbers are helped by it out of 
their doubts and perplexities occasioned 
by “ its discrepancies, pitiless tempers, 
rigorous laws, atrocities narrated and 
sanctioned by its laws,” and its seem- 
ing conflict with modern science. They 
claim that all these difficulties are re- 
moved by the conclusion that in the 
early portions of the Bible “ we are 
handling not history, but tradition.” 

On the other hand the intelligent mod- 
erate conservatives accept all the facts 
brought to notice by the higher critics, 
but interpret them , in a different way. 

They believe in the historical method 
and the light it has thrown upon the 
Pentateuch. 

They believe in a progressive revela- 
tion, and a gradual development in the 
history of Israel under divine guidance. 

They believe in the general fact of 
the composite nature of the Pentateuch. 

They believe that there have been 
revisions, editings, translations, even as 
we have seen all through the history of 
the Bible, down to our latest revisions. 

They believe that God uses all the 
various forms of literature, — poetry, 
story, allegory, parable, as well as his- 
tory, prophecy, and statements of fact, 
— to convey his revelation of truth to 
man, and that this has thrown much 
light on the Bible, and avoids the diffi- 
culties which have arisen from con- 
founding 1 together the different forms of 
literature. 

They accept the general truth of the 
historical statements of the Pentateuch ; 
and see that nearly all the contradictions 
which throw a doubt over the truth of 
the stories, are not in the narrative as 
it stands, but are made by separating the 
narrative into different stories and then 
contrasting them, as if each of the sep- 
arated stories was the whole of that 
story. History is not made in that way. 
Take, for instance, Tatian’s Diatessaron. 

They believe that the Bible, as now 
arranged, more truly expresses, as a 
whole, the real historic religious de- 
velopment of man and of Israel, — one 
divine plan running through the whole, 
— a divine revelation early in the his- 


PEN 


500 


PER 


tory of man, but growing fuller and 
brighter as the centuries moved on and 
the people could receive it, while along 
with this the written history records 
the tortuous and often reversionary 
struggles of the people under the divine 
training to live up to it ; very much 
as the history of Christianity records 
the struggles and training of its ad- 
herents to live up to the original revela- 
tion in Jesus Christ, with all their 
reverses, neglects, and moral falls. 

As to the doubts, perplexities, and 
moral difficulties which the higher critics 
claim to remove from the younger gen- 
eration, they are all, or nearly all, 
equally removed by the positions held 
as common ground by both schools, 
without involving them in the atmos- 
phere of unreality and legend which 
the “ Higher Criticism ” throws around 
them. 

Both schools are seeking the truth. 
Both are open minded to light from 
every source. Both are looking for 
new light to break forth upon and from 
the Bible as claimed the old Puritan, 
John Robinson. To the question Pro- 
fessor Cheyne asks, “ Has the clock 
stopped in Bible criticism?” the answer 
of both schools would be an emphatic 
“ No.” But the conservatives think the 
higher critics have sometimes moved the 
hands of that clock faster than the Sun 
of Truth moves, and they would like 
to keep the hands with the sun. 

Pen'tecost, that is, the fiftieth day 
(from a Greek word meaning fiftieth), 
or Harvest Feast, or Feast of Weeks, 
may be regarded as a supplement to the 
Passover. It lasted for but one day. 
From the sixteenth of Nisan seven 
weeks were reckoned inclusively, and 
the next or fiftieth day was the day of 
Pentecost, which fell on the sixth of 
Sivan (about the end of May). Ex. 23: 
16; 34:22; Lev. 23:15-22; Num. 28. 
See Jewish calendar at the end of this 
volume. The Pentecost was the Jewish 
harvest-home, and the people were espe- 
cially exhorted to rejoice before Je- 
hovah with their families, their serv- 
ants, the Levite within their gates, the 
stranger, the fatherless and the widow, 
in the place chosen by God for his 
name, as they brought a free-will offer- 
ing of their hand to Jehovah their God. 
Deut. 16:10, 11. The great feature of 
the celebration was the presentation of 


the two loaves, made from the first- 
fruits of the wheat harvest. With the 
loaves two lambs were offered as a 
peace offering, and all were waved be- 
fore Jehovah, and given to the priests ; 
the loaves, being leavened, could not 
be offered on the altar. The other sac- 
rifices were, a burnt offering of a young 
bullock, two rams and seven lambs, with 
a meal and drink offering, and a kid for 
a sin offering. Lev. 23 : 18, 19. Till the 
Pentecostal loaves were offered, the 
produce of the harvest might not be 
eaten, nor could any other first-fruits 
be offered. The whole ceremony was 
the completion of that dedication of the 
harvest to God as its giver, and to whom 
both the land and the people were holy, 
which was begun by the offering of the 
wave-sheaf at the Passover. The inter- 
val is still regarded as a religious sea- 
son. The Pentecost is the only one of 
the three great feasts which is not men- 
tioned as the memorial of events in the 
history of the Jews. The Jews of the 
post-biblical period held that it cele- 
brated the fact that the law was given 
from Sinai on the fiftieth day after the 
deliverance from Egypt. Comp. Ex. 12 
and 19. But there is no conclusive 
proof that the giving of the law was 
on the 50th day after the Passover. 
Such a connection is not mentioned in 
the Old Testament, nor by Josephus or 
Philo, and is doubtless incorrect. In 
the Christian church Pentecost is the 
memorial of the coming of the Holy 
Spirit upon the disciples at Jerusalem 
after the Ascension of Christ. Acts 2. 

Penu'el, a mountain or height near 
the Peniel ford of the Jordan, on the 
south. The accounts in Judges 8 : 8-17, 
and 1 Kings 12 : 25, confirm this view. 
“ It was a city whose chief feature was 
a strong tower or castle.” See Peniel. 

Pe'or (pe'or) {cleft), a mountain 
peak in Moab belonging to the Abarim 
range, and near Pisgah, to which, after 
having ascended Pisgah, the prophet 
Balaam was conducted by Balak that 
he might look upon the whole host of 
Israel and curse them. Num. 23 : 14, 
28. In four passages — Num. 25 : 18 
twice; 31: 16; Josh. 22: 17 — Peor occurs 
as a contraction for Baal-peor. [Baal.] 

Per'azim (per'a-zim) (a breach), 
Mount, a name which occurs in Isa. 28 : 
21 only — unless the place which it desig- 
nates is identical with the Baal-perazim 


RER 


501 


PER 


mentioned as the scene of one of 
David’s victories over the Philistines, 
which was in the valley of Rephaim, 
south of Jerusalem, on the road to 
Bethlehem. 

Pere'a. A name for the country “ be- 
yond Jordan ” often used by Josephus, 
and adopted by all modern writers. It 
is not found in the Scriptures them- 
selves. 

Pe'resh (pe'resh) ( distinction ), the 
son of Machir by his wife Maachah. 1 
.Chron. 7 : 16. 

Pe'rez (pe'rez) ( breach ). The “ chil- 
dren of Perez,” or Pharez, the son of 
Judah, appear to have been a family of 
importance for many centuries. 1 Chron. 
27:3; Neh. 11:4, 6. 

Pe'rez=uz'za (pe'rez-uz'za) ( breach 
of Uzzah), 1 Chron. 13:11, and Perez= 
uzzah, 2 Sam. 6 : 8, the title which 
David conferred on the threshing-floor 
of Nachon in commemoration of the 
sudden death of Uzzah. (b.c. 1042.) 

Perfumes. The free use of perfumes 
was peculiarly grateful to the Orientals, 
Prov. 27 : 9, as masking the odor of 
the body so liable to be offensive in a 
hot climate. The Hebrews manufac- 
tured their perfumes chiefly from spices 
imported from Arabia, though to a cer- 
tain extent also from aromatic plants 
growing in their own country. Per- 
fumes entered largely into the temple 
service, in the two forms of incense 
and ointment. Ex. 30 : 22-38. Nor 
were they less used in private life; not 
only were they applied to the person, 
but to garments, Ps. 45 : 8 ; Cant. 4 : 11, 
and to articles of furniture, such as 
beds. Prov. 7 : 17. 

Per'ga (per'ga) {earthy), a city of 
Pamphylia, Acts 13 : 13, is situated near 
the river Cestrus, at a distance of 60 
stadia (7% miles) from its mouth, and 
celebrated in antiquity for the worship 
of a goddess identified with the Greek 
Artemis, but more like the Ephesian. 

Per'gamos (per'ga-mos) (in Revised 
Version Pergamum ) {citadel, berg), a 
city of Mysia, about 3 miles to the 
north of the river Caicus, and 20 miles 
from its present mouth. It was the 
residence of a dynasty of Greek princes 
founded after the time of Alexander 
the Great, and usually called the At- 
talic dynasty, from its founder Attalus. 
The sumptuousness of the Attalic 
princes had raised Pergamos to the rank 


of the first city in Asia as regards splen- 
dor. The city was noted for its vast 
library, second only to that of Alex- 
andria; and afterwards added to it. 
Here were splendid temples of Zeus or 
Jupiter, Athene, Dionysos or Apollo 
and ZEsculapius. One of “ the seven 
churches of Asia ” was in Pergamos. 
Rev. 1:11; 2 : 12-17. It is called “ Sa- 
tan’s seat ” by John, which some sup- 
pose to refer to the worslyp of yEscula- 
pius, from the serpent being his char- 
acteristic emblem. Others to the fact 
that it was a centre for the worship of 
the emperor, while still others refer it 
to the persecutions of Christians, which 
was the work of Satan. The modern 
name of the city is Bergama. 

Per'gamum (per'ga-mum) . In the 
Revised Version for Pergamos. Rev. 
1 : 11 . 

Peri'da (pe-ri'da) {grain, kernel). 
The children of Perida returned from 
Babylon with Zerubbabel. Neh. 7 : 57. 

Per'izzite, The, and Per'izzites (per' 
lz-zites), one of the nations inhabiting 
the land of promise before and at the 
time of its conquest by Israel, (b.c. 
1450.) They are continually mentioned 
in the formula so frequently occurring 
to express the promised land. Gen. 15 : 
20 ; Ex. 3 : 8, 17 ; 23 : 23 ; 33 : 2 ; 34 : 11. 
The notice in the book of Judges ap- 
pears to locate them in the central or 
southern part of the Holy Land. The 
signification of the name is not by any 
means clear. It possibly meant rustics, 
dwellers in open, unwalled villages, 
which are denoted by a similar word. 

Persep'olis (per-sep'6-lis), mentioned 
only in 2 Macc. 9 : 2, was the capital of 
Persia proper, and the occasional resi- 
dence of the Persian court from the 
time of Darius Hystaspes, who seems to 
have been its founder, to the invasion 
of Alexander. Its wanton destruction 
by that conqueror is well known. Its 
site is now called the Chehl-Minar, or 
Forty Pillars. Here, on a platform 
hewn out of the solid rock the sides of 
which face the four cardinal points, are 
the remains of two great palaces, built 
respectively by Darius Hystaspes and 
Xerxes, besides a number of other edi- 
fices, chiefly temples. They are of 
great extent and magnificence, covering 
an area of many acres. 

Per'sia (per'zia), Per'sians. Persia 
proper was a tract of no very large di- 


PER 


502 


PER 


mensions on the east side of the Persian 
Gulf, which is still known as Fars, a 
corruption of the ancient appellation. 
This tract was bounded on the west by 
Elam, on the north by Media, on the 
south by the Persian Gulf and on the 
east by Carmania. But the name is 
more commonly applied, both in Scrip- 
ture and by profane authors, to the en- 
tire tract which came by degrees to be 
included within the limits of the Per- 
sian empire, which extended at one time 
from India to the Mediterranean, and 
from the Danube and Black Sea to the 
Arabian and Nubian deserts. The Per- 
sians were of the same race as the 
Medes, both being branches of the great 
Aryan stock. 

1. Character of the nation. — The Per- 
sians were a people of lively and impres- 
sible minds, brave and impetuous in war, 
witty, passionate, for Orientals truth- 
ful, not without some spirit of gener- 
osity, and of more intellectual capacity 
than the generality of Asiatics. In the 
times anterior to Cyrus they were noted 
for the simplicity of their habits, which 
offered a strong contrast to the luxu- 
riousness of the Medes; but from the 
date of the Median overthrow this sim- 
plicity began to decline. Polygamy was 
commonly practised among them. They 
were fond of the pleasures of the table, 
especially of drinking. In war they 
fought bravely, but without discipline. 

2. Religion. — Zoroastrianism, the reli- 
gion which the Persians brought with 
them into Persia proper, seems to have 
been of a very simple character, differ- 
ing from natural religion in little ex- 
cept that it was deeply tainted with 
Dualism. Like the other Aryans, the 
Persians worshipped one supreme God. 
They had few temples, and no altars or 
images. 

3. Language.— The Ancient Persian 
language was remotely akin to the Sans- 
crit, or ancient language of India. Later 
it approached Aramaic. Modern Persian 
is its degenerated representative, being 
largely impregnated with Arabic. 

4. History. — The history of Persia be- 
gins, with the revolt from the Medes 
and the accession of Cyrus the Great, 
about b.c. 550. Cyrus defeated Croesus, 
and added the Lydian empire to his 
dominions. This conquest was followed 
closely by the submission of the Greek 
settlements on the Asiatic coast, and by 


the reduction of Caria and Lycia. The 
empire was soon afterward extended 
greatly toward the northeast and east. 
In b.c. 539 or 538, Babylon was attacked, 
and after a stout defence fell into the 
hands of Cyrus. This victory first 
brought the Persians into contact with 
the Jews. The conquerors found in 
Babylon an oppressed race — like them- 
selves abhorrers of idols, and profes- 
sors of a religion in which to a great 
extent they could sympathize. This 
race Cyrus determined to restore to their 
own country : which he did by the re- 
markable edict recorded in the first chap- 
ter of Ezra. Ezra 1 : 2-4. He was slain 
in an expedition against the Massagetse 
or the Derbices, about b.c. 529. Un- 
der his son and successor, Cambyses, 
the conquest of Egypt took place, b.c. 
525. Gomates, the false Smerdis, Cam- 
byses’ successor, reversed the policy of 
Cyrus with respect to the Jews, and 
forbade by an edict the further build- 
ing of the temple. Ezra 4 : 17-22. He 
reigned but seven months, and was suc- 
ceeded by Darius. Appealed to, in his 
second year, by the Jews, who wished 
to resume the construction of their tem- 
ple, Darius not only granted them this 
privilege, but. assisted the work by 
grants from his own revenues, whereby 
the Jews were able to complete the tem- 
ple as early as his sixth year. Ezra 6 : 
1-15. Darius was succeeded by Xerxes, 
the Ahasuerus of Esther. Artaxerxes, 
the son of Xerxes, reigned for forty 
years after his death, and is beyond 
doubt the king of, that name who stood 
in such a friendly relation toward Ezra, 
Ezra 7:11-28, and Nehemiah. Neh. 2: 
1-9, etc. He is the last of the Persian 
kings who had any special connection 
with the Jews, and the last but one 
mentioned in Scripture. His successors 
were Xerxes II., Sogdianus, Darius 
Nothus, Artaxerxes Mnemon, Artaxer- 
xes Ochus, and Darius Codomannus, b.c. 
336, who is probably the “ Darius the 
Persian ” of Nehemiah 12:22. These 
monarchs reigned from b.c. 425 to b.c. 
330. The collapse of the empire under 
the attack of Alexander the Great took 
place b.c. 330. 

Per sis (per'sis) ( a Persian woman), 
a Christian woman at Rome, Rom. 16: 
12, whom St. Paul salutes, (a.d. 57.) 

Peru'da (pe-ru'da). The same as 
Perida. Ezra 2 : 55. 


PES 


503 


PET 


Pestilence. [Plague, The.] 

Pe'ter (pe'ter) (a rock or stone). 
The original name of this disciple was 
Simon, i. e. “ hearing.” He was the son 
of a man named Jonas (R. V. sometimes 
John), Matt. 16 : 17 ; John 1 : 42 ; 21 : 16 , 
and was brought up in his father’s oc- 
cupation, that of a fisherman. He and 
his brother Andrew were partners of 
John and James, the sons of Zebedee, 
who had hired servants. Peter was 
probably born in Bethsaida. When 
first known in the Gospels he was mar- 
ried and living at Capernaum, in his own 
house, which must have been rather a 
large one, since he received in it not 
only our Lord and his fellow disciples, 
but multitudes who were attracted by 
the miracles and preaching of Jesus. 
Peter was probably between thirty and 
forty years of age at the date of his 
call to become a follower of Jesus. He 
and his brother Andrew, together with 
their partners James and John, the sons 
of Zebedee, were disciples of John the 
Baptist when he was first called by our 
Lord. The particulars of this call are 
related with graphic minuteness by St. 
John. It was upon this occasion that 
Jesus gave Peter the name Cephas, a 
Syriac word answering to the Greek 
Petros and signifying a stone or rock. 
John 1 : 35 - 42 . It did not denote the 
character he then had, but what our 
Lord perceived he was capable of becom- 
ing. It was a prophecy of his future. . 
The second call, to constant companion- 
ship with Christ, over a year later, is 
recorded by the other three evangelists. 
It took place on the Sea of Galilee near 
Capernaum, where the four disciples, 
Peter and Andrew, James and John, 
were fishing. Some time was passed 
afterward in attendance upon our Lord’s 
public ministrations in Galilee, Decap- 
olis, Persea and Judea. The selection 
of the Twelve Apostles as distinct from 
the other disciples was several months 
later still. See Matt. 10 : 2-4 ; Mark 3 : 
13-19 (the most detailed account) ; 
Luke 6 : 13 . From this time there can 
be no doubt that Peter held the first 
place among the apostles, to whatever 
cause his precedence is to be attributed. 
He is named first in every list of the 
apostles; he is generally addressed by 
our Lord as their representative; and 
on the most solemn occasions he speaks 
in their name. The distinction which 
he received, and it may be his con- I 


sciousness of ability, energy, zeal and 
absolute devotion to Christ’s person, 
seem to have developed a natural 
tendency to rashness and forwardness 
bordering upon presumption. In his af- 
fection and self-confidence Peter ven- 
tured to reject as impossible the an- 
nouncement of the sufferings and 
humiliation which Jesus predicted, and 
heard the sharp words, “ Get thee be- 
behind me, Satan; thou art an offence 
unto me ; for thou savorest not the 
things that be of God, but those that 
be of men.” It is remarkable that on 
other occasions when St. Peter signal- 
ized his faith and devotion, he displayed 
at the time, or immediately afterward, 
a more than usual deficiency in spir- 
itual discernment and consistency. To- 
ward the close of our Lord’s ministry 
Peter’s characteristics become especially 
prominent. At the last supper Peter 
seems to have been particularly earnest 
in the request that the traitor might 
be pointed out. After the supper his 
words drew out the meaning of the sig- 
nificant act of our Lord in washing his 
disciples’ feet. Then too it was that he 
made those repeated protestations of un- 
alterable fidelity, so soon to be falsified 
by his miserable fall. On the morning 
of the resurrection we have proof that 
Peter, though humbled, was not crushed 
by his fall. He and John were the first 
to visit the sepulchre; he was the first 
who entered it. We are told by Luke 
and by Paul that Christ appeared to him 
first among the apostles. In John 21 
we have the account of a full re-instate- 
ment into the place of an apostle. 
From this time he became what his name 
signified, a rock — and his boldness in 
face of persecution formed a sharp con- 
trast with his previous timidity. 

The first part of the Acts of the Apos- 
tles is occupied by the record of transac- 
tions in nearly all of which Peter stands 
forth as the recognized leader of the 
apostles. He is the most prominent per- 
son in the greatest event after the resur- 
rection, on the day of Pentecost. He 
performed the first Christian miracle, 
and conducted the defence when the 
Christian leaders were brought before 
the Sanhedrin. When the gospel was 
first preached beyond the precincts of 
Judea, he and John were at once sent 
by the apostles to confirm the converts 
at Samaria. Henceforth he remains 
prominent, but not exclusively promi- 


PET 


504 


PET 


nent, among the propagators of the gos- 
pel. The most signal transaction after 
the day of Pentecost was the baptism of 
Cornelius, by Peter. The establishment 
of a church in great part of Gentile 
origin at Antioch, and the mission of 
Barnabas, between whose family and 
Peter there were the bonds of near in- 
timacy, set the seal upon the work thus 
inaugurated by Peter. This transaction 
was soon followed by the imprisonment 
of our apostle. His miraculous deliver- 
ance marks the close of this second 
great period of his ministry. The spe- 
cial work assigned to him was com- 
pleted. Prom that time we have no 
continuous history of him. 

Peter was probably employed for the 
most part in building up and completing 
the organization of Christian communi- 
ties in Palestine and the adjoining dis- 
tricts. He traveled about preaching the 
gospel, accompanied by his wife (1 Cor. 
9:5) and visited Antioch in Syria cer- 
tainly (Gal. 2:11). He is thought by 
many to have gone to Corinth (1 Cor. 
1:12; and Eusebius). It is certainly 
possible that he went to the far east 
(1 Pet. 5:13). It may be considered 
as a settled point that he did not visit 
Rome before the last year of his life; 
but there is satisfactory evidence that 
he and Paul were the founders of the 
church at Rome, and suffered death in 
that city. The time and manner of the 
apostle’s martyrdom are less certain. 
According to the early writers, he suf- 
fered at or about the same time with 
Paul, and in the Neronian persecution, 
a.d. 67, 68. All agree that he was cruci- 
fied. Origen says that Peter felt him- 
self to be unworthy to be put to death 
in the same manner as his Master, and 
was therefore, at his own request, cruci- 
fied with his head downward. The apos- 
tle is said to have employed interpreters. 
Of far more importance is the state- 
ment that Mark wrote his Gospel under 
the teaching of Peter, or that he em- 
bodied in that Gospel the substance of 
our apostle’s oral instructions. [Mark.] 
The only written documents which 
Peter has left are the First Epistle — 
about which no doubt has ever been 
entertained in the Church — and the Sec- 
ond, which has been a subject of earn- 
est controversy. 

Peter, First Epistle of. The exter- 
nal evidence of authenticity of this epis- 


tle is of the strongest kind; and the 
internal is equally strong. 

To whom addressed. It was ad- 
dressed to the churches of Asia Minor, 
which had for the most part been 
founded by Paul and his companions, 
hence chiefly to Gentile Christians. 

Place of writing. Supposing it to have 
been written at Babylon, 1 Pet. 5 : 13, 
it is a probable conjecture that Silvanus, 
by whom it was transmitted to those 
churches, had joined Peter after a tour 
of visitation, and that his account of 
the condition of the Christians in those 
districts determined the apostle to write 
the epistle. On the question of this 
epistle having been written at Babylon 
commentators differ. “ Some refer it to 
the famous Babylon in Asia, which 
after its destruction was still inhabited 
by a Jewish colony; others understand 
it mystically of heathen Rome, in which 
sense ‘ Babylon ’ is certainly used in the 
Apocalypse of John.” — Schaff. 

The date. From its copious use of 
Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, written in 
a.d. 62 or 63, and the death of Peter in 
a.d. 67, the time of writing this epistle 
must lie between these dates. 

Characteristics. “ The style in 
which the letter is written is at once 
simple, striking and forcible, abound- 
ing in sudden and abrupt transitions, 
and admirably reflecting the character 
of the writer. It is filled to a remark- 
able degree with reminiscences of earlier 
Christian writings, particularly of the 
Epistles to the Romans. Ephesians and 
James.” — Prof. Warfield. 

The objects of the epistle were — 1. 
To comfort and strengthen the Chris- 
tians in a season of severe trial. 2. To 
enforce the practical and spiritual duties 
involved in their calling. 3. To warn 
them against special temptations at- 
tached to their position. 4. To remove 
all doubt as to the soundness and 'com- 
pleteness of the religious system which 
they had already received. Such an at- 
testation was especially needed by the 
Hebrew Christians, who were wont to 
appeal from Paul’s authority to that of 
the elder apostles, and above all to that 
of Peter. The last, which is perhaps 
the very principal object, is kept in 
view throughout the epistle, and is dis- 
tinctly stated ch. 5 : 12. The harmony 
of such teaching with that of Paul is 
sufficiently obvious. Peter belongs to 


PET 


505 


PHA 


the school, or, to speak more correctly, 
is the leader of the school, which at 
once vindicates the unity of the law and 
the gospel, and puts the superiority of 
the latter on its true basis — that of spir- 
itual development 

Peter, Second Epistle of. The gen- 
uineness of this Epistle has been in dis- 
pute from the early ages. The author 
represents himself as Simon Peter (1: 
1), as being present at the transfigura- 
tion (1: 16) as warned by Christ of his 
death (1:14). Only strong reasons 
should overcome this testimony. Others 
infer from the difference in style, from 
the fact, that there is no certain knowl- 
edge of the existence of this Epistle 
till far into the second century, that 
this is not a letter by St. Peter, but 
was written by some unknown writer 
in his name. If written by Peter the 
date is probably not far from a.d. 67, 
If by some other writer, it is dated 
about a.d. 175 by Hastings’ B. D. The 
following is a brief outline of the con- 
tents of this epistle : The customary 
opening salutation is followed by an 
enumeration of Christian blessings and 
exhortation to Christian duties, ch. 1 : 1- 
13. Referring then to his approaching 
death, the apostle assigns as grounds of 
assurance for believers his own personal 
testimony as eye-witness of the trans- 
figuration, and the sure word of pro- 
phecy — that is, the testimony of the Holy 
Ghost, vs. 14-21. The danger, of be- 
ing misled by false prophets is dwelt 
upon with great earnestness throughout 
the second chapter, which is almost iden- 
tical in language and subject with the 
Epistle of Jude. The overthrow of all 
opponents of Christian truth is pre- 
dicted in connection with prophecies 
touching the second advent of Christ, 
the destruction of the world by fire, and 
the promise of new heavens and a new 
earth wherein dwelleth righteousness, 
ch. 3. 

Pethahi'ah (peth-a-hi'ah) ( Jehovah 
hath set free). 1. A priest, over the 
nineteenth course in the reign of David. 
1 Chron. 24 : 16. 

2. A Levite in the time of Ezra, who 

had married a foreign wife. Ezra 10 : 
23. He is probably the same who is 
mentioned in Neh. 9:5. (b.c. 458.) 

3. The son of Meshezabeel, and de- 
scendant of Zerah. Neh. 11 : 24. 

Pe'thor (pe'thor) (cleft, opening), 
a town of Mesopotamia, where Balaam 


resided, and situated “upon the river,” 
the Euphrates. Num. 22 : 5 ; Deut. 23 : 4. 
It is no doubt the city Pitru named by 
Shalmaneser in his inscriptions and 
Pedru named before by Thothmes III. 
In that case it was situated both on 
the Sagur, the modern Sajur and on the 
Euphrates, and so at their junction about 
60 miles northeast of Aleppo. 

Pethu'el (pe-thu'el), the father of 
the prophet Joel. Joel 1 : 1. 

Peul'thai (pe-ul'tha), properly Peul- 
lethai, the eighth son of Obed-edom. 1 
Chron. 26 : 5. 

Pha'lec (fa'lek) (division). Peleg 
the son of Eber, Luke 3 : 35. 

Phal'lu (fal'lu) (distinguished). 
Pallu the son of Reuben is so called in 
the Authorized Version of Gen. 46 : 9. 

Phal'ti (fal'ti) (deliverance) , the son 
of Laish of Gallim, to whom Saul gave 
Michal in marriage after his mad jeal- 
ousy had driven David forth as an out- 
law. 1 Sam. 25 : 44. In 2 Sam. 3 : 15 he 
is called Phaltiel. With the exception 
of this brief mention of his name, and 
the touching little episode in 2 Sam. 3 : 
16, nothing more is heard of Phalti. 
(b.c. 1061.) R. V. Palti and Paltiel. 

Phal'ti=el (fal'ti-el). The same as 
Phalti. 2 Sam. 3 : 15. 

Pha'nuel (fa'nu-el) (face of God), 
the father of Anna, the prophetess of 
the tribe of Aser. Luke 2 : 36. 

Phar'aoh (fa'ro), the common title of 
the kings of Egypt in the Bible means 
“ The Great House ” which corresponds 
to our “The Sublime Porte” or “The 
Holy See,” and was used as a term of 
reverence for the king. Several kings 
are mentioned in the Bible merely by 
this title, and it is well to attempt to 
discriminate between them, although in 
the case of the earlier ones it is im- 
possible to do so with certainty. 

1. The Pharaoh of Abraham, Gen. 12: 
15. It is impossible to identify this 
king. Were it possible to determine the 
exact date of Abraham’s visit it would 
still be extremely uncertain which Pha- 
raoh was on the throne. Ussher gives 
the date of his visit as b.c. 1921. 
Beecher in his “ Dated Events of the 
Old Testament” reckons it as b.c. 1927, 
which is practically the same. He ar- 
gues from the kindly reception to Abra- 
ham that Pharaoh was one of the Shep- 
herd Kings or Hyksos. 

2. The Pharaoh of Joseph, Gen. 41. — 
This Pharaoh has been considered as 


PHA 


506 


PHA 


one of the Shepherd Kings, but it does 
not seem probable that their rule ex- 
tended to so late a date. Beecher names 
as a possibility Amenhotep II, of the 
18th dynasty, and gives the date as 1736 
b.c. practically the same as Ussher’s — 
1729 b.c. 

3. The Pharaoh of the oppression , 
Ex. 1 : 8 . Apparently a different dy- 
nasty from 2. There were probably 
several who oppressed Israel, but the 
one under whom it reached its climax 
is usually considered to be Rameses II, 
although there is not a unanimity of 
opinion on the point. One great diffi- 
culty with regard to the acceptance of 
Rameses II as this king was the late 
date assigned to him, the middle of the 
14th century b.c., bringing the date of 
the Exodus down to about 1300 b.c. 
Beecher, however, reconciles the dates 
by bringing Rameses nearly 100 years 
earlier, and bringing the Exodus within 
a very few years of the date given by 



HEAD OF MUMMY OF RAMESES II, 

“ The Pharaoh of the Oppression.” 


Ussher. Rameses’ mummy has been 
found, and identified. 

4. The Pharaoh of the Exodus, Ex. 
'5:1. If the Pharaoh of the oppression 
was Rameses II, that of the Exodus 
was Menephthah, his son. Some in- 
scriptions have been found indicating 
some unusual disturbance during his 
reign, and also the death of his first 
born son under peculiar circumstances. 
The finding of the mummy of this king 
was by some regarded as decisive proof 
against the claim that he was ruler at 


this time. His army was overwhelmed, 
but there is no proof that the Scripture 
account is intended to convey the idea 
that the king himself was drowned. 
Any such occurrence as the pursuit re- 



STATUE OF RAMESES II, 

“ The Pharaoh of the Oppression.” 


ferred to would be spoken of as the 
pursuit “ of Pharaoh.” 

5. Pharaoh, father-in-law of.Mered . — 
In the genealogies of the tribe of Judah, 
mention is made of the daughter of a 
Pharaoh married to an Israelite — “ Bi- 
thiah the daughter of Pharaoh, which 
Mered took.” 1 Chron. 4 : 18. No in- 
dication of even the period is now ob- 
tainable. 

6. Pharaoh, brother-in-law of Hadad 
the Edomite. — This king gave Hadad, as 
his wife, the sister of his own wife, Tah- 
penes. 1 Kings 11 : 18-20. At this pe- 
riod there were two contemporaneous 
dynasties, so that the power of Egypt 
was weak and there are no monuments. 
So it is impossible to identify him. 

7. Pharaoh, father-in-law of Solomon. 
— The mention that the queen was 
brought into the city of David while 
Solomon’s house and the temple and the 
city wall were building shows that the 
marriage took place not later than the 
eleventh year of the king, when the 
temple was finished. 1 Kings 6 : 1, 37, 38. 

8. Shishak, “ king of Egypt ” who took 
Jerusalem in the reign of Rehoboam. 
1 Kings 14:25. [Shishak.] 

9. So, “ king of Egypt,” the contem- 


PHA 


507 


PHA 


porary of Hoshea, king of Israel. 2 
Kings 17 : 4. [So.] 

10. Pharaoh, the opponent of Senna- 
cherib. — This Pharaoh, Isa. 36: 6, is Tir- 
hakah, the last king of the 25th,. or 
Ethiopian dynasty. 

11 ..Pharaoh-necho. — Also called Ne- 
cho. This king was the second king 
of the Saite twenty-sixth dynasty. He- 
rodotus calls him Nekos, and assigns to 
him a reign of sixteen years, which is 
confirmed by the monuments. He seems 
to have been an enterprising king, as he 
is related to have attempted to com- 
plete the canal connecting the Red Sea 
with the Nile, and to have sent an ex- 
pedition of Phoenicians to circumnavi- 
gate Africa, which was successfully ac- 
complished. At the commencement of 
his reign, b.c. 610, he made war against 
the king of Assyria, and, being encoun- 
tered on his way by Josiah, defeated 
and slew the king of Judah at Megid- 
do in b.c. 608. 2 Kings 23 : 29, 30 ; 2 

Chron. 35 :20-24. Necho seems to have 
soon returned to Egypt. Perhaps he 
was on his way thither when he deposed 
Jehoahaz. The army was probably 
posted at Carchemish, and was there 
defeated by Nebuchadnezzar in the 
fourth year of Necho, b.c. 604, that 
king not being, as it seems, then at its 
head. Jer. 46:1, 2, 6, 10. This battle 
led to the loss of all the Asiatic domin- 
ions of Egypt. 2 Kings 24 : 7. 

12. Pharaoh-hophra. — The next king 
of Egypt mentioned in the Bible is Pha- 
raoh-hophra, the second successor of 
Necho, from whom he was separated by 
the six-years reign of Psammetichus II. 
He came to the throne about b.c. 588, 
and ruled nineteen years. Herodotus, 
who calls him Apries, makes him son of 
Psammetichus II, whom he calls Psam- 
mis, and great-grandson of Psammeti- 
chus I. In the Bible it is related that 
Zedekiah, the last king of Judah, was 
aided by a Pharaoh against Nebuchad- 
nezzar, in fulfilment of a treaty, and 
that an army came out of Egypt, so 
that the Chaldeans were obliged to raise 
the siege of Jerusalem. The city was 
first besieged in the ninth year of 
Zedekiah, b.c. 588, and was captured in 
his eleventh year, b.c. 586. It was evi- 
dently continuously invested for a length 
of time before it was taken, so that it 
is most probable that Pharaoh’s expedi- 
tion took place during 587 or 586. The 
Egyptian army returned without effect- 
ing its purpose. Jer. 37: 5-8; Ezek. 17: 


11-18 ; comp. 2 Kings 25:1-4. No sub- 
sequent Pharaoh is mentioned in Scrip- 
ture, but there are predictions doubt- 
less referring to the misfortunes of 
later princes until the second Persian 
conquest. 

Pharaoh’s daughter. Three Egyp- 
tian princesses, daughters of Pharaohs, 
are mentioned in the Bible : — 1. The pre- 



server of Moses, daughter of the 
Pharaoh who first oppressed the Israel- 
ites. Ex. 2 : 5-10. Josephus gives her 
name, as Thermuthis and Eusebius as 
Merris. 

2. Bithiah, wife of Mered, an Israelite, 
daughter of a Pharaoh of an uncertain 
period. 1 Chron. 4 : 18. 

3. A wife of Solomon. 1 Kings 3:1; 
7:8; 9:24. 

Pharaoh, The wife of. The wife 
of one Pharaoh, the king who received 
Hadad the Edomite, is mentioned in 
Scripture. She is called “ queen,” and 
her name, Tahpenes, is given. [Tah- 
penes ; Pharaoh, 6.] 

Pha'res (fa'rez), Pha'rez or Pe'rez, 
the son of Judah. Matt. 1:3; Luke 3: 
33. 

Pha'rez (Perez, 1 Chron. 27:3; Pha- 
res, Matt. 1:3; Luke 3:33; 1 Esd. 5 : 5), 
twin son, with Zarah or Zerah, of Judah 
and Tamar his daughter-in-law. The 
circumstances of his birth are detailed 
in Gen. 38. Pharez occupied the rank 
of Judah’s second son, and from two of 
his sons sprang two new chief houses, 
those of the Hezronites and Hamulites. 
From Hezron’s second son Ram, or 
Aram, sprang David and the kings of 


PHA 


508 


PHA 


Judah, and eventually Jesus Christ. In 
the reign of David the house of Pharez 
seems to have been eminently distin- 
guished. 

Phar'isees, a religious party or school 
among the Jews at the time of Christ, so 
called from perishin, the Aramaic form 
of the Hebrew word perushim, “ the sep- 
arated ones.” The name may have been 
given them by their enemies, — it is not 
certain. It indicates a separation from 
other Israelites as well as from the Gen- 
tiles. A name they gave themselves was 
Haberim “ associates.” The chief sects 
among the Jews were the Pharisees, the 
Sadducees and the Essenes, who may be 
described respectively as the Formalists, 
the Freethinkers and the Puritans. . A 
knowledge of the opinions and practices 
of the Pharisees at the time of Christ 
is of great importance for entering 
deeply into the genius of the Christian 
religion. A cursory perusal of the Gos- 
pels is sufficient to show that Christ’s 
teaching was in some respects thorough- 
ly antagonistic to theirs. He denounced 
them in the bitterest language ; see Matt. 
15 : 7, 8 ; 23 : 5, 13, 14, 15, 23 ; Mark 7 : 
6 ; Luke 11 : 42-44, and compare Mark 
7:1-5; 11 : 29 ; 12 : 19, 20 ; Luke 6 : 28, 
37-42. To understand the Pharisees is 
by contrast an aid toward understanding 
the spirit of uncorrupted Christianity. 

1. They were founded in the period 
just before the Maccabsean War, as a 
protest against the Hellenistic influence 
that was becoming very strong. After 
obtaining religious freedom they with- 
drew from the other patriotic parties, to 
assure themselves of the complete sepa- 
ration. Surviving the Temple and the 
State they bent their energies to a strict 
keeping of the law, using political means 
for its preservation when it seemed to 
them wise. Their excessive strictness 
led them to formulate more detailed 
rules, originally as exegesis of the Law 
of Moses, later as binding as the orig- 
inal law itself. The first portion of the 
Talmud, called the Mishna or “second 
law,” contains this additional, or oral 
law. It is a digest of the Jewish tradi- 
tions and a compendium of the whole 
ritual law, and it came at length to be 
esteemed far above the sacred text. 

2. While it was the aim of Jesus to 
call men to the law of God itself as the 
supreme guide of life, the Pharisees, 
upon the pretence of maintaining it in- 
tact, multiplied minute precepts and dis- 
tinctions to such an extent that the 


whole life of the Israelite was hemmed 
in and burdened on every side by in- 
structions so numerous and trifling that 
the law was almost if not wholly lost 
sight of. These “ traditions,” as they 
were called, had long been gradually 
accumulating. Of the trifling character 
of these regulations innumerable in- 
stances are to be found in the Mishna. 
Such were their washings before they 
could eat bread, and the special minute- 
ness with which the forms of this wash- 
ing were prescribed; their bathing when 
they returned from the market ; their 
washing of cups, pots, brazen vessels, 
etc. ; their fastings twice in the week, 
Luke 18 : 12 ; spell were their tithings, 
Matt. 23 : 23 ; and such, finally, were 
those minute and vexatious extensions 
of the law of the Sabbath, which must 
have converted God’s gracious ordi- 
nance of the Sabbath’s rest into a bur- 
den and a pain. Matt. 12 : 1-13 ; Mark 
3:1-6; Luke 13 : 10-17. 

3. It was a leading aim of the Re- 
deemer to teach men that true piety con- 
sisted not in forms, but in substance, not 
in outward observances, but in an in- 
ward spirit. The whole system of Pha- 
risaic piety led to exactly opposite con- 
clusions. Jesus taught humility; but the 
Pharisees sought mainly to attract the 
attention and to excite the admiration 
of men. Matt. 6:2, 5, 16; 23: 5, 6; 
Luke 14 : 7. Indeed the whole spirit of 
their religion was summed up, not in 
confession of sin and in humility, but in 
a proud self-righteousness at variance 
with any true conception of man’s rela- 
tion to either God or his fellow crea- 
tures. 

4. They looked with Contempt upon 
every nation but their own, Luke 10: 
29, and included in this contempt the 
common people of their own nation, and 
the Sadducees. Finally, instead of en- 
deavoring to fulfil the great end of the 
dispensation whose truths they professed 
to teach, and thus bringing men to the 
Hope of Israel, they devoted their ener- 
gies to making converts to their own 
narrow views, who with all the zeal of 
proselytes were more exclusive and 
more bitterly opposed to the truth than 
they were themselves. Matt. 23 : 15. 

5. The Pharisees at an early day se- 
cured the popular favor, and thereby ac- 
quired considerable political influence. 
In the time of Christ they were the re- 
ligious power in Palestine, though the 
priesthood belonged to the sect of the 


PHA 


509 


PHI 


Sadducees. From that time began their 
decline. The bulk of the common people 
believed as the Pharisees, but they them- 
selves were a “ close ” association, num- 
bering about 6000 to 7000. 

6. One of the fundamental doctrines 
of the Pharisees was a belief in a future 
state. They appear to have believed in 
a resurrection of the dead, very much 
in the same sense as the early Chris- 
tians. They also believed in predestina- 
tion and free will, much as St. Paul 
taught those doctrines. 

7. It is proper to add that it would be 
a great mistake to suppose that the 
Pharisees were wealthy and luxurious, 
much more that they had degenerated 
into vice. Josephus compared the Phar- 
isees to the sect of the Stoics. He 
says that they lived frugally, in no re- 
spect giving in to luxury. We are not 
to suppose that there were not many 
individuals among them who were up- 
right and pure, for there were such 
men as Nicodemus, Gamaliel, Joseph of 
Arimathsea and Paul. 

Pha'rosh (fa'rosh). Ezra 8:3. [See 
Parosh.] 

Phar'par (far'par) (swift), the sec- 
ond of the “two rivers of Damascus” 
— Abana and Pharpar — alluded to by 
Naaman. 2 Kings 5 : 12. There is still 
doubt as to the identity of the Pharpar. 
It is commonly believed, however, that 
of the two principal streams now found 
in the district of Damascus, the Ba- 
rada and the Awaj , the former is the 
Abana and the latter the Pharpar. The 
Awaj rises on the southeast slopes of 
Hermon, and flows into the most south- 
erly of the three lakes or swamps of 
Damascus. 

Phar'zites (far'zites), The, the de- 
scendants of Parez the son of Judah. 
Num. 26 : 20. 

Phase'ah (fa-se'ah). Neh. 7:51. 
[Paseah, 2.] 

Phase'lis (fase'lis), a town on the 
coast of Asia Minor, on the confines of 
Lycia and Pamphylia, and consequently 
ascribed by the ancient writers some- 
times to one and sometimes to the other. 
It was, however, independent of either. 
1 Macc. 15 : 23. 

Phe'be (fe'be). [Phcebe.] 

Pheni'ce (fe-ni'se) (Acts 27:12, 
more properly Phoenix, as it is trans- 
lated in the Revised Version), the name 
of a haven in Crete on the south coast. 
It is the modern Lutro. [See Phcenice; 
Phoenicia.] 


Phi'chol (fi'kol), chief captain of the 
army of Abimelech, king of the Philis- 
tines of Gerar in the days of both 
Abraham, Gen. 21 : 22, 32, and Isaac, 
Gen. 26 : 26. 

Philadelphia (brotherly love), a 
town in the eastern part of Lydia, 28 
miles southeast of Sardis, and built by 
Attalus II, king of Pergamos, who died 
b.c. 138. It was situated on the lower 
slopes of Tmolus, and is still represented 
by a town called Ala-shehr , “ the reddish 
city.” (By a mistake due to ignorance 
of Turkish, older travelers reported its 
name as Allah-shehr, city of God.) Its 
elevation is 650 feet above the sea. The 
original population of Philadelphia 
seems to have been Macedonian ; but 
there was, as appears from Rev. 3 : 9, 
a synagogue of Hellenizing Jews there, 
as well as a Christian church. It was 
the seat of one of “the seven churches 
of Asia.” Strabo describes the lo- 
cality as subject to constant earthquakes, 
which rendered even the town walls 
of Philadelphia unsafe. This is how- 
ever deemed an exaggeration by those 
who have lived there in modern times. 
The ancient walls are still standing and 
many of the buildings. The church was 
highly commended. Rev. 3 : 7-13. Even 
Gibbon bears the following well-known 
testimony to the truth of the prophecy, 
“ Because thou hast kept the word of 
my patience, I also will keep thee in 
the hour of temptation ” : “At a dis- 
tance from the sea, forgotten by the 
(Greek) emperor, encompassed on all 
sides by the Turks, her valiant citizens 
defended their religion and freedom 
above fourscore years. Among the 
Greek colonies and churches of Asia, 
Philadelphia is still erect, a column in 
a scene of ruins.” The modern town 
has about 15,000 inhabitants, a large pro- 
portion Christian. A few ruins are 
found, including remains of a wall and 
about twenty-five churches. In one 
place are four strong marble pillars, 
which once supported the dome of a 
church. One of the old mosques is be- 
lieved by the native Christians to have 
been the church in which assembled the 
primitive Christians addressed in the 
Apocalypse. 

Phile'mon (fi-le'mon), the name of 
the Christian to whom Paul addressed 
his epistle in behalf of Onesimus. He 
was a native probably of Colosse, or at 
all events lived in that city when the 
apostle wrote to him : first, because 


PHI 


510 


PHI 


Onesimus was a Colossian, Col. 4 : 9 - ; 
and secondly, because Archippus was a 
Colossian, Col. 4 : 17, whom Paul asso- 
ciates with Philemon at the beginning of 
his letter. Phil. 1, 2. Apphia may have 
been his wife, and A-rchippus his son. 
It is evident from the letter to him 
that Philemon was a man of property 
and influence, since he is represented as 
the head of a numerous household, and 
as exercising an expensive liberality to- 
ward his friends and the poor in gen- 
eral. It is probable that his conversion 
took place during Paul’s stay at Ephesus 
(Acts 19:10), for Paul’s work there 
doubtless extended to the cities of the 
valley of the Lycus of which Colosse 
was one. It is evident that on becom- 
ing a disciple he gave no common proof 
of the sincerity and power of his faith. 
His character, as shadowed forth in the 
epistle to him, is one of the noblest 
which the sacred record makes known 
to us. 

Philemon, The Epistle of Paul to, 

is one of the letters which the apostle 
wrote during his first captivity at Rome, 
a.d. 62 or early in a.d. 63. Nothing is 
wanted to confirm the genuineness of 
the epistle : the external testimony is 
unimpeachable ; nor does the epistle it- 
self offer anything to conflict with this 
decision. The occasion of the letter 
was that Onesimus, a slave of Philemon, 
had run away from him to Rome, either 
desiring liberty or, as some suppose, hav- 
ing committed theft. Phil. 18. Here he 
was converted under the instrumentality 
of Paul. The latter, intimately con- 
nected with the master and the servant, 
was naturally anxious to effect a recon- 
ciliation between them. He used his in- 
fluence with Onesimus, ver. 12, to' in- 
duce him to return to Colosse and place 
himself again at the disposal of his mas- 
ter. On his departure, Paul put into his 
hand this letter as evidence that Onesi- 
mus was a true and approved disciple 
of Christ, and entitled as such to be re- 
ceived, not as a servant, but above a 
servant, as a brother in the faith. The 
Epistle to Philemon has some peculiar 
features, which distinguish it from all 
the other epistles. It is a strictly private 
letter written to an individual friend. 
The writer had peculiar difficulties to 
overcome ; but Paul, it is confessed, has 
shown a degree of self-denial and a tact 
in dealing with them which in being- 
equal to the occasion could hardly be 
greater. 


Phile'tus (file'tus) ( worthy of love), 
possibly a disciple of Hymenseus, with 
whom he is associated in 2 Tim. 2:17, 
and who is named without him in an 
earlier epistle. 1 Tim. 1 : 20 (a.d. 58- 
64.) They appear to have been persons 
who believed the Scriptures of the Old 
Testament, but misinterpreted them, al- 
legorizing away the doctrine of the res- 
urrection, and resolving it all into figure 
and metaphor. The delivering over 
unto Satan is not fully understood. It 
was probably the highest form of ex- 
communication where the person was 
not only cut off from Christian priv- 
ileges, but also subject to suffering qr 
even death. It was only pronounced by 
an apostle, or one especially delegated 
by him. 1 Cor. 5 : 3-5. See also analo- 
gous cases, Acts 5 and 13 : 11. , 

Phil'ip (ffl'ip) ( lover of horses) the 
apostle was of Bethsaida, the city of 
Andrew and Peter, John 1 : 44, and ap- 
parently was among the Galilean peas- 
ants of that district who flocked to hear 
the preaching of the Baptist, The 
statement that Jesus found him, John 
1 : 43, implies a previous seeking. In 
the lists of the twelve apostles, in the 
Synoptic Gospel, his name is as uni- 
formly at the head of the second group 
of four as the name of Peter is at that 
of the first, Matt. 10 : 3 ; Mark 3 : 18 ; 
Luke 6 : 14. Philip apparently was 
among the first company of disciples 
who were with the Lord at the com- 
mencement of his ministry, at the mar- 
riage at Cana, on his first appearance as 
a prophet in Jerusalem. John 2. He 
it was who brought to Jesus his friend 
Nathanael. The first three Gospels tell 
us nothing more of him individually. 
St. John, with his characteristic full- 
ness of personal reminiscences, records 
a few significant utterances. John 6: 
5-9 ; 12 : 20-22 ; 14 : 8. He is among 

the company of disciples at Jerusalem 
after the ascension, Acts 1 : 13, and on 
the day of Pentecost. After this all is 
uncertain, and apocryphal. According 
to tradition, he preached in Plirygia, 
and died at Hierapolis. 

Phil'ip the evangelist was one of 
the seven “ deacons ” appointed to super- 
intend the daily distribution of food and 
alms among the disciples (Acts 6), and 
so to remove all suspicion of partiality. 
The persecution of which Saul was the 
leader must have stopped the “ daily 
ministrations ” of the Church. The 
teachers who had been most prominent 


PHI 


511 


PHI 


were compelled to take flight, and Philip 
was among them. It is noticeable that 
the city of Samaria is the first scene of 
his activity. Acts 8. He is the precur- 
sor of St. Paul in his work, as Stephen 
had been in his teaching, The scene 
which brings Philip and Simon the 
sorcerer into contact with each other, 
Acts 8 : 9-13, in which the magician has 
to acknowledge a power over nature 
greater than his own, is interesting. 
This step is followed by another. On 
the road from Jerusalem to Gaza he 
meets the Ethiopian eunuch. Acts 8 : 26 
ff. The history that follows is inter- 
esting as one of the few records in the 
New Testament of the process of indi- 
vidual conversion. A brief sentence 
tells us that Philip continued his work 
as a preacher at Azotus (Ashdod) and 
among the other cities that had for- 
merly belonged to the Philistines, and, 
following the coast-line, came to Caes- 
area. Then for a long period — nearly 
or quite twenty years — we lose sight of 
him. The last glimpse of him in the 
New Testament is in the account of 
St. Paul’s journey to Jerusalem. It is 
to his house, as to one well known to 
them, that St. Paul and his companions 
turn for shelter. He has four daugh- 
ters, who possess the gift of prophecy, 
and who apparently give themselves to 
the work of teaching instead of enter- 
ing on the life of home. Acts 21 : 8, 9. 
He is visited by the prophets and elders 
of Jerusalem. One tradition places the 
scene of his death at Hierapolis in 
Phrygia. According to another, he 
died bishop of Tralles. The house in 
which he and his daughters had lived 
was pointed out to travelers in the time 
of Jerome. 

Phil ip Her od I., II. [Herod ] 

Philip'pi (fi-lip'pi) (named from 
Philip of Macedonia), a city of Mace- 
donia, about nine miles from the sea, 
so near Thrace it is often spoken of as 
Thracian and twelve miles distant from 
its port Neapolis, the modern Kavalla. 
The Philippi which St. Paul visited was 
a Roman colony founded by Augustus 
after the famous battle of Philippi, 
fought here between Antony and Oc- 
tavius and Brutus and Cassius, b.c. 42. 
The remains which strew the ground 
near the modern Turkish village Be- 
reketli are no doubt derived from that 
city. Philip, when he acquired posses- 
sion of the site, found there a town 
named Krenides, perhaps from the 


swampy character of the land south of 
the town. The plain in which it lies is 
of extraordinary fertility. The posi- 
tion, too, was on the main road from 
Rome to Asia, the Via Egnatia, which 
from Thessalonica to Constantinople 
followed the same course as the exist- 
ing post-road. On St. Paul’s visits to 
Philippi, see the following article. At 
Philippi the gospel was first preached 
in Europe. Lydia was the first convert. 
Here too Paul and Silas were impris- 
oned. Acts 16 : 23. The Philippians 
sent contributions to Paul to relieve his 
temporal wants. 

Philippians (fi-lip'pians), Epistle to 

the, was written by St. Paul from Rome 
in a.d. 62 or. 63. St. Paul’s connection 
with Philippi was of a peculiar char- 
acter, which gave rise to the writing of 
this epistle. St. Paul entered its walls 
a.d. 52. Acts 16:12. There, at a 
greater distance from Jerusalem than 
any apostle had yet penetrated, the long- 
restrained energy of St. Paul was again 
employed in laying the foundation of 
a Christian church. Philippi was en- 
deared to St. Paul not only by the hos- 
pitality of Lydia, the deep sympathy of 
the converts, and the remarkable mir- 
acle which set a seal on his preaching, 
but also by the successful exercise of his 
missionary activity after a long suspense, 
and by the happy consequences of his 
undaunted endurance of ignominies 
which remained in his memory, Philip. 
1 : 30, after the long interval of eleven 
years. Leaving Timothy and Luke to 
watch over the infant church, Paul and 
Silas went to Thessalonica, 1 Thess. 2 : 
2, whither they were followed by the 
alms of the Philippians. Philip. 4 : 16, 
and thence southward. After the lapse 
of five years, spent chiefly at Corinth 
and Ephesus, St. Paul passed through 
Macedonia, a.d. 57, on his way to Greece, 
and probably visited Philippi for the 
second time, and was there joined by 
Timothy. On returning from Greece, 
Acts 20 : 4, he again found a refuge 
among his faithful Philippians, where 
he spent some days at Easter, a.d. 57, 
with St. Luke, who accompanied him 
when he sailed from Neapolis. Once 
more, in his Roman captivity, a.d. 62, 
their care of him revived again. They 
sent Epaphroditus, bearing their alms 
for the apostle’s support, and ready also 
to tender his personal service. Philip. 

2 : 25. Strangely full of joy and thanks- 
giving amidst adversity, like the apos- 


pm 


512 


PHI 


tie’s midnight hymn from the depth of 
his Philippian dungeon, this epistle 
went forth from his prison at Rome. 
“ His letter,” writes Farrar, “ is like one 
of those magnificent pieces of music 
which, amid all its stormy fugues, and 
mighty discords, is dominated by some 
inner note of triumph which at last 
bursts forth into irresistible and glorious 
victory. It is new and marvellous, dic- 
tated by a worn and fettered Jew. of 
feeble frame, in afflicted circumstances, 
a victim of gross perjury, and bitter 
wrongs. 

“ It is a genuine and simple letter, 
the warm, spontaneous, loving effusion 
of a heart which could express itself 
with unreserved affection .to a most kind 
and beloved church.” 

Philis'tia (fi-lis'tya). The word 
thus translated (in Ps. 60 : 8 ; 87 : 4 ; 108 : 
9) is in the original identical with that 
elsewhere rendered Palestine, which al- 
ways means land of the Philistines. 
Philistia was the plain on the southwest 
coast of Palestine. It was 40 or 50 
miles long on the coast of the Mediter- 
ranean from the desert of Shur to the 
plain of Sharon, and 10 miles wide at 
the northern end and 20 at the southern. 
This plain has been in all ages remark- 
able for the extreme richness of its 
soil. It was also adapted to the growth 
of military power; for while the plain 
itself permitted the use of war-chariots, 
which were the chief arm of offence, the 
occasional elevations which rise out of 
it offered secure sites for towns and 
strongholds. It was, moreover, a com- 
mercial country: from its position it 
must have been at all times the great 
thoroughfare between Phoenicia and 
Syria in the north and Egypt and Arabia 
in the south. 

Philis'tines (fi-lis'tins) (perhaps im- 
migrants). The origin of the Philis- 
tines is nowhere expressly stated in the 
Bible ; but as the prophets describe 
them as “ the Philistines from Caphtor,” 
Amos 9 : 7, and “ the remnant of the 
maritime district of Caphtor,” Jer. 47: 
4, it is prima facie probable that they 
were the “ Caphtorim which came out of 
Caphtor” who expelled the Avim from 
their territory and occupied it in their 
place, Deut. 2 : 23 ; and that these again 
were the Caphtorim mentioned in the 
Mosaic genealogical table among the de- 
scendants of Mizraim. Gen. 10 : 14. It 
is generally thought that Caphtor repre- 
sents Crete, and that the Philistines mi- 


grated from that island, either directly 
or through Egypt, into Palestine. 
[Caphtor.] 

History . — The Philistines must have 
settled in the land of Canaan before the 
time of Abraham ; for they are noticed 
in his day as a pastoral tribe in the 
neighborhood of Gerar. Gen. 21 : 32, 
34; 26:1, 8. Between the times of 
Abraham and Joshua the Philistines had 
changed their quarters, and had ad- 
vanced northward into the plain of Phi- 
listia. The Philistines had at an early 
period attained proficiency in the arts of 
peace. Their . wealth was abundant, 
Judges 16 : 5, 18, and they appear in all 
respects to have been a prosperous peo- 
ple. Possessed of such elements of 
power, they had attained in the time of 
the judges an important position among 
eastern nations. About b.c. 1200 we 
find them engaged in successful war 
with the Sidonians. Justin xviii. . 3. 
The territory of the Philistines, having 
been once occupied by the Canaanites, 
formed a portion of the promised land, 
and was assigned to the tribe of Judah. 
Josh. 15: 2, 12, 45-47. No portion of it, 
however, was conquered in the lifetime 
of Joshua, Josh. 13:2, and even after 
his death no permanent conquest was 
effected, Judges 3 : 3, though we are in- 
formed that the three cities of Gaza, 
Ashkelon and Ekron were taken. Judges 
1 : 18. The Philistines soon recovered 
these, and commenced an aggressive pol- 
icy against the Israelites, by which they 
gained a complete ascendency over 
them. Individual heroes were raised up 
from time to time, such as Shamgar the 
son of Anath, Judges 3:31, and still 
more Samson, Judges 13-16; but neither 
of these men succeeded in permanently 
throwing off the yoke. They conquered 
the Israelites in the time of Eli, and 
captured the Ark. 1 Sam. 4 : 18. Sam- 
uel defeated them at Ebenezer (1 Sam. 
7:7-14) and they “came no more into 
the borders of Israel ” during the chief 
magistracy of Samuel. Nor were they 
after this to dispossess the Israelites of 
any of their territory. In the time of 
Saul they were very formidable. He 
defeated them at Geba, and Michmash 
(1 Sam. 13:1-23; 14:47, 52). After 
this the battles were very numerous. 
Goliath, their champion, was killed by 
the youthful David. When David’s life 
was threatened by Saul he took refuge 
among the Philistines. The border war- 
fare was continued. The scene of the 


i»hi 


513 


PH* 


next great conflict was far to the north, 
in the valley of Esdraelon. The battle 
on this occasion proved disastrous to the 
Israelites ; Saul himself perished, and 
the Philistines penetrated across the 
Jordan and occupied the forsaken cities. 
1 Sam. 31 : 1-7. During the early part 
of David’s reign he no doubt paid them 
tribute, as did Ishbosheth his rival. But 
on the union of the kingdom, he twice 
attacked them, and on each occasion 
with signal success, in the first case 
capturing their images, in the second 


recovered their prestige. ^The Philis- 
tines are often mentioned in the time 
of the Divided Kingdom, but their power 
was waning. Some paid tribute to Je- 
hoshaphat, but they invaded Judah under 
his successor. They were conquered by 
Assyria, regained their independence 
and reduced again to tribute by Tiglath- 
pileser in the reign of Ahaz of Judah. 
From the time of Hezekiah, the posses- 
sion of Philistia apparently became the 
turning-point of the struggle between 
the two great empires of the East. The 



PHILISTINES. 

Representation of Philistines on an Egyptian monument about the date of the Exodus. 


pursuing them “ from Geba until thou 
come to Gazer.” 2 Sam. 5:17-25; 1 
Chron. 14 : 8-16. Henceforth the Israel- 
ites appear as the aggressors. About 
seven years after the defeat at Repha- 
im, David, who had now consolidated 
his power, attacked them on their own 
soil, and took Gath with its dependen- 
cies. The whole of Philistia was in- 
cluded in Solomon’s empire, obtaining 
its independence on the separation at 
the time of Rehoboam. But they never 
33 


Assyrians, under the general of Sargon, 
made an expedition against Egypt, and 
took Ashdod, as the key of that coun- 
try. Isa. 20 : 1, 4, 5. Under Senna- 
cherib Philistia was again the scene of 
important operations. It seems probable 
that the Assyrians retained their hold 
on Ashdod until its capture, after a 
long siege, by Psammetichus. It was 
about this time that Philistia was trav- 
ersed by a vast Scythian horde on their 
way to Egypt. The Egyptian ascend- 


PHI 


514 


PHCE 


ency was not as yet re-established, for 
we find the next king, Necho, com- 
pelled to besiege Gaza on his return 
from the battle of Megiddo. After the 
death of Necho the contest was renewed 
between the Egyptians and the Chal- 
deans under Nebuchadnezzar, and the 
result was specially disastrous to the 
Philistines. The “ old hatred ” that the 
Philistines bore to the Jews was ex- 
hibited in acts of hostility at the time 
of the Babylonish captivity, Ezek. 25 : 
15-17 ; but on the return this was some- 
what abated, for some of the Jews 
married Philistian women, to the great 
scandal of their rulers. Neh. 13 : 23, 24. 
From this time the history of Philistia 
is absorbed in the struggles of the neigh- 
boring kingdoms. The latest notices of 
the Philistines as a nation occur in 1 
Macc. 3-5. 

Institutions, religion, etc. — With re- 
gard to the institutions of the Philistines 
our information is very scanty. The 
five chief cities had, as early as the days 
of Joshua, constituted themselves into a 
confederacy, restricted however, in all 
probability, to matters of offence and 
defence. Each was under the govern- 
ment of a prince, Josh. 13 : 3 ; Judges 3: 
3, etc. ; 1 Sam. 18 : 30 ; 29 : 6. and each 
possessed its own territory. The Philis- 
tines appear to have been deeply im- 
bued with superstition : they carried 
their idols with them on their cam- 
paigns, 2 Sam. 5 : 21, and proclaimed 
their victories in their presence. 1 Sam. 
31 : 9. The gods whom they chiefly wor- 
shipped were Dagon, Judges 16:23; 1 
Sam. 5 : 3-5 ; 1 Chron. 10 : 10 ; 1 Macc. 
10:83; Ashtaroth, 1 Sam. 31 : 10 ; Herod, 

i. 105, and Baalzebub, 2 Kings 1 : 2-6. 

Philol'ogus (fi-161'o-gus), a Christian 
at Rome to whom St. Paul sends his 
salutation. Rom. 16 : 15. 

Phinehas (fin'e-has). 1. Son of 
Eleazar and grandson of Aaron. Ex. 
6 : 25. He is memorable for having 
while quite a youth, by his zeal and 
energy at the critical moment of the 
licentious idolatry of Shittim, appeased 
the divine wrath, and put a stop to the 
plague which was destroying the nation. 
Num. 25:7. (b.c. 1452.) For this he 

was rewarded by the special •approba- 
tion of Jehovah, and by a promise that 
the priesthood • should remain in his 
family forever. Num. 25 : 10-13. He 
was appointed to accompany as priest 
the expedition by which the Midianites 
were destroyed, ch. 31 : 6. Many years 


later he also headed the party which 
was despatched from Shiloh to remon- 
strate against the altar which the trans- 
jordanic tribes were reported to have 
built near Jordan. Josh. 22 : 13-32. In 
the partition of the country he received 
an allotment of his own — a hill on 
Mount Ephraim which bore his name. 
After Eleazar’s death he became high 
priest — the third of the series. During 
his high priesthood came the civil war 
with Benjamin. Judges 20:28. The 
verse which closes the book of Joshua 
is ascribed by tradition to Phinehas, as 
the description of the death of Moses 
at the end of Deuteronomy is to Joshua. 
The tomb of Phinehas, a place of great 
resort to both Jews and Samaritans, is 
shown at Awertah, four miles southeast 
of Nablus. 

2. Second son of Eli. 1 Sam. 1:3; 
2:34; 4:4, 11, 17, 19; 14:3. Phinehas 
was killed with his brother by the Philis- 
tines when the ark was captured. [Eli.] 

3. A Levite of Ezra’s time, Ezra 8 : 
33. 

Phle'gon (fle'go'n) {burning), a 
Christian at Rome whom St. Paul sa- 
lutes. Rom. 16:14. (a.d. 57.) Pseudo- 

Hippolytus makes him one of the sev- 
enty disciples and bishop of Marathon. 

Phce'be (fe'be) {radiant), the first 
and one of the most important of the 
Christian persons the detailed mention 
of whom fills nearly all the last chapter 
of the Epistle to the Romans, (a.d. 57.) 
What is said of her, Rom. 16 : 1, 2, is 
worthy of special notice because of its 
bearing on the question of the deacon- 
esses of the apostolic Church. 

Phoeni'ce, Phoenicia (fe-msh'ya), a 
tract of country, of which Tyre and 
Sidon were the principal cities, to the 
north of Palestine, along the coast of 
the Mediterranean Sea; bounded by 
that sea on the west, and by the moun- 
tain range of Lebanon on the east. The 
name was not the one by which its na- 
tive inhabitants called it, but was given 
to it by the Greeks. Its derivation is 
variously given, the most common of 
the older opinions being from the word 
for palm tree. The native name of 
Phoenicia was Kenaan (Canaan) or 
Kna, signifying lowland, so named in 
contrast to the adjoining Aram, i. e. 
highland, the Hebrew name of Syria. 
The length of coast to which the name 
of Phoenicia was applied varied at dif- 
ferent times. It is generally considered 
as extending from the pass called the 


PHCE 


515 


PHR 


Ladder of Tyre, about 14 miles south of 
Tyre, to Arvad or Aradus on the north, 
a distance of 125 miles. Its breadth, 
between Lebanon and the sea, never ex- 
ceeded 20 miles, and was generally much 
less. The whole of Phoenicia proper is 
well watered by various streams from 
the adjoining hills. The havens of 
Tyre and Sidon afforded water of suffi- 
cient depth for all the requirements of 
ancient navigation, and the neighboring 
range of the Lebanon, in its extensive 
forests, furnished what then seemed a 
nearly inexhaustible supply of timber 
for ship-building. 

Language and race. — The Phoenicians 
spoke a branch of the Semitic language 
closely allied to Hebrew, Moabitish and 
others. Concerning the original race to 
which the 'Phoenicians belonged, nothing 
can be known with certainty, because 
they are found already established along 
the Mediterranean Sea at the earliest 
dawn of authentic history, and for cen- 
turies afterward there is no record of 
their origin. According to Herodotus, 
vii. 89, they said of themselves that 
they dwelt originally by the Erythraean 
Sea, that is the Indian Ocean. While 
this is not improbable neither the truth 
nor the falsehood of the tradition can 
now be proved. But there is one point 
respecting their race which can be 
proved to be in the highest degree prob- 
able, and which has peculiar interest as 
bearing on the Jews, viz., that the Phoe- 
nicians were of the same race as the 
Canaanites. 

Commerce , etc. — Phoenicia was famous 
for its commerce and its colonies. The 
most ancient sailing expedition under- 
taken by an Egyptian king was manned 
and directed by Phoenicians. Since they 
were by far the most skilful navigators 
of the time they had almost a monopoly 
of such trade as required the use of 
ships. In regard to Phoenician trade, 
connected with the Israelites, it must 
be recollected that up to the time of 
David not one of the twelve tribes seems 
to have possessed a single harbor on 
the seacoast; it was impossible there- 
fore that they could become a commer- 
cial people. But from the time that 
David had conquered Edom, an opening 
for trade was afforded to the Israelites. 
Solomon continued this trade with its 
king, obtained timber from its territory 
and employed its sailors and workmen. 
2 Sam. 5:11; 1 Kings 5 : 9, 17, 18. The 
most famous of the Phoenician colonies 


was Carthage on the northern coast of 
Africa, famous in Roman history. But 
other colonies, or trading posts were 
scattered over the islands and shores of 
the Mediterranean Sea. 

The religion of the Phoenicians was 
a pantheistical personification of the 
forces of nature, and in its most phil- 
osophical shadowing forth of the su- 
preme powers it may be said to have 
represented the male and female prin- 
ciples _ of production. In its popular 
form it was especially a worship of the 
sun, moon and five planets, or, as it 
might have been expressed according to 
ancient notions, of the seven planets — 
the most beautiful and perhaps the most 
natural form of idolatry ever presented 
to the human imagination. Their wor- 
ship was a constant temptation for the 
Hebrews to Polytheism and idolatry. — 1. 
Because undoubtedly the Phoenicians, as 
a great commercial people, were more 
generally intelligent, and as we should 
now say civilized, than the inland agri- 
cultural population of Palestine, and 
from that cause would naturally exer- 
cise a strong influence over them. 2. 
The worship of the Phoenicians was es- 
sentially demoralizing though in some 
ways attractive. Feasts were associated 
with religious rites. Sacred prostitution 
and the resulting licentiousness was 
common. On important occasions hu- 
man sacrifices were offered. 

The only other fact respecting the 
Phoenicians that need be mentioned here 
is that the invention of letters was uni- 
versally asserted by the Greeks and Ro- 
mans to have been communicated by 
the Phoenicians to the Greeks. For fur- 
ther details respecting the Phoenicians, 
see Tyre and Zidon. 

Phrygia (frij'ia). This word was 
rather ethnological than political, and 
denoted, in a vague manner, the western 
part of the central region of that pen- 
insula. Accordingly, in two of the three 
places where it is used it is mentioned 
in a manner not intended to be precise. 
Acts 16:6; 18 : 23. By Phrygia we 

must understand an extensive district 
in Asia Minor, which contributed por- 
tions to several Roman provinces, and 
varying portions at* different times. 
All over this district the Jews were 
probably numerous. The Phrygians 
were a very ancient people, and were 
supposed to be among the aborigines of 
Asia Minor. Several bishops from 
Phrygia were present at the Councils of 


PHTJ, 


516 


PIL 


Nice, a.d. 325, and of Constantinople, 
a.d. 381, showing the prevalence of 
Christianity at that time. 

Phu'rah (fu'rah) {bough), Gideon’s 
servant, probably his armor-bearer, 
comp. 1 Sam. 14 : 1, who accompanied 
him in his midnight visit to the camp 
of the Midianites. Judges 7 : 10, 11. 

Phut (fut), Put, the third name in 
the list of the sons of Ham, Gen. 10 : 
6 ; 1 Chron. 1 : 8, elsewhere applied to 
an African country or people. The few 
mentions of Phut in the Bible clearly 
indicate a country or people of Africa, 
and, it must be added, probably not far 
from Egypt. Isa. 66:19; Jer. 46:9; 
Ezek. 27:10; 30:5; 38:5; Nah. 3:9. 
Some identify it with Libya, in the 
northern part of Africa, near the Medi- 
terranean Sea ; others argue strongly 
for “ Punt ” a name often found in 
Egyptian inscriptions. This comprised 
the whole African coast of the Red Sea, 
and was tributary to Egypt. 

Phu'vah (fu'vah) {mouth), one of 
the sons of Issachar, Gen. 46 : 13, and 
founder of the family of the Punites. 

PhygeHus (fi'jel'lus) {fugitive). A 
man named with Hermogenes in 2 Tim. 
1 : 15. [Hermogenes.] R. V. Phygelus. 

Phylactery. [Frontlets.] 

Pi=be'seth (pi-be'seth), a town of 
lower Egypt, mentioned in Ezek. 30 : 17, 
the same as Bubastis, so named from the 
goddess Bastet. It was situated on the 
west bank of the Pelusiac branch of 
the Nile. It was probably a city of 
great importance when Ezekiel foretold 
its doom. It is now called Tell Basta, 
and is entirely deserted. It lies close 
to the large town Zagazig, which is on 
the railway, about 45 miles northeast of 
modern Cairo. 

Picture. In two of the three pas- 
sages in which “ picture ” is used in the 
Authorized Version it denotes idolatrous 
representations, either independent im- 
ages or more usually stones “ portrayed,” 
i. e. sculptured in low relief, or engraved 
and colored. Ezek. 23 : 14 ; Layard, Nin. 
and Bab. ii. 306, 308. Movable pictures, 
in the modern sense, were doubtless un- 
known to the Jews. The “ pictures of 
silver ” of Prov. 25 : 11 were probably 
baskets, as in the R. V. 

Piece of gold. The rendering 
“ pieces _of gold,” as in 2 Kings 5:5, is 
very doubtful ; and “ shekels of gold,” 
as designating the value of the whole 
quantity, not individual pieces, is pref- 


erable. Coined money was unknown in 
Palestine till the Persian period. 

Piece of silver. I. In the Old Tes- 
tament the word “ pieces ” is used in the 
Authorized Version in connection with 
money, when it denotes a certain amount 
of precious metal whether coined or un- 
coined. The word piece is used because 
from its vagueness it would answer 
where the value was unknown. Gen. 
20:16; 37:28; 45:22; Judges 9:4; 16: 
5; 2 Kings 6:25; Hos. 3:2; Zech. 11: 
12, 13. In similar passages the word 
“ shekels ” occurs in the Hebrew. There 
are other passages in w r hich the Author- 
ized Version supplies the word “ shek- 
els ” instead of “ pieces,” Deut. 22 : 19, 
29; Judges 17:2, 3, 4, 10; 2 Sam. 18: 
11, 12, and of these the first two are 
translated “ shekel ” in the R. V. The 
shekel, be it remembered, was the com- 
mon weight for money, and therefore 
most likely to be understood in an ellip- 
tical phrase. For values see the tables 
in the Appendix. II. In the New Tes- 
tament two words are rendered by the 
phrase “ piece of silver :” 1. Drachma, 

Luke 15 : 8, 9, Greek silver coin, equiva- 
lent, at the time of St. Luke, to the 
Roman denarius (16 cents). 2. Silver 
occurs only in the account of the be- 
trayal of our Lord for “ thirty pieces of 
silver.” Matt. 26 : 15 ; 27 : 3, 5, 6, 9. 
Probably here shekels are intended. 

Piety. This word occurs but once 
in the Authorized Version: “Let them 
learn first to show piety at home,” bet- 
ter, “ toward their own household ” or 
family. 1 Tim. 5:4. It is used here 
probably in the sense of filial piety, 
dutifulness in the family, which is a 
familiar meaning of the Latin pretas 
and plus (cf. Pius ZEneas of Vergil.) 

Pigeon. [Turtle-dove.] 

Pi=hahi'roth (pi'ha-ln'roth), a place 
before or beside which the Israelites en- 
camped, at the close of the third march 
from Rameses (the last place before 
they crossed the Red Sea), when they 
went out of Egypt. Ex. 14 : 2, 9 ; Num. 
33 : 7, 8. It is an Egyptian word, per- 
haps signifying “ the place where sedge 
grows.” 

Pilate (pi'lat) {armed with a spear), 
Pon'tius. Pontius Pilate was the fifth 
Roman procurator of Judea, and under 
him our Lord worked, suffered and died, 
as we learn not only from Scripture, 
but from Tacitus {Ann. xv. 44). He 
was appointed a.d. 25-6, in the twelfth 


PIL 


PIL 


517 


year of Tiberius. His arbitrary admin- 
istration nearly drove the Jews to in- 
surrection on several occasions. One of 
his first acts was to remove the head- 
quarters of the army from Caesarea to 
Jerusalem. The soldiers of course took 
with them their standards, bearing the 
image of the emperor, into the holy 
city. No previous governor had ven- 
tured on such an outrage. The people 
poured down in crowds to Caesarea, 
where the procurator was then residing, 
and besought him to remove the images. 
After five days of discussion he gave 
the signal to some concealed soldiers 
to surround the petitioners and put 
them to death unless they ceased to 
trouble him; but this only strengthened 
their determination, and they declared 
themselves ready rather to submit to 
death than forego their resistance to 
an idolatrous innovation. Pilate then 



COINS STRUCK BY PONTIUS PILATE. 


yielded, and the standards were by his 
orders brought down to Caesarea. His 
slaughter of certain Galileans, Luke 13 : 
1, led to some remarks from our Lord 
on the connection between sin and ca- 
lamity. It must have occurred at some 
feast at Jerusalem, in the outer court 
of the temple. It was the custom for 
the procurators to reside at Jerusalem 
during the great feasts, and accordingly, 
at the time of our Lord’s last Passover, 
Pilate was occupying his official resi- 
dence in Herod’s palace. The history of 
his condemnation of our Lord is fa- 
miliar to all. We learn from Josephus 
that Pilate’s anxiety to avoid giving 
offence to Caesar did not save him from 
political disaster. The Samaritans were 
unquiet and rebellious ; Pilate led his 
troops against them, and defeated them 
easily enough. The Samaritans com- 
plained to Vitellius, then president of 
Syria, and he sent Pilate to Rome to 


answer their accusations before the em- 
peror. When he reached it he found 
Tiberius dead and Caius (Caligula) on 
the throne, a.d. 37. Eusebius adds that 
soon afterward, “ wearied with misfor- 
tunes,” he killed himself. As to the 
scene of his death there are various 
traditions. One is that he was banished 
to Vienna Allobrogum (Vienne on the 
Rhone), where a singular monument — 
a pyramid on a quadrangular base, 52 
feet high — is called Pontius Pilate’s 
tomb. Another is that he sought to 
hide his sorrows on the mountain by 
the lake of Lucerne, now called Mount 
Pilatus; and there, after spending years 
in its recesses, in remorse and despair 
rather than penitence, plunged into the 
dismal lake which occupies its summit. 

Pil'dash (pil'dash), one of the eight 
sons of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, by 
his wife and niece, Milcah. Gen. 22 : 
22 . 

Pil'eha (pil'e-ha) ( ploughing ), the 
name of one of the chief of the people, 
probably a family, who signed the cove- 
nant with Nehemiah. Neh. 10:24. 

Pillar. The notion of a pillar is of a 
shaft or isolated pile, either supporting 
or not supporting a roof. But perhaps 
the earliest application of the pillar was 
the votive or monumental. This in early 
times consisted of nothing but a single 
stone or pile of stones. Gen. 28 : 18 ; 31 : 
46, etc. The stone Ezel, 1 Sam. 20 : 19, 
was probably a terminal stone or a way- 
mark. The “ place ” set up by Saul, 1 
Sam. 15:12, is explained by St. Jerome 
to be a trophy. So also Jacob set up a 
pillar over Rachel’s grave. Gen. 35 : 20. 
The monolithic tombs and obelisks of 
Petra are instances of similar usage. 
Lastly, the figurative use of the term 
“ pillar,” in reference to the cloud and 
fire accompanying the Israelites on their 
march, or as in Cant. 3 : 6 and Rev. 10 : 
1, is plainly derived from the notion of 
an isolated column not supporting a 
roof. 

Pillar, Plain of the, or rather “oak 
of the pillar” (that being the real sig- 
nification of the Hebrew word elon), a 
tree which stood near Shechem, and at 
which the men of Shechem and the 
house of Millo assembled to crown 
Abimelech the son of Gideon. Judges 
9: 6. 

Pilled, Gen. 30:37, 38; “peeled,” 
Isa. 18 : 2 ; Ezek. 29 : 18. # The verb “ to 
pill ” appears in old English as identical 
in meaning with “ to peel, to strip.” 


PIL 


518 


PIN 



ROWS OF PILLARS (MASSEBAS) CONNECTED WITH THE CANAANITE RELIGIOUS PRACTICES, E.G., DEUT. 

XII, 3. FROM GEZER. 


Pil'tai (pil'ta) (deliverances ) , the 
representative of the priestly house of 
Moadiah or Maadiah, in the time of 
Joiakim the son of Jeshua. Neh. 12: 17. 
(b.c. about 500.) 

Pine tree. 1. Heb. tidhar. Isa. 41 : 
19 ; 60 : 13. What tree is intended is not 
certain ; but the rendering “ pine ” seems 
least probable of any. 2. Shemen, Neh. 
8 : 15, is the wild olive, or perhaps the 
“ oil tree,” including any resinous tree. 

Pinnacle (of the temple), Matt. 4: 
5 ; Luke 4 : 9. The Greek word ought 
to be rendered not a pinnacle, but the 
pinnacle. The only part of the temple 
which answered to the modern sense of 
pinnacle was the golden spikes erected 
on the roof to prevent birds from set- 
tling there. But they were many. Per- 
haps the word means the battlement or- 
dered by law to be added to every roof. 
According to Alford and others, it was 
the roof of Herod’s royal portico of the 
temple, “ which overhung the ravine of 
Kedron from a dizzy height,” perhaps 
600 feet. 

Pi'non (pi'non) (darkness) , one of 
the “ dukes ” of Edom, — that is, head 



AN EASTERN PINE. 



PIP 


519 


PIT 


or founder of a tribe of that nation. 
Gen. 36: 41 ; 1 Chron. 1 : 52. 

Pipe (Heb. chdlil). The Hebrew 
word so rendered is derived from a root 
signifying “ to bore, perforate,” and is 
represented with sufficient correctness 
by the English “ pipe ” or “ flute,” as in 
the margin of 1 Kings 1 : 40. The pipe 
was the type of perforated wind instru- 
ments, as the harp was of stringed in- 
struments. It was made of reed, bronze 
or copper. It is one of the simplest, and 
therefore probably one of the oldest, of 
musical instruments. It is associated 
with the tabret as an instrument of a 
peaceful and social character. The pipe 
and tabret were used at the banquets 
of the Hebrews, Isa. 5 : 12, and accom- 
panied the simpler religious services 
when the young prophets, returning 
from the high place, caught their inspira- 
tion from the harmony, 1 Sam. 10: 5; or 
the pilgrims, on their way to the great 
festivals of their ritual, beguiled the 
weariness of the march with psalms 
sung to the simple music of the pipe. 
Isa. 30:29. The sound of the pipe was 
apparently a soft wailing note, which 
made it appropriate to be used in mourn- 
ing and at funerals. Matt. 9 : 23, and in 
the lament of the prophet over the de- 
struction of Moab. Jer. 48:36. It was 
even used in the temple choir, as ap- 
pears from Ps. 87 : 7. In later times the 
funeral and death-bed were never with- 
out the professional pipers or flute- 
players, Matt. 9 : 23, a custom which 
still exists. In the social ; and festive 
life of the Egyptians the pipe played as 
prominent a part as among the Hebrews. 

Pi'ram (pi'ram) ( like a wild ass; 
fleet), the Amorite king of Jarmuth at 
the time of Joshua’s conquest of Canaan. 
Josh. 10:3. (b.c. 1450.) 

Pir'athon (pir'a-thon) {nakedness) , 
“ in the land of Ephraim in the mount 
of the Amalekite,” a place in Judges 12 : 
15. It is generally identified with Ferata 
which is about 6 miles south west of 
Nablus (Shechem) though other posi- 
tions are proposed. 

Pir'athonite (pir'a-thon-ite), a native 
of or dweller in Pirathon. Two such 
are named in the Bible : — 1. Abdon ben- 
Hillel. Judges 12 : 13, 15. 2. “ Benaiah 

the Pirathonite, of the children of 
Ephraim.” 1 Chron. 27 : 14. 

Pis'gah (piz'gah) {division), Num. 
21 : 20 ; 23 : 14 ; Deut. 3 : 27 ; 34:1, a 
mountain range or district, the same as, 
or a part of, that called the mountains of 


Abarim. Comp. Deut. 32 : 49 with 34 : 1. 
It lay on the east of Jordan, contiguous 
to the field of Moab, and immediately 
opposite Jericho. Its highest point or 
summit — its “ head ” — was Mount Nebo. 
[See Nebo.] 

Pisidia (pi-sid'i-a) was a district in 
Asia Minor north of Pamphylia, east 
of Lycia and Caria, south of Phrygia, 
and west of Lycaonia, etc. “ Antioch 
of Pisidia ” was an important city, espe- 
cially in Christian annals. St. Paul 
passed through Pisidia twice, with Bar- 
nabas, on the first missionary journey, 
i. e., both in going from Perga to Iconi- 
um, Acts 13 : 13, 14, 51, and in return- 
ing. Acts 14 : 21, 24, 25 ; comp. 2 Tim. 
3 : 11. It is probable also that he trav- 
ersed the northern part of the district, 
with Silas and Timotheus, on the second 
missionary journey, Acts 16:6; but the 
word Pisidia does not occur except in 
reference to the former journey. 

Pi'son. [Eden.] 

Pit. [Hell.] 

Pitch. The three Hebrew words so 
translated all represent the same object, 
viz., mineral pitch or asphalt in its dif- 
ferent aspects. Asphalt is an opaque, 
inflammable substance, which bubbles 
up from subterranean fountains in a 
liquid state, and hardens by exposure to 
the air, but readily melts under the in- 
fluence of heat. In the latter state it is 
very tenacious, and was used as a cement 
in lieu of mortar in Babylonia, Gen. 11 : 
3, as well as for coating the outside of 
vessels, Gen. 6 : 14, and particularly for 
making the papyrus boats of the Egyp- 
tians water-tight. Ex. 2:3. The Jews 
and Arabians got their supply in large 
quantities from the Dead Sea, which 
hence received its classical name of 
Lacus Asphaltites. 

Pitcher. This word is used in the 
Authorized Version to denote the earth- 
en water- jars or pitchers with one or 
two handles, used chiefly by women for 
carrying water, as in the story of Re- 
bekah. Gen. 24 : 15-20 : but see Mark 
14 : 13 ; Luke 22 : 10. This mode of car- 
rying has been and still is customary 
both in the East and elsewhere. The 
vessels used for the purpose are gen- 
erally borne on the head or the shoulder. 
The Bedouin women commonly use skin 
bottles. Such was the “ bottle ” carried 
by Hagar. Gen. 21 : 14. The same word 
is used of the pitchers employed by 
Gideon’s three hundred men. Judges 7 : 
16. 


PIT 


520 


PLA 


Pi'thom (pi'thom) ( city of the god 
Turn [the setting sun]), one of the 
store-cities built by the Israelites for 
the first oppressor, the Pharaoh “ which 
knew not Joseph,” Ex. 1 : 11. It is at 
Tell el-Maskhuta on the south side of 
the sweet-water canal running from 
Cairo to Suez. This was the Egyptian 
Pi-Turn , and was fixed by explorations, 
in 1883. It is the Patumus of Herodotus 
(ii. 159), near which Necho constructed 
a canal from the Nile to the Arabian 
Gulf. 

Pi'thon (pi'thon), one of the four 
sons of Micah, the son of Mephibosh- 
eth. 1 Chron. 8 : 35 ; 9 : 41. 

Plague, The. The bubonic plague, 
the disease particularly called in Eng- 
lish “ the plague ” is a highly malignant 
form of typhus, accompanied by buboes 
(tumors). Like the cholera, it is most 
violent at the first outbreak, causing 
almost instant death. It is pretty clear- 
ly proven that it is carried from one 
person or place to another by rats and 
other animals, and whether strictly con- 
tagious or not certainly becomes epi- 
demic unless strict precautions are taken. 
It has been from time immemorial the 
scourge of Bible lands, and is found for 
the most part where for one reason or 
another the sanitary conditions are not 
carefully attended to. Several Hebrew 
words are translated “ pestilence ” or 
“plague;” but not one of these words 
can be considered as designating by its 
signification the disease now called the 
plague. Whether the disease be men- 
tioned must be judged from the sense of 
passages, not from the sense of words. 
The pestilence which came at Kibroth- 
Hattaavah may have been brought by 
the quails themselves from an infected ' 
region (Num. 11:33), though there is 
nothing to exactly determine its na- 
ture. Some plagues sent as judgments 
may have been either other sudden dis- 
eases, or even miraculous in their na- 
ture. Other pestilences, although sent 
as judgments, have the characteristics 
of modern epidemics, not being rapid 
beyond nature nor directed against in- 
dividuals. Lev. 26 : 25 ; Deut. 28 : 21. 
In neither of these passages does it 
seem certain that the plague is specified. 
The notices in the prophets present the 
same difficulty. Hezekiah’s disease has 
been thought to have been the plague, 
and its fatal nature, as well as the men- 
tion of a boil, makes this not improb- 
able. On the other hand, there is no 


mention of a pestilence among his peo- 
ple at the time. 

Plagues, The ten. The occasion on 
which the plagues were sent is described 
in Ex. 3-12. When Moses and Aaron 
came before Pharaoh, a miracle was re- 
quired of them. Then Aaron’s rod be- 
came a serpent. The Egyptian magicians 
called by the king produced what seemed 
to be the same wonder, not an uncom- 
mon one among eastern jugglers, the 
serpent being rendered rigid like a rod, 
and then released. Aaron’s rod swal- 
lowed up the others. Ex. 7 : 3-12. It 
is interesting to note that the first time 
a wonder was produced by Moses with- 
out giving previous notice, the magi- 
cians “ did so with their enchantments,” 
but failed ; a fact which strengthens us 
in the inference that the magicians suc- 
ceeded merely by juggling. 1 . The 
plague of blood. After this warning to 
Pharaoh, Aaron, at the word of Moses, 
waved his rod over the Nile, and the 
river was turned into blood, with all its 
canals and reservoirs, and every vessel 
of water drawn from them ; the fish 
died, and the river stank. The Egyp- 
tians could not drink of it, and digged 
around it for water. This plague was 
doubly humiliating to the religion of 
the country, as the Nile was held sa- 
cred, as well as some kinds of its fish, 
not to speak of the crocodiles, which 
probably were destroyed. Ex. 7 : 16-25. 
Those who have endeavored to explain 
this plague by natural causes have re- 
ferred to the changes of color to which 
the Nile is subject, the appearance of 
the Red Sea, and the so-called rain and 
dew of blood of the middle ages ; the 
last two occasioned by small fungi of 
very rapid growth. However, its defi- 
nite duration of the seven days, and its 
sudden disappearance show it to be 
plainly miraculous. 

2. The plague of frogs. — When seven 
days had passed after the first plague, 
the river and all the open waters of 
Egypt brought forth countless frogs, 
which not only covered the land, but 
filled the houses, even in their driest 
parts and vessels, for the ovens and 
kneading-troughs are specified. Ex. 8: 
1-15. In upper Egypt at least the Egyp- 
tians worshipped the frog-headed god- 
dess Heka. So this too may be consid- 
ered a blow at their religion. 

3. The plague of lice. — The dry land 
was now smitten by the rod, and its 
very dust seemed turned into minute 


FLA 


521 


PLA 


noxious insects, so thickly did they 
swarm on man and beast. The scru- 
pulous cleanliness of the Egyptians 
would add intolerably to the bodily dis- 
tress of this plague, by which also they 
again incurred religious defilement. As 
to the species of the vermin, there is a 
question. The rendering “ lice ” is an 
ancient one, but no species now known 
ever attack both man or beast, nor 
do they generate in the dust. Other 
authorities speak of them as stinging 
flies — “ sand flies or fleas” (R. V. mar.), 
the larvae of which are found in dried 
pools. The magicians, who had imitated 
by their enchantments the two previous 
miracles, were now foiled. They struck 
the ground, as Aaron did, and repeated 
their own incantations, but it was with- 
out effect. Being themselves attacked, 
they called them the “ finger of God ” 
(that is of their gods). Ex. 8: 16-19. 

4. The plague of Hies. — After the river 
and the land, the air was smitten, being 
filled with winged insects, which 
swarmed in the houses and devoured 
the land, but Goshen was exempted 
from the plague. The word translated 
“ swarms of flies ” is rendered in the 
Septuagint by “ dog-flies.” Flies of all 
sorts are very common in Egypt, and 
this may have been an extraordinary 
number of a comparatively common in- 
sect. Some suppose it to be the great 
Egyptian beetle, the Scarabceus sacer, 
an object of worship by the Egyptians. 
Ex. 8 : 20-32. 

5. The plague of the murrain of 
beasts. — Still coming closer and closer 
to the Egyptians, God sent a disease 
upon the cattle, which were not only 
their property but their deities. At the 
precise time of which Moses forewarned 
Pharaoh, the cattle of the Egyptians 
were smitten with a murrain and died, 
but not one of the cattle of the Israel- 
ites suffered. Ex. 9 : 1-7. 

6. The plague of boils. — From the cat- 
tle the hand of God was extended to 
the persons of the Egyptians. Moses 
and Aaron were commanded to take 
ashes of the furnace, and to “ sprinkle 
it toward the heaven in the sight of 
Pharaoh.” It was to become “ small 
dust ” throughout Egypt, and “ be a boil 
breaking forth [with] blains upon man 
and upon beast.” Ex. 9 : 8-12. This ac- 
cordingly came to pass. It was some in- 
flammatory sore on the surface of the 
body, painful and disgusting. 

7. The plague of hail. — The account 


of the seventh plague is preceded by a 
warning which Moses was commanded 
to deliver to Pharaoh, respecting the 
terrible nature of the plagues that were 
to ensue if he remained obstinate. Man 
and beast were smitten, and the herbs 
and every tree broken, save in the land 
of Goshen. The ruin caused by the 
hail was evidently far greater than that 
effected by any of the earlier plagues. 
Hail is now extremely rare, but not 
unknown, in Egypt, and it is interesting 
that the narrative seems to imply that 
it sometimes falls there. Ex. 9 : 13-34. 

8. The plague of locusts . — The severity 
of this plague can be well understood by 
those who have been in Egypt in a part 
of the country where a flight of locusts 
has alighted. In this case the plague 
was greater than an ordinary visitation, 
since it extended over a far wider space, 
rather than because it was more intense ; 
for it is impossible to imagine any more 
complete destruction than that always 
caused by a swarm of locusts. Ex. 10 : 
1 - 20 . 

9. The plague of darkness . — “ There 
was a thick darkness in all the land of 
Egypt three days;” while “all the chil- 
dren of Israel had light in their dwell- 
ings.” It has been illustrated by refer- 
ence to the samoom and the hot wind 
of the Khamseen. The former is a 
sand-storm which occurs in the desert, 
seldom lasting more than a quarter of 
an hour or twenty minutes, but for the 
time often causing the darkness of twi- 
light, and affecting man and beast. The 
hot wind of the Khamseen usually 
blows for three days and nights, and 
carries so much sand with it that it 
produces the appearance of a yellow 
fog, against which artificial light is of 
little use, and it certainly is “ darkness 
which may be felt.” Three days is not 
an uncommon duration for this storm. 
Ex. 10 : 21-29. 

10. The death of the first-born. — Be- 
fore the tenth plague Moses went to 
warn Pharaoh: — “Thus saith the Lord,. 
About midnight will I go out into the 
midst of Egypt; and all the first-born 
in the land of Egypt shall die, from 
the first-born of Pharaoh that sitteth 
upon his throne, even to the first-born 
of the maidservant that is behind the 
mill; and all the first-born of beasts.” 
Ex. 11 : 4, 5. While there have been his- 
torical instances of the sudden breaking 
out of a pestilence, and the existence at 
the same time of a cattle disease, — and 


PLA 


522 


PLA 


the plague is often worst directly after 
the Khamseen, still this was clearly mi- 
raculous both in its severity, and the 
singling out of the first-born. The his- 
tory of the ten plagues strictly ends 
with the death of the first-born. The 
gradual increase, in severity of the 
plagues is perhaps the best key to their 
meaning. They seem to have been sent 
as warnings to the oppressor, to afford 
him a means of seeing God’s will and 
an opportunity of repenting before 
Egypt was ruined. The lesson that 
Pharaoh’s career teaches us seems to 
be that there are men whom the most 
signal judgments do not affect so as to 
cause any lasting repentance. 

The following characteristics of the 
plagues may be specially noticed: (1) 
Their relation to natural phenomena. 
Each can be explained in some measure 
by natural causes. The miracle in each 
depends upon, (1) the fact of its com- 
ing when determined upon (2) usually 
its unexampled severity, and (3) its 
sudden disappearance at the command 
of God. All are marvellous, not for 
the most part as reversing, but as de- 
veloping, forces inherent in nature, and 
directing them to a special end. (2) 
Their order. They are divided first 
into nine and one; the last one standing 
clearly apart from all the others. The 
nine are arranged in threes. In the 
first of each three the warning is given 
to Pharaoh in the morning. In the first 
and second of each three the plague is 
announced beforehand; in the third, not. 
At the third the magicians acknowl- 
edge the finger of God ; at the sixth they 
cannot stand before Moses; and at the 
ninth Pharaoh refuses to see the face 
of Moses any more. The gradation of 
the severity of these strokes is no less 
obvious. In the first three no distinction 
is made among the inhabitants of the 
land ; in the remaining seven a distinc- 
tion is made between the Israelites, who 
are shielded from, and the Egyptians, 
who are exposed to, the stroke. (3) 
Their duration. It is probable that the 
plagues extended through a period of 
several months. The first plague occur- 
red probably during the annual inunda- 
tion of the Nile, hence about the middle 
of June ( Edersheim ) or August (Hast- 
ings’ Bib. Die.) The second, that of 
the frogs, in September, the time when 
Egypt often suffers in this way. The 
seventh (hail) came when the barley 


was in ear, and before the wheat was 
grown, and hence in January or Feb- 
ruary; and the tenth came in the fol- 
lowing March or April. (4) Their sig- 
nificance. Many, or nearly all, are 
directed against some Egyptian super- 
stition. Jehovah is set over against the 
false gods and wrests from them their 
apparent dominion. He has power over 
nature, over disease, even over life and 
death. The victory was complete; upon 
all the gods of Egypt, Jehovah had exe- 
cuted judgment. 

Plains. This one term does duty in 
the Authorized Version for no less than 
seven distinct Hebrew words. 1. Abel. 
This word perhaps answers more nearly 
to our word “ meadow ” than any other. 
It occurs in the names of Abel-maim, 
Abel-meholah, Abel-shittim, and is ren- 
dered “plain” in Judges 11:33 — “plain 
of vineyards.” The R. V. gives it as 
a proper name “ Abel-Cheramin ” and 
R. V. mar. “ the meadow of vineyards.” 
2. Blk’ah. Fortunately we are able to 
identify the most remarkable of the 
bik’ahs of the Bible, and thus to ascer- 
tain the force of the term, a broad 
plain between hills. The great plain or 
valley of Ccele-Syria, the “ hollow land ” 
of the Greeks, which separates the two 
ranges of Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon, 
is the most remarkable of them all. Out 
of Palestine we find denoted by the 
word bik’ah the “ plain of the land of 
Shinar,” Gen. 11 : 2, the “ plain of Meso- 
potamia,” Ezek. 3 : 22, 23 ; 8:4; 37 : 1, 
2, and the “ plain in the province of 
Dura/’ Dan. 3:1. 3. Ha-shefelah, the 

technical designation of the depressed, 
flat or gently-undulating region west of 
the highlands of Judah. As to its wes- 
tern . boundary there is a difference of 
opinion. It extended certainly to the 
Philistine frontier, but many include 
the Plain of the Philistines under the 
name. 4. Eldn. Our translators have 
uniformly rendered this word “plain;” 
but this is not the verdict of the ma- 
jority or the most trustworthy of the 
ancient versions. They regard the 
word as meaning an “ oak ” or “ grove 
of oaks,” a rendering supported by 
nearly all the commentators and lexi- 
cographers of the present day. The 
passages in which the word occurs er- 
roneously translated “ plain ” are as fol- 
lows : Plain of Moreh, Gen. 12 : 6 ; 
Deut. 11 : 30 ; plain of Mamre, Gen. 13 : 
18; 14:13; 18:1; plain of Zaanaim, 


PLE 


523 


POE 


Judges 4 : 11 ; plain of the pillar, Judges 
9:6; plain of Meonenim, Judges 9:37; 
plain of Tabor, 1 Sam. 10: 3. 

Ple'iades (ple'ya-dez). The Hebrew 
word ( kimah ) so rendered occurs in 
Job 9:9; 38:31; Amos 5:8. In the 
last passage our Authorized Version 
has “ the seven stars,” although the 
Geneva version translates the word 
“ Pleiades ” as in the other cases. The 
Pleiades are a group of stars situated 
on the shoulder of the constellation 
Taurus. The rendering “ sweet influ- 
ences ” of the Authorized Version, Job 
38 r 31, is a relic of the lingering belief 
in the power which the stars exerted 
over human destiny. But some think 
the phrase arose from the fact that the 
Pleiades appear about the middle of 
April, and hence are associated with the 
return of spring, the season of sweet 
influences. The R. V. has “ cluster of 
the Pleiades.” 

Plough. The ploughs of ancient 
Egypt consisted of a share — often 
pointed with iron or bronze — two han- 



dles, and a pole which was inserted into 
the base of the two handles. Ploughs 
in Palestine have usually but one han- 
dle, with a pole joined to it near the 
ground, and drawn by oxen, cows or 
camels. 

Poch'ereth (poch'ereth). The chil- 
dren of Pochereth of Zebaim, R. V. 
“ Pochereth-Hazzebaim ” were among 
the children of Solomon’s servants who 
returned with Zerubbabel. Ezra 2:57; 
Neh. 7 : 59. 

Poetry, Hebrew. Nearly one third 
of the Old Testament is in poetry, and 
should be so printed in all our Bibles 
whichever version is used. For the 
form is a great aid in understanding 
and feeling the power of the spirit. 

Nearly every kind of poetry is found 
in the Bible, and in its most perfect 
form and beauty of expression as well 


as in the supremest imagery, truth, and 
power. 

The flights of Isaiah have never been 
surpassed. Job stands first in dramatic 
power. No modern hymns have equaled 
some of the Psalms. 

The fact that the divine message is 
expressed in poetic form does not de- 
tract from its truth. On the contrary 
it is the most exact and powerful ex- 
pression of certain truths. 

The characteristics of Hebrew poetry 
are : — 

1. Poetic imagery of exquisite form 
and surprising beauty, the richness and 
multitude of its metaphors, its exalta- 
tion of thought, its insight into the very 
inriiost soul of things, its truth of life. 

2. There is no use of rhyme in He- 
brew poetry. 

3. But there is rhythm expressed by 
time-beats or tones on which the em- 
phasis falls, while the other syllables 
belonging to it, be they one or several, 
are passed over more lightly. 

We notice this even in some of our 
hymns, particularly in the familiar hymn 
“ Holy, Holy, Holy,” and the way it has 
to be set to music in order to accommo- 
date the irregularity of the number of 
syllables to a beat. “ The number of 
syllables belonging to a single tone 
varies constantly, producing what would 
be designated, according to our canons 
of meter, a mingling of iambic, trochaic, 
dactylic and anapestic feet, but the 
rhythm is not often disturbed by this 
freedom.” 

4. The most distinctive characteristic 
of Hebrew poetry is parallelism or 
thought rhythm, in various forms. 

(a; Where the same thought is re- 
peated in other words in the second 
line. 

(b) Where the thought is made more 
clear by contrast. 

(c) Where the second line is a climax 
to the first. 

(d) Where the thought of the first 
expression is made more clear by a fa- 
miliar comparison. 

“ As in Greek, each strophe is an- 
swered rhythm for rhythm by its antis* 
trophe, but, unlike the Greek, the Bib* 
lical antistrophe answers thought as 
well as rhythm.” 

Poetry in the Bible takes a great va- 
riety of forms. 

Lyric Idyls, which treat not of war, 
nor heroic actions, but of homely do- 
mestic life. 


POL 


524 


POO 


Ballads interspersed with other forms. 

Songs, like those in the early chap- 
ters of Luke. 

Hymns, like the Psalms, which was 
really the Temple hymnal. 

Dramatic poetry, like the book of Job. 

Dramatic dialogue as in the Song of 
Songs. 

Gnomic or didactic poetry expressed 
in epigrams, wise sayings, maxims, and 
aphorisms, as in Proverbs. 

Rhapsodies is the name Profes.sor 
Moulton gives to the poetic flights of 
Isaiah’s prophecies, — dramatic, but such 
as no theater could compass ; for their 
stage they need all space, and the time 
of their action extends to the end of 
all things. The speakers include God 
and the Celestial Hosts ; Israel appears, 
Israel suffering or Israel repentant; Sin- 
ners in Zion, the Godly in Zion ; the 
Saved and the Doomed, the East and 
the West answer one another. 

The Refrain is used in Ps. 24, 46, 107, 
118, 136. 

Alphabetical Psalms, in which each 
verse, or series of verses, begins in He- 
brew with the letters of the alphabet in 
succession; as Ps. 25, 34, 37, 119; and 
the book of Lamentations. 

Pollux (pol'lux). [Castor and Pol- 
lux.] 

Polygamy. [Marriage.] 

Pomegranate. The pomegranate 
tree, Punica granatum, derives its name 
from the Latin pomum granatum, 
“ grained apple.” The Romans gave it 
the name of Punica, as the tree was in- 
troduced from Carthage. It grows 
about 10-15 feet in height. The foliage 
is dark green, the flowers are crimson, 
the fruit, which is about the size of an 
orange, is red when ripe, which in Pales- 
tine is about the middle of October. It 
contains a quantity of juice. Mention 
is made in Cant. 8 : 2 of spiced wine of 
the juice of the pomegranate. The hard 
rind is used in the manufacture of mo- 
rocco leather, and together with the bark 
is sometimes used medicinally. The tree 
grows wild in northern Africa, northern 
Syria and perhaps, in Gilead. It is still 
much cultivated in Palestine, and is 
found in many other countries. The 
pomegranate was early cultivated in 
Egypt ; hence the complaint of the Is- 
raelites in the wilderness of Zin, Num. 
20:5, this “is no place of figs, or of 
vines, or of pomegranates.” Carved 
figures of the pomegranate adorned the 
tops of the pillars in Solomon’s temple, 


1 Kings 7 : 18, 20, etc. ; and worked rep- 
resentations of this fruit, in blue, purple 
and scarlet, ornamented the hem of the 
robe of the ephod. Ex. 28 : 33, 34. 

Pommels, only in 2 Chron. 4:12, 13. 
In 1 Kings 7 : 41, “ bowls.” The word 
signifies convex projections belonging to 
the capitals of pillars. 

Pond. The ponds of Egypt, Ex. 7 : 
19 ; 8 : 5, R. V. “ Pools,” were doubtless 
water left by the inundation of the Nile. 
Ponds for fish are mentioned in Isa. 19 : 
10 . 

Pon'tius Pilate (pon'shus). [Pi- 
late.] 

Pon'tus, a large district in the north 
of Asia Minor, extending along the coast 
of the Pontus Euxinus or Black Sea, 
from which the name was derived. It 
corresponds nearly to the modern Tre- 
bizond. It is three times mentioned in 
the New Testament — Acts 2:9; 18:2; 
1 Pet. 1 : 1. All these passages agree in 
showing that there were many Jewish 
residents in the district. As to the an- 
nals of Pontus, the one brilliant passage 
of its history is the life of the great 
Mithridates. It became a Roman prov- 
ince in b.c. 63, when its ruler was finally 
conquered. Changes in organization 
and the boundaries of the province were 
made more than once. During b.c. 39 
to a.d. 63 it was once more a kingdom, 
but at the latter date the whole region 
was made a Roman province, bearing 
the name of Pontus. It was conquered 
by the Turks in a.d. 1461, and is still 
under their dominion. 

Pool. Pools, like the tanks of India, 
are in many parts of Palestine and 
Syria the only resource for water during 
the dry season, and the failure of them 
involves drought and calamity. Isa. 42 : 
15. Of the various pools mentioned in 
Scripture, perhaps the most celebrated 
are the pools of Solomon near Bethle- 
hem, from which he constructed aque- 
ducts to supply Jerusalem with water. 
Eccles. 2:6; Ecclus. 24 : 30, 31. 

Poor. The general kindly spirit of 
the law toward the poor is sufficiently 
shown by such passages as Deut. 15 : 7, 
for the reason that (ver. 11) “the poor 
shall never cease out of the land.” 
Among the special enactments in their 
favor the following must be mentioned : 
1. The right of gleaning. Lev. 19 : 9, 10 ; 
Deut. 24 : 19, 21. 2. From the produce 
of the land in sabbatical years the poor 
and the stranger were to have their por- 
tion. Ex. 23 : 11 ; Lev. 25 : 6. 3. Re-en- 


525 



i 


THE SO-CALLED POOLS OF SOLOMON, ABOVE BETHLEHEM 
Built for the water-supply of Jerusalem. 







POP 


526 


POT 



THE POOL OF MAMILLA, AT JERUSALEM. 


try upon land in the jubilee year, with 
the limitation as to town homes. Lev. 
25 : 25-30. 4. Prohibition of usury and 

of retention of pledges. Ex. 22 : 25- 
27; Lev. 25: 35, 37, etc. 5. Permanent 
bondage forbidden, and manumission of 
Hebrew bondmen or bondwomen en- 
joined in the sabbatical and jubilee 
years. Lev. 25 : 39-42, 47-54 ; Deut. 15 : 
12-15. 6. Portions from the tithes to be 

shared by the poor after the Levites. 
Deut. 14 : 29 ; 26:12, 13. 7. The poor 
to partake in entertainments at the 
feasts of Weeks and Tabernacles. Deut. 
16 : 11, 14 ; see Neh. 8 : 10. 8. Daily 
payment of wages. Lev. 19 : 13. Prin- 
ciples similar to those laid down by 
Moses are inculcated in the New Testa- 
ment, as Luke 3:11; 14:13; Acts 6:1; 
Gal. 2: 10; James 2: 15. 

Poplar. This is the rendering of the 
Hebrew word libneh, which occurs in 
Gen. 30 : 37 and Hos. 4 : 13. Several au- 
thorities are in favor of the rendering 
of the Authorized Version, and think 
that “white poplar” ( Populus alba) is 
the tree denoted; others understand the 
“ storax tree” ( Styrax officinale, Linn.). 
A principal argument for the latter is 
the Arabic name lubna which is still 
used for this tree. Both poplars and 
storax or styrax trees are common in 
Palestine, and either would suit the pas- 
sages where the Hebrew term occurs. 
Storax is mentioned in Ecclus. 24 : 15, 
together with other aromatic substances. 
The Styrax officinale is a shrub from 
ten to twenty feet, high, with ovate 
leaves, which are white underneath; the 


flowers are in racemes, and are white 
or cream-colored. 

Por'atha (por'a-tha), one of the ten 
sons of Haman slain by the Jews in 
Shushan the palace. Esther 9 : 8. 

Porch. In the Old Testament : 1. 

Misderon, Judges 3:23 only. 2. Ulam 
or Elam, used in a number of references 
in 1 Kings, 1 Chron., 2 Chron., Ezekiel 
and Joel. It is used of the porch on 
the east of Solomon’s temple, of two 
porches on his palace, and of two rooms 
near the gates. In the New Testament: 
1. Proaulion, a sort of covered passage, 
Mark 14 : 68. 2. Pulon, a doorway, 

probably with the same meaning as (1). 
Matt. 26 : 71. 3. Stoa, John 5 : 2, cov- 

ered ways. “ Solomon’s porch " (Stoa) 
was a portico on the eastern side of the 
temple building. 

Por'cius Fes'tus (por'ci-us). [Fes- 

tus.] 

Porter. This word when used in 
the Authorized Version does not bear 
its modern signification of a carrier of 
burdens, but denotes in every case a 
gate-keeper, from the Latin portarius, 
the man who attended to the porta or 
gate. 

Possession. [Demoniacs.] 

Post. 1. Probably, the door-case of a 
door, including the lintel and side posts. 
The posts of the doors of the temple 
were of olive wood. 1 Kings 6 33. 2. 

A courier or carrier of messages, used, 
among other places in Job 9: 25. 

Pot. The term “ pot ” is applicable 
to so many sorts of vessels that it can 
scarcely be restricted to any one in par- 



POT 


527 


POT 


ticular. Some of the most common 
were (1) the Sir or boiling caldron. 
Ex. 16 : 3 ; 2 Kings 4 : 38 ; Eze. 11 : 3, 7 ; 
24:6; Zech. 14:20, 21. (2) Dud , usu- 

ally translated “ basket,” is translated 
“ kettle ” in 1 Sam. 2 : 14 and “ caldron ” 
in 2 Chron. 35:13. (3) Parur, 1 Sam. 

2:14; Judges 6:19 and in R. V. of 
Num. 11 : 8, is used with several mean- 
ings. (4) The caldron of Job 41:20 is 
properly translated “ rushes ” in R. V. 
The “ pots ” set before the Rechabites, 
Jer. 35: 5, were probably bulging jars or 



STONE WATER-JARS. 

bowls. The water-pots of Cana appear 
to have been large amphorae, such as 
are in use at the present day in Syria. 
These^ were of stone or hard earthen- 
ware. The water-pot of the Samaritan 
woman may have been a leathern bucket, 
such as Bedouin women use. 

Pot'iphar (pot'i-far), an Egyptian 
name, also written Potipherah, signifies 
belonging to the sun. Potiphar, with 
whom the history of Joseph is con- 
nected, is described as “ an officer of 
Pharaoh, the captain of the guard, an 
Egyptian.” Gen. 39 : 1. In Gen. 37 : 36 
the margins of both versions gives as 
a literal translation of the Hebrew 
“ chief of the executioners.” (b.c. 
1728.) He appears to have been a 
wealthy man. Gen. 39 : 4-6. The view 
we have of Potiphar’s household is ex- 
actly in accordance with the representa- 
tions on the monuments. When Joseph 
was accused, his master contented him- 
self with casting him into prison. Gen. 
39 : 19, 20. After this we hear no more 
of Potiphar. [Joseph.] 

Potiphe'rah, was priest or prince of 
On, and his daughter Asenath was given 
Joseph to wife by Pharaoh. Gen. 41 : 
45, 50; 46:20. 


Potsherd, also in Authorized Version 
“ sherd,” a broken piece of earthen- 
ware, Job 2:8. In Prov. 26 : 23, the 
same word is translated in the R. V. 
“ an earthen vessel.” 

Pottage. [Lentils.] 

Potter’s field, The, a piece of 
ground which, according to the state- 
ment of St. Matthew, Matt. 27:7, was 



THE TRADITIONAL POTTER’S FIELD. 

purchased by the priests with the thirty 
pieces of silver rejected by Judas, and 
converted into a burial-place for Jews 
not belonging to the city. [Aceldama.] 
Pottery. The art of pottery is one of 
the most common and most ancient of 
all manufactures. It is abundantly evi- 
dent, both that the Hebrews used earth- 
enware vessels in the wilderness and 
that the potter’s trade was afterward 
carried on in Palestine, although in 
the former vessels of skin and wood 
were more common because more suit- 
able to a nomadic life. They had 
themselves been concerned in the pot- 
ter’s trade in Egypt, Ps. 81 : 6, and the 
wall-paintings minutely illustrate the 
Egyptian process. The clay, when dug, 
was trodden by men’s feet so • as to 
form a paste, Isa. 41 : 25 ; Wisd. 15 : 7 ; 
then placed by the potter on the wheel 
beside which he sat, and shaped by him 
with his hands. How early the wheel 
came into use in Palestine is not known, 



ROU 


528 


PRA 


but it seems likely that it was adopted 
from Egypt. Isa. 45 : 9 ; Jer. 18 : 3 . 
The vessel was then smoothed and 
coated with a glaze, and finally burnt 
in a furnace. There was at Jerusalem 
a royal establishment of potters, 1 
Chron. 4 : 23 , from whose employment, 
and from the fragments cast away in 
the process, the Potter’s Field perhaps 
received its name. Isa. 30 : 14 . 

Pound. 1 . A weight, the translation 
of the Hebrew Maneh. A Maneh of 
gold was worth about $485 or $242 ac- 
cording to the standard in use. 1 Kings 
10 : 17 . A Maneh of silver was worth 
$ 32.30 or $ 16 . 15 . Ezra 2 : 69 ; Neh. 7 : 
71 ., In New Testament times it was 
used often to represent a sum of money. 
Luke 19 : 12 - 27 . See Tables of Weights 
and Money in the Appendix. 

2. The Roman libra or pound is in- 
tended in John 12 : 3 ; 19 : 39 . 

Praeto'rium (pne-to'ri-um) (in the 
Revised Version often translated palace, 
Matt. 27 : 27 ; John 18 : 28 , 33 ; 19 : 9 ), 
the headquarters of the Roman military 
governor, wherever he happened to be. 
In time of peace some one of the best 
buildings of the city which was the 
residence of the proconsul or praetor was 
selected for this purpose. Thus at Caes- 
area that of Herod the Great was oc- 
cupied by Felix, Acts 23 : 35 , and at 
Jerusalem the new palace erected by 
the same prince was the residence of 
Pilate. After the Roman power was 
established in Judea, a Roman guard 
was always maintained in the Antonia. 
The meaning of the word in Philip. 
1 : 13 , translated in A. V. “ palace ” 
and in R. V. “ praetorian guard,” is 
variously explained. Some consider it 
the praetorian camp at Rome, erected 
by the emperor Tiberius, acting under 
the advice of Sejanus. It stood outside 
the walls, at some distance short of the 
fourth milestone. Others think it means 
that as St. Paul was at all times dur- 
ing his imprisonment in charge of the 
soldiers presumably of the Praetorian 
Guard {Acts 28 : 16 , A. V.), the ref- 
erence is to the spread of the gospel 
among these individuals. 

Prayer “ in religious usage is a devout 
petition to an object of worship, con- 
fined in Protestant usage to such peti- 
tions addressed to God ; more generally 
any spiritual communion with God, in- 
cluding Confession, Petition, Adoration, 
Praise and Thanksgiving.” (Century 
Dictionary.) 


Prayer and a personal God. Prayer 
implies a personal God, who is our 
Father, in whose image we his children 
are created ; and who governs, controls 
and guides all the forces of the universe 
material and spiritual. We cannot pray 
to a mere “ bright Essence increate,” 
or to a mere “ Power that makes for 
righteousness.” The fatherhood of God 
makes prayer a natural resource of his 
children. 

Prayer and natural law. The an- 
swer to prayer does not imply that our 
Father changes, or reverses, or suspends 
any law of nature God has made. He 
uses his laws just as his children do 
in their smaller sphere. When a doctor 
heals diseases that without him would 
end in death, when a child is caught in 
the machinery of a factory, and is res- 
cued from it, when the lawn or the gar- 
den is dry and the owner produces a 
local shower by turning on water 
through his hose, — in no case do they 
break or reverse the laws of nature, 
but only use them. So our Heavenly 
Father, when he answers prayer for 
help in trouble, for rain in drought, for 
healing from sickness, for guidance in 
perplexities, does not need to change 
a single law in the least degree,, but 
puts his own will into those laws and 
uses them. The scientific man can pray 
as naturally and hopefully as the sim- 
plest little child. 

Prayer and the human soul. *Most 
prayers are answered by the influence 
of God’s spirit upon the spirit of Man. 
The greatest needs of man are spiritual 
and moral. Even bodily healing to be 
truly blessed influences the spiritual 
life more than the bodily, as when 
Christ healed men when on earth. The 
earthly father’s training of his child is 
still the best expression of God’s deal- 
ings with his children. 

Prayer and its answer. First. The 
very act of praying brings us into com- 
munion with God, which is the best an- 
swer to prayer. The giving and receiv- 
ing are the means of becoming ac- 
quainted with God. By them we realize 
that God is a person, with love and 
will and mind, to whom we can be 
drawn by a companionship closer than 
that of David and Jonathan, whose 
“ hearts were knit together.” 

Second. But this / answer cannot 
come, unless there be direct answers to 
prayer, gifts in response to the asking. 
Hence, there is a giving of the exact 


PRA 


529 


PRI 


thing we ask for, in all cases where di- 
rect promises are made, or where it 
would be good for us to receive it. 
All acquaintance with another depends 
upon reciprocity. 

Third. Many times the exact thing 
we ask for, in the form we ask for it, 
would be the worst thing for us, and 
what we really do not want. “ We, ig- 
norant of ourselves, beg often our own 
harms.” We do not know enough to 
insist on just the things we desire in 
worldly matters. 

Therefore, in such cases our heavenly 
Father gives us not merely a substitute 
for what we asked, but what we would 
have asked had we known all things 
pertaining to it as God knows them, what 
we really wanted, not what we thought 
we wanted. 

“ Delays are not denials,” but only a 
waiting for the best time to come, for 
the fruits to ripen, for the soil to be 
prepared. 

Public prayer. There are no direc- 
tions as to prayer given in the Mosaic 
law : the duty is rather taken for 
granted, as an adjunct to sacrifice, than 
enforced or elaborated. It is hardly 
conceivable that, even from the begin- 
ning, public prayer did not follow every 
public sacrifice, or accompany it. Such 
a practice is alluded to in Luke 1 : 10 
as common ; and in one instance, at the 
offering of the first-fruits, it was or- 
dained in a striking form. Deut. 26 : 
12-15. In later times it certainly grew 
into a regular service both in the tem- 
ple and in the synagogue. 

Private prayer. Besides this public 
prayer, it was the custom of all at Jeru- 
salem to go up to the temple, at regular 
hours if possible, for private prayer, see 
Luke 18 : 10 ; Acts 3:1; and those who 
were absent were wont to “ open their 
windows toward Jerusalem,” and pray 
“ toward ” the place of God’s presence. 
1 Kings 8:46-49; Ps. 5:7; 28:2; 138: 
2 ; Dan. 6 : 10. The regular hours of 
prayer seem to have been three (see Ps. 
55 : 17 ; Dan. 6 : 10) : “ the evening,” 

that is, the ninth hour, Acts 3:1; 10 : 3, 
the hour of the evening sacrifice, Dan. 
9:21; the “ morning,” that is, the third 
hour, Acts 2 : 15, that of the morning 
sacrifice ; and the sixth hour, or “ noon- 
day.” 

Grace before meat, or giving thanks 
would seem to have been a common 
practice. See Matt. 15:36; Acts 27 : 35. 


Jesus was accustomed to use this beau- 
tiful and helpful practice. 

Attitudes in prayer. The attitude 
has an effect upon the spirit, and those 
attitudes are best which are the nat- 
ural or customary expression of the 
feeling and spirit of worship. (1) The 
posture of prayer among the Jews seems 
to have been most often standing, 1 
Sam. 1:26; Matt. 6:5; Mark 11 : 25 ; 
Luke 18:11; unless (2) the prayer 
were offered with especial solemnity and 
humiliation, which was naturally ex- 
pressed by kneeling, 1 Kings 8 : 54 ; 
comp. 2 Chron. 6 : 13 ; Ezra 9:5; Ps. 
95:6; Dan. 6:10. (3) Prostration, 
that is kneeling with the face bent to 
the ground, Josh. 7:6; 1 Kings 18:42; 
Neh. 8:6. (4) In addition to these 
the hands were lifted (Ps. 63:4), or 
spread out with open upturned palms 
symbolical of the act of receiving. Ex. 
9: 29; Isa. 1: 15. 

Forms of prayer. The most impor- 
tant form of prayer is that given by 
our Lord, the spirit of which best ex- 
presses the spirit of true prayer. That 
it was a model and not an authoritative 
form is shown, by the fact that re- 
corded prayer in the New Testament 
is filled with its spirit, but not one 
takes its exact form. Its spirit is also 
interpreted by that of his prayer in 
Gethsemane and of the prayer recorded 
by St. John, John 17, the beginning of 
Christ’s great work of intercession. 

The only form of prayer given for 
perpetual use in the Old Testament is 
the one in Deut. 26 : 5-15, connected 
with the offering of tithes and first- 
fruits, and containing in simple form 
the important elements of prayer, ac- 
knowledgment of God’s mercy, self- 
dedication and prayer for future bless- 
ing. To this may perhaps be added the 
threefold blessing of Num. 6:24-26, 
couched as it is in a precatory form, 
and the short prayer of Moses, Num. 
10: 35, 36, at the moving and resting of 
the cloud, the former of which was the 
germ of the 68th Psalm. 

Presents. [Gift.] 

President ( sarecd , only used Dan. 6, 
the Chaldee equivalent for Hebrew 
shoter ), a high officer in the Persian 
court, a chief, a president, used of the 
three highest ministers. 

Priest. The English word is derived 
from the Greek presbyter, signifying an 
“elder” (Heb. kdhcn). Origin . — The 


.34 


PRI 


530 


PRI 


idea of a priesthood connects itself in 
all its forms, pure or corrupted, with 
the consciousness, more or less distinct, 
of sin. Men feel that they have broken 
a law. The power above them is holier 
than they are, and they dare not ap- 
proach it. They crave for the inter- 
vention of some one of whom they 
can think as likely to be more accepta- 
ble than themselves. He must offer up 
their prayers, thanksgivings, sacrifices. 
He becomes their representative in 
“ things pertaining unto God.” He may 
become also (though this does not al- 
ways follow) the representative of God 
to man. The functions of the priest 
and prophet may exist in the same per- 
son. No trace of a hereditary or caste 
priesthood meets us in the worship of 
the patriarchal age. Once and once 
only does the word kohen meet us as 
belonging to a ritual earlier than the 
time of Abraham. Melchizedek is “ the 
priest of the most high God.” Gen. 
14:18. In the worship of the patri- 
archs themselves, the chief of the fam- 
ily, as such, acted as the priest. The 
office descended with the birthright, and 
might apparently be transferred with it. 

When established. — The. priesthood 
was first established in the family of 
Aaron, and all the sons of Aaron were 
priests. They stood between the high 
priest on the one hand and the Levites 
on the other. [High Priest; Levites.] 
The ceremony of their consecration is 
described in Ex. 29 ; Lev. 8. 

Dress . — The dress which the priests 
wore during their ministrations con- 
sisted of linen drawers, with a close- 
fitting cassock, also of white linen. 
This came nearly to the feet, and was 
to be worn in its garment shape. 
Comp. John 19 : 23. The white cassock 
was gathered round the body with a 
girdle of needlework, in which, as in 
the more gorgeous belt of the high 
priest, blue, purple and scarlet were 
intermingled with white, and worked 
in the form of flowers. Ex. 28 : 39, 40 ; 
39 : 2 ; Ezek. 44 : 17-19. Upon their 
heads they were to wear caps or bon- 
nets in the form of a cup-shaped flower, 
also of fin$ linen. In all their acts of 
ministration they were to be bare- 
footed. 

Duties . — The chief duties of the 
priests were (1) to watch over the fire 
on the altar of burnt offering, and 
to keep it burning evermore both by 
day and night, Lev. 6 : 12 ; 2 Chron. 13 : 


11; (2) to feed the golden lamp out- 
side the vail with oil, Ex. 27 : 20, 21 ; 
Lev. 24:2; (3) to offer the morning 
and evening sacrifices, each accom- 
panied with a meat offering and a drink 
offering, at the door of the tabernacle. 
Ex. 29 : 38-44. (4) They were also to 

teach the children of Israel the statutes 
of the Lord. Lev. 10 : 11 ; Deut. 33 : 
10 ; 2 Chron. 15 : 3 ; Ezek. 44 : 23, 24. 

(5) During the journeys in the wil- 
derness it belonged to them to cover 
the ark and all the vessels of the sanct- 
uary with a purple or scarlet cloth be- 
fore the Levites might approach them. 
Num. 4 : 5-15. As the people started on 
each day’s march they were to blow 
“ an alarm ” with long silver trumpets. 
Num. 10 : 1-8. Other instruments of 
music might be used by the more 
highly-trained Levites and the schools 
of the prophets, but the trumpets be- 
longed only to the priests. 

Provision for support. — This consisted 
— 1. Of one tenth of the tithes which 
the people paid to the Levites, i. e. one 
per cent, on the whole produce of the 
country. Num. 18:26-28. 2. Of the re- 

demption money, for the first-born of 
man or beast. Num. 18 : 14-19. For the 
former the uniform rate of five shekels 
a head. 3. Of the redemption money 
paid in like manner for men or things 
specially dedicated to the Lord. Lev. 
27. 4. Of the shew-bread, and certain 
parts of the flesh of the burnt offer- 
ings, peace offerings, trespass offerings. 
Lev. 6 : 26, 29 ; 7 : 6-10 ; 10 : 12-15 ; Num. 
18: 8-14. 5. Of an undefined amount of 

the first-fruits of corn, wine and oil. 
Ex. 23 : 19 ; Lev. 2 : 14 ; Deut. 26 : 1-10. 
6. On their settlement in Canaan the 
priestly families had thirteen cities as- 
signed them, with “ suburbs ” or pas- 
ture-grounds for their flocks. Josh. 21 : 
13-19. 7. There was, after the exile, a 

further payment of a third, and later 
a half shekel for each Israelite for the 
support of the Temple. These pro- 
visions were obviously intended to secure 
the religion of Israel against the dan- 
gers of a caste of pauper priests, needy 
and dependent, and unable to bear their 
witness to the true faith. They were, 
on the other hand, as far as possible 
removed from the condition of a 
wealthy order. In fact, however, by all 
these means they had much property 
which was earning an income. In addi- 
tion, in degenerate times they took pay 
for performing some of their duties. 


PRI 


531 


PRO 


Courses . — The priesthood was divided 
by David into four and twenty 
“ courses ” or orders, 1 Chron. 24 : 1-19 ; 
2 Chron. 23': 8 ; Luke 1 : 5, each of which 
was to serve in rotation for one week, 
while the further assignment of special 
services during the week was deter- 
mined by lot. Luke 1 : 9. Each course 
appears to have commenced its work on 
the Sabbath, the outgoing priests taking 
the morning sacrifice, and leaving that 
of the evening to their successors. 2 
Chron. 23 : 8. 

Numbers . — If we may accept the num- 
bers given by Jewish writers as at all 
trustworthy, the proportion of the priest- 
hood to the population of Palestine, 
during the last century of their exist- 
ence as an order, must have been far 
greater than that of the clergy has ever 
been in any Christian nation. But the 
teachers of all schools should be in- 
cluded with our clergy, if we would 
make the comparison fair. Their num- 
ber is estimated as many thousands. It 
is, however, beyond a doubt that in many 
cases priests, Levites, and even Temple 
servants are included in any number 
reported. Priests alone are named in 
one authority of before 200 b.c. as 1500. 
This would naturally be increased be- 
fore N. T. times. The reigns of the 
two kings David and Solomon were the 
culminating period of the glory of the 
Jewish priesthood. It will be interesting 
to bring together the few facts that 
indicate the position of the priests in 
the New Testament period of their his- 
tory. The number scattered throughout 
Palestine was, as has been stated, very 
large. The priestly order, like the na- 
tion, was divided between contending 
sects. In the scenes of the last tragedy 
of Jewish history the order passes away 
without honor. The high priesthood is 
given to the lowest and vilest of the 
adherents of the frenzied Zealots. Other 
priests appear as deserting to the enemy. 
The destruction of Jerusalem deprived 
the order at one blow of all but an hon 
orary distinction. 

Prince, Princess. There are sixteen 
different Hebrew words translated 
“ prince ” in the Authorized Version. 
They nearly all have meanings corre- 
sponding exactly to our various uses of 
the English word. There are some 
which have a special signification such 
as — 1. “ Princes of provinces,” 1 Kings 
20 : 14, who were probably local gov- 
ernors or magistrates. 2. The “ princes ” 


mentioned in Dan. 6:1 (see Esther 1: 
l), who were the satraps or governors 
of provinces, as in R. V. The word 
princess is seldom used in the Bible, but 
the persons to which it alludes — “ daugh- 
ters of kings ” — are frequently men- 
tioned. Where it is used it apparently 
only is meant to call attention to the 
royal character. 

Principality. In several passages of 
the New Testament the term “ principal- 
ities and powers” appears to denote dif- 
ferent orders of angels, good or bad. 
See Eph. 6 : 12. 

Pris'ca (pris'ka) {ancient), 2 Tim. 
4:19, or Priscil'la (a diminutive from 
Prisca ), the wife of Aquila. [Aquila.] 
To what has been said elsewhere under 
the head of Aquila the following may 
be added: We find that the name of 
the wife is placed before that of the 
husband in Rom. 16 : 3 ; 2 Tim. 4 : 19, 
and (according to some of the best 
MSS.) in Acts 18: 26. Hence we should 
be disposed to conclude that Priscilla 
was the more energetic character of the 
two. In fact we may say that Priscilla 
is the example of what the married 
woman may do for the general service 
of the Church, in conjunction with 
home duties, as Phoebe is the type of 
the unmarried servant of the Church, 
or deaconess. 

Prison. [For imprisonment as a pun- 
ishment, see Punish ments.1 It is plain 
that in Egypt special places were used 
as prisons, and that they were under 
the custody of a military officer. Gen. 
40 : 3 ; 42 : 17. During the wandering in 
the desert we read on two occasions of 
confinement “ in ward ” — Lev. 24 : 12 ; 
Num. 15 : 34 ; but as imprisonment was 
not directed by the law, so we hear of 
none till the time of the kings, when the 
prison appears as an appendage to the 
palace, or a special part of it. 1 Kings 
22 : 27. Private houses were sometimes 
used as places of confinement. By the 
Romans the tower of Antonia was used 
as a prison at Jerusalem, Acts 23 : 10, 
and at Caesarea the praetorium of Herod. 
The royal prisons in those days were 
doubtless managed after the Roman 
•fashion, and chains, fetters and stocks 
were used as means of confinement. 
See Acts 16 : 24. One of the readiest 
places for confinement was a dry or 
partially dry wall or pit. Jer. 38:6-11. 

Proch'orus (prok'o-rus) {leader of 
the chorus), one of the seven deacons, 
being the third on the list, and named 


PRO 


532 


PRO 


next after Stephen and Philip. Acts 6 : 

5. 

Proconsul (for, or in place of, the 
consul). At the division of the Roman 
provinces by Augustus, in the year b.c. 
27, into senatorial and imperial, the em- 
peror assigned to the senate such por- 
tions of territory as were peaceable and 
could be held without force of arms. 
Those which he retained were called 
imperial, and were governed by legates 
and procurators. [Procurator.] Over 
the senatorial provinces the senate ap- 
pointed by lot yearly an officer, who 
was called “ proconsul,” and who ex- 
ercised purely civil functions. The 
provinces were in consequence called 
“ proconsular.” 

Procurator. The Greek vye/xui', ren- 
dered “ governor ” in the Authorized 
Version, is applied in the New Testa- 
ment to the officer who presided over 
the imperial province of Judea. It is 
used of Pontius Pilate, Matt. 27, of 
Felix, Acts 23, 24, and of Festus. Acts 
26 : 30. It is explained under Procon- 
sul that after the battle of Actium, b.c. 
27, the provinces of the Roman empire 
were divided by Augustus into two por- 
tions, giving some to the senate and re- 
serving to himself the rest. The im- 
perial provinces were administered by 
legati. No quaestor came into the em- 
peror’s provinces, but the property and 
revenues of the imperial treasury were 
administered by procuratores, who were 
distinctly the servants of the emperor 
and stood or fell by his pleasure. 
Sometimes a province was governed by 
a procurator with the functions of a 
legatus. This was especially the case 
with the smaller provinces and the out- 
lying districts of a larger province; and 
such is the relation in which Judea stood 
to Syria. The headquarters of the pro- 
curator were at Caesarea, Acts 23 : 23, 
where he had a judgment seat, Acts 25: 

6, in the audience chamber, Acts 25 : 23, 
and was assisted by a council, Acts 25 : 
12, whom he consulted in cases of diffi- 
culty. He was attended by a cohort as 
body-guard, Matt. 27 : 27, and apparently 
went up to Jerusalem at the time of the 
high festivals, and there resided at the 
palace of Herod, in which was the prce- 
torium or “ judgment hall.” Matt. 27 : 
27 ; Mark 15 : 16 ; comp. Acts 23 : 35. 

Prophet, Prophecy. The Hebrew 
word for prophet, nabl, means “ one 
who announces or brings a message 
from God.” Our word “ prophet ” has 


essentially the same meaning one who 
speaks by divine inspiration as the in- 
terpreter or spokesman of God, whether 
it be a message of duty and warning, 
or a prediction of future events. The 
twofold meaning is due to the two 
senses of the preposition pro (in the 
Greek from which our word prophet is 
derived) “for” and “before;” so that 
a prophet is one who speaks for God, 
and one who tells before hand what is 
to take place. 

The need of prophets. There are 
two ways in which God reveals his will 
to his children. One is through his 
works ; the other through his influence 
upon the spirit of man, probably upon 
the spirit of all men as they are able 
to receive it. But there are some per- 
sons who are able to receive much more 
than others, on account of their more 
susceptible psychological temperament, 
a more perfect moral character, a more 
sensitive conscience, a life nearer to 
God, a more spiritual nature, a more 
complete consecration to God and his 
will. To these God can reveal his will, 
and through them to their fellow men. 
These can become his prophets, whom 
he fills with his spirit, and whom he 
inspires to speak his word with au- 
thority. 

The prophets were raised up from 
the people, called of God for some par- 
ticular purpose or need, as the Judges 
were raised up for special crises. They 
were not a class or a guild, inheriting 
the office. Prophecy was not an insti- 
tution like the priesthood, and mon- 
archy, but each one had a personal call 
to his work. This is true of most of 
the great men who have influenced the 
world’s history. 

The work of the prophets. The 
prophets were the moral and religious 
teachers of their nation, authoritative 
preachers of righteousness. Statesmen 
who guided the religious life which lay 
at the foundation of the nation’s wel- 
fare, the counsellor of kings, revivalists 
and reformers who awakened the re- 
ligious life of the people, forewarners 
of the certainty of the divine judgment 
on sin, proclaimers of the divine ideals, 
the golden age toward which the na- 
tion was to move. 

“ The prophet was not only the bearer, 
he was the embodiment of the idea of 
the theocracy. This idea, which is that 
of the communion of the living God 
with mankind, was realized in him, and 


PRO 


533 


PRO 


through him in Israel. Though he 
could be distinguished from Israel, he 
was in truth Israel at its highest.” 
(Hastings’ Bible Dictionary.) 

The prophets were also historians, us- 
ing the earlier history of the nation as 
a light upon the path of the present, 
showing God’s guiding hand, teaching 
Israel to avoid the rocks on which the 
nation was so often wrecked, and point- 
ing clearly to the only conditions of 
success. 

While the earlier prophets are re- 
ported and described, the later ones from 
the eighth century on wrote down their 
prophecies, as a perpetual means of in- 
struction to all time. 

The methods of the prophets. The 
prophets received their message in 
various ways : by visions, dreams, 
“ thought-images,” angels, and direct ac- 
tion of God upon the mind, inspiring 
them and revealing to them the needed 
truths. It is probable the mind of the 
prophet was not passive but intensely 
active during the revelation. 

In giving the message to the people 
the prophets used almost every known 
method of impressing the truth: object 
lessons, dramatic actions, visible repre- 
sentations, visions, parables, history, 
preaching, warnings, the facts around 
them, the highest eloquence, the su- 
premest poetry, predictions and miracles. 

The authority of the prophets over 
the people was derived from several 
sources : 

1. Their own character as holy, self- 
denying, unselfish men. 

2. Their message touched the con- 
science, which declared that the prophets 
were right. 

3. Their message was in accordance 
with the results of the past history of 
the nation. 

4. The assurance on the part of the 
prophets that they were messengers of 
God, and were speaking his truth, gave 
power to their words. They spoke with 
authority. 

5. Miracles wrought by God through 
the prophets, confirmed the word not 
only of the prophets who wrought them, 
but of the whole school of prophets. 

6. The fulfilment of their prophecies 
was a strong confirmation of the in- 
spired messages. Only God could re- 
veal the future as the prophets fore- 
told it. There is not one of their 
prophecies which was not fulfilled or in 
the process of fulfilment. The glorious 


prophecies of the return and of the 
coming Messiah, were not completely 
fulfilled as many Jews expected, but the 
eras which included them did come, as 
the promised day comes with the first 
rays of the sun, although all the glories 
of the day do not stream upon us with 
the dawn. Conditional promises are 
accomplished when the conditions are 
fulfilled. 

Schools of the prophets. “ Samuel 
planned and set up an institution, so to 
call it, that has made far more mark 
on the world than anything else that 
survives to us out of Israel or Greece 
or Rome. In his ripe and far-seeing 
years Samuel devised and founded and 
presided over a great prophetical school 
in his old age ; an estate of learned 
and earnest-minded men, who were to 
watch over the religion and the morals 
of the people, in the prophetical spirit 
and in the prophetical name. And thus 
it came about that at Naioth in Ramah 
the first school of the prophets was set 
up.” 

“ How far these companies and 
schools were ‘ organized,’ may be largely 
a matter of inference; although a more 
or less permanent ‘ communal associa- 
tion ’ of some kind seems clearly im- 
plied in the Scriptures, and has been 
brought into prominence by tradition. 
Their aim was evidently educational, 
and their function an important one in 
the development and direction of the 
political and religious life of the people.” 
Professor Willis J. Beecher’s Prophets 
and the Promise. 

Prophets of the New Testament . — So 
far as their predictive powers are con- 
cerned, the Old Testament prophets find 
their New Testament counterpart in the 
writer of the Apocalypse; but in their 
general character, as specially illumined 
revealers of God’s will, their counterpart 
will rather be found, first in the great 
Prophet of the Church and his fore- 
runner, John the Baptist, and next in 
all those persons who were endowed 
with the extraordinary gifts of the 
Spirit in the apostolic age, the speakers 
with tongues and the interpreters of 
tongues, the prophets and the discerners 
of spirits, the teachers and workers of 
miracles. 1 Cor. 12 : 10, 28. That pre- 
dictive powers did occasionally exist in 
the New Testament prophets is proved 
by the case of Agabus, Acts 11:28, but 
this was not their characteristic. The 
prophets of the New Testament were 


PRO 


534 


PRO 


supernaturally-illuminated expounders 
and preachers. 

Proselyte ( a visitor, a new comer), 
the name given by the Jews to for- 
eigners who adopted the Jewish religion. 
The dispersion of the Jews in foreign 
countries, which has been spoken of 
elsewhere [Dispersion, The], enabled 
them to make many converts to their 
faith. The converts who were thus at- 
tracted joined, with varying strictness, 
in the worship of the Jews. In Pales- 
tine ' itself, even Roman centurions 
learned to love the conquered nation, 
built synagogues for them, Luke 7 : 5, 
fasted and prayed, and gave alms after 
the pattern of the strictest Jews, Acts 
10 : 2, 30, and became preachers of the 
new faith to *the soldiers under them. 
Acts 10 : 7. Such men, drawn by what 
was best in Judaism, were naturally 
among the readiest receivers of the new 
truth which rose out of it, and became, 
in many cases, the nucleus of a Gen- 
tile Church. Proselytism had, however, 
its darker side. The Jews of Pales- 
tine were eager to spread their faith by 
the same weapons as those with which 
they had defended it. The Idumaeans 
had the alternative offered them by John 
Hyrcanus of death, exile or • circum- 
cision. The Iturseans were converted in 
the same way by Aristobulus. Where 
force was not in their power, they ob- 
tained their ends by the most unscru- 
pulous fraud. Those who were most 
active in proselytizing were precisely 
those from whose teaching all that was 
most true and living had departed. The 
vices of the Jew were engrafted on the 
vices of the heathen. A repulsive casu- 
istry released the convert from obliga- 
tions which he had before recognized, 
while in other things he was bound 
hand and foot to an unhealthy super- 
stition. It was no wonder that he be- 
came “ twofold more the child of hell,” 
Matt. 23 : 15, than the Pharisees them- 
selves. We find in the Talmud a dis- 
tinction between proselytes of the gate 
and proselytes of righteousness. 1. The 
term proselytes of the gate was derived 
from the frequently-occurring descrip- 
tion in the law, “ the stranger that is 
within thy gates.” Ex. 20 : 10, etc. Con- 
verts of this class were not bound by 
circumcision and the other special laws 
of the Mosaic ‘ code. It is doubtful, 
however, whether the distinction made 
in the Talmud ever really existed. 2. 
The proselytes of righteousness, known 


also as proselytes of the covenant, were 
perfect Israelites. We learn from the 
Talmud that, in addition to circum- 
cision, the bath of purification, decreed 
by the law (Lev. 11-15, Num. 19) and 
especially necessary in one coming from 
the defilement of heathenism, was also 
required to complete their admission to 
the faith. This is often spoken of as 
baptism, and certainly has the same 
symbolic meaning. The proselyte was 
placed in a tank or pool up to his neck 
in water. His teachers, who now acted 
as his sponsors, repeated the great com- 
mandments of the law. The baptism 
was followed, as long as the temple 
stood, by the offering or corban. 

Proverbs, Book of, is “a Miscellany 
of Wisdom in five books,” containing 
three hundred and seventy-five brief 
literary compositions wholly uncon- 
nected.” 

Author and dates. Two of these 
books are ascribed to Solomon and their 
date would be about b.c. 1000. Another 
book is said to be composed of Proverbs 
collected by men of Hezekiah, and 
would therefore be dated about 700 b.c. 
The rest are by unknown authors, some 
of them being placed as late as b.c. 200. 
The fifth book is made up of three ap- 
pendices, the last of which, “ The Praise 
of the Virtuous Woman,” is an alpha- 
betical acrostic. 

Character of the book. “ The Bibli- 
cal Book of Proverbs introduces itself 
as an Instruction Book primarily in- 
tended for the young, yet containing 
matter which may be of use to the ma- 
ture as well. 

Its topic. The book “treats of con- 
duct in general, denouncing such evils 
as belong to a simple state of society,” 
and portrays the varying aspects of life. 

Its method is that of the gnome or 
brief practical maxims in poetic meas- 
ure. Professor Moulton states the 
three characteristics of this method : 

(1) “Antithesis is the very life blood- 
of the proverb : Antithesis, in the form 
of adversative or other contrast, be- 
longs to the vast majority of them.” 

. (2) “ Next in importance to antithe- 
sis, comparison is a mode of emphasis 
in proverbial sayings.” 

(3) “A third mode of treatment 
found in the Proverbs is the kind of 
comparison called Imagery.” 

The literary forms are (1) The 
Unit Proverb, consisting usually of a 
single couplet. (2) There are a few 


PRO 


535 


PSA 


Proverb clusters where several inde- 
pendent sayings are gathered about a 
common theme; (3) the Epigram. (4) 
Wisdom Sonnets. 

Province. 1. In the Old Testament 
this word appears (a) in connection with 
the wars between Ahab and Ben-hadad. 
1 Kings 20 : 14, 15, 19. The victory 
of the former is gained chiefly “by 
the young men of the princes of the 
provinces,”, i. e., probably of the chiefs 
of tribes in the Gilead country, (b) 
More commonly the word is used of 
the divisions of the Chaldaean kingdom. 
Dan. 2 : 49 ; 3:1, 30, and the Persian 
kingdom. Ezra 2:1; Neh. 7:6; Esther 
1 : 1, 22 ; 2 : 3, etc. 2. In the New Testa- 
ment we are brought into contact with 
the administration of the provinces of 
the Roman empire. The classification 
of provinces supposed to need military 
control and therefore placed under the 
immediate government of the Csesar, 
and those still belonging theoretically 
to the republic and administered by the 
senate, and of the latter again into pro- 
consular and praetorian, is recognized, 
more or less distinctly, in the Gospels 
and the Acts. [Proconsul; Procura- 
tor.] The (TTparriyoL of Acts 16:22 
(“magistrates,” Authorized Version), 
on the other hand, were the duumviri or 
praetors of a Roman colony. The right 
of any Roman citizen to appeal from a 
provincial governor to the emperor 
meets us as asserted by St. Paul. Acts 
25 : 11. In the council of Acts 25 : 12 we 
recognize the assessors who were ap- 
pointed to take part in the judicial func- 
tions of the governor. 

Psalms, Book of. This book was the 
Hebrew hymnal, The Book of Praises, 
the hymns being designed to be set to 
music and used in the worship of God 
in the Temple and especially in the 
synagogues after the exile. In the titles 
we have sometimes the names of the 
tune to which a psalm is to be sung, 
the instrument which is to accompany 
it, the choir to which it belongs, the 
voices which render it, as soprano or 
bass. 

The five books. There are 150 
Psalms divided into five books, ending 
with Psa. 41, 72, 89, 106, and 150, each 
of which closes with some form of 
the benediction, — “ Amen and Amen,” 
“ Blessed be the Lord forevermore.” As 
an old familiar hymn-book was named 
Watts and Select, so the Psalms may be 
called David and Select. 


The psalter was formed gradually, 
there being great eras of song arising 
from religious and political crises or de- 
liverances which deeply impressed the 
national life. The remarkable develop- 
ment of the nation under David, the 
reformation under Hezekiah, the re- 
turn from Exile, were eras of song. 
We can learn not a little concerning 
the formation of the Psalter by noting 
the development of modern hymnology. 
Every widespread revival of religion 
has been the inspirer of hymns. Great 
occasions produce great hymns. “ Poets 
appear in clusters or constellations; for 
only in seasons of great peril, or signal 
and splendid triumph, are those deeper 
and stronger feelings called forth 
which are the soul of the truest and 
most perfect poetry.” — Perowne. 

The hymns thus produced are gath- 
ered into different collections. They 
are altered to meet new circumstances; 
long hymns have been divided into sev- 
eral short ones, as Bernard Cluny’s 
“ Jerusalem the Golden,” and Whittier’s 
“ Our Master ” ; verses have been added 
to hymns by other authors, as to New- 
man’s “ Lead Kindly Light,” and 
Smith’s “My country ’tis of thee”; in 
other hymns stanzas have been omitted. 
Now all these things occur in the book 
of the Psalms, and help us to under- 
stand them. Psalms 14 and 53 are 
nearly the same. Psalm 70 is nearly the 
same as the latter part of Psalm 40. 
Psalm 108 is made up of the last por- 
tions of 57 and 60. Psalms 120-134 are 
a group by themselves in the fifth book 
of the Psalter. 

The Davidic Psalms. In the first 
book all the psalms except four are 
attributed to David. In the second book 
eighteen are ascribed to David. In this 
book the divine name is prevailingly 
Elohim, God, while in the first book the 
divine name is generally Jehovah. Two 
psalms in the second book (54 and 70) 
duplicate two in the first book (14 and 
40 : 13-17) substituting the word God 
for Jehovah. One or more psalms in 
the remaining three books are ascribed 
to David. Now it is well understood 
that the titles, although very ancient, 
are not an authoritative part of the 
Psalms, any more than the titles at the 
top of the pages throughout our Au- 
thorized Version of the Bible are part 
of the Bible. It may be that the psalms 
entitled as his, are simply a part of 
a Davidic collection, by whomsoever 


PSA 


536 


PSA 


written. At the same time later addi- 
tions to psalms attributed to him, do 
not prove that he did not write the 
psalm. Perowne instances Psalm 51 at- 
tributed to David, “ of which the last 
two verses were obviously added at the 
time of the return from the exile, the 
psalm itself having been written by 
David, as the title correctly informs us. 
Cheyne attributes very few psalms to 
David, but his arguments are often 
fallacious. It is probable that quite a 
large number were written by him. 

Inscriptions. Many of the Psalms 
have inscriptions of various kinds. 
Some are called Michtam, “ golden 
poem/’ or Maschil , “ choice ode.” The 
4th is set to Negindth, “ stringed instru- 
ments.” Psalms 6 and 12 are on She- 
minith, “ the octave bass,” for male 
voices. The 46th on Alamoth, “after 
the manner of maidens,” or a soprano 
song. Psalm 9 is set to the tune, 
“ Death of the Son ” ; Psalm 22 to the 
tune, “ Hind of the Morning ” ; Psalm 
45 to the tune, “ The Lilies ” ; Psalm 
56 to the tune, “The Far-off Dove in 
Silent lands.” 

“ To the chief Musician,” that is for 
the leader of the Temple choir, either 
of the band or of the singers, occurs 
55 times. 

In Ps. 5 is Nehiloth, “ to the flutes ” 
or with flute accompaniment ; in Ps. 
8 and 84 Upon Gittith, probably means 
upon a Gathite instrument, or to a 
Gathite tune. 

Selah, so frequently occurring, prob- 
ably means an interlude, when the musi- 
cal instruments played alone. 

The Songs of Degrees are a group of 
fifteen Psalms, 120-134, each of which is 
entitled in the A. V., “ A Song of De- 
grees,” and in the R. V., “ A Song of 
Ascents.” Others translate, “ Songs of 
the Upgoings,” “ Pilgrim Psalms,” “ The 
Traveler’s Hymn Book.” 

“ The Psalms,” says Prof. M. R. Vin- 
cent, “ are among the most charming por- 
tions of the Psalter, full of deep and 
tender feeling, simple and graceful in 
structure, so that a Spanish writer has 
said that this collection is to the rest 
of the Psalms what paradise was to the 
world at its first creation.” 

There are several explanations of the 
title of this booklet of Psalms, two of 
which are probably correct. 

1. “ The best modern scholars refer 
the word ‘ degrees ’ or ‘ ascents ’ to the 
successive stages of the pilgrimage 


which the Jews were accustomed to 
make thrice every year to the temple 
on Mount Zion. On such journeys it 
would be natural to beguile the tedium 
of the way, or to cheer the nightly en- 
campment by the singing of familiar 
ballads, . . . and we may feel 

quite sure that we have here a brief 
collection of the popular songs which 
were used in this way.” 

2. Others think that they were the 
collection composed or selected for the 
return journey from Babylon up to Je- 
rusalem, to be used by the two hundred 
singers who accompanied the caravan. 

It is quite probable that both explana- 
tions are true. Such songs were doubt- 
less sung by the people while going up 
to the great feasts, as is still the custom 
in the Orient. A book of such songs 
was gathered and added to from time 
to time, just as in our own day. New 
ones were composed for the return, as 
allusions in them to captivity may im- 
ply, though there were many captivities 
before the great exile. All of them at 
this time were made into the present 
little booklet of Songs of the Goings 
Up, which is incorporated into the latest' 
of the five books of the Psalter. 

Psaltery. This was a stringed in- 
strument of music to accompany the 
voice. The Hebrew nebel or nebel is so 
rendered in the Authorized Version in 
all passages where it occurs, except in 
Isa. 5:12; 14:11; 22:24, marg. ; Amos 
5:23; 6:5, where it is translated viol. 
The ancient viol was a six-stringed 
guitar. In the Prayer Book version of 
the Psalms the Hebrew word is ren- 
dered “ lute.” This instrument resem- 
bled the guitar, but was superior in 
tone, being larger, and having a convex 
back, somewhat like the vertical section 
of a gourd, or more nearly resembling 
that of a pear'. These three instru- 
ments, the psaltery or sautry, the viol 
and the lute, are frequently associated 
in the old English poets, and were 
clearly instruments resembling each 
other, though still different. The Greek 
psalterium (paXrripLov ) , from which our 
word is derived, denotes an instrument 
played with the fingers instead of a 
plectrum or quill, the verb being used 
of twanging the bow-string. It is im- 
possible to say positively with what in- 
strument the nebel of the Hebrew ex- 
actly corresponded. From the fact that 
nebel in Hebrew also signifies a wine- 
bottle or skin, it has been conjectured 


PTO 


537 


PTO 


that the term when applied to a musical 
instrument denotes a kind of bagpipe. 
The psalteries of David were made of 
cypress, 2 Sam. 6:5; those of Solomon 
of algum or almug trees. 2 Chron. 9 : 
11. Among the instruments of the band 
which played before Nebuchadnezzar’s 
golden image on the plains of Dura, 
we again meet with the psaltery. Dan. 
3 : 5, 10, 15, pesanterin. 

Ptolemae'us (tol-e-ma'us), or Ptol'= 
emy, was the common name of the 
Greek dynasty of Egyptian kings. 
Ptolemveus I. Soter, the son of Lagus, 
a Macedonian of low rank, distin- 
guished himself greatly during the cam- 
paigns of Alexander; at whose death he 
secured for himself the government of 
Egypt, where he proceeded at once to 
lay the foundations of a kingdom, b.c. 
323. He abdicated in favor of his 
youngest son, Ptolemy II. Philadel- 
phus, two years before his death, which 
took place in b.c. 283. Ptolemy Soter 
is generally held to be the “ king of the 
south ” in Dan. 11 : 5, one of those who 
should receive part’ of the empire of 
Alexander when it was “ divided toward 
the- four winds of heaven.” 

Ptolem^eus II. Philadelphus, b.c. 
285-247, the youngest son of Ptolemy I., 
was made king two years before his 
father’s death, to confirm the irregular 
succession. The conflict between Egypt 
and Syria was renewed during his reign 
in consequence of the intrigue of his 
half-brother Magas. Ptolemy bestowed 
liberal encouragement on literature and 
science, founding the great library and 
museum at Alexandria, and gathered 
about him many men of learning, as the 
poet Theocritus, the geometer Euclid 
and the astronomer Aratus. This reign 
was a critical epoch for the develop- 
ment of Judaism, as it was for the in- 
tellectual history of the ancient world. 
The critical faculty was called forth in 
place of the creative, and learning in 
some sense supplied the place of original 
speculation. It was impossible that the 
Jew, who was now become as true a 
citizen of the world as the Greek, should 
remain passive in the conflict of opin- 
ions. It is enough now to observe the 
greatness of the consequences involved 
in the union of Greek language with 
Jewish thought. From this time the 
Jew was familiarized with the great 
types of western literature, and in some 
degree aimed at imitating them. A sec- 
ond time and in new fashion Egypt 


disciplined a people of God. It first im- 
pressed upon a nation the firm unity of 
a family, and then in due time recon- 
nected a matured people with the world 
from which it had been called out. He 
is thought to have been referred to in 
Dan. 11 : 6. 

Ptolemveus III. Euergetes, b.c. 247- 
222, was the eldest son of Ptolemy 
Philadelphus and brother of Berenice 
the wife of Antiochus II. The repudi- 
ation and murder of his sister furnished 
him with an occasion for invading 
Syria, cir. b.c. 246. Dan. 11 : 7. He ex- 
tended his conquests as far as Antioch, 
and then eastward to Babylon, but was 
.recalled to Egypt by tidings of seditions 
which had broken out there. His suc- 
cess was brilliant and complete. He 
carried “ captives into Egypt their gods 
[of the conquered nations], with their 
princes, and with their precious vessels 
of silver and of gold.” Dan. 11:8. 
This capture of sacred trophies earned 
for the king the name Euergetes — 
“ Benefactor.” After his return to 
Egypt, cir. b.c. 243, he suffered a great 
part of the conquered provinces to fall 
again under the power of Seleucus. 

Ptolem^eus IV. Philopator, b.c. 222- 
205. After the death of Ptolemy Euer- 
getes the line of the Ptolemies rapid- 
ly degenerated. Ptolemy Philopator, 
his eldest son, who succeeded him, was 
to the last degree sensual, effeminate 
and debased. But externally his king- 
dom retained its power and splendor; 
and when circumstances forced him to 
action, Ptolemy himself showed ability 
not unworthy of his race. The descrip- 
tion of the campaign of Raphia (b.c. 
217) in the book of Daniel gives a vivid 
description of his character. Dan. 11 : 
10-12; cf. 3 Macc. 1:1-3. After offer- 
ing in the temple at Jerusalem sacrifices 
for the success then achieved, he at- 
tempted to enter the sanctuary. . A sud- 
den paralysis hindered his design ; but 
when he returned to Alexandria he de- 
termined to inflict on the Alexandrine 
Jews the vengeance for his disappoint- 
ment. He probably reduced their priv- 
ileges, though the stories of their super- 
natural deliverance are not authentic. 
He was succeeded by his only child, 
Ptolemy V., who was at the time only 
four or five years old. 

Ptolem^eus V. Epiphanes, b.c. 205- 
181. The reign of Ptolemy Epiphanes 
was a critical epoch in the history of the 
Jews. The rivalry between the Syrian 




PTO 


538 


PTO 


and Egyptian parties, which had for 
some time divided the people, came to an 
open rupture in the struggles which 
marked his minority. In the strong lan- 
guage of Daniel, “ The robbers of the 
people exalted themselves to establish 
the vision.” Dan. 11:14. The acces- 
sion of Ptolemy and the confusion of 
a disputed regency furnished a favor- 
able opportunity for foreign invasion. 
“ Many stood up against the king of 
the south ” under Antiochus the Great 
and Philip III. of Macedonia, who 
formed a league for the dismemberment 
of his kingdom. “ So the king of the 
north [Antiochus] came, and cast up a 
mount, and took the most fenced city 
[Sidon], and the arms of the south did 
not withstand” [at Paneas, b.c. 198]. 
Dan. 11:14, 15. The Romans inter- 
fered, and in order to retain the prov- 
inces of Ccele-Syria, Phoenicia and Ju- 
dea, Antiochus “gave him [Ptolemy] a 
young maiden ” [his daughter Cleopatra 
as his betrothed wife]. Dan. 11:17. 
But in the end his policy only partially 
succeeded. After the marriage of Ptol- 
emy and Cleopatra was consummated, 
b.c. 193, Cleopatra did “not stand on 
his side,” but supported her husband in 
maintaining the alliance with Rome. 
The disputed provinces, however, re- 
mained in the possession of Antiochus ; 
and Ptolemy was poisoned at the time 
when he was preparing an expedition to 
recover them from Seleucus, the un- 
worthy successor of Antiochus. 

Ptolem^us VI. Philometor, b.c. 181- 
145. On the death of Ptolemy Epiph- 
anes, his wife Cleopatra held the re- 
gency for her young son, Ptolemy Philo- 
metor, and preserved peace with Syria 
till she died, B.c. 173, when he took 
the government into his own hands, and 
an attempt was made to recover Syria. 
Comp. 2 Macc. 4 : 21. Antiochus Epiph- 
anes seems to have made the claim 
a pretext for invading Egypt. The 
generals of Ptolemy were defeated near 
Pelusium, probably at the close of b.c. 
171, 1 Macc. 1 : 16 ff . ; and in the next 
year Antiochus, having secured the per- 
son of the young king, reduced almost 
the whole of Egypt. Comp. 2 Macc. 5 : 
1. Meanwhile Ptolemy Euergetes II., 
the younger brother of Ptolemy Philo- 
metor, assumed the supreme power at 
Alexandria; and Antiochus, under the 
pretext of recovering the crown for 
Philometor, besieged Alexandria in b.c. 


169. By this time, however, his selfish 
designs were apparent : the brothers 
were reconciled, and Antiochus was 
obliged to acquiesce for the time in the 
arrangement which they made. But 
while doing so he prepared for another 
invasion of Egypt, and was already ap- 
proaching Alexandria when he was met 
by the Roman embassy led by C. Popil- 
lius Lsenas, who, in the name of the 
Roman senate, insisted on his immediate 
retreat (b.c. 168), a command which 
the late victory at Pydna made it impos- 
sible to disobey. These campaigns, 
which are intimately connected with the 
visits of Antiochus to Jerusalem in b.c. 

170, 168, are briefly described in Dan. 
11 : 25-30. The whole of Syria was 
afterward subdued by Ptolemy, and he 
was crowned at Antioch king of Egypt 
and Asia. 1 Macc. 11 : 13. Alexander 
Balas, a rival claimant, attempted to se- 
cure the crown, but was defeated and 
afterward put to death by Ptolemy. But 
the latter did not long enjoy his suc- 
cess. He fell from his horse in the 
battle, and died within a few days. 1 
Macc. 11 : 18. Ptolemy Philometor is 
the last king of Egypt of any impor- 
tance, and his reign was marked also 
by the erection of the temple at Leon- 
topolis. 

Ptolem^eus VII., also called Euergetes, 
was at first co-ruler with his brother, 
and after the death of the latter reigned 
alone b.c. 146-117. He was of little im- 
portance, and was, practically at least, 
a subject of Rome. He is named in 1 
Macc. 15 : 16 and perhaps in 1 Macc. 1 : 
18. 

Ptolema'is (tol-e-ma'is). [Accho.] 

Ptol'emee, or Ptoleme'us. 1 . “ The 
son of Dorymenes,” 1 Macc. 3:38; 2 
Macc. 4:45; comp. Polyb. v. 61, a 
courtier who possessed great influence 
with Antiochus Epiphanes. Possibly 
identical with 

2. The son of Agesarchus, a Megalo- 
politan, surnamed Macron, 2 Macc. 10 : 
12, who was governor of Cyprus during 
the minority of Ptolemy Philometor. 
He afterward deserted the Egyptian 
service to join Antiochus Epiphanes. 
He stood high in the favor of Antiochus, 
and received from him the government 
of Phoenicia and Coele-Syria. 2 Macc. 
8:8; 10 : 11, 12. On the accession of 
Antiochus Eupator his conciliatory pol- 
icy toward the Jews brought him into 
suspicion at court. He was deprived of 


FUA 


539 


PUN 


his government, and in consequence of 
this disgrace he poisoned himself, cir. 
B.c. 164. 2 Macc. 10 : 13. 

3. The son of Abubus, who married 
the daughter of Simon the Maccabee. 
He was a man of great wealth, and be- 
ing invested with the government of the 
district of Jericho, formed the design 
of usurping the sovereignty of Judea. 1 
Macc. 16 : 11. 

Pu'a (pu'a), properly Puvah. Phu- 
vah the son of Issachar. Num. 26 : 23. 

Pu'ah (pu'a). 1. The father of 

Tola, a man of the tribe of Issachar, 
and judge of Israel after Abimelech. 
Judges 10 : 1. 

2. The son of Issachar, 1 Chron. 7: 1, 
elsewhere called Phuvah and Pua. 

3. (A different Hebrew word.) One 
of the. two midwives to whom Pharaoh 
gave instructions to kill the Hebrew 
male children at their birth. Ex. 1 : 15. 
(b.c. 1571.) 

Publican. The class designated by 
this word in the New Testament were 
employed as collectors of the Roman 
revenue. The Roman senate farmed 
the ve ctig alia (direct taxes) and the 
portoria (customs) to capitalists who 
undertook to pay a given sum into the 
treasury (in publicum) , and so received 
the name of publicani. Contracts of 
this kind fell naturally into the hands 
of the equites , as the richest class of 
Romans. They appointed managers, 
under whom were the portitores, the 
actual custom-house officers, who exam- 
ined each bale of goods, exported or 
imported, assessed its value more or less 
arbitrarily, wrote out the ticket, and en- 
forced payment. The latter were com- 
monly natives of the province in which 
they were stationed, as being brought 
daily into contact with all classes of 
the population. The name publicani 
was used popularly, and in the New Tes- 
tament exclusively, of the portitores. 
The system was essentially a vicious one. 
The portitores were encouraged in the 
most vexatious or fraudulent exactions, 
and a remedy was all but impossible. 
They overcharged whenever they had 
an opportunity, Luke 3 : 13 ; they 
brought false charges , of smuggling in 
the hope of extorting hush-money, 
Luke 19 : 8 ; they detained and opened 
letters on mere suspicion. It was the 
basest of all livelihoods. All this was 
enough to bring the class into ill favor 
everywhere. In Judea and Galilee there 
were special circumstances of aggrava- 


tion. The employment brought out all 
the besetting vices of the Jewish char- 
acter. The strong feeling of many 
Jews as to the absolute unlawfulness of 
paying tribute at all made matters worse. 
The scribes who discussed the qu-estion, 
Matt. 22 : 17, for the most part answered 
it in the negative. In addition to their 
other faults, accordingly, the publicans 
of the New Testament were regarded as 
traitors and apostates, defiled by their 
frequent intercourse with the heathen, 
willing tools of the oppressor. The 
class thus practically excommunicated 
furnished some of the earliest disciples 
both of the Baptist and of our Lord. 
The position of Zacchaeus as a “ chief 
among the publicans,” Luke 19 : 2, im- 
plies a gradation of some kind among 
the persons thus employed. 

Pub'Iius (pub'li-us), the chief man — 
probably the governor — of Melita, who 
received and lodged St. Paul and his 
companions on the occasion of their 
being shipwrecked off that island. Acts 
28:7. (a.d. 59.) 

Pu'dens (pu'denz) (modest), a Chris- 
tian friend of Timothy at Rome. 2 
Tim. 4:21. (a.d. 64.) According to 
legend he was the host of St. Peter and 
friend of St. Paul, and was martyred 
under Nero. 

Pu'hites (pu'hites), The. According 
to 1 Chron. 2 : 53, the “ Puhites ” or 
“ Puthites ” belonged to the families of 
Kirjath-jearim. 

Pul (pul), a country or nation men- 
tioned in Isa. 66 : 19. It is spoken of 
with distant nations, and is supposed by 
some to represent the island Philse in 
Egypt? and by others Libya. The ma- 
jority of modern scholars, however, con- 
sider it a copyist’s error for Put. 

Pul, an Assyrian king, and the first 
Assyrian monarch mentioned in Scrip- 
ture. He made an expedition against 
Menahem, king of Israel, about b.c. 745. 
2 Kings 15 : 19. It is without doubt the 
original name of Tiglath-pileser. 

Pulse (seeds) usually means peas, 
beans and the seeds that grow in pods. 
In the Authorized Version it occurs only 
in Dan. 1 : 12, 16, as the translation of 
words the literal meaning of which is 
“seeds” of any kind. Probably the 
term denotes uncooked grain of any 
kind, as barley, wheat, millet, vetches, 
etc. 

Punishments. The earliest theory 
of punishment current among mankind 
is doubtless the one of simple retalia- 


PUN 


540 


PUN 


tion, “ blood for blood.” Viewed his- 
torically, the first case of punishment 
for crime mentioned in Scripture, next 
to the Fall itself, is that of Cain, the 
first murderer. That death was re- 
garded as the fitting punishment for 
murder appears plain from the remark 
of Lamech. Gen. 4 : 24. In the post- 
diluvian code, if we may so call it, ret- 
ribution by the hand of man, even in 
the case of an offending animal, for 
blood shed, is clearly laid down. Gen. 
9:5, 6. Passing onward to Mosaic 

times, we find the sentence of capital 
punishment, in the case of murder, 
plainly laid down in the law. Ex. 21 : 
12, 14; Num. 35:19, 30, 31. The mur- 
derer was to be put to death, even if 
he should have taken refuge at God’s 
altar or in a refuge city, and the same 
principle was to be carried out even in 
the case of an animal. 

Offences punished with death. — I. The 
following offences also are mentioned 
in the law as liable to the punishment 
of death : 1. Striking, or even reviling, 

a parent. Ex. 21 : 15, 17. 2. Blasphe- 
my, Lev. 24 : 14, 16, 23. 3. Sabbath- 
breaking. Ex. 31:14; 35:2; Num. 15: 
32-36. 4. Witchcraft, and false preten- 

sion to prophecy. Ex. 22 : 18 ; Lev. 20 : 
27 ; Deut. 13 : 5 ; 18 : 20. 5. Adultery. 

Lev. 20 : 10 ; Deut. 22 : 22. 6. Unchas- 
tity. Lev. 21 : 9 ; Deut. 22 : 21, 23. 7. 
Rape. Deut. 22 : 25. 8. Incestuous and 
unnatural connections. Ex. 22 : 19 ; 
Lev. 20 : 11, 14, 16. 9. Man-stealing. 

Ex. 21:16; Deut. 24 : 7. 10. Idolatry, 

actual or virtual, in any shape. Lev. 20 : 
2; Deut. 13:6, 10, 15; 17:2-7; see Josh. 
7 and 22 : 20 and Num. 25 : 8. 11. False 

witness in certain cases. Deut. 19 : 16, 
19. 12. Incorrigibility joined to habitual 
drunkenness. Deut. 21:18-21. 13. Re- 

fusal to submit to the decrees of priest 
or judge. Deut. 17:12. Treason also 
was punished with death, but it does 
not appear until the time of the kings. 
II. But there is a large number of of- 
fences, some of them included in this 
list, which are named in the law as in- 
volving the penalty of “ cutting off from 
the people.” On the meaning of this 
expression some controversy has arisen. 
There are altogether thirty-six or thirty- 
seven cases in the Pentateuch in which 
this formula is used. By some it is 
thought to be merely excommunication; 
by others that with banishment or de- 
privation of civil rights. Still others 
consider that it is a sentence of death 


to be executed in some cases without 
remission, but in others voidable — (1) 
by immediate atonement on the offen- 
der’s part ; (2) by direct interposition 
of the Almighty, i. e., a sentence of 
death always “ recorded,” but not al- 
ways executed. 

Kinds of punishment. — Punishments 
are twofold. Capital and Secondary. I. 
Capital. 1. Stoning was the ordinary 
mode of execution. Ex. 17 : 4 ; Luke 
20:6; John 10:31; Acts 14:5. In the 
case of idolatry, and it may be pre- 
sumed in other cases also, the witnesses, 
of whom there were to be at least two, 
were required to cast the first stone. 
Deut. 13 : 9 ; Acts 7 : 58. 2. Hanging is 
mentioned as a distinct punishment. 
Num. 25:4; 2 Sam. 21:6, 9. 3. Burn- 

ing, in pre-Mosaic times, was the pun- 
ishment for unchastity. Gen. 38 : 24. 
Under the law it was ordered in the 
case of a priest’s daughter. Lev. 21 : 9. 
Both hanging and burning were often 
done after death by some other method. 
4. Death by the sword or spear is named 
in the law. Ex. 19:13; 32:27; Num. 
25:7; and it occurs frequently in regal 
and post-Babylonian times. 1 Kings 2: 
25, 34; 19:1; 2 Chron. 21:4, etc. 5. 
Strangling is said by the rabbins to 
have been regarded as the most com- 
mon but least severe of the capital pun- 
ishments, and to have been performed 
by immersing the convict in clay or 
mud, and there strangling him by a cloth 
twisted round the neck. 6. Crucifixion 
is treated elsewhere. 7. Drowning, 
though not ordered under the law, was 
practised at Rome, and is said by St. 
Jerome to have been in use among the 
Jews. 8. Sawing asunder or crushing 
beneath iron instruments. 2 Sam. 12: 
31, and perhaps Prov. 20 : 26 ; Heb. 11 : 
37. 9. Pounding in a mortar, or beating 
to death, is alluded to in Prov. 27 : 22, 
but not as a legal punishment, and cases 
are described. 2 Macc. 6 : 28, 30. 10. 

Precipitation, attempted in the case of 
our Lord at Nazareth, and carried out 
in that of captives from the Edomites, 
and of St. James, who is said to have 
been cast from “ the pinnacle ” of the 
temple. Criminals executed by law 
were buried outside the city gates, and 
heaps of stones were flung upon their 
graves. Josh. 7:25, 26; 2 Sam. 18:17; 
Jer. 22:19. II. Of secondary punish- 
ments among the Jews the original 
principles were, 1. Retaliation, “ eye for 
eye,” etc. Ex. 21:24, 25. 2. Compen- 


*tJN 


541 


PUR 


sation, identical (restitution) or analo- 
gous; payment for loss of time or of 
power. Ex. 21 : 18-36 ; Lev. 24 : 18^21 ; 
Deut. 19 : 21. Slander against a wife’s 
honor was to be compensated to her par- 
ents by a fine of one hundred shekels, 
and the traducer himself to be pun- 
ished with stripes. Deut. 22 : 18, 19. 3. 
Stripes, whose number was not to ex- 
ceed forty, Deut. 25 : 3 ; whence the 
Jews took care not to exceed thirty- 
nine. 2 Cor. 11 : 24. 4. Scourging with 

thorns is mentioned Judges 8:16. The 
stocks are mentioned Jer. 20:2; passing 
through fire, 2 Sam. 12 : 31 ; mutilation, 
Judges 1:6; 2 Macc. 7:4; and see 2 
Sam. 4 : 12 ; plucking out hair, Isa. 50 : 
6 ; in later times, imprisonment and 
confiscation or exile. Ezra 7:26; Jer. 
37:15; 38:6; Acts 4:3; 5:18; 12:4. 

Pu'nites (pu'nites), The, the de- 
scendants of Pua or Puvah, the son of 
Issachar. Num. 26 : 23. 

Pu'non (pu'non) {darkness) , one of 
the halting-places of the Israelite host 
during the last portion of the wander- 
ing. Num. 33 : 42, 43. By Eusebius and 
Jerome it is identified with Phaeno, 
which contained the copper-mines so 
well known at that period, and was 
situated between Petra and Zoar. 

Purification, in its legal and techni- 
cal sense, is applied to the ritual observ- 
ances whereby an Israelite was formally 
absolved from the taint of uncleanness. 
The essence of purification, in all cases, 
consisted in the use of water, whether 
by way of ablution or aspersion ; but in 
the majora delicta of legal uncleanness, 
sacrifices of various kinds were added, 
and the ceremonies throughout bore an 
expiatory character. Ablution of the 
person and of the clothes was required 
in the cases mentioned in Lev. 15 : 18 ; 
11 : 25, 40; 15 : 16, 17. In cases of child- 
birth the sacrifice was increased to a 
lamb of the first year, with a pigeon 
or thrtle-dove. Lev. 12 : 6. The cere- 
monies of purification required in cases 
of contact with a corpse or a grave 
are detailed in Num. 19. The purifica- 
tion of the leper was a yet more formal 
proceeding, and indicated the highest 
pitch of uncleanness. The rites are de- 
scribed in Lev. 14 : 4-32. The necessity 
of purification was extended in the post- 
Babylonian period to a variety of un- 
authorized cases. Cups and pots and 
brazen vessels were washed as a matter 
of ritual observance. Mark 7 : 4. The 
washing of the hands before meals was 


conducted in a formal manner. Mark 
7 : 3. What may have been the specific 
causes of uncleanness in those who 
came up to purify themselves before the 
Passover, John 11 : 55, or in those who 
had taken upon themselves the Nazirites’ 
vow, Acts 21 : 24, 26, we are not in- 
formed. In conclusion it may be ob- 
served that the distinctive feature in 
the Mosaic rites of purification is their 
expiatory character. The idea of un- 
cleanness was not peculiar to the Jew; 
but with all other nations simple ablu- 
tion sufficed : no sacrifices were de- 
manded. The Jew alone was taught by 
the use of expiatory offerings to dis- 
cern to its fullest extent the connection 
between the outward sign and the in- 
ward fount of impurity. 

Pu'rim {lots), the annual festival in- 
stituted to commemorate the preserva- 
tion of the Jews in Persia from the 
massacre with which they were threat- 
ened through the machinations of Ha- 
man. Esther 9. It was probably called 
Purim by the Jews in irony. Their 
great enemy Haman appears to have 
been very superstitious, and apparently 
cast lots to ascertain a favorable day 
for carrying out his plans against the 
Jews. Esther 3:7. The festival lasted 
two days, and was regularly observed 
on the 14th and 15th of Adar. Accord- 
ing to modern custom, as soon as the 
stars begin to appear on the 13th of the 
month as is ordinarily reckoned, but 
when by Jewish customary reckoning 
the 14th of the month has commenced, 
candles are lighted up in token of re- 
joicing, and the people assemble in the 
synagogue. After a short prayer and 
thanksgiving, the reading of the book 
of Esther commences. The book is 
written in a peculiar manner, on a roll 
called “ the Roll” {Megillah). When 
the reader comes to the name of Ha- 
man, the congregation cry out, “ May 
his name be blotted out,” or, “ Let the 
name of the wicked perish.” When the 
Megillah is read through, the whole 
congregation exclaim, “Cursed be Ha- 
man; blessed be Mordecai ; cursed be 
Zoresh (the wife of Haman) ; blessed 
be Esther ; cursed be all idolaters ; blessed 
be all Israelites, and blessed be Harbonah 
who hanged Haman.” In the morning 
service in the synagogue, on the 14th, 
after the prayers, the passage is read 
from the law, Ex. 17 : 8-16, which re- 
lates the destruction of the Amalekites, 
the people of Agag, 1 Sam. 15 : 8, the 


PUR 


542 


PYR 


supposed ancestor of Haman. Esther 
3 : 1. The Megillah is then read again 
in the same manner. When the service 
in the synagogue is over, all give them- 
selves up to merry-making. 

Purse, a bag for money. The He- 
brews, when on a journey, were pro- 
vided with a bag, in which they car- 
ried their money, Gen. 42 : 35 ; Prov. 1 : 
14; 7:20; Isa. 46:6, and, if they were 
merchants, also their weights. Deut. 
25:13; Micah 6:11. This bag is de- 
scribed in the New Testament by the 
terms PaXavriov (bag), Luke 10:4; 12: 
33 ; 22 : 35, 36, and 7 \waaoKOfiov (orig- 
inally the bag in which musicians car- 
ried the mouth-pieces of their instru- 
ments). John 12:6; 13:29. R. V. 

“ box.” The girdle also served as a 
purse. Matt. 10:9; Mark 6:8. Ladies 
wore ornamental purses. Isa. 3 : 24. 

Put. 1 Chron. 1:8; Nah. 3 : 9. 
[Phut.] 

Pute'oli (pu-te'o-li) ( little wells), 
the great landing-place of travelers to 
Italy from the Levant, and the harbor 
to which the Alexandrian corn-ships 
brought their cargoes. Acts 28 : 13. 
The celebrated bay which is now the 
Bay of Naples was then called “ Sinus 
Puteolanus.” The name Puteoli per- 
haps arose from the strong mineral 
springs whch are characteristic of the 
place. It was a favorite watering-place 
of the Romans, its hot springs being 
considered efficacious for the cure of 
various diseases. Here also ships usu- 
ally discharged their passengers and 
cargoes, partly to avoid doubling the 


promontory of Circeium and partly be- 
cause there was no commodious harbor 
nearer to Rome. Hence the ship in 
which Paul was conveyed from Melita 
landed the prisoners at this place, where 
the apostle stayed a week. Acts 28 : 13, 
14. The associations of Puteoli with 
historical personages are very numerous. 
Scipio sailed from this place to Spain ; 
Cicero had a villa in the neighborhood ; 
here Nero planned the murder of his 
mother; Vespasian gave to this city pe- 
culiar privileges ; and here Adrian was 
buried. In the fifth century it was rav- 
aged by both Alaric and Genseric, and 
it never afterward recovered its for- 
mer eminence. It is now a fourth-rate 
Italian town, still retaining the name of 
Pozzuoli. The remains of Puteoli are 
worthy of mention. Among them are 
the aqueduct, the reservoirs, portions 
(probably) of the baths, the great am- 
phitheatre, and the building called the 
temple of Serapis. No Roman harbor 
has left as solid a memorial of itself 
as this one, at which St. Paul landed 
in Italy. 

Pu , ti=el (pu'ti-el). One of the 
daughters of Putiel was wife of Eleazar 
the son of Aaron, and mother of Phine- 
has. Ex. 6 : 25. 

Pygarg occurs, Deut. 14 : 5, in the 
list of clean animals as the rendering 
of the Heb. dishon, the name apparently 
of one species of antelope, though it is 
by no means easy to identify it. 

Pyr'rhus (pir-rus), the father of 
Sopater of Berea. Acts 20 : 4, in Re- 
vised Version, (a.d. 57.) 


» 




Quails. There can be no doubt that 
the Hebrew word in the Pentateuch, Ex. 
16: 13; Num. 11: 31, 32, and in the 105th 
Psalm, denotes the common quail, Co- 
turnix dactylisonans. The enormous 
quantity of quails taken by the Israelites 
has its parallel in modern times. Pliny 
states that they sometimes alight on ves- 
sels in the Mediterranean and sink 
them. Colonel Sykes states that 160,000 
quails have been netted in one season 
on the island of Capri. The expression 



THE QUAIL. 


“ as it were two cubits (high) upon the 
face of the earth,” Num. 11:31, refers 
probably to the height at which the 
quails flew above the ground, in their 
exhausted condition from their long 
flight. As to the enormous quantities 
which the least-successful Israelite is 
said to have taken, viz., “ ten homers ” 
(i. e. eighty bushels) in the space of 
a night and two days, it may be that 
the “ homers ” here spoken of do not 
denote strictly the measure of that 
name, but simply “a heap.” The Is- 


raelites would have had little difficulty 
in capturing large quantities of these 
birds, as they are known to arrive at 
places sometimes so completely ex- 
hausted by their flight as to be readily 
taken, not in nets only, but by the hand. 
They “ spread the quails round about 
the camp;” this was for the purpose of 
drying them. The Egyptians similarly 
prepared these birds. The expression 
“ quails from the sea,” Num. 11 : 31, is 
not intended to denote that the birds 
came from the sea as their starting- 
point, but it must be taken to show the 
direction from which they were com- 
ing. The quails were, at the time of 
the event narrated in the sacred writ- 
ings, on their spring journey of migra- 
tion northward. It is interesting to note 
the time specified : “ it was at even ” that 
they began to arrive ; and they no doubt 
continued to come all the night. Many 
observers have recorded that the quail 
migrates by night. 

Quar'tus (quar'tus) ( fourth ), a 
Christian of Corinth, Rom. 16 : 23, said 
to have been one of the seventy dis- 
ciples, and afterward bishop of Berytus. 
(a.d. about 57.) 

Quaternion, a group of four persons 
or things. In the N. T. it was a mili- 
tary term signifying a guard of four 
soldiers, two of whom were attached to 
the person of a prisoner, while the 
other two kept watch outside the door 
of his cell. Acts 12 : 4. 

Queen. This title is properly ap- 
plied to the queen-mother, since in an 
Oriental household it is not the wife 
but the mother of the master who ex- 
ercises the highest authority. Strange 
as such an arrangement at first sight ap- 
pears, it is one of the inevitable results 
of polygamy. An illustration of . the 
queen-mother’s influence is given in 1 
Kings 2 : 19 ff. The term is applied to 
Maachah, 1 Kings 15 : 13 ; 2 Chron. 15 : 
16, and to Jezebel, 2 Kings 10:13, and 



QUE 


544 


qxti 


to the mother of Jehoiachin or Jeco- 
niah, Jer. 13:18; compare 2 Kings 24: 
12; Jer. 29:2. 

Queen of heaven, Jer. 7:18; 45: 
17, 18, 19, 25, is the Phoenician god- 
dess Ashtoreth or the Assyrian goddess 
Astarte, to whom the Hebrew women 
offered cakes in the streets of Jerusalem. 
These were both identified partly with 
the moon, and partly with the planet 
Venus. 

Quicksands, The, more properly 
the Syrtis, Acts 27 : 17. The Syrtes 
were quicksands, large sand banks on 
the north coast of Africa, between the 
headlands of Tunis and Barca. The 
greater Syrtis, the easternmost, now 
called the Gulf of Sidra, was on the 
coast of Tripoli. The smaller, the west- 
ern, now the Gulf of Cabes is on the 
coast of Tunis, or Carthage. 

Quiver, a box made for the purpose 
of holding arrows. Gen. 27 : 3. There 
is nothing in the Bible to indicate either 
its form or- material, or in what way it 
was carried. Other sources picture them 
slung over the back. 



ASSYRIAN AND EGYPTIAN QUIVERS AND BOWS. 


r 








Ra'amah (ra'a-mah) ( quivering ), a 
son of Cush and father of the Cushite 
Sheba and Dedan. Gen. 10 : 7. The 
tribe of Raamah became afterward re- 
nowned as traders. Ezek. 27 : 22. The 
Septuagint identified the word with 
Regma, a city on the Persian Gulf. 

Ra=ami'ah (ra'a-mi'ah) ( trembling 
caused by Jehovah ), one of the chiefs 
who returned with Zerubbabel. Neh. 7 : 
7. In Ezra 2:2 he is called Reelaiah. 
(b.c. 536.) 

Ra=am'ses (ra-am'sez). Ex. 1:11. 
[Rameses.] 

Rab'bah (rab'bah) Rab'bath {great). 
1. A very strong place east of the Jor- 
dan, . and the chief city of the Am- 
monites. In five passages — Deut. 3 : 11 ; 
2 Sam. 12:26; 17:27; Jer. 49:2; Ezek. 
21 : 20 — it is styled at length Rabbath 
of the Ammonites, or the children of 
Ammon; but elsewhere, Josh. 13:25; 
2 Sam. 11:1; 12 : 27, 29 ; 1 Chron. 20 : 
1; Jer. 49:3, simply Rabbah. When 
first named it is mentioned as contain- 
ing the bed or sarcophagus of the giant 
Og. Deut. 3 : 11. David sent Joab to 
besiege Rabbah, on account of the in- 
sult offered to his envoys. 2 Sam. 10 : 
1-6 ; 2 Sam. 11 : 1, 17, etc. Joab suc- 
ceeded in capturing a portion of the 
place — the “ city of waters,” that is, the 
lower town, so called from its contain- 
ing the perennial stream which rises in 
and still flows through it. The citadel 
still remained to be taken, but this was 
secured shortly after David’s arrival. 2 
Sam. 12 : 26-31. Long after, at the date 
of the invasion of Nebuchadnezzar, Jer. 
49 : 2, 3, it had walls and palaces. It is 
named in such terms as imply that it 
was of equal importance with Jerusalem. 
Ezek. 21 : 20. From Ptolemy Philadel- 
phus (b.c. 285-247) it received the name 
of Philadelphia. It was one of the 
cities of the Decapods, and became the 
seat of a Christian bishop. Its ruins, 
which are considerable, are found at 
Amman, about 25 miles from the Jor- 
dan, at the north end of the Dead Sea. 

35 


R 

It lies in a valley which the upper .course, 
of the Wady Zerka, identified with the 
Jabbok. The public buildings are said 
to be Roman, except the citadel, which 
is described as of large square stones 
put together without cement, and which 
is probably more ancient than the rest. 

2. A city of Judah, named with Kir- 
jath-jearim in Josh. 15:60 only. Some 
suggest its identification with Rubba 
about 14 miles southwest of Jerusalem. 
Rab'bath=moab. [Ar.] 

Rab'bath of the Children of Am= 
mon, and Rabbath of the Ammon= 
ites. [See Rabbah.] 

Rabbi, a title of respect signifying 
master, teacher, given by the Jews to 
their doctors and teachers, and often ad- 
dressed to our Lord, Matt. 23 : 7, 8 ; 26 : 
25, 49; Mark 9:5; 11:21; 14:45; John 
1 : 38, 49 ; 3:2, 26 ; 4:31; 6 : 25 ; 9:2; 
11 : 8. Another form of the title was 
Rabboni. John 20:16. The titles were 
used with different degrees of honor ; 
the lowest being rab, master; second, 
rabbi, my master; and greatest of all, 
rabboni, my lord, master. 

Rab'bith (rab'bith) ( multitude ), a 
town in the territory, perhaps on the 
boundary, of Issachar. Josh. 19 : 20 
only. Perhaps the modern Raba on the 
south part of the range of Gilboa. 

Rabbo'ni (rab-bo'ni). John 20:16. 
[Rabbi.] 

Rab'mag (rab'mag), Jer. 39:3, 13, a 
title borne by a Babylonian official, ap- 
parently Nergal-sharezer, whether iden- 
tical with the king called by the Greeks 
Neriglissar or not is a matter of doubt, 
but certainly possible. [Nergal-shar- 
ezer]. The translation of his title is 
“ the deeply wise prince ” and probably 
means chief of the magi; at all events 
it was “an office of great power and 
dignity at the Babylonian court, and 
probably gave its possessor special facili- 
ties for gaining the throne.” 

Rab'saris (rab'sa-ris). The title of 
a high officer in the Assyrian court, per- 
haps the “ chief of the eunuchs,” or 


545 


RAB 


546 


RAH 


chamberlains. It is used in the Bible 
with reference to three different per- 
sons. 1. An officer of the king of As- 
syria sent up with the Tartan and the 
Rabshakeh against Jerusalem in the 
time of Hezekiah. 2 Kings 18 : 17. 

2. One of the princes of Nebuchadnez- 
zar, who was present at the capture of 
Jerusalem, b.c. 586. Jer. 39:3. His 
name was probably Sarsechim. 

3. The officer who ordered the release 
of Jeremiah, and permitted him to live 
in his own home. Jer. 39:13. His 
name was probably Nebushazban. For- 
merly (2) and (3) were thought to 
refer to one person — on the idea that 
Rabsaris was a proper name in itself. 
When considered as a title it is naturally 
inferred that the name preceding is the 
personal name. That is different in the 
two cases. The rendering in the R. V. 
gives color to this explanation. 

Rab'shakeh (rab'sha-keh). The title 
of one of the three officers sent by 
Sennacherib to demand the surrender 
of Hezekiah. 2 Kings 18, 19; Isa. 36, 
37. The A. V. wrongly renders it as 
the personal name. The original ex- 
planation “ chief of the cupbearers ” has 
always seemed a little doubtful, prin- 
cipally from the strangeness of employ- 
ing such an officer on such a mission. 
The study of the cuneiform inscriptions 
discloses an officer rab-saki, “the chief 
of the heads ” or chief captain-general, 
.which is probably the title referred to. 

Raca (ra'ka), a term of reproach and 
contempt meaning “ empty ” and hence 
“ worthless.” It is a much weaker 
word than the one translated “ fool ” 
which is a godless, moral reprobate. 
Matt. 5 : 22. 

Race. [Games.] 

Ra'chab (ra'kab). Rahab the harlot. 
Matt. 1 : 5. 

Ra'chal (ra'kal) ( trade ), 1 Sam. 30: 
29, a town in the southern part of the 
tribe of Judah, one of the towns to 
which David sent presents out of the 
spoil of the Amalekites. 

Ra'chel (ra'chel) (ewe, or sheep), the 
younger of the daughters of Laban, the 
wife of Jacob (b.c. 1753) and mother 
of Joseph and Benjamin. The incidents 
of her life may be found in Gen. 29- 
33, 35. The story of Jacob and Rachel 
has always had a peculiar interest. The 
beauty of Rachel, Jacob’s deep love and 
long servitude for her, their marriage, 
and ^ Rachel’s death on giving birth to 
Benjamin, with Jacob’s grief at her loss, 


Gen. 48:7, makes a touching tale. Yet 
from what is related to us concerning 
her character there does not seem much 
to claim any high degree of admiration 
and esteem. She appears to have shared 
all the duplicity and falsehood of her 
family. See, for instance, Rachel’s steal- 
ing her father’s images, and the ready 
dexterity and presence of mind with 
which she concealed her theft. Gen. 31. 
“ Rachel died and was buried on the 
way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem. 
(b.c. 1729.) And Jacob set a pillar upon 
her grave; that is the pillar of Rachel’s 
grave unto this day.” Gen. 35 : 19, 20. 
The site of Rachel’s tomb, “ on the way 
to Bethlehem,” “ a little way to come 
to Ephrath,” “in the border of Benja- 
min,” has been shown at least since the 
4th century a.d. It is about two miles 
south of Jerusalem and one mile north 
of Bethlehem. The present building is 
not ancient. Some feel that this does 
not answer all the references in the O. 
T., but no other site can be agreed upon. 

Rad'da=i (rad'da-i) ( cutting under), 
one of David’s brothers, fifth son of 
Jesse. 1 Chron. 2:14. 

Ra'gau (ra'gau), one of the ancestors 
of our Lord, son of Phalec. Luke 3 : 
35. He is the same person with Reu, 
son of Peleg. 

Ragu'el (ra-gu'el), or Reu'el (friend 
of God). 1. Probably the same as 
Jethro. [Jethro; Hobab.] (b.c. 1530.) 
Num. 10 : 29. 

2. A pious Jew of “ Ecbatane, a city 
of Media,” father of Sara, the wife of 
Tobias. Tob. 3 : 7, 17> etc. 

Ra'hab (ra'hab), or Ra'chab (wide), 
a celebrated woman of Jericho, who re- 
ceived the spies sent by Joshua to spy 
out the land, hid them in her house from 
the pursuit of her countrymen, was 
saved with all her family when the Is- 
raelites sacked the city, and probably 
was the same who later became the 
wife of Salmon and the ancestress of 
the Messiah. Josh. 2:1; Matt. 1:5. 
(b.c. 1450.) • She was a “harlot,” prob- 
ably combining it with the more hon- 
orable occupation of weaving and dye- 
ing. Her reception of the spies, the 
artifice by which she concealed them 
from the king, their escape, and the 
saving of Rahab and her family at the 
capture of the city, in accordance with 
their promise, are all told in the narra- 
tive of Josh. 2. The author of the 
Epistle to the Hebrews tells us that “ by 
faith the harlot Rahab perished not with 


RAH 


547 


RAM 


them that believed not, when she had 
received the spies with peace,” Heb. 11 : 
31; and St. James fortifies his doctrine 
of justification by works by asking, 
“ Was not Rahab the harlot justified by 
works, when she had received the mes- 
sengers, and had sent them out another 
way?” James 2:25. 

The chief objection to her identifica- 
tion with the Rahab of Matt. 1 : 5 
(A. V. Rachab) is the short distance 
in time between Rahab who was an 
adult in 1450 b.c. and David, who was 
born about 1085 b.c. (both Ussher) — 
365 years covered by the lives of Rahab 
after her marriage, Boaz, Obed, and of 
Jesse up to the birth of David. These 
are not irreconcilable : 1. The time 

may be shorter than it is now reckoned, 
2. There may have been some genera- 
tions omitted in the record (but see 
Ruth 4:21, 22.) 

Rahab (ra'hab), a poetical name of 
Egypt, Ps. 89 : 10 ; Isa. 51 : 9, signifying 
“ fierceness, insolence, pride.” Rahab, as 
a name of Egypt, occurs once only with- 
out reference to the Exodus : this is in 
Ps. 87 : 4. In Isa. 30 : 7 the name is al- 
luded to. 

Ra'ham (ra'ham) ( affection ). In 
the genealogy of the descendants of 
Caleb the son of Hezron, 1 Chron. 2: 
44, Raham is described as the son of 
Shema and father of Jorkoam. 

Ra'hel (ra'hel), the original form in 
our Authorized Version of the now fa- 
miliar Rachel. Jer. 31 : 15. 

Rain. In the Bible “ early rain ” sig- 
nifies the rain of the autumn, Deut. 11 : 
14, and “ latter rain ” the rain of 
spring. Prov. 16 : 15. For six months 
in the year, from May to October, no 
rain falls, the whole land becomes dry, 
parched and brown. The autumnal 
rains are eagerly looked for, to prepare 
the earth for the reception of the seed. 
These, the early rains, commence about 
the latter end of October, continuing 
through November and December. Jan- 
uary and February are the coldest 
months, and snow falls, sometimes to 
the depth of a foot or more, at Jeru- 
salem, but it does not lie long; it is 
very seldom seen along the coast and 
in the low plains. Rain continues to 
fall more or less during the month of 
March ; it is very rare in April. Robin- 
son observes that there are not, at the 
present day, “ any particular periods of 
rain or succession of showers which 
might be regarded as distinct rainy sea- 


sons. The whole period from October 
to March now constitutes only one con- 
tinued season of rain, without any reg- 
ularly-intervening term of prolonged 
fine weather. Unless, therefore, there 
has been some change in the climate, 
the early and the latter rains, for which 
the husbandman waited with longing, 
seem rather to have implied the first 
showers of autumn — which Revived the 
parched and thirsty soil and prepared 
it for the seed — and the later showers 
of spring, which continued to refresh 
and forward both the ripening • crops 
and the vernal products of the fields.” 
James 5:7; Prov. 16:15. 

Rainbow, the token of the covenant 
which God made with Noah when he 
came forth from the ark that the waters 
should no more become a flood to de- 
stroy all flesh. The right interpreta- 
tion of Gen. 9 : 13 seems to be that God 
took the rainbow, which had hitherto 
been but a beautiful object shining in 
the heavens when the sun’s rays fell on 
falling rain, and consecrated it as the 
sign of his love and the witness of his 
promise. Ecclus. 43 : 11. The rainbow 
is a symbol of God’s faithfulness and 
mercy. In . the “ rainbow around the 
throne,” Rev. 4:3, is seen the symbol of 
hope and the bright emblem of mercy 
and love, all the more true as a symbol 
because it is reflected from the storm 
itself. 

Raisins. [Vine.] 

Ra'kem (ra'kem) ( variegated ), a de- 
scendant of Machir the son of Manas- 
seh. 1 Chron. 7 : 16. 

Rak'kath (rak'kath) {shore), a for- 
tified city in the tribe of Naphtali. 
Josh. 19 : 35. The Rabbis placed it on 
the western shore of the Sea of Galilee, 
not far from the warm baths of Tibe- 
rias. 

Rak'kon (rak'kon), a place in the 
inheritance of Dan, not far from Joppa. 
Josh. 19 : 46. 

Ram. [See Battering-ram.] 

Ram {high, exalted). 1. A son of 
Hezron and the father of Amminadab, 
born in Egypt after Jacob’s migration 
there. Ruth 4 : 19. In Matt. 1 : 3, 4 and 
Luke 3 : 33 he is called Aram in the 
Authorized Version, but Ram in the 
Revised Version of Matt. 1:3, 4, and 
Arni in the Revised Version of Luke 
3 : 33. 

2. The first-born of Jerahmeel, and 
therefore nephew of the preceding, un- 
less as some think the same man is in- 


RAM 


548 


RAM 


tended and there is a copyist’s error. 1 
Chron. 2 : 25, 27. 

3. One of the kindred of Elihu. Job 
32 : 2. Ewald identified this Ram with 
Aram in Gen. 22 : 21, but Aram is not a 
descendant of Buz, but a nephew, and 
the name is not the same in the He- 
brew. 

Ra'ma (ra'ma), Matt. 2:18, referring 
to Jer. 31 : 15. It is the Greek form of 
Ramah. 

Ra'mah (ra'mah) {height). This is 
the name of several places in the Holy 
Land. 1. One of the cities of the allot- 
ment of Benjamin. Josh. 18:25. Its 
site is at er-Ram, about five miles from 
Jerusalem, and near to Gibeah. Judges 
4:5; 19 : 13 ; 1 Sam. 22 : 6. It was at 
this point that Jeremiah parted from 
the exiles who were on the way to 
Babylon. Jer. 40:1. Its people re- 
turned after the captivity. Ezra 2 : 26 ; 
Neh. 7 : 30. 

2. The home of Elkanah, Samuel’s 

father, 1 Sam. 1 : 19 ; 2: 11, the birth- 
place of Samuel himself, his home and 
official residence, the site of his altar, 
ch. 7:17; 8:4; 15:34; 16:13; 19:18, 
and finally his burial-place, ch. 25 : 1 ; 
28 : 3. It is also called Ramathaim- 
20 p him. All that is directly said as to 
its situation is that it was in Mount 
Ephraim, 1 Sam. 1 : 1, a district without 
defined boundaries. The position of 
Ramah is a much-disputed question. It 
is identified (a) with Ramah of Ben- 
jamin (1 above), (b) Beit-Rima, 12 
miles northwest of Bethel, (c) Ram- 
allah, 3 miles southwest of Bethel, which 
is less supported by tradition. Still 
other, but, according to Driver in Hast- 
ings’ Bible Dictionary, less probable 
identifications are Ramleh , 12 miles 

southeast of Joppa, and Neby Samwil, a 
lofty eminence 4% miles northwest of 
Jerusalem. The tradition as regards 
this last is a very late one. 

3. One of the nineteen fortified places 
of Naphtali. Josh. 19:36. Dr. Robin- 
son has discovered a Rameh northwest 
of the Sea of Galilee, about 8 miles 
east-southeast of Safed. 

4. One of the landmarks on the 
boundary of Asher, Josh. 19:29, appar- 
ently between Tyre and Zidon. Robin- 
son’s identification with Ramia, 12 miles 
due east of the Ladder of Tyre, is gener- 
ally favored. 

5. By this name in 2 Kings 8 : 29 and 


2 Chron. 22 : 6, only, is designated Ra- 
moth-gilead. 

6. A place mentioned in the catalogue 
of those reinhabited by the Benjamites 
after their return from the captivity. 
Neh. 11 : 33. Probably the same as 1. 

Ra'math=Ie'hi (ra'math-le'hi) {hill of 
the jawbone, or hill of Lehi), the name 
bestowed by Samson on the scene of 
his slaughter of the thousand Philistines 
with the jawbone, Judges 15 : 17. Its 
location is uncertain, though several 
identifications are given. 

Ra'math=miz'peh (ra'math-miz'peh) 
{high place of the watch-tower) . [Ra- 

MOTH-GILEAD.] 

Ra'math of the south, one of the 

towns at the extreme south limit of 
Simeon. Josh. 19 : 8. It is in all prob- 
ability the same place as south Ramoth. 
1 Sam. 30:27. 

Ramatha'im=zo'phim ( ra'math-a'im- 
zo'fim) {the two heights of the watch- 
ers). [Ramah, 2.] 

Ra'mathite (ra'math-Ite), The. Shi- 
mei the Ramathite, i. e. a native of Ra- 
mah, had charge of the royal vineyards 
of King David. 1 Chron. 27 : 27. 

Rame'ses (ra-me'sez), or Ra=am'ses 
{child of the sun), a city of lower 
Egypt. Gen. 47 : 11 ; Ex. 12 : 37 ; Num. 
33 : 3, 5. It was without doubt in the 
land of Goshen, which in Gen. 47 : 11 is 
also called “ the land of Rameses.” The 
city was one of the two store-cities built 
for the Pharaoh who first oppressed 
the children of Israel, the other being 
Pithom. Ex. 1 : 11. It was the starting 
place of the Israelites for the Exodus, 
and as their next stopping place was 
Succoth it could not be far from 
Pithom. It is probably between Belbes 
and Tel-el-Maskhuta, the latter of which 
is positively identified as Pithom. 
[Pithom.] 

Rami'ah (ra-mi'ah), one who had 
taken “ a strange wife.” Ezra 10 : 25. 

Ra'moth=gil'ead (ra'moth-gil-e-ad) 
{heights of Gilead), one of the great 
fastnesses on the east of Jordan, and the 
key to an important district. 1 Kings 
4 : 13. It was the city of refuge for the 
tribe of Gad, Deut. 4 : 43 ; Josh. 20 : 8 ; 
21 : 38, and the residence of one of Sol- 
omon’s commissariat officers. 1 Kings 
4:13. During the invasion related in 1 
Kings 15 : 20, or some subsequent incur- 
sion, this important place had been 
seized by Ben-hadad I., king of Syria. 
The incidents of Ahab’s expedition are 


RAM 


549 


REA 


well known. [Ahab.] Later it was 
taken by Israel, and held in spite of all 
the efforts of Hazael, who was now on 
the throne of Damascus, to regain it. 2 
Kings 9 : 14. Henceforward Ramoth- 
gilead disappears from our view. Euse- 
bius and Jerome specify the position of 
Ramoth as 15 miles from Philadelphia 
(Amman), one however placing it east 
and the other west of that place. It 
may be Gerasa, the modern Gerash. 

Ram’s horns. [Cornet.] 

Ra'pha (ra'fa) (tall). 1. Son of 
Binea, among the descendants of Saul. 
1 Chron. 8 : 37. Also called Rephaiah. 
1 Chron. 9 : 43. 

2. One of Benjamin’s descendants. 1 
Chron. 8 : 2. 

Raphael (ra'fa-el) (God [El] has 
healed). According to Jewish tradition, 
Raphael was one of the seven angels 
which stood round the throne of God — 
Michael, Uriel, Gabriel, Raphael, Izid- 
kiel, Hanael and Kepharel. Tobit, 12 : 
12-15. 

Ra'phon (ra'fon), a city of Gilead, 
1 Macc. 5 : 37, identical with Raphana, 
which is mentioned by Pliny as one of 
the cities of the Decapolis. 

Ra'phu (ra'fu), the father of Palti, 
the Benjamite spy. Num. 13 : 9. 

Raven (black). The Hebrew oreb is 
applied to the several species of the 
crow family, a number of which are 
found in Palestine. The raven belongs 
to the family Corvidce, of which there 
are numerous members in Palestine. 
It resembles the crow, but is larger ; 
its black color is more iridescent, and it 
is gifted with greater sagacity. “There 
is something weird and shrewd in the 
expression of the raven’s countenance, 
a union of cunning and malignity which 
may have contributed to give it among 
widely-severed nations a reputation for 
preternatural knowledge.” One writer 
says that the smell of death is so grate- 
ful to them that when in passing over 
sheep a tainted smell is perceptible, they 
cry and croak vehemently. It may be 
that in passing over a human habita- 
tion, if a sickly or cadaverous smell 
arises, they would make it known by 
their cries, and so has arisen the idea 
that the croaking of a raven is the pre- 
monition of death. A raven was sent 
out by Noah from the ark. Gen. 8:7. 
This bird was not allowed as food by 
the Mosaic law. Lev. 11:15. Elijah 
was cared for by ravens. 1 Kings 17 : 
4, 6. They are expressly mentioned as I 


instances of God’s protecting love and 
goodness. Job 38 : 41 ; Luke 12 : 24. 
The raven’s carnivorous habits, and es- 
pecially his readiness to attack the eye, 
are alluded to in Prov. 30 : 17. To the 
fact of the raven being a common bird 
in Palestine, and to its habit of flying 



RAVEN. 

restlessly about in constant search for 
food to satisfy its voracious appetite, 
may perhaps be traced the reason for 
its being selected by our Lord and the 
inspired writers as the especial object 
of God’s providing care. 

Razor. Besides other usages, the 
practice, of shaving the head after the 
completion of a vow must have created 
among the Jews a necessity for the spe- 
cial trade of a barber. Lev. 14:8; Num. 
6:9, 18; 8:7; Judges 13:5; Isa. 7:20; 
Ezek. 5:1; Acts 18 : 18. The razor in 
olden times probably did not differ 
from a knife, as the same word is used 
for both. Fifty years ago “ a peculiarly 
shaped razor with a straight fixed han- 
dle was in use in Syria. Now Euro- 
pean razors are universal.” 

Reai'a (re-a-i'a), a Reubenite, son of 
Micah, and apparently prince of his 
tribe. 1 Chron. 5 : 5. The name is iden- 
tical with 

Reai'ah (Jehovah has seen). 1 . A 
descendant of Shobal the son of Judah. 
1 Chron. 4 : 2. 

2. The children of Reaiah were a 
family of Nethinim who returned from 


REB 


550 


RED 


Babylon with Zerubbabel. Ezra 2 : 47 ; 
Neh. 7:50. 

Re'ba (re'ba) ( fourth ), one of the 
five kings of the Midianites slain by 
the children of Israel when Balaam 
fell. Num. 31:8; Josh. 13:21. (b.c. 

1450.) 

Rebec' ca. Rom. 9 : 10 only. [Re- 

BEKAH.] 

Rebek'ah (re-bek'ka) ( ensnarer ), 
daughter of Bethuel, Gen. 22 : 23, and 
sister of Laban, married to Isaac. She 
is first presented to us in Gen. 24, 
where the beautiful story of her mar- 
riage is related, (b.c. 1857.) For 

twenty years she was childless: then 
Esau and Jacob were born, the younger 
being the mother’s companion and 
favorite. Gen. 25 : 19-28. Rebekah sug- 
gested the deceit that was practised by 
Jacob on his blind father. She directed 
and aided him in carrying it out, fore- 
saw the probable consequence of Esau’s 
anger, and prevented it by moving Isaac 
to send Jacob away to Padan-aram, 
Gen. 27, to her own kindred. Gen. 29 : 
12. Rebekah’s beauty became at one 
time a source of danger to her husband. 
Gen. 26 : 7. It has been conjectured that 
she died during Jacob’s sojourn in Pa- 
dan-aram. 

Re'chab (re'kab) (rider). 1. One of 
the two “ captains of bands ” whom Ish- 
bosheth took into his service, and who 
conspired to murder him. 2 Sam. 4 : 2. 
(b.c. 1048.) 

2. The father of Malchiah, ruler of 
part of Beth-haccerem. Neh. 3:14. 
Perhaps the same as 

3. The father or ancestor of Jehona- 
dab. 2 Kings 10 : 15, 23 ; 1 Chron. 2 : 55 ; 
Jer. 35 : 6-19. It was from this Rechab 
that the tribe of the Rechabites derived 
their name. In 1 Chron. 2 : 55 the 
house of Rechab is identified with a 
section of the Kenites, a Midianitish 
tribe who came into Canaan with the 
Israelites, and retained their nomadic 
habits. The real founder of the tribe 
was Jehonadab. [Jehonadab.] He and 
his people had all along been worship- 
pers of Jehovah, circumcised, though not 
looked upon as belonging to Israel, and 
probably therefore not considering 
themselves bound by the Mosaic law and 
ritual. The worship of Baal was of- 
fensive to them. Jehonadab inaugurated 
a reformation and compelled a more 
rigid adherence than ever to the old 
Arab life. They were, neither to drink 
wine, nor build houses, nor sow seed, 


nor plant nor have any vineyard. All 
their days they were to dwell in tents. 
Jer. 35:6, 7. This was to be the con- 
dition of their retaining a distinct tribal 
existence. For two centuries and a half 
they adhered faithfully to this rule. 
The invasion of Judah by Nebuchad- 
nezzar, in b.c. 607, drove the Recha- 
bites from their tents to Jerusalem, 
where they stood proof against tempta- 
tion, and were specially blessed. Jer. 
35:2-19. Professed descendants of the 
sect still live as nomads in Mesopotamia 
and Arabia. The term had however in 
the time of the Apostles become merely 
a term for an ascetic. It is therefore 
probable that the claim of descent is 
unfounded. 

Re'chabites (re'kab-Ites). [Rechab.] 

Re'chah (re'kah). Probably a place 
in Judah. 1 Chron. 4 : 12. Not men- 
tioned elsewhere, and quite unknown. 

Recorder, an officer of high rank in 
the Jewish state, exercising the func- 
tions, not simply of an annalist, but of 
chancellor or president of the privy 
council. In David’s court the recorder 
appears among the high officers of his 
household. 2 Sam. 8 : 16 ; 20 : 24 ; 1 
Chron. 18 : 15. In Solomon’s he is 
coupled with the three secretaries. 1 
Kings 4:3; comp. 2 Kings 18 : 18, 37 ; 
2 Chron. 34 : 8. 

Red Sea. 1. Name. — The sea known 
to us as the Red Sea was by the Is- 
raelites called “ the sea,” Ex. 14 : 2, 9, 
16, 21, 28; 15:1, 4, 8, 10, 19; Josh. 24: 
6, 7, and many other passages/ and spe- 
cially “ the sea of suph or sedge,” Ex. 
10 : 19 ; 13 : 18 ; 15 : 4, 22 ; 23 : 3.1 ; Num. 
14 : 25, etc. Others call it sea of reeds, 
or of weeds. The color of the water 
is not red, but a clear blue, or greenish- 
blue. There are many explanations of 
the origin of the name. 

2. Physical description . — In extreme 
length the Red Sea stretches from the 
straits of Bab el-M endeb to the modern 
head of the Gulf of Suez, a distance of 
1450 miles. Its greatest width may be 
stated at about 205 miles. At Ras Mo- 
hammed, on the north, the Red Sea is 
split by the granitic peninsula of Sinai 
into two gulfs ; the westernmost, or 
Gulf of Suez, is now about 180 miles in 
length, with, an average width of about 
20, though it contracts to less than 10 
miles; the easternmost, or Gulf of el- 
’ Akabeh , is about 100 miles long, from 
the Straits of Tiran to the ’Akabeh, and 
15 miles wide. The average depth of 


RED 


551 


RED 


the Red Sea is from 2500 to 3500 feet, 
though in places it is 1200 fathoms, 
about 7200 feet deep. Journeying south- 
ward from Suez, on our left is the pen- 
insula of Sinai; on the right is the 
desert coast of Egypt, of limestone 
formation, like the greater part of the 
Nile valley in Egypt, the cliffs on the 
sea margin stretching landward in a 
great rocky plateau, while more inland 
a chain of volcanic mountains, begin- 
ning about lat. 28° 4' and running south, 
rear their lofty peaks at intervals above 
the limestone, generally about 15 miles 
distant. 

3. Ancient limits. — The most impor- 
tant change in the Red Sea has been 
the drying up of its northern extremity. 
The land about the head of the gulf has 
risen and that near the Mediterranean 
become depressed. Geology has well- 
nigh proved that at one time the Medi- 
terranean itself was not separated from 
the Red Sea. Indeed the head of the 
gulf has consequently retired gradually 
since the Christian era. 

4. Navigation. — The sea, from its dan- 
gers and sterile shores, was, until the 
opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 rarely 
traversed by boats. The shores are 
chiefly barren rock and sand, and there- 
fore very sparsely inhabited. Only two 
ports, Elath and Ezion-geber, are men- 
tioned in the Bible. The earliest navi- 
gation of the Red Sea (passing by the 
pre-historical Phoenicians) is mentioned 
by Herodotus: — “ Sesostris (Rameses 
II.) was the first who, passing the 
Arabian Gulf in a fleet of long ves- 
sels, reduced under his authority the 
inhabitants of the coast bordering the 
Erythraean Sea.” Three centuries later, 
Solomon’s navy was built “ in Ezion- 
geber, which is beside Eloth, on the 
shore of the Red Sea (Yam Suph), 
in the land of Edom.” 1 Kings 9 : 26. 
The kingdom of Solomon extended as 
far as the Red Sea, upon which he pos- 
sessed the harbors of Elath and Ezion- 
geber. [Elath; Ezion-geber.] It is 
possible that the sea has retired here as 
at Suez, and that Ezion-geber is now 
dry land. Jehoshaphat also “made 
ships of Tharshish to go to Ophir for 
gold; but they went not; for the ships 
were broken at Ezion-geber.” 1 Kings 
22 : 48. The scene of this wreck has 
been supposed to be Edh-Dhahab , but 
the identification rests principally on 
monkish legends. The Red Sea is now 


since the opening of the Suez Canal 
the scene of a good trade, as a large 
number of vessels pass through it on 
their way to ports in the Far East. 

5. Passage of the Red Sea. — The crisis 
of Exodus was the crossing of the Red 
Sea, the dividing line between slavery 
and freedom. There are two places 
where this crossing could have been 
made, and satisfy all the conditions re- 
corded in Exodus. 

The common view for many years has 
been that the crossing was over the 
shoals in the Northern part of the 
Gulf of Suez. Dr. Henry Clay Trum- 
bull has advanced the most able argu- 
ments in his Kadesh-barnea in favor 
of this location. He says “ The Israel- 
ites crossed near the town of Suez, on 
extensive shoals which run toward the 
southeast, in the direction of Ayun 
Musa (the Wells of Moses). The dis- 
tance is about three miles at high tide. 
This is the most probable theory. Near 
here Napoleon, deceived by the tidal 
wave, attempted to cross in 1799, and 
nearly met the fate of Pharaoh.” Nie- 
buhr crossed at this part in 1762, on a 
dromedary, some Arabs, who were up to 
the knees in water, accompanying him 
on foot. The name of_the Red Sea, in 
Hebrew, is Yam Suph , or the Sea of 
Weeds. The name may apply also to 
the lakes above, but is especially ap- 
plicable to the northern part of the Red 
Sea; Dr. Trumbull’s party halted near 
Ayun Musa } and two of them were 
tempted by the sight of the cool sea to 
walk down to its refreshing shores. 
But when they reached the sea it was 
not there, but there stretched before 
them a wide expanse of marine vegeta- 
tion, sedge, and tall sea grasses, between 
the dry land and the blue waters be- 
yond.” 

It is distinctly stated that the crossing 
was made possible by means of an 
east wind. A northeast wind would 
tend to drive the water off from the 
shoals. “ M. de Lesseps mentioned to 
me the extraordinary effects of this 
kind which he had witnessed in such 
storms as occur only at intervals of 
fifteen or twenty years. He had seen 
the northern end of the sea in places 
blown almost dry, and again had seen 
the waters driven far over the land 
toward the Bitter Lakes.” 

The other probable view advocated by 


RED 


552 


REE 


many scholars, is that the Gulf of Suez 
at the time of the Exodus extended 
many miles northward to the Bitter 
Lakes. Professor George Frederick 
Wright who has lately examined this 
region states that “ it is against all geo- 
logical probabilities to assume that the 
land level at Suez was the same three 
thousand years ago that it is now. On 
the contrary, from the land movements 
which we know to be going on in that 
region, it is altogether probable that at 
the date of the Exodus the level was 
such that the Red Sea extended as far 
as Lake Timsah. The geologists who 
have visited the region seem to be 
unanimous in support of this general 
view. . . . 

“ Supposing now the children of Israel 
to have been encamped near the south 
end of the Bitter Lakes, with Pharaoh 
and his six hundred chariots in their 
rear, the situation would seem to be 
hopeless but for the divine intervention 
described in the sacred record. The 
strong east wind, however, which the 
Lord sent at this time would open the 
way of escape, and account for all the 
phenomena that are described ; for this 
would press the water against the west 
side of the Red Sea, causing a resultant 
current to the south, and thus raise the 
water in the south end of the Red Sea 
and lower it at the north end. The ex- 
tent of the effects produced by such a 
wind are amply illustrated in modern 
experience. For example, Lake Erie is 
250 miles long, with its major axis ly- 
ing nearly in the direction of the strong- 
est winds. It is no unusual thing for a 
west wind to lower the water at Toledo 
seven feet below the average level, and 
at the same time to raise it seven feet 
above the level at Buffalo ; while a 
change in the wind will exactly reverse 
the conditions, producing in a compara- 
tively short time a difference of four- 
teen feet in the water levels at those 
two places. Similar phenomena are oc- 
casionally reported from Lake Menzales 
and the upper part of the Gulf of Suez. 

“ Supposing, therefore, the water to 
have been seven feet deep over the low 
land now separating Suez from the Bit- 
ter Lakes, the wind would easily open a 
passage several miles wide, across which 
the children of Israel could easily get 
in one night; while the returning cur- 
rent, on the cessation of the wind, 


would be amply sufficient to overwhelm 
the tardy chariots of Pharaoh in their 
reckless pursuit. Nor is this at all 
derogatory to the miraculous character 
of the event ” since it was God using 
his own laws by an act of his personal 
will. 

Reed. Under this name may be no- 
ticed the following Hebrew words: 1. 
Agrnon occurs in Job 41 : 2, 20 ; Isa. 58 : 
5, and metaphorically for the lowly in 
Isa. 9:14; 19:15. In Job 41:2 it is 



PAPYRUS REED. 


translated “rope” (A. V. “hook”) and 
Job 41 : 20. R. V. “ burning rushes.” 
There is nothing either in the use of 
the term, nor in the etymology to give 
a clue to its signification. There can 
be no doubt that it denotes some aquatic 
reed-like plant, although there is no 
clue to the particular kind. 2. Gome, 
translated “ rush ” and “ bulrush ” by 
the Authorized Version, R. V. “ rush,” 
“bulrushes” and “papyrus,” Job 8: 
11; Ex. 2:3; Isa. 18:2. It was with- 


REE 


553 


REH 


out doubt the celebrated paper-reed of 
the ancients which formerly was com- 
mon in some parts of Egypt. The 
papyrus reed is not now found in Egypt ; 
it grows, however, in Syria. The papy- 
rus plant has an angular stem which 
grows from 10 to 15 feet high; its 
leaves are in tufts at the surface of 
the water; the flowers are in very small 
spikelets, which grow on the thread- 
like flowering branches which form 
a bushy crown to each stem. It was 
used for making paper, shoes, sails, 
ropes, mattresses, etc. The Greek name 
is /3i/3\os, from which came our word 
Bible — book — because books were made 
of the papyrus paper. This paper was 
always expensive among the Greeks. 

3. Kaneh, a reed of any kind. 1 Kings 
14 : 15 ; 2 Kings 18 : 21 ; Isa. 42 : 3, etc. 
Kaneh-basem, translated “ calamus,” 
was a fragrant reed not grown in Pales- 
tine. It may be some scented grass of 
Europe or Asia. Caut. 4 : 14 ; Exod. 30 : 
23; Jer. 6: 20; Eze. 27 : 19. 

The most notable reed in the Holy 
Land is the Arundo donax, which grows 
8 to 20 feet high, and is thicker than a 
man’s thumb. It has a jointed stalk 
like the bamboo, and is very abundant 
on the Nile, along the Dead Sea, Jordan 
and indeed almost any body of water. 
This was the reed used for measuring 
purposes. Ezek. 40 : 3, 5. This came to 
denote a fixed length of 6 cubits. 4. 
Aroth translated in A. V. of Isa. 19 : 7 
as “ paper reeds ” is properly as in R. V. 
“ meadows.” 

Re=ela'iah (re-el-a'yah) ( trembling 
caused by Jehovah), one who went up 
with Zerubbabel. Ezra 2:2. In Neh. 
7:7 he is called Raamiah. (b.c. 536.) 

Refiner. The refiner’s art was essen- 
tial to the working of the precious 
metals. It consisted in the separation 
of the dross from the pure ore, which 
was effected by reducing the metal to a 
fluid state by the application of heat, 
and by the aid of solvents, such as 
alkali, Isa. 1 : 25, or lead, Jer. 6 : 29, 
which, amalgamating with the dross, 
permitted the extraction of the unadul- 
terated metal. The instruments re- 
quired by the refiner were a crucible or 
furnace and a bellows or blow-pipe. 
The workman sat at his work, Mai. 3:3: 
he was thus better enabled to watch the 
process, and let the metal run off at the 
proper moment. 


Refuge, Cities of. [Cities of 
Refuge.] 

Re'gem (re'gem) (friend), a son of 
Jahdai. 1 'Chron. 2:47. 

Re'gem=me'lech (re'gem-me'lek) 
(friend of the king). The names of 
Sherezer and Regem-melech occur in an 
obscure passage of Zechariah. ch. 7 : 2. 
They were sent on behalf of some of 
the captivity to make inquiries at the 
temple concerning fasting. 

Rehabi'ah (re-ha-bi'ah) (Jehovah is 
wide), the only son of Eliezer the son 
of Moses. 1 Chron. 23 : 17 ; 24 : 21. 

Re'hob (re'hob). 1. The father of 
Hadadezer king of Zobah, whom David 
smote at the Euphrates. 2 Sam. 8 : 3, 12. 

2. A Levite or family of Levites who 
sealed the covenant with Nehemiah. 
Neh. 10: 11. 

3. The northern limit of the explora- 
tion of the spies. Num. 13 : 21. The 
site is not certainly identified. One sug- 
gestion is the ruins of Hunin in the 
valley of Huleh. Another, more prob- 
able, is Banias. 

4. One of the towns allotted to Asher. 
Josh. 19:28. 

5. Asher contained another Rehob, 
Josh. 19:30; but the situation of these 
towns is unknown. 

Rehobo'am (re'ho-bo'am), (the peo- 
ple is enlarged), son of Solomon by 
the Ammonite princess Naamah, 1 
Kings 14 : 21, 31, and his successor. 1 
Kings 11 : 43. Rehoboam selected 
Shechem as the place of his coronation 
(b.c. 937 as revised by the Assyrian 
records), probably as an act of conces- 
sion to the Ephraimites. The people 
demanded a remission of the severe 
burdens imposed by Solomon, and Reho- 
boam, rejecting the advice of his father’s 
counsellors, followed that of his young 
courtiers, and returned an insulting an- 
swer, which led to an open rebellion 
among the tribes, and he was compelled 
to fly to Jerusalem, Judah and Benjamin 
alone remaining true to him. Jeroboam 
was made king of the northern tribes. 
[Jeroboam.] An expedition to recon- 
quer Israel was forbidden by the prophet 
Shemaiah, 1 Kings 12 : 24 ; still during 
Rehoboam’s lifetime peaceful relations 
between Israel and Judah were never 
restored. 2 Chron. 12 : 15 ; 1 Kings 14 : 
30. In the fifth year of Rehoboam’s 
reign the country was invaded by a host 
of Egyptians and other African nations 


REH 


554 


REP 


under Shishak. Jerusalem itself was i 
taken, and Rehoboam had to purchase .1 
an ignominious peace by delivering up 
all the treasures with which Solomon : 
had adorned the temple and palace. The 
rest of Rehoboam’s life was unmarked < 
by any events of importance. He died i 
b.c. 920, after a reign .of 17 years, having 
ascended the throne at the age of 41. < 
1 Kings 14 : 21 ; 2 Chron. 12 : 13. He < 
had 18 wives, 60 concubines, 28 sons and : 
60 daughters. : 

Reho'both (re-ho'both) {wide places). ; 
1. The third of the series of wells dug 
by Isaac, Gen. 26:22, in the Philistines’ 
territory, identified as er-Ruheibeh, 16 
miles south of Beersheba. 

2. R. V. “ Rehoboth-Ir,” one of the 
four cities built by Asshur, or by Nim- 
rod in Asshur, according as this difficult 
passage is translated. Gen. 10 : 11. 
Nothing certain is known of its position, 
but it was probably a suburb of Nineveh, 
a part of “ Greater Nineveh.” 

3. The city of a certain Saul or Shaul, 
one of the early kings of the Edomites. 
Gen. 36 : 37 ; 1 Chron. 1 : 48. The affix 
“ by the river ” usually denotes the Eu- 
phrates, but some consider it as here 
having another signification and the site 
of the city is at all events unknown. 

Re'hum (re'hum) (beloved). 1. One 
who went up from Babylon with Zerub- 
babel. Ezra 2 : 2. (b.c. 536.) 

2. “ Rehum the chancellor.” Ezra 4 : 
8, 9, 17, 23. He was perhaps a kind of 
lieutenant-governor of the province un- 
der the king of Persia, (b.c. 535.) 

3. A Levite of the family of Bani, who 

assisted in rebuilding the walls of Jeru- 
salem. Neh. 3:17. (b.c. 445.) 

4. One of the chief of the people, 
who signed the covenant with Nehemiah. 
Neh. 10: 25. 

5. A priestly family, or the head of a 

priestly house, who went up with Zerub- 

babel. Neh. 12:3. (b.c. 536.) 

Re'i (re'i) (friendly), a person men- 

tioned (in 1 Kings 1: 8 only) as having 
remained firm to David’s cause when 
Adonijah rebelled. 

Reins (i. e. kidneys). In the ancient 
system of physiology the kidneys were 
believed to be the seat of desire and 
longing, which accounts for their often 
being coupled with the heart. Ps. 7:9; 
26: 2; Jer. 11: 20; 17 : 10, etc. 

Re'kem ( variegation ). 1. One of the 


five kings or chieftains of Midian slain 
by the Israelites. Num. 31:8. 

2. One of the four sons of Hebron, 
father of Shammai. 1 Chron. 2 : 43, 44. 

Re'kem (re'kem), one of the towns 
of the allotment of Benjamin. Josh. 18: 
27. Its site is unknown. 

Remali'ah (rem-ali'ah) (Jehovah 
hath adorned), the father of Pekah, 
captain of Pekahiah king of Israel, who 1 
slew his master and usurped his throne. 

2 Kings 15 : 25-37 ; 16 : 1, 5 ; 2 Chron. 
28 : 6 ; Isa. 7:1-9; 8:6. 

Re'meth (re'meth) (height), one of 
the towns of Issachar. Josh. 19:21. It 
is called Ramoth in 1 Chron. 6 : 73 and 
Jarmuth in Josh. 21 : 29. 

Rem'mon (rem'mon) (pomegranate) , 
R. V. “ Rimmon,” a town in the allot- 
ment of Simeon, Josh. 19:7; elsewhere 
accurately given in the Authorized Ver- 
sion as Rimmon. 

Rem'mon=meth'o=ar (rem-mon- 

meth'o-ar), a place which formed one 
of the landmarks of Zebulun. Josh. 19: 
13 only. Methoar does not really form 
a part of the name, but should be trans- 
lated as in the Revised Version, “ Rim- 
mon which reaches to Neah.” The 
identification with Rumaneh about 6 
miles north of Nazareth has been gen- 
erally accepted. 

Rem'phan (rem'fan), R. V. “ Re- 
phan,” Acts 7 : 43, and Chi'un, Amos 5 : 
26, have been supposed to be names 
of an idol worshipped secretly by the 
Israelites in the wilderness. Much diffi- 
culty has been occasioned by this cor- 
responding occurrence of two names so 
wholly different in sound. It is prob- 
ably a corrupt transliteration of the 
name Chiun, or as more correctly pro- 
nounced Kewan, which corresponded 
probably to Saturn. The names of 
heathen deities were often distorted 
purposely by the Hebrews to show their 
contempt for them. 

Re'phael (re'fa-el) (healed of God), 
son of Shemaiah, the first-born of 
Obed-edom. 1 Chron. 26 : 7. 

Re'phah (re'fah), a son of Ephraim, 
and ancestor of Joshua. 1 Chron. 7 : 25. 
Repha'iah (ref-a'yah) (Jehovah hath 
■ healed). 1. The sons of Rephaiah ap- 
pear among the descendants of Zerub- 
i babel in 1 Chron. 3 : 21. 

; 2. A Simeonite chieftain who made 

a successful expedition against the Am- 
j alekites of Mt. Seir. 1 Chron. 4 : 42. 


REP 


555 


REP 


3. Son of Tola the son of Issachar. 
1 Chron. 7 : 2. 

4. Son of Binea, and descendant of 
Saul. 1 Chron. 9 : 43. 

5. The son of Hur, and ruler of a 

portion of Jerusalem. Neh. 3 : 9. (b.c. 

445.) 

Reph'a=im (ref'a-im). [Giants.] 
Reph'a=im, The valley of, 2 Sam. 
5 : 18, 22 ; 23 : 13 ; 1 Chron. 11:15; 14 : 
9; Isa. 17:5; also in Josh. 15:8 and 
18 : 16, where it is translated in the 
Authorized Version “ the valley of the 


This agrees with Josephus and is the 
generally-accepted location of this val- 
ley. It is considered by some scholars, 
however, that the valley does not an- 
swer all the conditions. Some assert 
that there must have been at least two 
valleys by the name. [Giants.] 

Rephan (re' fan), the reading, in the 
Revised Version, for Remphan. Acts 
7: 43. 

Reph'idim (ref'i-dim). Ex. 17:1, 8; 
19 : 2. This place lies in the march of 
the Israelites from Egypt to Sinai. Its 



THE REPUTED VALE OF REPHIDIM. 


giants,” a spot which was the scene of 
some of David’s most remarkable ad- 
ventures. He twice encountered and de- 
feated the Philistines there. 2 Sam. 5: 
17-25 ; 23 : 13, etc. Since the latter part 
of the sixteenth century the name has 
been attached to the upland plain which 
stretches south of Jerusalem, and is 
crossed by the road to Bethlehem — the 
el Buk’ah of the modern Arabs. This 
valley begins near the valley of Hin- 
nom, southwest of Jerusalem, extend- 
ing toward Bethlehem. It is about a 
mile long, with hills on either side. 


site is not certain, but it is perhaps 
Wady Feiran, a rather broad valley 
about 25 miles from Jebel Musa (Mount 
Sinai). Others place it in Wady es 
Sheikh, an eastern continuation of 
Feiran, and about 12 miles from Sinai. 
Here the Israelites fought their first 
battle and gained their first victory after 
leaving Egypt, the Amalekites having 
attacked them ; here also the people 
murmured from thirst, and Moses 
brought water for them out of the rock. 
From this murmuring the place was 
called “ Massah ” and “ Meribah.” 



RES 


556 


REV 


Re' sen (re'sen) (bridle), Gen. 10: 
12, one of the cities built by Asshur, 
between Nineveh and Calah. Assyrian 
remains of some considerable extent are 
found near the modern village of Sela- 
miyeh, and it is perhaps the most prob- 
able conjecture that these represent 
Resen. 

Re'sheph (re'shef) (dame), a son of 
Ephraim. 1 Chron. 7 : 25. 

Re'u (re'u) (friend), son of Peleg, 
in the line of Abraham’s ancestors. 
Gen. 11 : 18, 19, 20, 21 ; 1 Chron. 1 : 25. 

Reu'ben (ru'ben) (behold a son), 
Jacob’s first-born child, Gen. 29 : 32, the 
son of Leah. (b.c. 1752.) The notices 
of the patriarch Reuben give, on the 
whole, a favorable view of his disposi- 
tion. To him and him alone the preser- 
vation of Joseph’s life appears to have 
been due, and afterward he becomes re- 
sponsible for Benjamin’s safety. Gen. 
37 : 18-30 ; 42 : 37. He was deprived of 
his birthright because of the crime of 
incest. Gen. 35 : 22. He was said by 
his father in his dying blessing to be 
“ unstable as water.” At the time of 
the migration into Egypt, Reuben’s 
sons were four. Gen. 46 : 9 ; 1 Chron. 
5:3. The census at Mount-Sinai, Num. 
1:20, 21 ; 2: 11, shows that at the ex- 
odus the men of the tribe above twenty 
years of age and fit for active warlike 
service numbered 46,500. The Reuben- 
ites maintained the ancient calling of 
their forefathers. Their cattle accom- 
panied them in their flight from Egypt. 
Ex. 12 : 38. 

Territory of the tribe. — The portion 
of the promised land selected by Reuben 
was the northern part Of the land of 
Moab, and had the special name of “ the 
Mishor,” with reference possibly to its 
evenness. Under its modern name of 
the Belka it is still esteemed beyond all 
others by the Arab sheep-masters. It 
was a fine pasture-land east of the Jor- 
dan, lying between the river Arnon on 
the south and Gilead on the north. The 
Reubenites aided their brethren to con- 
quer the land west of the Jordan before 
they took entire possession of their own 
territory. The pile of stones or me- 
morial altar which they erected on the 
bank of the Jordan, was erected in ac- 
cordance with the unalterable habits of 
Bedouin tribes both before and since. 
This act was completely misunderstood, 
and was construed into an attempt to 


set up a rival altar to that of the sacred 
tent. No judge, no prophet, no hero of 
the tribe of Reuben is handed down to 
us. They did not join in the contest 
against Sisera, and were reproached 
with the fact in Deborah’s song. Judges 
5 : 15, 16. They engaged in border war- 
fare for their own possessions, how- 
ever, as they had a very exposed posi- 
tion. The last historical notice which 
we possess of them, records that' they 
and the Gadites and the half-tribe of 
Manasseh were carried off by Pul and 
Tiglath-pileser. 1 Chron. 5 : 26. Eze- 
kiel assigns them a place among the 
restored tribes (48:6, 7), and they are 
named in Revelation among the tribes 
that are sealed. 

Reu'el (ru'el) (friend of God), one 
of the sons of Esau, by his wife Bashe- 
math, sister of Ishmael. Gen. 36:4, 10, 
13, 17 ; 1 Chron. 1 : 35, 37. 

2. One of the names of Moses’ father- 

in-law. Ex. 2:18. (b.c. 1530.) 

3. Father of Eliasaph, the leader of 

the tribe of Gad at the time of the 
census at Sinai. Num. 2: 14. (b.c. 

1490.) 

4. A Benjamite, ancestor of Elah. 1 
Chron. 9 : 8. 

Reu'mah (ru'mah) (elevated), the 
concubine of Nahor, Abraham’s brother. 
Gen. 22 : 24. 

Revelation, The Book of, the last 
book in the New Testament, and the 
fitting close of the Bible, since its last 
chapters present the consummation to- 
ward which the whole Biblical history 
is moving, the end and purpose of God’s 
providential dealings with man, and of 
his redeeming love in Jesus Christ his 
Son. 

The author. The arguments are 
very strongly in favor of the apostle 
John as the author, though others think 
it was written by another John called 
the Elder or Presbyter. 

The date of writing was either a.d. 
64-68 during the reign of Nero, or a.d. 
90-96 in the reign of Domitian. Under 
both of these emperors the Christians 
suffered very severe persecutions. A 
short time ago most scholars favored 
the earlier date; but to-day there is a 
distinct tendency among scholars toward 
the later date under Domitian. 

Place of writing. The island of 
Patmos in the yEgean Sea 24 miles 
from the coast of Asia Minor, not far 


REV 


557 


REV 


from Ephesus. The island is a rocky 
and barren island about 15 miles in cir- 
cumference. 

Theories concerning the Revela- 
tion. Books innumerable have been 
written upon the Revelation, and there 
are many theories concerning the date, 
authorship, composition, sources, and 
interpretation of this book. It is im- 
possible even to state them within the 
brief space at our disposal. We give 
only what after long study seems to us 
to be true and well-founded. 

Apocalypse. The Greek name for 
this book is Apocalypse, of which Rev- 
elation, or the unveiling is a translation ; 
for the book is the unveiling of the 
unseen spiritual world, and of the true 
vision of things to come, by means of 
symbols and metaphors that cannot be 
pictured. We can describe a man’s char- 
acter as to courage, love, spiritual in- 
sight, shrewdness, under the symbols of 
a lion, dove, eagle and fox, but we can- 
not put these symbols together as a pic- 
ture of the man. Nearly every sym- 
bolic representation in Revelation is 
taken from other parts of the Bible, as 
Ezekiel, Daniel, the 24th chapter of Mat- 
thew. There are also a number of 
Jewish Apocalypses. From all these 
we understand the use of the Apocalyp- 
tic language ; and only by so doing can 
we rightly interpret the book of Revela- 
tion. This use of language in no way 
affects the truth of the book. 

The circumstances in which and for 
which the book was written. — The Book 
of Revelation was a message to the 
church in its darkest hours, when “the 
rulers of this darkness ” combined to 
overwhelm it and sweep it from the 
face of the earth, “ when it seemed 
trampled in irremediable defeat. It ex- 
pressed the thoughts of men who had 
seen Peter crucified, and Paul beheaded. 
To understand it aright we must read 
it by the lurid light of the bale-fires of 
martyrdom. We must try to feel as 
Christians felt when they saw their 
brethren torn by the wild beasts of the 
amphitheater, or standing as living 
torches, each in his pitchy tunic, on one 
ghastly night in Rome; when the Devil, 
the Beast, and the False Prophet were 
holding foul orgies in the streets of the 
mystic Babylon, red with the blood of 
the martyrs of the Lord. It was writ- 
ten in the days of earthquakes, and 


inundations, and volcanic outbursts, and 
horrible prodigies. Alike, Rome and 
Jerusalem had been deluged with massa- 
cre. The sun of human life seemed to 
be setting amid seas of blood.” 

At such an hour — perhaps the dim- 
mest and most disastrous which ever 
fell upon an afflicted world — the Seer 
still prophesies triumphantly of the 
coming dawn. It is rather a paean of 
exultation poured forth out of the midst 
of anguish, than a “ miserere wrung 
from mighty grief.” It is a book of 
war, but the war ends in triumph and 
peace. It is a book of thunder, but the 
rolling of the thunder dies away in litur- 
gies and psalms. 

The book gave hope and guidance to 
Christians then, and brings light and 
hope to all ages, because it describes 
the never-ending conflict of Christ with 
Antichrist of which the world’s history 
is full, and all eternal principles are 
capable of infinite applications. — Con- 
densed from Farrar in Messages of the 
Books. 

The book was written for the times ; 
but this does not mean that it had no 
visions beyond, or that its hopes were 
limited to the first age. On the con- 
trary, it was the vision beginning near, 
but with an outlook down the ages to 
the final victory, that gave the most 
help, courage, and comfort to those 
times, just as the assured triumph of 
Christianity, and the ever-living Christ, 
inspire us with comfort and courage 
and hope in our darkest hours. 

Interpretations. The older inter- 
pretations of the book even down 
to last quarter of a century varied 
with modifications, between (a) The 
Historical or Continuous expositors, 
in whose opinion the Revelation is 
a progressive history of the fortunes 
of the Church from the first century 
to the end of time. ( b ) The Prasterist 
expositors, who are of opinion that the 
Revelation has been almost or alto- 
gether fulfilled in the time which has 
passed since it was written ; that it 
refers principally to the triumph of 
Christianity over Judaism and Pagan- 
ism, signalized in the downfall of Jeru- 
salem and of Rome. 

Both of these are rejected by modern 
scholars, or greatly modified. ( c ) The 
modern view is that the book describes, 
in terms and by examples that belonged 


REV 


558 


RHE 


to the first century, the conflict of good 
with evil that rages through all times, 
or the principles and qualities, powers, 
moral forces that are working out the 
history of the world. The conflicts are 
repeated in every age — till the good 
shall reign triumphant. 

The movement of the book. In 
general we have in the first three chap- 
ters the Living Christ, the Leader and 
the Saviour ; then in chapters 4 to 20 
the long warfare of Christ and his peo- 
ple against evil ; while chapters 21 and 
22 describe the final triumph of the 
good in the Kingdom -of God on earth 
and in heaven. 

The most notable peculiarity of the 
book is the frequent change of scene 
from earth to heaven. The vision of 
the spiritual world, its powers and vic- 
tories, revealed to those in persecution 
and trouble for their comfort, encour- 
agement and hope. 

In chapter I we see Jesus in his 
glory and power, our ever present 
Leader and King who had triumphed 
over death. 

In chapters II and III, this Jesus 
gives encouragements and warnings to 
his people on earth, with the richest 
promises to all who overcome in the 
conflict to be described. 

In chapters IV and V, the scene is 
transferred to heaven where there is a 
vision of the Almighty, Omnipresent 
God, in his glory and power, and the 
multitude of the redeemed from among 
those who were suffering martyrdom on 
earth. 

In chapter VI, the scene is on earth 
and its persecutions, while in chapter 
VII the vision opens into heaven again, 
showing the triumph of those who were 
suffering for the sake of the Kingdom 
of God and its righteousness. 

Thus we continue through chapter 
after chapter, as the seven seals are 
opened, the seven trumpets are an- 
nouncing the coming of troubles, and 
the indignation of God against sin is 
poured from the seven vials (or rather 
bowls). The sins, the evils, the pains, 
the death represent pictures of what is 
still taking place in some parts of the 
world, and spiritually in all parts. Amid 
all this there are frequent visions of the 
real triumph of good, to give cheer and 
courage. Till at last evil is destroyed, 
and the Kingdom of God has come, 


and the will of God is done on earth 
as it is in heaven. 

Re'zeph (re'zef) ( hearth-stone [for 
cooking upon]), a place Sennacherib 
mentions, in his taunting message to 
Hezekiah, as having been destroyed by 
his predecessor. 2 Kings 19 : 12 ; Isa. 
37 : 12. It is doubtless the town Rasap- 
pa which is often mentioned in the 
Assyrian records. It is now called 
Rasafa and is a few miles from the 
Euphrates towards Palmyra. 

Rezi'a (re-zi'a) {delight), an Asher- 
ite, of the sons of Ulla. 1 Chron. 7 : 
39. 

Re'zin (re'zin) (firm). 1 . King of 
Damascus. He was tributary to As- 
syria. In the time of Ahaz he joined 
with Pekah of Israel against Judah, 
about 735 b.c. Though unsuccessful in 
his siege of Jerusalem, 2 Kings 16:5; 
Isa. 7 : 1, he “ recovered Elath to Syria.” 
2 Kings 16:6. Soon after this he was 
attacked, defeated and slain by Tiglath- 
pileser II., king of Assyria, whose aid 
Ahaz had invoked, contrary to the ad- 
vice of Isaiah. 2 Kings 16 : 9. 

2. The founder of one of the families 
of the Nethinim. Ezra 2:48; Neh. 7: 
50. 

Re'zon ( re'zon j (prince), son of 
Eliadah, a Syrian, who when David de- 
feated Hadadezer king of Zobah, put 
himself at the head of a band of free- 
booters and set up a petty kingdom at 
Damascus. 1 Kings 11 : 23. He har- 
assed the kingdom of Solomon during 
his whole reign. 

Rhe'gium (re'ji-um) (breach), an 
Italian town situated on the western 
coast, just at the southern entrance of 
the Straits of Messina. The name oc- 



CASTOR AND POLLUX. 


curs in the account of St. Paul’s voyage 
from Syracuse to Puteoli, after the 
shipwreck at Malta. Acts 28:13. By a 
curious coincidence, the figures on its 
coin are the very “ twin brothers ” 
which gave the name to St. Paul’s ship. 


RHE 


559 


RID 


It was originally a Greek colony; it 
was miserably destroyed by Dionysius 
of Syracuse. From Augustus it re- 
ceived advantages which combined with 
its geographical position in making it 
important throughout the duration of 
the Roman empire. The modern Reg- 
gio is the capital of Calabria, and a 
town of 10,000 inhabitants. Its distance 
across the straits from Messina is only 
about six miles. 

Rhe'sa (re'sa), son of Zorobabel in 
the genealogy of Christ. Luke 3 : 27. 

Rho'da (ro'da) (rose), the name of 
a maid who announced Peter’s arrival 
at the door of Mary’s house after his 
miraculous release from prison. Acts 
12 : 13. (a.d. 44.) 

Rhodes (rosy), a celebrated island in 
the Mediterranean Sea. It is triangular 
in form, about 43 miles long from 
north to south, and about 18 wide. It 
is noted now, as in ancient times, for its 
delightful climate and the fertility of 
its soil. The city of Rhodes, its capi- 
tal, was famous for its huge brazen 
statue of Apollo, called the Colossus of 
Rhodes. It stood at the entrance of 
the harbor, and was so large that ships 
in full sail could pass between its legs. 
Rhodes is immediately opposite the high 
Carian and Lycian headlands at the 
southwest extremity of the peninsula of 
Asia Minor. Its position has had much 



DIDRACHM OF RHODES. 

to do with its history. Its real emi- 
nence began about 400 b.c. with the 
founding of the city of Rhodes, at the 
northeast extremity of the island, which 
still continues to be the capital. After 
Alexander’s death it entered on a glo- 
rious period, its material prosperity be- 
ing largely developed, and its institu- 
tions deserving and obtaining general 
esteem. We have notice of the Jewish 
residents in Rhodes in 1 Macc. 15 : 23. 
The Romans, after the defeat of An- 
tiochus, assigned, during some time, to 
Rhodes certain districts on the mainland. 
Its Byzantine history is again eminent. 


Under Constantine it was the metropolis 
of the “ Province of the Islands.” It 
was the last place where the Christians 
of the East held out against the ad- 
vancing Saracens; and subsequently it 
was once more famous as the home 
and fortress of the Knights of St. John. 
It is now under the control of Turkey, 
and reduced to abject poverty. There 
are two cities — Rhodes the capital and 
Lindus — and forty or fifty villages. The 
population is about 29,000, of which 10,- 

000 are in the city of Rhodes. 

Ri'ba=i, or Riba'i (ri'ba-i or ri- 

ba'I) (contentious) , the father of Ittai 
the Benjamite, of Gibeah. 2 Sam. 23: 
29 ; 1 Chron. 11 : 31. 

Rib'lah (rib'lah) (fertility) , one of 
the landmarks on the eastern boundary 
of the land of Israel, as specified by 
Moses. Num. 34 : 11. It seems hardly 
possible, without entirely disarranging 
the specification of the boundary, that 
the Riblah in question can be the same 
with the following, and no other has 
been found. 

2. Riblah in the land of Hamath, a 
place on the great road between Pales- 
tine and Babylonia, at which the kings 
of Babylonia were accustomed to re- 
main while directing the operations of 
their armies in Palestine and Phoenicia. 
Here Nebuchadnezzar waited while the 
sieges of Jerusalem and of Tyre were 
being conducted by his lieutenants. 
Jer. 39:5, 6; 52:9, 10, 26, 27; 2 Kings 
25 : 6, 20, 21. In like manner Pharaoh- 
necho, after his victory over the Israel- 
ites under Josiah at Megiddo sum- 
moned Jehoahaz from Jerusalem to 
come before him at Riblah. 2 Kings 
23 : 33. This Riblah still retains its an- 
cient name, on the right (east) bank 
of the el-Asy (Orontes), upon the great 
road which connects Baalbek and Hums, 
about 35 miles northeast of the former 
place. 

Riddle. In Biblical usage any dark 
saying of which the meaning must be 
thought out, is called a riddle. It is 
often used almost as a parallel to the 
woi;d parable, so in Ps. 49 : 4 and 78 : 
2, where the word is translated “ dark 
saying.” It is known that all ancient 
nations, and especially Orientals, were 
fond of riddles. The riddles which the 
queen of Sheba came to ask of Solomon, 

1 Kings 10 : 1 ; 2 Chron. 9 : 1, were 
rather “hard questions” referring to 


RIM 


560 


RIN 


profound inquiries. Solomon is said, 
however, to have been very fond of 
riddles. Riddles were generally pro- 
posed in verse, like the celebrated riddle 
of Samson. Judges 14 : 14-19. This, 
however, was not properly a . riddle, 
since without possession of certain facts 
of which they were ignorant it was 
unguessable. After learning these facts 
through bribery it was easy to guess 
the riddle. 

Rim'mon (rim'mon) ( pomegranate ), 
the name of several towns. 1. A city 
of Zebulun, 1 Chron. 6:77; Josh. 19: 

* 13, a Levitical city, the present Rum- 
maneh, six miles north of Nazareth. 

2. A town in the southern portion of 
Judah, Josh. 15 : 32, allotted to Simeon, 
Josh. 19:7; 1 Chron. 4:32. It is prob- 
ably correctly identified with Unim-er- 
Rumamin about 10 miles northeast of 
Beersheba. 

3. Rimmon-parez (rim'mon-pa'rez) 
( pomegranate of the breach ), the name 
of a march-station in the wilderness. 
Num. 33 : 19, 20. No place now known 
has been identified with it, although 
Ewald considers it the same as 2. 

4. Rimmon the Rock, a cliff or inac- 
cessible natural fastness, in which the 
six hundred Benjamites who escaped 
the slaughter of Gibeah took refuge. 
Judges 20:45, 47; 21:13. In the wild 
country which lies on the east of the 
central highlands of Benjamin the name 
is still found attached to a village 
perched on the summit of a conical 
chalky hill, visible in all directions, and 
commanding the whole country. 

5. A Benjamite of Beeroth, the father 
of Rechab and Baanah, the murderers 
of Ish-bosheth. 2 Sam. 4:2, 5, 9. 

Rim'mon, a deity worshipped by the 
Syrians of Damascus, where there was 
a temple or house of Rimmon. 2 Kings 
5 : 18. It is the Hebraized form of 
Ramman, the name of a god of Assyria. 
He was one of the 12 chief gods, and 
presided over the storms, lightning and 
thunder. His representations are much 
like those of Jove with the thunder 
bolts. He was identical with the Syrian 
god Hadad who occupied as prominent 
a place among the Syrian deities. The 
compound Hadad-Rimmon is merely the 
union of the two names for the same 
deity, like that of Adonis-Osiris in Cy- 
prus. 

Ring. The earliest money was in the 


form of rings. Rings, on the finger, 
and in the ears and nose were, much 
used in olden times. The most impor- 
tant use, however, was the signet-ring, 
which became the symbol of authority, 



EGYPTIAN WEIGHING RINGS FOR MONEY. (See 
Money.) 


in an age when few could sign their 
names. Gen. 41 : 42 ; Esth. 3 : 10. Rings 
were worn not only by men, but by 
women. Isa. 3:21. We may conclude 
from Ex. 28 : 11 that the rings contained 



RINGS AND SIGNETS. 


a stone engraven with a device or with 
the owner’s name. The custom appears 
also to have prevailed among the Jews 
of the apostolic age. James 2:2. See 
Seal. 


RIN 


561 


ROE 


Rin'nah (rin'nah) ( a shout), one of 
the descendants of Judah. 1 Chron. 4: 
20 . 

Ri'phath (ri'fath), the second son of 
Gomer. Gen. 10 : 3. An ancient tradi- 
tion identifies the name with the Rip- 
haean mountains, which were supposed 
to form the northern boundary of the 
world. These may have been the Car- 
pathian range in the northeast of Dacia. 

Ris'sah (ris'sah) ( a ruin), a march- 
station in the wilderness. Num. 33 : 21, 
22 . 

Rith'mah (rith'mah) (broom), a 
march-station in the wilderness, Num. 
33 : 18, 19, probably northeast of Haze- 
roth. 

River. In the sense in which we em- 
ploy the word, viz. for a perennial 
stream of considerable size, a river is a 
much rarer object in the East than in 
the West. With the exception of the 
Jordan and the Litany, the streams of 
the Holy Land are either entirely dried 
up in the summer months, and con- 
verted into hot lanes of glaring stones, 
or else reduced to very small stream- 
lets, deeply sunk in a narrow bed, and 
concealed from view by a dense growth 
of shrubs. The perennial river is called 
nahar by the Hebrews. With the defi- 
nite article, “ the river,” it signifies in- 
variably the Euphrates. Gen. 31 : 21 ; 
Ex. 23 : 31 ; Num. 24 : 6 ; 2 Sam. 10 : 16, 
etc. • It is never applied to the fleet- 
ing fugitive torrents of Palestine. The 
term for these is nachal , for which our 
translators have used promiscuously, 
and sometimes, almost alternately, “ val- 
ley,’* “brook” and “river.” No one 
of these words expresses the thing in- 
tended ; but the term “ brook ” is pe- 
culiarly unhappy. Many of the wadys 
of Palestine are deep, abrupt chasms 
or rents in the solid rock of the hills, 
and have a savage, gloomy aspect, far 
removed from that of an English brook. 
Unfortunately our language does not 
contain any single word which has both 
the meanings of the Hebrew nachal and 
its Arabic equivalent wady, which can 
be used at once for a dry valley and 
for the stream which occasionally flows 
through it. 

River of Egypt. 1. The Nile. Gen. 
15:18. [Nile.] 

2. A desert stream on the border of 
Egypt, still occasionally flowing in the 
valley called Wady-el- Arish. The cen- 
36 


tre of the valley is occupied by the bed 
of. this torrent, which only flows after 
rains, as is usual in the desert valleys. 
This stream is first mentioned as the 
point where the southern border of the 
promised land touched the Mediterra- 
nean, which formed its western border. 
Num. 34:3-6. In the latter history we 
find Solomon’s kingdom extending from 
the “ entering in of Hamath unto the 
river of Egypt,” 1 Kings 8 : 65, and 
Egypt limited in the same manner where 
the loss of the eastern provinces is 
mentioned. 2 Kings 24 : 7. 

Riz'pah (riz'pah), concubine to King 
Saul, and mother of his two sons Ar- 
moni and Mephibosheth. The tragic 
story of the love and endurance with 
which she watched over the bodies of 
her two sons, who were killed by the 
Gibeonites, 2 Sam. 21 : 8-11, has made 
Rizpah one of the most familiar objects 
in the whole Bible. 

Road. This word occurs but once in 
the Authorized Version of the Bible, 
viz. in 1 Sam. 27 : 10, where it is used 
in the sense of “ raid ” or “ inroad.” 
Where a travelled road is meant “ path ” 
or “ way ” is used, since the eastern 
roads are more like our paths. 

Robbery. Robbery has ever been 
one of the principal employments of 
the nomad tribes of the East. From the 
time of Ishmael to the present day the 
Bedouin has been a “ wild man,” and a 
robber by trade. Gen. 16 : 12. The Mo- 
saic law on the subject of theft is con- 
tained in Ex. 22. There seems no rea- 
son to suppose that the law underwent 
any alteration in Solomon’s time. Man- 
stealing was punishable with death. Ex. 
21 : 16 ; Deut. 24 : 7. Invasion of right 
in land was strictly forbidden. Deut. 
27:17; Isa. 5:8; Micah 2:2. There 
was a distinction made between common 
thieves or pilferers and robbers, or 
highwaymen, who in N. T. times were 
often rebels against the Roman power. 
The “two thieves” crucified with Jesus 
were doubtless “ robbers,” “ brigands ” 
“ rebels.” 

Roe, Roebuck. The Hebrew words 
yaalah and tsebi, thus translated in the 
Authorized Version denote some species 
of antelope, probably the gazelle of 
Syria and Arabia. The gazelle was al- 
lowed as food, Deut. 12 : 15, 22, etc. ; it 
is mentioned as very fleet of foot, 2 
Sam. 2 : 18 ; 1 Chron. 12:8; it was 


ROG 


562 


ROM 


hunted, Isa. 13 : 14 ; Prov. 6:5; it was 
celebrated for its loveliness. Cant. 2: 
9, 17; 8:14. Another word Yachmur, 
translated in the A. V. fallow deer, is 



THE WILD ROE. 


translated “ roebuck ” in the R. V., 
probably correctly. Deut. :L4 : 5 ; 1 

Kings 4 : 23. 

Ro'ge=lim (ro'ge-lim) ( place of ful- 
lers'), the residence of Barzillai the 
Gileadite, 2 Sam. 17 : 27 ; 19 : 31, prob- 
ably in the north of Gilead. 

Roh'gah (roh'gah) (clamor), an 
Asherite, of the sons of Shamer. 1 
Chron. 7:34. 

Roll. A book in ancient times con- 
sisted of a single long strip of paper or 
parchment, which was usually kept 
rolled upon a stick, and was unrolled 
when a person wished to read it. The 
roll was usually written on one side 
only, and hence the particular notice of 
one that was “written within and with- 
out.” Ezek. 2 : 10. The writing was 
arranged in columns. 

Romam'ti=e'zer (ro-mam'ti-e'zer) , 
one of the fourteen sons of Heman. 
1 Chron. 25 : 4, 31. 

Romans. 1. Inhabitants of Rome. 
1 Macc. 8:1; Acts 2 : 10. 

2. Representatives of the Roman Gov- 
ernment. John 11 : 40 ; Acts 25 : 16. 

3. The possessors of the right of 
Roman citizenship. Acts 16 : 21, 37, 38 ; 
22 : 25-29. The right of Roman citizen- 
ship was given by birth from two Roman 
citizens legally married. It was ac- 
quired by purchase, or sometimes given 
either to individuals, or districts as a 
reward for service, or as a political 


measure. Its greatest value in New 
Testament times was the right of appeal 
to the Emperor, accompanied with the 
privilege of freedom from bonds, 
scourging or death save by a fair trial 
by the representatives of the people. 
The claim of Roman citizenship was 
always allowed, if made so as to reach 
the ears of the officer in charge, as it 
was an easy thing to establish, and any 
false claim to the right was punishable 
by death. 

Romans, Epistle to the. 1 . The 

date of this epistle is fixed at the time 
of the visit recorded in Acts 20 : 3, 
during the winter and spring following 
the apostle’s long residence at Ephe- 
sus, a.d. 58. On this visit he remained 
in Greece three months. 2. The place 
of writing was Corinth. 3. The occa- 
sion which prompted it, and the circum- 
stances attending its writing, were as 
follows : — St. Paul had long purposed 
visiting Rome, and still retained this 
purpose, wishing also to extend his 
journey to Spain. Rom. 1:9-13; 15: 
22-29. For the time, however, he was 
prevented from carrying out his de- 
sign, as he was bound for Jerusalem 
with the alms of the Gentile Christians, 
and meanwhile he addressed this letter 
to the Romans, to supply the lack of his 
personal teaching. Phoebe, a deaconess 
of the neighboring church of Cenchreae, 
was on the point of starting for Rome, 
ch. 16‘: 1, 2, and probably conveyed the 
letter. The body of the epistle was 
written at the apostle’s dictation by Ter- 
tius, ch. 16 : 22 ; but perhaps we may 
infer, from the abruptness of the final 
doxology, that it was added by the apos- 
tle himself. 4. The origin of the Roman 
church is involved in obscurity. If it 
had fceen founded by St. Peter, accord- 
ing to a later tradition, the absence of 
any allusion to him both in this epistle 
and in the letters written by St. Paul 
from Rome would admit of no explana- 
tion. It is equally clear that no other 
apostle was the founder. The statement 
in the Clementines that the first tidings 
of the gospel reached Rome during the 
lifetime of our Lord is evidently a fic- 
tion for the purposes of the romance. 
On the other hand, it is clear that the 
foundation of this church dates very far 
back. It may be that some of these 
Romans, “ both Jews and. proselytes,” 
present on the day of Pentecost, Acts 2 : 


ROM 


563 


ROM 


10, carried back the earliest tidings of 
the new doctrine ; or the gospel may 
have first reached the imperial city 
through those who were scattered abroad 
to escape the persecution which fol- 
lowed on the death of Stephen. Acts 
8:4; 11 : 19. At first we may suppose 
that the gospel was preached there in a 
confused and imperfect form, scarcely 
more than a phase of Judaism, as in 
the case of Apollos at Corinth, Acts 18 : 
25, or the disciples at Ephesus. Acts 
19 : 1-3. As time advanced and better- 
instructed teachers arrived, the clouds 
would gradually clear away, till at 
length the presence of the great apostle 
himself at Rome dispersed the mists of 
Judaism which still hung about the Ro- 
man church. 5. A question next arises 
as to the composition of the Roman 
church at the time when St. Paul wrote. 
It is more probable that St. Paul ad- 
dressed a mixed church of Jews and 
Gentiles, the latter perhaps being the 
more numerous. Cicero tells us of a 
large Jewish community in Rome. Jo- 
sephus tells us how 8000 Jews in Rome 
supported the complaints against Arche- 
laus. The satires of Horace and Juve- 
nal show that the Jews were far from 
popular in Rome, while no doubt their 
purer theism and higher morality at- 
tracted many adherents, and this was 
especially true of the early Christian 
church. All the literature of the early 
Roman church was written in the Greek 
tongue. 6. The heterogeneous composi- 
tion of this church explains the general 
character of the Epistle to the Romans. 
In an assemblage so various we should 
expect to find, not the exclusive pre- 
dominance of a single form of error, 
but the coincidence of different and op- 
posing forms. It was therefore the 
business of the Christian teacher to 
reconcile the opposing difficulties and to 
hold out a meeting-point in the gospel. 
This is exactly what St. Paul does in 
the Epistle to the Romans. 7. In de- 
scribing the purport of this epistle we 
may start from St. Paul’s own words, 
which, standing at the beginning of the 
doctrinal portion, may be taken as giv- 
ing a summary of the contents, ch. 1 : 
16, 17. Accordingly the epistle has been 
described as comprising “ the religious 
philosophy of the world’s history.” The 
atonement of Christ is the centre of 
religious history. The epistle, from its 


general character, lends itself more 
readily to an analysis than is often the 
case with St. Paul’s epistles. While 
this epistle contains the fullest and 
most systematic exposition of the apos- 
tle’s teaching, it is at the same time a 
very striking expression of his character. 
Nowhere do his earnest and affection- 
ate nature and his tact and delicacy in 
handling unwelcome topics appear more 
strongly than when he is dealing with 
the rejection of his fellow countrymen 
the Jews. 8. Internal evidence is so 
strongly in favor of the genuineness of 
the Epistle to the Romans that it has 
never been seriously questioned. 

Rome. i. the nation. 1. Its history. 
— The nation called by the name of 
its metropolis and capital city, Rome, 
embraced very different amounts of ter- 
ritory at the various parts of its exist- 
ence. Beginning as a city only, it grad- 
ually spread its conquests both by war 
and peace, till it was mistress of all the 
known world. It then gradually lost all 
it had gained till, politically, it was but 
a single city; though as the seat of the 
Supreme Head of the Catholic church, 
its influence always extended wherever 
the church had set its foot. As the 
capital of united Italy its political and 
religious importance have been existing 
side by side, in none too pleasant rivalry. 
The government of Rome originally a 
kingdom was from the beginning of 
history to 31 b.c. a republic. At that 
time Octaviafius, grand nephew and 
adopted son of Julius Caesar, assumed 
control as Imperator, under the sur- 
name of Augustus. From that time 
until its fall it was the Roman Empire. 

Rome’s first contact with Asia was in 
b.c. 192 when the war with Antiochus 
III., of Syria was begun, which ended 
by his defeat in the battle of Magnesia 
in 190 b.c. and a Roman protectorate 
over Syria. From that time Rome never 
lost hold of Asia. The first historic 
mention of Rome in the Bible is in 1 
Macc. 1 : 10, about the year 161 b.c., 
when political relations of some sort 
were entered into with Judas Macca- 
bseus. In the year 65 b.c., when Syria 
was made a Roman province by Pom- 
pey, the Jews were still governed by 
one of the Asmonsean princes'. The 
next year Pompey himself marched an 
army into Judea and took Jerusalem. 
From this time the Jews were prac- 


ROM 


564 


ROM 


tically under the government of Rome. 
Finally, Antipater’s son, Herod the 
Great, was made king by Antony’s in- 
terest, b.c. 40, and confirmed in the 
kingdom by Augustus, b.c. 30. The 
Jews, however, were all this time trib- 
utaries of Rome, and their princes in 
reality were Roman procurators. On 
the banishment of Archelaus, a.d. 6, 
Judea became a mere appendage of the 
province of Syria, and was governed 
by a Roman procurator, who resided 
at Caesarea. Such were the relations 
of the Jewish people to the Roman gov- 
ernment at the time when the New 
Testament history begins. 

2. Its extent. — Cicero’s description of 
the Greek states and colonies as a 
“ fringe on the skirts of barbarism ” 
has been well applied to the Roman 
dominions before the conquests of Pom- 
pey and Caesar. The Roman empire 
was still confined to a narrow strip 
encircling the Mediterranean Sea. 
Pompey added Asia Minor and Syria. 
Caesar added Gaul. The generals of 
Augustus overran the northwest por- 
tion of Spain and the country between 
the Alps and the Danube. The boun- 
daries of the empire were now the At- 
lantic on the west, the Euphrates on 
the east, the deserts of Africa, the cat- 
aracts of the Nile and the. Arabian 
deserts on the south, the British Chan- 
nel, the Rhine, the Danube and the 
Black Sea on the north. The only sub- 
sequent conquests of importance were 
those of Britain by Claudius and of 
Dacia by Trajan. The only independent 
powers of importance were the Par- 
thians on the east and the Germans on 
the north. The population of the em- 
pire in the time of its greatest extent 
has been estimated at 120,000,000. 

3. The provinces . — The usual fate of 
a country conquered by Rome was to 
become a subject province, governed di- 
rectly from Rome by officers sent out 
for that purpose. Sometimes, however, 
petty sovereigns were left in possession 
of a nominal independence on the bor- 
ders or within the natural limits of the 
province. Augustus divided the prov- 
inces into two classes — (l) Imperial; 
(2) Senatorial ; retaining in his own 
hands, for obvious reasons, those prov- 
inces where the presence of a large 
military force was necessary, and com- 
mitting the peaceful and unarmed 


provinces to the senate. The New Tes- 
tament writers invariably designate the 
governors of senatorial provinces by the 
correct title avdinraroi, proconsuls. Acts 
13 : 7 ; 18 : 12 ; 19 : 38. A. V. “ deputy.” 
For the governor of an imperial prov- 
ince, properly styled “ legatus Caesaris,” 
the word riyefuau (governor) is used in 
the New Testament. The provinces 
were heavily taxed for the benefit of 
Rome and her citizens. They are said 
to have been better governed under the 
empire than under the commonwealth, 
and those of the emperor better than 
those of the senate. 

4. The condition of the Roman empire 
at the time when Christianity appeared 
has often been dwelt upon as affording 
obvious illustrations of St. Paul’s ex- 
pression that the “ fullness of time had 
come.” Gal. 4 : 4. The general peace 
within the limits of the empire, the for- 
mation of military roads, the suppres- 
sion of piracy, the march of the legions, 
the voyages of the corn fleets, the gen- 
eral increase of traffic, the spread of 
the Latin language in the West as 
Greek had already spread in the East, 
the external unity of the empire, offered 
facilities hitherto unknown for the 
spread of a world-wide religion. The 
tendency, too, of a despotism like that 
of the Roman empire to reduce all its 
subjects to a dead level was a powerful 
instrument in breaking down the pride 
of privileged races and national relig- 
ions, and familiarizing men with the 
truth that “ God had made of one blood 
all nations on the face of the earth.” 
Acts 17 : 24, 26. But still more striking 
than this outward preparation for the 
diffusion of the gospel was the appear- 
ance of a deep and wide-spread corrup- 
tion, which seemed to defy any human 
remedy. 

II. The city. — The famous capital of 
the ancient world is situated on the 
Tiber at a distance of about 15 miles 
from its mouth. The “ seven hills,” 
Rev. 17 : 9, which formed the nucleus 
of the ancient city stand on the left 
bank. On the opposite side of the river 
rises the far higher side of the Janicu-- 
lum. Here from very early times was 
a fortress with a suburb beneath it ex- 
tending to the river. Modern Rome in- 
cludes the site of the ancient city, and 
also on the right bank as well. The 
government quarter is in the northeast- 
ern portion, the modern part, where 


565 




THE ROMAN FORUM 










ROM 


566 


ROM 


the great development of the city has 
been most marked since 1870 is in the 
north and east, and the papal quarter 
is on the right bank of the river. Rome 
is not mentioned in the Bible except in 
the books of Maccabees and in three 
books of the New Testament, viz., the 
Acts, the Epistle to the Romans and the 
Second Epistle to Timothy. 


sar showed them some kindness; they 
were favored also by Augustus, and 
by Tiberius during the latter part of 
his reign. It is chiefly in connection 
with St. Paul’s history that Rome 
comes before us in the Bible. In illus- 
tration of that history it may be useful 
to give some account of Rome in the 
time of Nero, the “ Caesar ” to whom 



THE COLISEUM AT ROME. 


1. Jewish inhabitants. — The conquests 
of Pompey seem to have given rise to 
the first settlement of Jews at Rome, 
and many Jewish captives and immi- 
grants were brought to Rome at that 
time. A special district was assigned to 
them, not on the site of the modern 
Ghetto, between the Capitol and the 
island of the Tiber, but across the Tiber 
in the quarter corresponding to the 
Trastevere of to-day. Many of these, 
Jews were made freedmen. Julius Cae- 


St. Paul appealed, and in whose reign 
he suffered martyrdom. 

2. The city in Paul’s time. — The city 
at that time must be imagined as a 
large and irregular mass of buildings 
unprotected by an outer wall. It had 
long outgrown the old Servian wall ; 
but the limits of the suburbs cannot be 
exactly defined. Neither the nature of 
the buildings nor the configuration of 
the ground was such as to give a strik- 
ing appearance to the city viewed from 




ROM 


567 


ROM 


without. “ Ancient Rome had neither 
cupola nor campanile,” and the hills, 
never lofty or imposing, would present, 
when covered with the buildings and 
streets of a huge city, a confused ap- 
pearance like the hills of modern Lon- 
don, to which they have sometimes been 
compared. The visit of St. Paul lies 
between two famous epochs in the his- 
tory of the city, viz., its restoration by 
Augustus and its restoration by Nero. 
The boast of Augustus is well known, 
“ that he found the city of brick, and 
left it of marble.” Some parts of the 
city, especially the Forum and Campus 
Martius, must have presented a mag- 
nificent appearance, but many of the 
principal buildings which attract the at- 
tention of modern travellers in ancient 
Rome were not yet built. The streets 
were generally narrow and winding, 
flanked by densely-crowded lodging- 
houses ( insula ) of enormous height. 
Augustus found it necessary to limit 
their height to 70 feet. St. Paul’s first 
visit to Rome took place before the 
Neronian conflagration ; but even after 
the restoration of the city which fol- 
lowed upon that event, many of the 
old evils continued. The population of 
the city has been variously estimated. 
The numbers given for b.c. 15, vary 
from 1,300,000 to 2,265,000. At the 
beginning of the fourth century a.d., 
two authorities give the population as 
1,200,000 and 1,470,000. In 1899 it was 
572,423. At the beginning of the Chris- 
tian era one-half of the population con- 
sisted, in all probability, of slaves. The 
larger part of the remainder consisted 
of pauper citizens supported in idleness 
by the miserable system of public gratui- 
ties. There appears to have been no 
middle class, and no free industrial 
population. Side by side with the 
wretched classes just mentioned was the 
comparatively small body of the wealthy 
nobility, of whose luxury and profligacy 
we learn so much from the heathen 
writers of the time. Such was the pop- 
ulation which St. Paul would find at 
Rome at the time of his visit. We learn 
from the Acts of the Apostles that he 
was detained at Rome for “two whole 
years,” “ dwelling in his own hired 
house with a soldier that kept him,” 
Acts 28 : 16, 30, to whom apparently, 
according to Roman custom, he was 
bound with a chain, Acts 28 : 20 ; Eph. 


6 : 20 ; Philip. 1 : 13. Here he preached 
to all that came to him, no man for- 
bidding him. Acts 28:30, 31. s It is 
generally believed that on his “ appeal 
to Caesar” he was acquitted, and after 
some time spent in freedom, was a 
second time imprisoned at Rome. Five 
of his epistles, viz., those to the Colos- 
sians, Ephesians, Philippians, that to 
Philemon, and the Second Epistle to 
Timothy, were in all probability written 
from Rome, the latter shortly before 
his death, 2 Tim. 4 : 6, the others during 
his first imprisonment. It is universally 
believed that he suffered martyrdom at 
Rome. 

3. The localities in and about Rome 
especially connected with the life of 
Paul are — (l) The Appian Way, by 
which he approached Rome. Acts 28 : 
15. [Appii Forum.] (2) His “own 
hired house ” where he lived for two 
years. Acts 28 : 30. This may mean 
either the great camp of the Praetorian 
guards which Tiberius established out- 
side the walls on the northeast of the 
city, or, a barrack attached to the im- 
perial residence on the Palatine, or in 
any case in some place where he was 
brought in contact with those who 
formed a part of Nero’s household. 
Phil. 1:13; 4:22. (3) The connection 

of other localities at Rome with St. 
Paul’s name rests only on traditions of 
more or less probability. We may men- 
tion especially — (a) The Mamertine 
prison, or Tullianum, built by Ancus 
Martius near the Forum. It still ex- 
ists beneath the church of St. Giuseppe 
dei Falegnami. It is said that St. 
Peter and St. Paul were fellow prison- 
ers here for nine months. This is not 
the place to discuss the question whether 
St. Peter was ever at Rome. It may 
be sufficient to state that though there 
is no evidence of such a visit in the 
New Testament, unless Babylon in 1 
Pet. 5 : 13 is a mystical name for Rome, 
yet early testimony and the universal 
belief of the early Church seem suffi- 
cient to establish the fact of his having 
suffered martyrdom there. [Peter.] 
The story, however, of the imprison- 
ment in the Mamertine prison seems in- 
consistent with 2 Tim. 4 : 11. (b) The 

chapel on the Ostian road which marks 
the spot where the two apostles are said 
to have separated on their way to mar- 
tyrdom. (c) The supposed scene of St. 


ROM 


568 


ROS 


Paul’s martyrdom, viz., the church of 
St. Paolo alle tre fontane on the Os- 
tian road. To these may be added — (d) 
The supposed scene of St. Peter’s mar- 
tyrdom, viz., the church of St. Pietro 
in Montorio, on the Janiculum. (e) 
The chapel Domine quo Vadis, on the 
Appian road, the scene of the beautiful 
legend of our Lord’s appearance to St. 
Peter as he was escaping from martyr- 
dom. (f) The places where the bodies 
of the two apostles, after having been 
deposited first in the catacombs, are 
supposed to have been finally buried — 
that of St. Paul by the Ostian road, that 
of St. Peter beneath the dome of the 
famous Basilica which bears his name. 
We may add, as sites unquestionably 
connected with the Roman Christians 
of the apostolic age — (g) The gardens 
qf Nero in the Vatican, not far from 
the spot where St. Peter’s now stands. 
Here Christians, wrapped in the skins 
of beasts, were torn to pieces by dogs, 
or, clothed in inflammable robes, were 
burnt to serve as torches during the 
midnight games. Others were crucified, 
(h) The Catacombs. These subterra- 
nean galleries, commonly from 8 to 10 
feet in height and from 4 to 6 in width, 
and extending for miles, especially in 
the neighborhood of the old Appian and 
Nomentan Ways, were unquestionably 
used as places of refuge, of worship 
and of burial by the early Christians. 
The earliest dated inscription in the 
catacombs is a.d. 71. Discoveries prov- 
ing and disproving many of the legends 
and traditions of early Rome are 
steadily being made in various parts 
of Rome, in the course of the system- 
atic excavations being made under 
the direction of the Italian government. 
Ruins of churches dating back to the 
earliest period of Christianity, surely 
not long after the destruction of Pom- 
peii have been found. It may be that 
other discoveries may be made which 
shall throw more light upon the his- 
tory of the church at Rome and its con- 
nection with Paul and Peter. Nothing 
is known of the first founder of the 
Christian Church at Rome. Christian- 
ity may, perhaps, have been introduced 
into the city not long after the out- 
pouring of the Holy Spirit on the day 
of Pentecost by the “ strangers of 
Rome,” who were then at Jerusalem. 
Acts 2:10. It is clear that there were 


many Christians at Rome before St. 
Paul visited the city. Rom. 1 : 8, 13, 15 ; 
15 : 20. The names of twenty-four 
Christians at Rome are given in the 
salutations at the end of the Epistle to 
the Romans. Linus, who is mentioned 
2 Tim. 4:21, and Clement, Philip. 4:3, 
are supposed to have succeeded St. 
Peter as bishops of Rome. 

Roof. [House.] 

Room. The references to “ room ” in 
Matt. 23 : 6 ; Mark 12 : 39 ; Luke 14 : 7, 
8;' 20:46, signify the highest place on 
the highest couch round the dinner or 
supper table — the “ uppermost seat,” 
as it is more accurately rendered in 
Luke 11 : 43, and R. V. substitutes in 
every case “ place ” or “ seat,” for this 
obsolete use of “ room.” 

Rose occurs twice only, viz. in Cant. 
2:1; Isa. 35 : 1. There is much differ- 
ence of opinion as to what particular 
flower is here denoted ; but it appears to 



ROSE OF SHARON. 


us most probable that the narcissus is 
intended. Chateaubriand mentions the 
narcissus as growing in the plain of 
Sharon. Roses are greatly prized in the 
East, more especially for the sake of 
the rose-water, which is in much re- 
quest. . There are seven species of wild 
roses in Syria. 

Rosh (rosh) {head). In the genealo- 


ROS 


569 


RUT 


gy of Gen. 46 : 21, Rosh is reckoned 
among the sons of Benjamin. 

Rosh, Ezek. 38 : 2, 3 ; 39 : 1 , probably 
a proper name, referring to the first of 
the three great Scythian tribes of which 
Magog was the head. 

Rubies. Concerning the meaning of 
the Hebrew words translated “ rubies ” 
there is much difference of opinion. 
Job 28:18; see also Prov. 3:15; 8:11; 
31 : 10. Some suppose “ coral ” to be 
intended ; others “ pearl,” supposing 
that the original word signifies merely 
“ bright in color,” or “ color of a red- 
dish tinge.” “Agate” in A. V. of Isa. 
54 : 12 ; Eze. 27 : 16, is given as “ rubies ” 
by the R. V. The real ruby is a red 
sapphire, next in value to the diamond. 
The finest rubies are brought chiefly 
from Ceylon and Burmah. 

Rue occurs only in Luke 11 : 42. The 
rue here spoken of is doubtless the 
common Rut a graveolens, a shrubby 



RUE. 


plant 2 to 4 feet high, of strong me- 
dicinal virtues. It is a native of the 
Mediterranean coasts. The Talmud enu- 
merates rue amongst kitchen-herbs, and 
regards it as free of tithe, as being a 
plant not cultivated in gardens. In our 
Lord’s time, however, rue was doubtless 
a garden plant, and therefore tithable. 


Ru'fus ( red ) is mentioned in Mark 
15 : 21 as a son of Simon the Cyrenian. 
Luke 23 : 26. (a.d. 30.) Again, in 

Rom. 16:13, the apostle Paul salutes 
a Rufus whom he designates as “elect 
in the Lord.” This Rufus was perhaps 
identical with the one to whom Mark 
refers ; but the name is so common that 
there is no proof of this. 

Ruha'mah ( having obtained mercy). 
Hos. 2 : 1. The name, if name it be, 
is symbolical, and is addressed to the 
daughters of the people, to denote that 
they were still the objects of love and 
tender compassion. 

Ru'mah (ru'mah) ( height ), men- 
tioned once only — 2 Kings 23 : 36. It 
has been conjectured to be the same 
place as Arumah, Judges 9:41, which 
was apparently near Shechem. There 
is another town of the name in Galilee. 

Rush. [Reed.] 

Ruth, a Moabitish woman, the wife, 
first of Mahlon, secondly of Boaz, the 
ancestress of David and of Christ, and 
one of the four women who are named 
by St. Matthew in the genealogy of 
Christ. A severe famine in the land of 
Judah induced Elimelech, a native of 
Bethlehem-ephratah, to emigrate into 
the land of Moab, with his wife Na- 
omi, and his two sons, Mahlon and 
Chilion. Ruth lived in the later pe- 
riod of the Judges, perhaps under 
Gideon or Eli during the 12th century 
b.c. After several years Naomi, now 
left a widow and childless, having heard 
that there was plenty again in Judah, 
resolved to return to Bethlehem, and 
her daughter-in-law Ruth returned with 
her. They arrived at Bethlehem just 
at the beginning of barley harvest, and 
Ruth, going out to glean, chanced to 
go into the field of Boaz, a wealthy 
man and a near kinsman of her father- 
in-law, Elimelech. Upon learning who 
the stranger was, Boaz treated her with 
the utmost kindness and respect, and 
sent her home laden with corn which 
she had gleaned. Encouraged by this 
incident, Naomi instructed Ruth to 
claim at the hand of Boaz that he 
should perform the part of her hus- 
band’s near kinsman, by purchasing the 
inheritance of Elimelech and taking her 
to be his wife. With all due solemnity, 
Boaz took Ruth to be his wife, amidst 
the blessings and congratulations of 
their neighbors. Their son, Obed, was 


RUT 


570 


RYE 


the father of Jesse, who was the father 
of David. 

Ruth, Book of, “is the very ideal 
and type of the Idyl,” describing the 
simple domestic life of Israel during 
the period, concerning which the book 
of Judges describes chiefly the wars 
and political changes. Instead of war, 
of national strife, of political struggle 
we have here great harvest festivals, 
transfers of land, emigration, marriage, 
farming life, and peaceful homes. To 
describe this idyllic life, to show the 
laws of marriage, and to give an ac- 
count of David’s ancestors are evidently 
its purpose; and the book was avowedly 
composed long after the time of the 
heroine. See Ruth 1:1; 4:7, 17. Its 


date and author are quite uncertain. 
The book of Ruth clearly forms part 
of the books of Samuel, supplying as 
it does the essential point of David’s 
genealogy and early family history, and 
is no less clearly connected with the 
book of Judges by its opening verse 
and the epoch to which the whole book 
relates. 

Rye (Heb. cussemeth ) occurs in Ex. 
9:32; Isa. 28 : 25 ; Ezek. 4:9. In all 
cases R. V. has “ spelt ” which is also 
found in the margin of the A. V. 
Spelt ( Triticum spelta) is a sort of wild 
wheat not far different from common 
wheat. Spelt is not cultivated now in 
Syria and is unknown in its wild state. 
A better translation might be “ Vetches.” 


s 


Sabac'thani (sa-bak'tha-ni). See 
Eli. 

Sab'aoth (sab'a-oth), The Lord of, 

occurs in Rom. 9:29; James 5:4, but 
is more familiar through its occurrence 
in the Sanctus of Te Deum — “ Holy, 
holy, holy, Lord God of Sabaoth.” Sab- 
aoth is the Greek form of the He- 
brew word for “ hosts ” in the sense of 
“ armies,” and is translated in the Au- 
thorized Version of the Old Testament 
by “ Lord of hosts,” “ Lord God of 
hosts.” There is a difference of opin- 
ion as to whether it means the leader 
of the armies of Israel, or of the armies 
of angels, or of the forces of nature. 
The first seems too narrow for all the 
references, while the last seems too va- 
gue. 

Sabbath (shabbdth, “a day of rest.”) 
The name is applied to divers great fes- 
tivals, but principally and usually to the 
seventh day of the week, the strict ob- 
servance of which is enforced not 
merely in the general Mosaic code, but 
in the Decalogue itself. The first scrip- 
tural notice of it, though it is not men- 
tioned by name, is to be found in Gen. 
2: 3, at the close of the record of the 
six-days creation. There are not want- 
ing indirect evidences of its observance 
by the patriarchs, as the intervals be- 
tween Noah’s sending forth the birds 
out of the ark, a.n act naturally asso- 
ciated with the weekly service, Gen. 
8 : 7-12. It is in Ex. 16 : 23-29 in con- 
nection with the giving of the manna, 
that we find the first incontrovertible 
institution of the day, as one given to 
and to be kept by the children of Israel. 
Shortly afterward it was re-enacted in 
the Fourth Commandment. The benef- 
icent character of the Fourth Com- 
mandment is very apparent in the ver- 
sion of it which we find in Deuteron- 
omy. Deut. 5 : 12-15. Bondman and 
bondmaid, nay, even the beast of the 
field, is to have full right in it. “ The 
stranger,” too, is comprehended in the 


benefit. But the original proclamation 
of it in Exodus places it on a ground 
which, closely connected no doubt with 
these others, is yet higher and more 
comprehensive. Since God in his crea- 
tive work rested on the seventh day, so 
man should rest and hallow the seventh 
day in' God’s honor. It is most im- 
portant to remember that the Fourth 
Commandment is not limited to a mere 
enactment respecting one day, but pre- 
scribes the due distribution of a week, 
and enforces the six days’ work as much 
as the seventh day’s rest. A great 
snare has always been hidden in the 
word work, as if the commandment for- 
bade occupation and imposed idleness. 
The terms in the commandment show 
plainly enough the sort of work which 
is contemplated — servile work and busi- 
ness. The prohibition of work is only 
subsidiary to the positive idea of joyful 
rest and recreation, in communion with 
Jehovah, who himself “ rested and was 
refreshed Ex. 31 : 17 ; comp. 23 : 12. 
When at the end of the 40 years of 
wandering Moses reviewed their history 
he assigned as a reason for the ob- 
servance of the Sabbath, its serving as 
a memorial of Jehovah’s deliverance of 
his people from bondage in Egypt. This 
is doubtless a special motive for the 
joy with which the Sabbath should be 
celebrated, and for the kindness which 
extended its blessings to the slave and 
the beast of burden as well as to the 
master: “that thy manservant and thy 
maidservant may rest as well as thou ” 
Deut. 5 : 14. The Pentateuch presents 
us with but three applications of the 
general principle — Ex. 16 : 29 ; 35:3; 

Num. 15 : 32-36. The reference of Isa- 
iah to the Sabbath gives us no details. 
The references in Jeremiah and Nehe- 
miah show that carrying goods for sale, 
and buying such, were equally profana- 
tions of the day. A consideration of 
the spirit of the law and of Christ’s 
comments on it will show that it is 


571 


SAB 


572 


SAB 


work for worldly gain that was to be 
suspended ; and hence the restrictive 
clause is prefaced with the positive com- 
mand, “ Six days shalt thou labor, and 
do all thy work;” for so only could 
the sabbatic rest be fairly earned. 
Hence, too, the stress constantly laid on 
permitting the servant and beast of 
burden to share the rest which self- 
ishness would grudge to them. Thus 
the spirit of the Sabbath was joy, 
refreshment and mercy, arising from 
remembrance of God’s goodness as 
the Creator and as the Deliverer from 
bondage. The Sabbath was a perpetual 
sign and covenant, and the holiness of 
the day is connected with the holiness of 
the people ; “ that ye may know that I 
am Jehovah that doth sanctify you.” 
Ex. 31 : 12-17 ; Ezek. 20 : 12. Joy was 
the key-note of their service. Nehe- 
miah commanded the people, on a day 
holy to Jehovah, “ Mourn not, nor 
weep : eat the fat, and drink the sweet, 
and send portions to them for whom 
nothing is prepared.” Neh. 8 : 9-13. 
The Sabbath is named as a day of spe- 
cial worship in the sanctuary. Lev. 19 : 
30 ; 26 : 2. It was proclaimed as a 

holy convocation. Lev. 23 : 3. In later 
times the worship of the sanctuary was 
enlivened by sacred music. Ps. 68 : 25- 
27 ; 150, etc. On this day the people 
were accustomed to consult their proph- 
ets, 2 Kings 4 : 23, and to give to their 
children that instruction in the truths 
recalled to memory by the day which 
is so repeatedly enjoined as the duty 
of parents; it was “the Sabbath of Je- 
hovah ” not only in the sanctuary, but 
“ in all their dwellings.” Lev. 23 : 3. 

When we come to the New Testament 
we find the most marked stress laid on 
the Sabbath. In whatever ways the Jew 
might err respecting it, he had alto- 
gether ceased to neglect it. On the 
contrary, wherever he went its observ- 
ance became the most visible badge of 
his nationality. Our Lord’s mode of 
observing the Sabbath was one of the 
main features of his life, which his 
Pharisaic adversaries most eagerly 
watched and criticised. They had in- 
vented many prohibitions respecting the 
Sabbath of which we find nothing in 
the original institution. Some of these 
prohibitions were fantastic and arbi- 
trary, in the number of those “ heavy 
burdens and grievous to be borne ” 


which the latter expounders of the law 
“ laid on men’s shoulders.” Comp. 
Matt. 12 : 1-13 x; John 5 : 10. That this 
perversion of the Sabbath had become 
very general in our Saviour’s time is 
apparent both from the recorded ob- 
jections to acts of his on that day and 
from his marked conduct on occasions 
to which those objections were sure to 
be urged. Matt. 12 : 1-15 ; Mark 3:2; 
Luke 6:1-5; 13 : 10-17 ; John 5 : 2-18 ; 
7 : 23 ; 9 : 1-34. Christ’s words do not 
remit the duty of keeping the Sabbath, 
but only deliver it from the false meth- 
ods of keeping which prevented it from 
bestowing upon men the spiritual bless- 
ings it was ordained to confer. The al- 
most total silence of the epistles in 
relation to keeping the Sabbath doubt- 
less grew out of the fact that the early 
Christians kept the Sabbath, and that 
this period was one of change from the 
seventh to the first day of the week, 
and any definite rules would have been 
sure to be misunderstood. For many 
years both the first and the seventh 
days of the week were kept as Sab- 
baths; and gradually the first day of the 
week, the Lord’s day, took the place 
among Christians of the seventh day, 
and they had the fullest warrant for 
the change. [Lord’s day.] 

The Fourth Commandment of the 
Decalogue is just as binding now as it 
ever was, or as any other of the Ten 
Commandments. Those who argue that 
God has abolished this Sabbath, but has 
written the Sabbath law in our very 
natures, must have strange ideas of the 
wisdom of a God who abolishes a com- 
mand he has made it necessary to keep. 
Christians in keeping the Lord’s day 
keep the Fourth Commandment, as 
really as do those who keep what is 
called the seventh day. They keep 
every seventh day, only the counting 
starts from a different point. As to the 
method of keeping the Sabbath no rules 
are laid down ; but no one can go far 
astray who holds to the principles laid 
down; — (1) Rest. Nothing is to be 
done in daily business, and no recrea- 
tion taken which destroys the rest of 
others or takes from any the privileges 
of the Sabbath. (2) Spiritual nurture. 
One day in seven is to be set apart 
for the culture of the spiritual nature. 
These two principles of Sabbath-keeping 
will always go together. Only a reli- 


SAB 


573 


SAC 


gious Sabbath, which belongs to God, 
can be retained among men as a day of 
rest. If men can sport on the Sabbath, 
they will soon be made to work. Wit- 
ness the large number of people who 
must minister to the sport of others. 
Also the fact that where the Sabbath is 
merely a day of pleasure the shops soon 
begin to stay open. Paris has been 
through this, and now is striving to do 
away with the work which has followed 
the pleasure which is still to be allowed. 
The only barrier that can keep the 
world out of the Sabbath, that can pre- 
serve it to the working people as a 
day of rest, is God’s command to keep 
it sacred to him. When Sunday be- 
comes merely a day of pleasure, it 
ceases to be a day of rest. So impor- 
tant is the Sabbath to man that no peo- 
ple can have the highest religious life, 
the truest freedom, the greatest pros- 
perity, unless they be a Sabbath-keeping 
people, whose Sabbath is one of rest and 
of religion — (a) Because man needs the 
rest for his whole system. More is 
accomplished in six days than can be in 
seven days of work. The Sabbath was 
recognized as a weekly day of rest in 
Babylonia as early as 3800 b.c. ( b ) 
Because man needs it to care for his 
spiritual nature, for religion, and pre- 
paring for immortal life, (c) Because 
man needs it as a day for moral train- 
ing and instruction ; a day for teaching 
men about their duties, for looking at 
life from a moral standpoint. ( d ) It 
is of great value as a means of im- 
proving the mind. The study of the 
highest themes, the social discussion otf 
them in the Sabbath-school, the instruc- 
tion from the pulpit, the expression of 
religious truth in the prayer-meeting, 
give an ordinary person more mental 
training in the course of his life than 
all his school-days give. ( e ) So long 
as the best welfare of the individual 
and of the nation depends chiefly on 
their mental and moral state, so long 
will the Sabbath be one of God’s 
choicest blessings to man, and the com- 
mand contained within it a heavenly 
privilege and blessing. 

Sabbath=day’s journey. Acts 1 : 12. 
The law as regards travel on the Sab- 
bath is found in Ex. 16 : 29. As some 
departure from a man’s own place was 
unavoidable, it was thought necessary to 
determine the allowable amount, which 


was fixed at 2000 cubits or about 1000 
yards, from the wall of the city. The 
permitted distance seems to have been 
grounded on the space to be kept be- 
tween the ark and the people, Josh. 3: 
4, in the wilderness, which tradition 
said was that between the ark and the 
tents. We find the same distance given 
as the circumference outside the walls 
of the Levitical cities to be counted as 
their suburbs. Num. 35 : 5. The ter- 
minus a quo was thus not a man’s own 
house, but the wall of the city where he 
dwelt. 

Sabbatical year. Each seventh year, 
by the Mosaic code, was to be kept holy. 
Ex. 23 : 10, 11 ; Lev. 25. The command- 
ment is to sow and reap for six years, 
and to let the land rest on the seventh, 
“that the poor of thy people may eat; 
and what they leave the beasts of the 
field shall eat.” It is added in Deut. 
15 that the seventh year should also 
be one of release to debtors. Deut. 15: 
1-11. Neither tillage nor cultivation of 
any sort was to be practised. The 50th 
year, as coming after the completion of 
seven sabbatical years, was held as a 
special year of Jubilee. [Jubilee.] 
The constant neglect of this law from 
the very first was one of the national 
sins that were punished by the Babylo- 
nian captivity. Of the observance of the 
sabbatical year after the captivity we 
have a proof in 1 Macc. 6 : 49. 

Sabe'ans (sa-be'ans). [Sheba.] 

Sab'tah (sab'ta) ( striking ), Gen. 10: 
7, or Sab'ta, 1 Chron. 1 : 9, the third 
in order of the sons of Cush. 

Sab'techa (sab'te-ka) or Sab'techah 
{striking), Gen. 10:7; 1 Chron. 1:9, 
the fifth in order of the sons of Cush. 

Sa'car (sa'kar) {wages). 1. A Ha- 
rarite, father of Ahiam. 1 Chron. 11 : 
35. 

2. The fourth son of Obed-edom. 1 
Chron. 26 : 4. 

Sackbut, Dan. 3:5, 7, 10, 15, the 
rendering in the Authorized Version of 
the Chaldee sabbeca. This is the Greek 
and Latin sambuca, and is probably a 
sort of harp. The real sackbut is a 
wind instrument like the trombone, 
which is not the instrument intended 
here. [Music.] 

Sackcloth, cloth used in making 
sacks or bags, a coarse fabric, of a 
dark color, made of goat’s-hair, Isa. 50 : 
3 ; Rev. 6 : 12, and resembling the cili- 


SAC 


574 


SAC 


cium of the Romans. It was used also 
for making the rough garments used 
by mourners, which were in extreme 
cases worn next the skin. 1 Kings 21 : 
27; 2 Kings 6:30; Job 16:15; Isa. 32: 
11 . 

Sacrifice. The ‘universal prevalence 
of sacrifice shows it to have been 
primeval, and deeply rooted in the in- 
stincts of humanity. Whether it was 
first enjoined by an external command, 
or whether it was based on that sense 
of sin and lost communion with God 
which is stamped by his hand on the 
heart of man, is a historical question 
which cannot be determined. The first 
record of any sacrifice in the Scriptures 
shows it to be a well-established custom. 
Gen. 4:3, 4. In primitive nations there 
seems to have been both a feeling of 
dependence upon, and a feeling of fear 
of their gods. They were to them 
merely a superior order of human be- 
ings who could be gratified by gifts, 
offered as thank offerings and could be 
placated and their displeasure entirely 
averted by the sacrifice of burnt offer- 
ings. There was, then from the earliest 
times this broad distinction in offerings. 
1. The first fruits of field or flock were 
offered as a sign of dependence upon 
the ruler of nature ; offerings were 
made on every specially joyous occasion, 
or after any signal deliverance, or un- 
usual blessing. 2. The burnt offering to 
placate an angry god in all times of 
distress ; after any great disaster ; or 
when about to do anything in which 
they felt the need of supernatural aid, 
— as when about to go to war. 

There is a considerable difference of 
opinion as to how far the minutiae of 
the sacrifices were fixed by Moses. The 
force of the arguments largely depends 
on the view taken of the Pentateuch, 
whether it is considered as one in time, 
or as composed of various documents 
extending over a long period of years. 
See Pentateuch, Leviticus, Deuteron- 
omy. This point cannot be discussed 
here, and this article will be confined 
to the completed ritual, at whatever date 
it may have been definitely formulated. 

The Mosaic ritual began with a cove- 
nant between God and His people. The 
sacrifices were then in accord with this 
idea. The peace offerings or thank 
offerings, etc., were acts of homage, in 
which the people acknowledged their 


Heavenly King; and signs of a happy 
relationship between them. The burnt 
offerings, the sin offerings, guilt or 
trespass offerings, etc., were an ac- 
knowledgment of wrong on the part of 
the people, showing a covenant broken, 
which could only be cemented by re- 
pentance, confession, and the symbolic 
offering of the life of the sinner as ex- 
piation. 

Offerings were of two sorts, — animal 
and vegetable. The peace offering might 
consist of a bloodless sacrifice especially 
if it was a thank offering for some spe- 
cial occasion. But for the sin offering 
there must be the animal sacrifice, ex • 
cept for some special case of extreme 
poverty. These animal sacrifices were 
often accompanied by a meal or vege- 
table offering, — (which is called in the 
A. V. a meat offering). There was be- 
sides the drink offering, which was al- 
ways made in connection with some 
other sacrifice. It was excluded from 
the sin and trespass offerings. 

Sacrifices were of two sorts : public 
and private. The public sacrifices 
were at the expense of the nation, 
on behalf of the whole congregation. 
The regular sacrifices of the temple 
service were — 1. Burnt offerings, (a) 
The daily burnt offerings; Ex. 29: 
38-42; ( b ) the double burnt offerings 
on the Sabbath and new moons, Num. 
28:9-11; (c) the burnt offerings at the 
great festivals; Num. 28:11-29:39. 2. 
Meal offerings, (a) The daily meal of- 
ferings accompanying the daily burnt 
offerings, Ex; 29:40, 41; ( b ) the shew 
bread, renewed every Sabbath, Lev. 24: 
5, 9; (c) the special meal offerings at 
the Sabbath and the great festivals, 
Num. 28:29; ( d ) the first-fruits, at the 
Passover, Lev. 23 : 10-14, at Pentecost, 
Lev. 23 : 17-20, the first-fruits of the 
dough and threshing-floor at the harvest 
time. Num. 15 : 20, 21 ; Deut. 26 : 1-11. 
3. Sin offerings, (a) Sin offering each 
new moon, Num. 28:15; ( b ) sin offer- 
ings at the Passover, Pentecost, Feast 
of Trumpets and Tabernacles, Num. 28: 
22, 30; 29:5, 16, 19, 22, 25, 28, 31, 34, 
38; (c) the offering of the two goats 
for the people and of the bullock for 
the priest himself, on the Great Day of 
Atonement. Lev. 16. 4. Incense, (a) 
The morning and evening incense, Ex. 
30:7, 8; (&) the incense on the Great 
Day of Atonement. Lev. 16:12. On 


SAC 


575 


SAC 


behalf of the individual the sacrifices 
offered were : 1. The Passover, in 

which he was considered a member of 
the community, and took his individual 
part as such ; and 2. Those on special 
occasions as in expiation of committed 
sin, after bodily accident or business 
misfortune, the healing from disease, or 
in fulfilment of a vow. 

The especial interest in the Jewish 
sacrifices to the Christian of to-day 
arises from their consideration as types 
of the work Jesus Christ came to do 
in this world. References in the N. T. 
are many to Christ as our sacrifice, 
while the words “ ransom,” “ redemp- 
tion,” “ propitiation,” “ cleanse,” “ puri- 
fy,” “ sanctify,” are of frequent occur- 
rence. The “ Old Covenant ” is referred 
to either explicitly, or by inference from 
the expression “ New Covenant.” 

From the Epistle to the Hebrews we 
learn that the sin offering represented 
that covenant as broken by man, and as 
knit together again, by God’s appoint- 
ment, through the “ shedding of blood.” 
The shedding of the blood, the symbol 
of life, signified that the death of the 
offender was deserved for sin, but that 
the death of the victim was accepted 
for his death by the ordinance of God’s 
mercy. Beyond all doubt the sin offer- 
ing distinctly witnessed that sin existed 
in man, that the “ wages of that sin 
was death,” and that God had provided 
an atonement by the vicarious suffering 
of an appointed victim. The ceremonial 
and meaning of the burnt offering were 
very different. The idea of expiation 
seems not to have been absent from it, 
for the blood was sprinkled round about 
the altar of sacrifice ; but the main idea 
is the offering of the whole victim to 
God, representing, as the laying of the 
hand on its head shows, the devotion 
of the sacrificer, body and soul, to him. 
Rom. 12 : 1. The death of the victim 
was, so to speak, an incidental feature. 
The meal offerings, the peace or thank 
offering, the first-fruits, etc., were sim- 
ply offerings to God of his own best 
gifts, as a sign of thankful homage, and 
as a means of maintaining his service 
and his servants. The characteristic 
ceremony in the peace offering was the 
eating of the flesh by the sacrificer. _ It 
betokened the enjoyment of communion 
with God. It is clear from this that the 
idea of sacrifice is a complex idea, in- 


volving the propitiatory, the dedicatory 
and the eucharistic elements. Any one 
of these, taken by itself, would lead to 
error and superstition. All three prob- 
ably were more or less implied in each 
sacrifice, each element predominating 
in its turn. The Epistle to the Hebrews 
contains the key of the whole sacrificial 
doctrine. The object of the epistle is 
to show the typical and probationary 
character of sacrifices, and to assert that 
in virtue of it alone they had a spiritual 
meaning. Our Lord is declared (see 
1 Pet. 1 : 20) “ to have been foreor- 
dained ” as a sacrifice “ before the foun- 
dation of the world,” or, as it is more 
strikingly expressed in Rev. 13 : 8, “ slain 
from the foundation of the world.” 
The material sacrifices represented this 
great atonement as already made and 
accepted in God’s foreknowledge ; and 
to those who grasped the ideas of sin, 
pardon and self-dedication symbolized 
in them, they were means of entering 
into the blessings which the one true 
sacrifice alone procured. They could 
convey nothing in themselves ; yet as 
types they might, if accepted by a true 
though necessarily imperfect faith, be 
means of conveying in some degree the 
blessings of the antitype. It is clear 
that the atonement, in the Epistle to 
the Hebrews, as in the New Testament 
generally, is viewed in a twofold light. 
On the one hand it is set forth dis- 
tinctly as a vicarious sacrifice, which 
was rendered necessary by the sin of 
man, and in which the Lord “ bare the 
sins of many.” It is its essential char- 
acteristic that in it he stands absolutely 
alone, offering his sacrifice without any 
reference to the faith or the conversion 
of men. In it he stands out alone as 
the mediator between God and man ; 
and his sacrifice is, offered once for all, 
never to be imitated or repeated. Now, 
this view of the atonement is set forth 
in the epistle as typified by the sin offer- 
ing. On the other hand the sacrifice 
of Christ is set forth to us as the .com- 
pletion of that perfect obedience to the 
will of the Father which is the natural 
duty of sinless man. The main idea of 
this view of the atonement is represen- 
tative rather than vicarious. It is typi- 
fied by the burnt offering. As without 
the sin offering of the cross this our 
burnt offering would be impossible, so 
also without the burnt offering the sin 


SAD 


576 


SAL 


offering will to us be unavailing. With 
these views of our Lord's sacrifice on 
earth, as typified in the Levitical sacri- 
fices on the outer altar, is also to be 
connected the offering of his intercession 
for us in heaven, which was represented 
by the incense. The typical sense of 
the meal offering or peace offering is 
less connected with the sacrifice of 
Christ himself than with those sacrifices 
of praise, thanksgiving, charity and de- 
votion which we, as Christians, offer 
to God, and “ with which he is well 
pleased,” Heb. 13 : 15, 16, as with an 
“ odor of sweet smell, a sacrifice ac- 
ceptable to God.” Philip. 4 : 18. 

Sad'ducees, Matt. 3:7; 16:1, 6, 11, 
12 ; 22 : 23, 34 ; Mark 12 : 18 ; Luke 20 : 
27 ; Acts 4:1; 5 : 17 ; 23 : 6, 7, 8, a re- 
ligious party or school among the Jews 
at the time of Christ. Except on one 
occasion, Matt. 16 : 1, 4, 6, Christ never 
assailed the Sadducees with the same 
bitter denunciations which he uttered 
against the Pharisees. The origin of 
their name is involved in great difficul- 
ties, but the most satisfactory conjec- 
ture is that the Sadducees or Zadokites 
were originally identical with the sons 
of Zadok, and constituted what may 
be termed a kind of sacerdotal aris- 
tocracy, this Zadok being the priest who 
declared in favor of Solomon when 
Abiathar took the part of Adonijah. 1 
Kings 1 : 32-45. The higher priests be- 
longed to this sect, which though al- 
ways small was very wealthy and of 
great influence from their wealth and 
position. The leading difference be- 
tween the Pharisees and Sadducees was 
that the latter maintained in opposition 
to the Pharisees, that the written law 
alone was obligatory on the nation, as 
of divine authority. They denied that 
the oral law upon which the Pharisees 
laid such stress was a revelation from 
God, though they agreed with them 
that many of its provisions were advis- 
able. The distinctive doctrines of the 
Sadducees were (1) the denial of the 
resurrection, personal immortality and 
future retribution. (2) The denial of 
the existence of angels or spirits, Acts 
23:8. (3) They upheld the freedom 

of the will to such an extent that they 
repudiated Divine Providence. Some 
of the early Christian writers attribute 
to the Sadducees the rejection of all 
the sacred Scriptures except the Penta- 


teuch ; a statement, however, that is 
now generally admitted to have been 
founded on a misconception of the 
truth, and it seems to have arisen from 
a confusion of the Sadducees with the 
Samaritans. Herod filled the ranks of 
the priesthood with his own creatures, 
and these naturally joined themselves to 
the Sadducees. During the Herodean 
dynasty, they possessed much political 
power, and much of the internal gov- 
ernment of the country was committed 
to the Sanhedrim, in which they were 
very strong. The Pharisees however 
were the most numerous among the 
people, and, partly because of that, the 
most influential. When Jerusalem was 
taken by Titus, and the Jews found 
themselves destroyed as a nation the 
doctrines of the Sadducees naturally 
faded out of existence and disappeared 
from history. This was the more so 
that they had at all times been closely 
attached to the Temple, since they were 
largely priests. In addition, the spread 
of Christianity brought into prominence 
just those doctrines most opposed by 
the. Sadducees, so that all Jews who 
resisted the new heresy, must rally 
round the standard of the oral law, 
and to assert that their holy legislator, 
Moses, had transmitted to -his faithful 
people, by word of mouth, although not 
in writing, the revelation of a future 
state of rewards and punishments. 

Sa'doc (sa'dok) ( Greek form of 
Zadok , just). 1. Zadok the ancestor of 
Ezra. 2 Esd. 1:1; comp. Ezra 7 : 2. 

2. A descendant of Zerubbabel in the 
genealogy of Jesus Christ. Matt. 1:14. 

Saffron. Cant. 4 : 14. The word saf- 
fron is derived from the Arabic zafran, 
a word used for several plants. The 
saffron ( Crocus sativus) is a kind of 
crocus of the iris family. It is used as 
a perfume, as a medicine, as a flavoring 
and as a yellow dye. Homer, Virgil 
and Milton refer to its beauty in the 
landscape. It abounds in Palestine. 
The dried stigmas and styles are dried 
and pulverized for use. 

Sa'la, or Sa'Iah (sa'la) {sprout), the 
son of Arphaxad, and father of Eber. 
Gen. 10:24; 11:12-14; Luke 3:35. 

R. V. “ Shelah.” 

Sal'amis (sal'a-mis), a city at the 
east end of the island of Cyprus, and 
the first place visited by Paul and Bar- 
nabas, on the first missionary journey, 


SAL 


577 


SAL 


after leaving the mainland at Seleucia. 
There was a large colony of Jews there, 
apparently, with several synagogues. 
Acts 13 : 5-. Salamis was about 3 miles 
from the modern Famagousta. It was 
situated on the seashore at the eastern 
end of the great futile plain of Cyprus. 

Sala'thi=el (sa-la'thi-el) (I have 
asked God). 1 Chron. 3:17. The Au- 
thorized Version has Salathiel in 1 
Chron. 3 : 17, but everywhere else in the 
Old Testament Shealtiel, as in the R. V. 
here also. 

Sal'cah (sal'ke), or Sal'chah ( a 
road), R. V. “ Salecah,” a city named 
in the early records of Israel as the 
extreme limit of Bashan, Deut. 3 : 10 ; 
Josh. 13 : 11, and of the tribe of Gad. 
1 Chron. 5 : 11. It is identical with the 
town of Salkhad 56 miles east of the 
Jordan, at the southern extremity of 
the Hauran range of mountains. It 
was an important place in Roman times. 
Some of the ancient houses still exist 
in the modern town. 

Sa'Iem (sa'lem) {peace). 1. The 
place of which Melchizedek was king. 
Gen. 14:18; Heb. 7:1, 2. No satisfac- 
tory identification of it is perhaps pos- 
sible, Two main opinions have been 
current from the earliest ages of inter- 
pretation: (a) That of the Jewish com- 
mentators, who affirm that Salem is 
Jerusalem, on the ground that Jeru- 
salem is so called in Ps. 76 : 2. Nearly 
all Jewish commentators hold this opin- 
ion, and also the majority of the best 
modern scholars. ( b ) Jerome, however, 
states that the Salem of Melchizedek 
was not Jerusalem, but a town eight 
Roman miles south of Scythopolis, and 
gives its then name as Salumias, and 
identifies it with Salim, where John bap- 
tized. 

2. Ps. 76 : 2. It is agreed by all that 
Salem is here employed for Jerusalem. 

Sa'Iim (sa'lim), a place named John 
3 : 23 to denote the situation of ^Enon, 
the scene of St. John’s last baptisms; 
Salim being the well-known town, and 
ZEnon a place of fountains or other 
waters near it. It was on the west of 
the Jordan, but further than this its 
site has not yet been determined, though 
a number of identifications have been 
proposed. [Salem.] 

Sal'ma (sal'ma), or Sal'mon ( gar- 
ment ), Ruth 4:20, 21; 1 Chron. 2:11, 
51, 54 ; Matt. 1:4, 5 ; Luke 3 : 32, son of 
37 


Nahshon, the prince of the children of 
Judah and father of Boaz, the husband 
of Ruth. Bethlehem-ephratah, which 
was Salmon’s inheritance, was part of 
the territory of Caleb, the grandson of 
Ephratah; and this caused him to be 
reckoned among the sons of Caleb. 

Salmon (Shady), R. V. “ Zalmon,” 
a hill near Shechem, on which Abime- 
lech and his followers" cut down the 
boughs with which they set the tower 
of Shechem on fire. Judges 9:48. Its 
exact position is not known. Referred 
to in Ps. 68 : 14. 

Sal'mon (sal'mon), the father of 
Boaz. [Salma.] 

Salmo'ne (sal-mo'ne), the east point 
of the island of Crete. Acts 27 : 7. It 
is a bold promontory, and is visible for 
a long distance. 

Salo'me (sa-lo'me) (peaceful) . 1. 

The wife of Zebedee, Matt. 27:56; 
Mark 15 : 40, and thought by many to 
be the sister of Mary the mother of 
Jesus, to whom reference is made in 
John 19:25. The only events recorded 
of Salome are that she preferred a re- 
quest on behalf of her two sons for 
seats of honor in the kingdom of 
heaven, Matt. 20 : 20, that she attended 
at the crucifixion of Jesus, Mark 15 : 
40, and that she visited his sepulchre, 
Mark 16 : 1 . She is mentioned by name 
on only the two latter occasions. 

2. The daughter of Herodias by her 
first husband, Herod Philip. Matt. 14: 
6. She married in the first place Philip 
the tetrarch of Trachonitis, her paternal 
uncle, and secondly Aristobulus, the 
king of Chalcis. 

Salt. Indispensable as salt is to our- 
selves, it was even more so to the He- 
brews, being to them not only an appe- 
tizing condiment in the food both of 
man, Job 6 : 6, and beast, Isa. 30 : 24, 
see margin, and a valuable antidote to 
the effects of the heat of the climate on 
animal food, but also entering largely 
into the religious services of the Jews 
as an accompaniment to the various 
offerings presented on the altar. Lev. 
2 : 13. They possessed an inexhaustible 
and ready supply of it on the southern 
shores of the Dead Sea. [Sea, The 
Salt.] There is on its southwestern 
shore a cliff called Jebel Usdum, seven 
miles long and 30 to 60 feet high, which 
is composed almost entirely of salt. 
The salt-pits formed an important 


SAL 


578 


SAM 


source of revenue to the rulers of the 
country, and Antiochus conferred a 
valuable boon on Jerusalem by present- 
ing the city with 375 bushels of salt 
for the temple service. As one of the 
most essential articles of diet, salt sym- 
bolized hospitality; as an antiseptic, 
durability, fidelity and purity. Hence 
the expression “ covenant of salt,” Lev. 
2:13; Num. 18:19; 2 Chron. 13 : 5, as 
betokening an indissoluble alliance be- 
tween friends ; and again the expression 
“ salted with the salt of the palace,” 
Ezra 4 : 14 ; not necessarily meaning that 
they had “ maintenance from the pal- 
ace,” as the Authorized Version has it, 
but that they were bound by sacred ob- 
ligations of fidelity to the king. So in 
the present day, “ to eat bread and salt 
together ” is an expression for a league 
of mutual amity. It was probably with 
a view to keep this idea prominently be- 
fore the minds of the Jews that the use 
of salt was enjoined on the Israelites in 
their offerings to God. 

Salt, City of, the fifth of the six 
cities of Judah which lay in the “ wil- 
derness.” Josh. 15:62. It is named 
with*En-gedi, the site of which we know, 
so that it probably was situated on the 
western shore of the Dead Sea, between 
En-gedi and the salt mountain. 

Salt Sea, or Dead Sea. [Sea, The 
Salt.] 

Salt, Valley of, a valley in which 
occurred two memorable victories of the 
Israelite arms: 1. That of David over 
the Edomites. 2 Sam. 8 : 13 ; 1 Chron. 
18 : 12. 2. That of Amaziah. 2 Kings 
14 : 7 ; 2 Chron. 25 : 11. It is perhaps 
the broad open plain which lies at the 
lower end of the Dead Sea, and inter- 
venes between the lake itself and the 
range of heights which crosses the val- 
ley at six or eight miles to the south. 
A more probable identification perhaps 
is the plain extending from the southern 
end of the Dead Sea to the ascent of 
Akrabbim on the southern margin of 
the Ghor. 

Sa'lu (sa'lu) . (elevated), the father 
of Zimri the prince of the Simeonites, 
who was slain by Phinehas. Num. 25 : 
14. Called also Salom. (b.c. 1452.) 

Salutation. The customs of polite 
social intercourse in the East in both 
ancient and modern times required a 
formal word or act of salutation at 
both meeting and parting. The kiss on 


both cheeks, the kissing of the hand, 
and the actual prostration before an- 
other are still met with. These acts take 
much time, hence the injunction “salute 
no man by the way.” 2 Kings 4 : 29 ; 
Luke 10 : 4. The words of salutation at 
meeting consisted in early times of vari- 
ous expressions of blessing, such as 
“ God be gracious unto thee,” Gen. 43 : 
29 ; “ The Lord be with you ;” “ The 
Lord bless thee.” Ruth 2 : 4*. Hence 
the term “ bless ” received the secondary 
sense of “ salute.” The salutation at 
parting consisted originally of a simple 
blessing, Gen. 24 : 60, but in later times 
the form “ Go in peace,” or rather 
“ Farewell,” 1 Sam. 1 : 17, was common. 



MODES OF SALUTATION IN THE EAST. 


In modern times the ordinary mode of 
address current in the East resembles 
the Hebrew Es-selam aleykum, “ Peace 
be on you,” and the term “ salaam,” 
peace, has been introduced into our own 
language to describe the Oriental salu- 
tation. Letters in Palestine and Egypt 
all began with long formal greetings. 
Those in the Greco-Roman times were 
more direct and business-like, and the 
name of the writer usually stands first 
in it. It was also usually closed with 
a formal salutation. The Epistles of 
the New Testament usually follow these 
customs. 

Sama'ria (sa-ma'ri-a) ( watch moun- 
tain). This city is situated 30 miles 
north of Jerusalem and about six miles 
to the northwest of Shechem, in a wide 
basin-shaped valley, six miles in diam- 
eter, encircled with high hills, almost 
on the edge of the great plain which 


579 





HILL OF SAMARIA (SEBASTIYEH) FROM THE SOUTH. 







SAM 


580 


SAM 


borders upon the Mediterranean. In 
the centre of this basin, which is on a 
lower level than the valley of Shechem, 
rises an oblong hill about 300 or 400 
feet above the level of the valley, with 
steep yet accessible sides and a long 
flat top. This hill was chosen by Omri 
as the site of the capital of the king- 
dom of Israel. He “ bought the hill 
of Samaria of Shemer for two talents 
of silver, and built on the hill, and 


occasions the siege was ineffectual. 
The possessor of Samaria was con- 
sidered de facto king of Israel, 2 
Kings 15 : 13, 14. In b.c. 722 Samaria 
was taken, after a siege of three years, 
by Shalmaneser king of Assyria, 2 
Kings 18 : 9, 10, and the kingdom of the 
ten tribes was ended. Some years after- 
ward the district of which Samaria was 
the centre was repeopled by Esarhad- 
don. Alexander the Great took the city, 



PLAN OF SAMARIA, THE MODERN SEBASTIYEH. 

(Harvard Expedition.) 


called the name of the city which he 
built, after the name of the owner of 
the hill, Samaria.” 1 Kings 16 : 23, 24. 
From the date of Omri’s purchase, b.c. 
881, Samaria retained its dignity as the 
capital of the ten tribes, and the name 
is given to the northern kingdom as 
well as to the city. Ahab built a tem- 
ple to Baal there. 1 Kings 16 : 32, 33. 
It was twice besieged by the Syrians, 
in b.c. 859, 1 Kings 20 : 1, and in b.c. 
849, 2 Kings 6:24-7:20; but on both 


killed a large portion of the inhabit- 
ants, and suffered the remainder to set- 
tle at Shechem. He replaced them by 
a colony of Syro-Macedomans, who oc- 
cupied the city until the time of John 
Hyrcanus, who took it after a year’s 
siege, and did his best to demolish it 
entirely, (b.c. 109.) It was rebuilt and 
greatly embellished by Herod the Great. 
He called it Sebaste = Augusta, after 
the name of his patron, Augustus Cae- 
sar. The wall around it was 234 miles 


581 



A GLIMPSE OF ANCIENT SAMARIA, 



SAM 


582 


SAM 


long, and in the centre of the city was 
a park 900 feet square, containing a 
magnificent temple dedicated to Caesar. 
In the New Testament the city itself 
does not appear to be mentioned, but 
rather a portion of the district to which, 
even in older times, it had extended its 
name. Matt. 10:5; John 4:4, 5. At 
this day the city is represented by a 
small village retaining few vestiges of 
the past except its name, Sebastiyeh, an 
Arabic corruption of Sebaste. There 
are still the remains of two temples 
and of a quadrangle, perhaps a hippo- 
drome. The ruins of the fine cathedral 
church of St. John, built between a.d. 
1150 and 1180 over the reputed tomb of 
John the Baptist, is near the site of 
the East gate. St. Jerome, whose ac- 
quaintance with Palestine imparts a sort 
of probability to the tradition which 
prevailed so strongly in later days, as- 
serts that Sebaste, which he invariably 
identifies with Samaria, was the place in 
which St. John the Baptist was im- 
prisoned and suffered death. He also 
makes it the burial-place of the proph- 
et:; Elisha and Obadiah. 

Sama'ria, Country of. Samaria at 
first included all the tribes over which 
Jeroboam made himself king, whether 
east or west of the river Jordan. 1 
Kings 13 : 32. But whatever extent the 
word might have acquired, it necessarily 
became contracted as the limits of the 
kingdom of Israel became contracted. 
[Israel, Kingdom of.] The boundaries 
of Samaria in the time of Christ are 
very difficult to determine exactly. Ac- 
cording to Josephus, whose description 
is not very intelligible, it was bounded 
on the north -by Galilee, its northern- 
most village being Ginea, the modern 
Jenin on the southern edge of the plain 
of Esdraelon. It extended south to 
Acrabatta, Akrabeh, and other villages 
perhaps 6 or 7 miles south of Shechem. 
Its eastern boundary was the Jordan, 
and its western limit was Antipatris, 
as the coast belonged to Judah as far 
north as Ptolemais. It extended prob- 
ably about 20 miles from north to south 
and 30 miles from east to west. 

Samar'itans. Strictly speaking, a 
Samaritan would be an inhabitant of 
the city of Samaria; but the term was 
applied to all the people of the kingdom 
of Israel. After the captivity of Israel, 
B.c. 722, and in our Lord’s time, the 


name was applied to a peculiar people 
whose origin was in this wise : At the 
final captivity of Israel by Shalmaneser, 
we may conclude that the cities of Sa- 
maria were not merely partially but 
wholly depopulated of their inhabitants 
in b.c. 722, and that they remained in 
this desolated state until, in the words 
of 2 Kings 17 : 24, “ the king of Assyria 
brought men from Babylon, and from 
Cuthah, and from Avva, and from Ha- 
math, and Sepharvaim, and placed them 
in the cities of Samaria instead of 
the children of Israel : and they pos- 
sessed Samaria, and dwelt in the cities 
thereof.” Thus the new Samaritans 
were Assyrians by birth or subjugation. 
These, called the “ Cuthseans,” were of 
course idolaters, and worshipped a 
strange medley of divinities. They 
were annoyed by beasts of prey, which 
had probably increased to a great ex- 
tent before their entrance upon the 
land. On their explaining their miser- 
able condition to the king of Assyria, 
he, believing that they had offended the 
god of the land, despatched one of the 
captive priests to teach them “ how they 
should fear the Lord.” The priest came 
accordingly, and henceforth, in the lan- 
guage of the sacred historian, they 
“ feared the Lord, and served their 
graven images ; their children likewise, 
and their children’s children, as did 
their fathers, so do they unto this day.” 
2 Kings 17 : 41. A gap occurs in their 
history until Judah has returned from 
captivity. They then desire to be al- 
lowed to participate in the rebuilding of 
the temple at Jerusalem; but on being 
refused, become open enemies, frus- 
trate the operations of the Jews through 
the reigns of two Persian kings, and are 
only effectually silenced in the reign of 
Darius Hystaspes, b.c. 519. The feud 
thus unhappily begun grew year by year 
more inveterate. Matters at length 
came to a climax. About b.c. 432, a cer- 
tain Manasseh, a man of priestly line- 
age, married a daughter of Sanballat 
the Horonite, and was therefore expelled 
from Jerusalem by Nehemiah. He took 
refuge among the Samaritans, and a 
temple was built on Mt. Gerizim in 
which he and his family became the 
high . priests. This temple lasted, until 
the time of the Maccabees, when it was 
probably destroyed by John Hyrcanus. 
The animosity of the Samaritans be- 


SAM 


583 


SAM 



came more intense than ever. They are 
said to have done everything in their 
power to annoy the Jews. Their own 
temple on Gerizim they considered to 


pie on it had fallen, wherever they 
were they directed their worship. To 
their copy of the law they arrogated an 
antiquity and authority greater than at- 


THE SAMARITAN HIGH PRIEST. 

This patriarch still officiates for a little remnant of less than two hun- 
dred of this ancient people. 


be much superior to that at Jerusalem. 
There they sacrificed a Passover. To- 
ward the mountain, even after the tem- 


tached to any copy in the possession of 
the Jews. The law ( i . e. the five books 
of Moses) was their sole code; for they 




SAM 


584 


SAM 


rejected every other book in the Jewish 
canon. The Jews, on the other hand, 
were not more conciliatory in their 
treatment of the Samaritans. Their at- 
titude is given in the story of Jesus and 
the woman of Samaria, John 4. They 
now number only a few families, who 
for the most part live in Nablus, the 
ancient Shechem. The worship on Mt. 
Gerizim continues, and there is a priest- 
hood, with a high priest. The Pass- 
over is still celebrated on Mt. Gerizim 
with all the ceremonies and regulations 
found in the law. 

Samaritan Pentateuch, a recension 
of the commonly-received Hebrew text 
of the Mosaic law, in use among the 
Samaritans, and written in the ancient 
Hebrew or so-called . Samaritan char- 
acter. The origin of the Samaritan 
Pentateuch has given rise to much con- 
troversy, into which we cannot here 
enter. The two most usual opinions 
are — 1. That it came into the hands of 
the Samaritans as an inheritance from 
the ten tribes whom they succeeded. 2. 
That it was introduced by Manasseh at 
the time of the foundation of the Sa- 
maritan sanctuary on Mount Gerizim. 
It differs in several important points 
from the Hebrew text. Among these 
may be mentioned: (1) Numerous 
comparatively minor changes, some due 
to haste oil the part of the copyist, 
others made intentionally. For example 
the ages of the patriarchs are each 
changed, corresponding perhaps more 
nearly to the Septuagint, but differing 
radically even from that. (2) The 
most important change is in the Deca- 
logue, which is there divided into nine 
commandments, a tenth being added, 
namely, a command to build a temple 
and offer sacrifices on Mt. Gerizim. By 
this they conceive of their sect as the 
only one obeying the law of God, which 
by this means was made a permanent 
obligation. (See cut p. 498.) 

Sam'gar=ne'bo (sam'gar-ne'bo) ( be 
gracious, Nebo), one of the princes or 
generals of the king of Babylon. Jer. 
39 : 3. 

Sam'Iah (sam'lah) ( garment ), Gen. 
36 : 36, 37 ; 1 Chron. 1 : 47, 48, one of 
the kings of Edom, successor to Hadad 
or Hadar. 

Samos, a Greek island separated 
from Ionia by the narrow straits where 
the battle of Mycale was fought, b.c. 479. 


St. Paul touched at Samos on his re- 
turn from his third missionary journey. 
Acts 20 : 15. 

Samothra'ce. In the Revised Ver- 
sion for Samothracia. 

Samothra'cia (sam-o-thra'sha), a 
mountainous island off the coast of 
Thrace. Mention is made of this is- 
land in the account of St. Paul’s first 
voyage to Europe. Acts 16 : 11. Being 
very lofty and conspicuous, it is an ex- 
cellent landmark for sailors, and must 
have been full in view, if the weather 
was clear, throughout that voyage from 
Troas to Neapolis. 

Sam'son (sam'son), Judges 13-16. 

1. The name Samson is derived from 
the Hebrew word for “ sun,” and means 
“sunny” or “sun-hero.” He was born 
at Zorah in Dan, on the borders of 
Judah, 14 miles west of Jerusalem. His 
father’s name was Manoah. 

2. Even before his birth his mission 
was announced. He was to be one who 
should “ begin to save Israel out of the 
hand of the Philistines,” and to this end 
was to be consecrated to God. Judges 
13. Only partially did Samson fulfil 
his ideal, but the presence of it influ- 
enced his whole life. 

3. The consecration of Samson was 
through the Nazirite vow. [Nazarite.] 

It is to be noted that, according to 
the record, Samson, with all his other 
failings, yet kept sacred the conditions 
of this vow. On the keeping of the 
vow his strength and prowess depended. 

4. The first and most effective of the 
endowments of Samson for his mission 
was his great strength, which, in gen- 
eral, he used to deliver his nation from 
the power of the oppressor, although 
not always in the wisest way. While 
there may have been no others so strong 
as Samson, yet examples of great 
strength in lifting heavy weights and 
bending bars of iron, etc., take away 
all improbability from the story. 

Samson's feats of strength were: (a) 
The slaying of a lion with his hands. 

(b) The slaying of thirty Philistines. 

(c) Another victory over the Philis- 
tines. (d) The breaking of the cords 
with which his own people bound him 
to deliver him to his enemies, (e) The 
slaying of a thousand Philistines with 
the jaw bone of an ass. (f) The car- 
rying away of the gates of Gaza, (g) 
The breaking of the withes and ropes 


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and loom from Delilah, (h) The pull- 
ing down of the pillars of the Philistine 
temple. 

5. A second special endowment of 
Samson was his sense of humor, his 
impulsive practical joking, puns, and rid- 
dles. These were an advantage to him 
even in his efforts to overcome the 
Philistine oppressors. 

Note his riddle from the swarm of 
bees in a lion’s carcass at his wedding 
feast ; the setting on fire of the rich 
cornfields of the Philistines by three 
hundred foxes tied two and two by their 
tails with firebrands between; his man- 
ner of defending the secret of his 
strength from Delilah; and his com- 
pulsory sport for the Philistines, and 
the method of his final tragedy. “ Noth- 
ing could disturb his radiant good 
humor.” 

Wit and humor are natural to some 
men and can be made efficient weapons 
for good. Some of the most effective 
blows for righteousness have been 
struck by humorous songs and carica- 
tures, putting wickedness in comical sit- 
uations, and turning the. laugh against it. 

His yielding to temptation led to the 
end of his career. He became infat- 
uated with an attractive Philistine 
woman of Sorek, named Delilah, who, 
by many temptations and blandishments, 
learned from Samson the secret of his 
strength. The Philistines thus captured 
him at last, and put out his eyes, to 
render him harmless. Then they de- 
graded him, putting him to work turn- 
ing the great mill to grind their grain. 
Then they held a great festival in the 
temple of Dagon, to celebrate their vic- 
tory over Samson. They brought forth 
the blind champion to make sport for 
them, and placed him between the two 
chief pillars which supported the roof 
that surrounded the court. Samson 
asked the lad who guided him to let 
him feel the pillars, to lean upon them. 
Then, with a fervent prayer that God 
would strengthen him only this once, 
to be avenged on the Philistines, he 
bore with all his might upon the two 
pillars ; they yielded, and the house 
fell upon the lords and all the people. 
“ So the dead which he slew at his 
death were more than they which he 
slew in his life.” In Heb. 11:32 his 
name is enrolled among the worthies 
of the Jewish Church. 


Samuel (sam'u-el) ( name of God), 
was the son of Elkanah and Hannah, 
and was born at Ramathaim-zophim, 
among the hills of Ephraim. [Ram ah, 
No. 2.] (b.c. 1114.) Before his birth 

he was dedicated by his mother to the 
office of a Nazirite; and when a young 
child, 12 years old according to Josephus, 
he was placed in the temple, and “ min- 
istered unto the Lord before Eli.” It 
was while here that he received his 
first prophetic call. 1 Sam. 3 : 1-18. He 
next appears, probably twenty years 
afterward, suddenly among the people, 
warning them against their idolatrous 
practices. 1 Sam. 7:3, 4. Then fol- 
lowed Samuel’s first and, as far as we 
know, only military achievement, ch. 7: 
5-12 ; but it was apparently this which 
raised him to the office of “ judge.” He 
visited, in the discharge of his duties as 
ruler, the three chief sanctuaries on 
the west of Jordan — Bethel, Gilgal and 
Mizpeh, ch. 7 : 16. His own residence 
was still his native city, Ramah, where 
he married, and two sons grew up to 
repeat under his eyes the same per- 
version of high office that he had him- 
self witnessed in his childhood in the 
case of the two sons of Eli. In his old 
age he shared his power with them, 1 
Sam. 8 : 1-4 ; but the people, dissatisfied, 
demanded a king, and Saul was finally 
anointed under God’s direction, and 
Samuel surrendered to him his author- 
ity, 1 Sam. 12, though still remaining 
judge, ch. 7 : 15. The death of Samuel 
is described as taking place in the year 
of the close of David’s wanderings. 

He traveled through the whole land, 
appointed public meetings, and an- 
nounced to the multitudes the lessons 
revealed to him by the spirit of God. 
Year after year he called together the 
elders of the people. At Ramah, his 
residence, frequent meetings of the 
tribes took place. 

The times in which Samuel lived. 
It was toward the close of the period 
of the Judges, during which the people 
had been trained by rewards of obedi- 
ence and the punishment of disobedience, 
by religious institutions and the love 
of God and righteousness in family life, 
and by the promises of God. During 
these centuries the people were under a 
government called the Theocracy, — that 
is, a condition where God only is king; 
and, while there were leaders and rulers, 


SAM 


587 


SAM 


there was no political unity except that 
of the laws and religion of God. There 
was little compulsory virtue. This was 
a state of things where true religious 
and moral life was especially needful 
for success. 

The country was but little larger 
than Wales and like it a land of moun- 
tains and hills, skirted through its whole 
length by the deep-lying Jordan valley 
on the east, and the harborless coast 
of the Mediterranean on the west. 

The twelve tribes were of one blood, 
one religion, one language, and one his- 
tory; but there was little of the soli- 
darity of a nation. The social unit was 
the tribe. Each tribe had its own polit- 
ical organization. They were loosely 
held together, and sometimes broke out 
into open war. 

The people were an agricultural peo- 
ple untrained in the arts of war, lovers 
of home and of peace. Their chief 
wealth consisted in flocks, grain fields, 
and vineyards. Hence they were ex- 
posed to the raids of their warlike 
neighbors, as the Lowlanders of Scot- 
land were to the forays of the High- 
landers. The people lived in walled 
villages for safety, while their outlying 
fields, vineyards, and pasture lands were 
exposed. 

Their enemies were warlike and on 
every side, always more or less hostile. 

The crisis. The chosen people were 
approaching a crisis “ second in impor- 
tance only to the Exodus,” and there 
was needed a leader second only to 
Moses, a counsellor to whom all could 
turn for advice “amid the wreck of 
the ancient institutions and the rise and 
growth of the new.” 

Samuel as judge came into promi- 
nence with the great deliverance of the 
oppressed Israelites from the Philistine 
yoke recorded in 1 Samuel 7. The Is- 
raelites had gathered, together at Miz- 
peh for a great religious service of re- 
pentance and confession of sin, and of 
a new consecration to the service of 
God. God showed his favor by a great 
thunderstorm in the face of the Philis- 
tine army, and with a mighty enthusiasm 
the people rushed into battle and gained 
a complete and lasting victory (v. 13). 
The place was marked by a stone, and 
was named Ebenezer, “ The Stone of 
Help,” on the very spot where twenty 
years before (1 Sam. 4:1; 7:2) the 


Israelites had been defeated by the Phil- 
istines in the battle on account of 
which Judge Eli’s new-born grandson 
was named Ichabod. “ There is no 
glory,” “ for the glory is departed from 
Israel.” (1 Sam. 4 : 21.) 

Samuel as prophet and priest is ex- 
emplified in his great reformation de- 
scribed in 1 Sam. 7 : 2-6, which was the 
moral and religious condition which 
made the Ebenezer victory wise and 
helpful. 

“ One great work that Samuel did k 
was the establishment of the schools 
of the prophets ; schools for the train- 
ing and education of young men, at 
Ramah, Bethel, Gilgal and Mizpeh. 

Samuel the hero. When Saul be- 
came king, Samuel, formally and pub- 
licly, laid down his office of judge, just 
as Washington laid down his rank 
of commander-in-chief of our armies. 
And the twelfth chapter is called Sam- 
uel’s farewell address, not because it 
was given near the close of his life, 
but because, like Washington’s farewell 
address to the army, it marks the close 
of one phase of his public career. But 
as Washington afterwards entered pub- 
lic life as President, and was to the 
end of his days a man of weight and 
influence in the councils of the nation, 
so Samuel continued in public life as 
priest and prophet of God. 

Samuel the spotless statesman. In 
this address Samuel called the people 
to witness and they testified to his gen- 
erous, unselfish, patriotic, and holy life. 
His nobility was shown in yielding up 
his office, and aiding the people to obtain 
a king. 

Samuel, Books of. 1. The two 

books of Samuel were originally one, 
and with the books of the Kings were 
regarded as furnishing a complete his- 
tory of the two kingdoms of Israel and 
Judah. 1 Samuel is named in the title 
in our ordinary Bibles as “ otherwise 
called, the First Book of the Kings ” ; 
the two books of Samuel and the two 
of Kings forming one volume of four 
books of the Kings. 

2. These two books are named after 
Samuel, not because he was the author, 
but because he was the principal man 
of the transition period which they de- 
scribe, from the rule of the Judges to 
the rule of Kings. 

3. This transition period extended 


SAM 


588 


SAN 


over about one century, from the birth 
of Samuel (1146 or 1114 b.c.) to the 
accession of David to the throne (1055 
or 1017 b.c.) . 

4. The author of the books is un- 
known; but it is generally agreed that 
they are a compilation from different 
sources, including the writings of Sam- 
uel himself (1 Sam. 10:25), the book 
of Nathan the prophet, and the book of 
Gad the seer (1 Chron. 29:29; 2 Chron. 
9 : 29), and the national anthology known 
as the book of Jasher (2 Sam. 1:18). 


of modern events when we know that 
both accounts are true. 

5. Date. According to the Cambridge 
Bible the narrative was compiled as we 
have it soon after the division of the 
kingdom (975 or 937 b.c.). Hastings’ 
Bible Dictionary (art. “Samuel”) as- 
signs one of the component narratives to 
the ninth century b.c. and the other to 
the eighth ; while the final editor united 
them. The book of Samuel is one of 
the best specimens of Hebrew prose in 
the golden age of Hebrew literature. 



)ljv }» 1 






SANBALLAT. 

Portion of a Jewish Papyrus found at Assouan, Egypt (of date 408 B. C.), mentioning 
Sanballat governor of Samaria,” his sons. 


The higher critics trace two great 
sources, written from different points 
of view, which the editor has contented 
himself, for the most part, with pro- 
ducing in a twofold form with little 
effort to harmonize the varying ac- 
counts. But the question arises whether 
in some cases the seemingly contra- 
dictory statements are accounts of the 
same event, and in other cases they 
are not descriptions of the same event 
from different points of view, such as 
are continually taking place in histories 


In prose it holds the same place which 
Joel and the undisputed prophecies of 
Isaiah hold in poetical or prophetical 
language. 

Sanballat (san-bal'lat) ( the moon 
god hath given life). Neh. 2:10, 19; 
13 :28. He is called the “ Horonite,” 
which probably means a native of Beth- 
horon, though some explain it as of 
Horonaim. He held apparently some 
command in Samaria at the time Nehe- 
miah was preparing to rebuild the walls 
of Jerusalem, b.c. 445, Neh. 4:2, and 



SAN 


589 


SAN 


from the moment of Nehemiah’s arrival 
in Judea he set himself to oppose every 
measure for the welfare of Jerusalem. 
His daughter married Manasseh, grand- 



SANDALS. 

son of the high priest, Eliashib. He 
was for that reason expelled from Je- 
rusalem and became high priest of the 
Samaritans. 


Sandal was the article ordinarily used 
by the Hebrews for protecting the feet. 
It consisted simply of a sole attached 
to the foot by thongs. We have ex- 
press notice of the thong (Authorized 
Version “ shoe-latchet ”) in several pas- 
sages, notably Gen. 14:23; Isa. 5:27; 
Mark 1 : 7. Sandals were made neces- 
sary by the burning heat of the ground 
as well as by the presence of stones 
and thorns, and were worn by all classes 
of society in Palestine, even by the 
very poor ; and both the sandal and the 
thong or sho^-latchet were so cheap and 
common that they passed into a proverb 
for the most insignificant thing. Gen. 
14:23; Ecclus. 46:19. They were dis- 
pensed with in-doors, and therefore dur- 
ing meal-times the feet were uncover- 
ed. Luke 7:38; John 13:5, 6. It was 
a mark of reverence to cast off the 
shoes in approaching a place or person 
of eminent sanctity. Ex. 3:5; Josh. 5 : 
15. It was also an indication of violent 
emotion, or of mourning, if a person 
appeared barefoot in public. 2 Sam. 15 : 
30. To carry or to unloose a person’s 
sandal was a menial office, betokening 
great inferiority on the part of the per- 
son performing it. Matt. 3 : 11. 

Sanhedrin (from the Greek awedpiov, 
“ a council-chamber ” ; commonly but in- 
correctly Sanhedrim), the supreme 
council of the Jewish people in the 
time of Christ and earlier. 1. The 
origin of this assembly is traced in the 
Mishna to the seventy elders whom 
Moses was directed, Num. 11 : 16, 17, 
to associate with him in the govern- 
ment of the Israelites; but this tribunal 
was probably temporary, and did not 
continue to exist after the Israelites had 
entered Palestine. In the lack of defi- 
nite historical information as to the es- 
tablishment of the Sanhedrin, it can 
only be said in general that the Greek 
etymology of the name seems to point 
to a period subsequent to the Mace- 
donian supremacy in Palestine. From 
the few incidental notices in the New 
Testament, we gather that it consisted 
of chief priests, or the heads of the 
twenty-four classes into which the 
priests were divided, elders, men of age 
and experience, and scribes, lawyers, or 
those learned in the Jewish law. Matt. 
26 : 57, 59 ; Mark 15:1; Luke 22 : 66 ; 
Acts 5 : 21. 2. The number of members 

is usually given as 71. The president 




SAN 


590 


SAN 


of this body was styled nasi, and was 
chosen on account of his eminence in 
worth and wisdom. Often, if not gen- 
erally, this pre-eminence was accorded 
to the high priest. The vice-president, 
called in the Talmud “ father of the 
house of judgment,” sat at the right 
hand of the president. Some writers 
speak of a second vice-president, but 
this is not sufficiently confirmed. While 
in session the Sanhedrin sat in the 
form of a half-circle. 3. The place in 
which the sessions of the Sanhedrin 


years before the destruction of Jeru- 
salem, and consequently while the Sav- 
iour was teaching in Palestine, the ses- 
sions of the Sanhedrin were removed 
from the hall Gazith to a somewhat 
greater distance from the temple build- 
ing, although still on Mount Moriah. 
After several other changes, its seat 
was finally established at Tiberias, 
where it became extinct a.d. 425. As a 
judicial body the Sanhedrin constituted 
a supreme court, to which belonged in 
the first instance the trial of false 



the sanhedrin in council. (From an old engraving.) 


were ordinarily held was, according to 
the Talmud, a hall called Gazith, or 
Chamber of Hewn Stone, situated, ac- 
cording to Geo. Adam Smith’s great 
work on Jerusalem, issued in 1908, “ on 
the southern edge of the inner court 
of the Temple, but with a door into 
the outer court, so that a body con- 
sisting of laymen might have gathered 
in it.” In special exigencies, however, 
it seems to have met in the residence of 
the high priest. Matt. 26 : 3. Forty 


prophets, of the high priest and other 
priests, and also of a tribe fallen into 
idolatry. As an administrative council, 
it determined other important matters. 
Their power over Jews was, subject to 
the Procurator’s approval of their sen- 
tences of death, unlimited. Jesus was 
arraigned before this body as a false 
prophet, John 11 : 47, and Peter, John, 
Stephen and Paul as teachers of error 
and deceivers of the people. From Acts 
9:2 it appears that the Sanhedrin ex- 


SAN 


591 


SAR 


ercised a degree of authority beyond 
the limits of Palestine. According to 
the Jerusalem Gemara the power of in- 
flicting capital punishment was taken 
away from this tribunal forty years be- 
fore the destruction of Jerusalem. 
With this agrees the answer of the 
Jews to Pilate. John 19:31. The Tal- 
mud also mentions a lesser Sanhedrin 
of twenty-three members in every city 
in Palestine in which were not less than 
120 householders. Scholarship is di- 
vided on some questions concerning the 
organization of the Sanhedrin. The 
generally accepted view is that the San- 
hedrin in Jerusalem was a single court, 
the supreme tribunal of the Jewish na- 
tion, both for religious and civil ques- 
tions. But the Jewish Encyclopedia, 
and Dr. Adolph Biichler in The Syne- 
drion in Jerusalem take the view that 
there were two great tribunals in the 
Holy City, with separate authorities, re- 
ligious and civil. 

Sansan'nah ( palm branch ), one of 
the towns in the south district of Judah, 
named in Josh. 15 : 31 only. 

Saph (saf), one of the sons of the 
giant slain by Sibbechai the Hushathite. 
2 Sam. 21 : 18. In 1 Chron. 20:4 he is 
called Sippai. (b.c. about 1050.) 

Sa'phir (sa'fir) (fair), one of the 
villages addressed by the prophet Micah, 
Micah 1 : 11, is described by Eusebius 
and Jerome as “ in the mountain dis- 
trict between Eleutheropolis and Asca- 
lon,” possibly represented by the village 
es-Sawcifir, 3 or 4 miles to the south- 
east of Ashdod. 

Sapphi'ra (saf-fi'ra). [Ananias.] 

Sapphire (Heb. sappir), a precious 
stone, apparently of a bright-blue color, 
see Ex. 24:10; the second stone in the 
second row of the high priest’s breast- 
plate, Ex. 28 : 18 ; extremely precious, 
Job 28:16; it was one of the precious 
stones that ornamented the king of 
Tyre. Ezek. 28 : 13. It is uncertain 
whether the sapphire of the ancients 
was our gem of that name, a variety 
of corundum, or our lapis lazuli (ultra- 
marine). But modern authorities seem 
to prefer the latter. 

Sa'ra, Greek form of Sarah. 

Sa'rah (sa'rah) (princess) . 1. The 

wife and half-sister, Gen. 20:12, of 
Abraham, and mother of Isaac. Her 
name is first introduced in Gen. 11 : 29 
as Sarai. The change of her name 


from Sarai, my princess (i. e. Abra- 
ham’s), to Sarah, princess (for all the 
race), was made at the same time that 
Abram’s name was changed to Abra- 
ham, — on the establishment of the cove- 
nant of circumcision between him and 
God. Sarah’s history is of course that 
of Abraham. [Abraham.] She died 
at Hebron at the age of 127 years, 28 
years before her husband, and was 
buried by him in the cave of Mach- 
pelah. (b.c. 1860.) She is referred to 
in the New Testament as a type of 
conjugal obedience in 1 Pet. 3 : 6, and 
as one of the types of faith in Heb. 
11 : 11 . 

2. The daughter of Asher. Num. 26: 
46. R. V. Serah. 

Sa'rai (sa'ra-i) (my princess), the 
original name of Sarah, the wife of 
Abraham. 

Sa'raph (sa'raf) (burning), men- 
tioned in 1 Chron. 4 : 22 among the de- 
scendants of Judah. 

Sardine, Sardius (Heb. odem), the 
stone which occupied the first place in 
the first row of the high priest’s breast- 
plate. Ex. 28 : 17. The sard, which is 
probably the stone denoted by odem, is 
a superior variety of agate, sometimes 
called carnelian, and has long been a 
favorite stone for the engraver’s art. 
Others argue that it means the red 
jasper. 

Sardis, a city of Asia Minor, and 
capital of Lydia, situated about two 
miles to the south of the river Hermus, 
just below the range of Tmolus, on a 
spur of which its acropolis was built. 
It was 50 miles northeast of Smyrna. 
It was the ancient residence of the 
kings of Lydia, among them Croesus, 
proverbial for his immense wealth. 
Cyrus is said to have taken $600,000,000 
worth of treasure from the city when 
he captured it, about b.c. 549. Sardis 
was in very early times, both from the 
extremely fertile character of the neigh- 
boring region and from its convenient 
position, a commercial mart of impor- 
tance. The art of dyeing wool is said 
to have been invented there. In the 
year 214 b.c. it was taken and sacked 
by the army of Antiochus the Great. 
Afterward it passed under the dominion 
of the kings of Pergamos. Its produc- 
tive soil must always have . continued 
a source of wealth ; but its importance 
as a central mart appears to have di- 


SAR 


592 


SAT 


minished from the time of the invasion 
of Asia by Alexander. The massive 
temple of Cybele still bears witness in 
its fragmentary remains to the wealth 
and architectural skill of the people that 
raised it. On the north side of the 
acropolis, overlooking the valley of the 
Hermus, is a theatre near 400 feet in 
diameter, attached to a stadium of about 
1000. There are still considerable re- 
mains of the ancient city at Sert-Kalessi, 
now a tiny village, a station on the rail- 
way from Smyrna to Philadelphia. The 
only passage in which it is mentioned 
in the Bible is Rev. 3 : 1-6. 

Sar'dites, The, descendants of Sered 
the son of Zebulun. Num. 26 : 26. 

Sar'dius. The same as Sardine. Ex. 
28 : 17 ; 39 : 10 ; Ezek. 28 : 13 ; Rev. 21 : 
20 . 

Sardonyx, a name compounded of 
sard and onyx, two precious stones, va- 
rieties of chalcedony or agate. The sar- 
donyx is, as its name implies, a layer 
of sard upon one of onyx. It is not 
difficult to produce artificially. It is 
mentioned only in Rev. 21 : 20. 

Sarep'ta (sa-rep'ta). [Zarephath.] 

Sar'gon (sar'gon) ( the strong one), 
one of the greatest of the Assyrian 
kings, is mentioned by name but once 
in Scripture — Isa. 20 : 1. He was the 
successor of Shalmaneser IV, and was 
Sennacherib’s father and his immediate 
predecessor. He reigned from b.c. 722 
to 705, and seems to have been a usurper. 
He was undoubtedly a great and suc- 
cessful warrior. In his annals, which 
cover a space of fifteen years, from b.c. 
722 to 706, he gives an account of his 
warlike expeditions against Babylonia 
and Susiana on the south, Media on 
the east, Armenia and Cappadocia to- 
ward the north, Syria, Palestine, Ara- 
bia and Egypt toward the west and 
southwest. It was after his accession 
that Samaria was taken. In b.c. 711 he 
sent his Tartan or commander-in-chief 
against Ashdod, which is the event 
which causes the mention of his name 
in Scripture. It is not as a warrior 
only that Sargon deserves special men- 
tion among the Assyrian kings. He was 
also the builder of useful works, and 
of one of the most magnificent of the 
Assyrian palaces. 

Sa'rid (sa'rid) (survivor), a chief 
landmark of the territory of Zebulun. 
Josh. 19:10, 12. All that can with any 


certainty be gathered of its position is 
that it lay to the west of Chisloth-tabor. 

Sa'ron (sa'ron), the district in which 
Lydda stood, Acts 9 ; 35 only ; the 
Sharon of the Old Testament. [Shar- 
on.] 

Sar'sechim (sar'se-kim), one of the 
generals of Nebuchadnezzar’s army at 
the taking of Jerusalem. Jer. 39:3. 
(b.c. 586.) 

Sa'ruch (sa'ruk), Luke 3:35; Serug 
the son of Reu. 

Satan. The word itself, the Hebrew 
satan, is simply an “ adversary,” and is 
so used in 1 Sam. 29 : 4 ; 2 Sam. 19 : 22 ; 
1 Kings 5:4; 11:14, 23, 25; Num. 22: 

22, 32 ; Ps. 109 : 6. This original sense 
is still found in our Lord’s application 
of the name to St. Peter in Matt. 16: 

23. It is used as a proper name or title 
only four times in the Old Testament, 
viz. (with the article) in Job 1:6, 12; 
2:1; Zech. 3:1, and (without the arti- 
cle) in 1 Chron. 21 : 1. It is with the 
scriptural revelation on the subject that 
we are here concerned; and it is clear, 
from this simple enumeration of pas- 
sages, that it is to be sought in the 
New rather than in the Old Testament. 
I. The personal existence of a spirit 
of evil is clearly revealed in Scripture; 
but the revelation is made gradually, 
in accordance with the progressiveness 
of God’s method. In the first entrance 
of evil into the world, the temptation 
is referred only to the serpent. In the 
book of Job we find for the first time 
a distinct mention of “ Satan,” the “ ad- 
versary ” of Job. But it is important 
to remark the emphatic stress laid on 
his subordinate position, on the absence 
of all but delegated power, of all terror 
and all grandeur in his character. It 
is especially remarkable that no power 
of spiritual influence, but only a power 
over outward circumstances, is attrib- 
uted to him. The captivity brought 
the Israelites face to face with the 
great dualism of the Persian mythology, 
the conflict of Ormuzd with Ahriman, 
the co-ordinate spirit of evil; but it is 
confessed by all that the Satan of 
Scripture bears no resemblance to the 
Persian Ahriman. His subordination 
and inferiority are as strongly marked 
as ever. The New Testament brings 
plainly forward the power and the in- 
fluence of Satan. From the beginning 
of the Gospel, when he appears as the 


SAT 


593 


SAT 


personal tempter of our Lord, through 
all the Gospels, Epistles, and Apoca- 
lypse, it is asserted or implied, again 
and again, as a familiar and important 
truth. II. Of the nature and original 
state of Satan, little is revealed in 
Scripture. He is spoken of as a “ spir- 
it ” in Eph. 2:2, as the prince or ruler 
of the “ demons ” in Matt. 12 : 24-26, 
and as having “ angels ” subject to him 
in Matt. 25 : 41 ; Rev. 12 : 7, 9. The 
whole description of his power implies 
spiritual nature and spiritual influence. 
We conclude therefore that he was of 
angelic nature, a rational and spiritual 
creature, superhuman in power, wisdom 
and energy; and not only so, but an 
archangel, one of the “ princes ” of 
heaven. We cannot, of course, conceive 
that anything essentially and originally 
evil was created by God. We can only 
conjecture, therefore, that Satan is a 
fallen angel, who once had a time of 
probation, but whose condemnation is 
now irrevocably fixed. The ideal of 
goodness is made up of the three great 
moral attributes of God — love, truth, 
and purity or holiness; combined with 
that spirit which is the natural temper 
of the finite and dependent creature, 
the spirit of faith. We find, accord- 
ingly, that the opposites of these quali- 
ties are dwelt upon as the characteris- 
tics of the devil. III. The power of 
Satan over the soul is represented as 
exercised either directly or by his in- 
struments. His direct influence over 
the soul is simply that of a powerful 
and evil nature. Besides this direct in- 
fluence, we learn from Scripture that 
Satan is the leader of a host of evil 
spirits or angels who share his evil 
work, and for whom the “ everlasting 
fire is prepared.” Matt. 25:41. Of 
their origin and fall we know no more 
than of his. But one passage — Matt. 
12 : 24-26 — identifies them distinctly 

with the “ demons ” (Authorized Ver- 
sion “ devils ”) who had power to pos- 
sess the souls of men. But the evil one 
is not merely the “ prince of the de- 
mons;” he is called also the “prince of 
this world” in John 12:31; 14:30; 16: 
11, and even the “ god of this world ” 
in 2 Cor. 4:4; the two expressions be- 
ing united in Eph. 6:12. The indirect 
action of Satan is best discerned by 
an examination of the title by which 
he is designated in Scripture. He is 
38 


called emphatically ho didbolos, “ the 
devil.” . The derivation of the word in 
itself implies only the endeavor to 
break the bonds between others and 
“ set them at variance ;” but common 
usage adds to this general sense the 
special idea of “ setting at variance by 
slander” In the application of the title 
to Satan, both the general and special 
senses should be kept in view. His 
general object is to break the bonds 
of communion between God and man, 
and the bonds of truth and love which 
bind men to each other. The slander 
of God to man is best seen in the 
words of Gen. 3:4, 5. They attribute 
selfishness and jealousy to the Giver of 
all good. The slander of man to God 
is illustrated by the book of Job. Job 
1:9-11; 2:4, 5. IV. The method of 
Satanic action upon the heart itself. It 
may be summed up in two words — 
temptation and possession. On the 
subject of possession, see Demoniacs. 

V. Hastings’ Bible Dictionary closes 
its article on Satan by a summary of 
which these are the concluding words : 
“ The ultimate and fundamental truth 
of angelology and demonology has .not 
been, and never can be destroyed by 
the march of modern science. . . . 

The assumption that other superhuman 
as well as subordinate agencies are at 
work, and that some of these are em- 
bodiments of evil influence, adds no 
fundamental difficulty to those which 
already exist. . . . Now it is a 
matter of historic notoriety that some 
personalities have lived in this world 
that might be called incarnations of evil 
influence. The supposition that other 
and superhuman personalities may also 
be foci of evil moral energy, and oper- 
ate like ganglionic centres in a nervous 
system, presents no fundamental diffi- 
culty in addition to the difficulty already 
involved in the problem of evil. That 
Satan exists as a personal centre of 
evil influence, physical as well as moral 
(for the two are closely associated) 
is the undoubted teaching of the Bible. 
He is represented to us not as the ab- 
solute origin of evil, or the only source 
of it, but as its most potent superhuman 
representative.” 

Satyr, a sylvan deity or demigod of 
Greek mythology, represented as a 
monster, part man and part goat. Isa. 
13 : 21 ; 34 : 14. The Hebrew word is 


SAU 


594 


SAU 


usually translated “he-goat.” In the 
passages cited it probably refers to 
demons of woods and desert places. 
Comp. Lev. 17 : 7 ; 2 Chron. 11 : 15. 

Saul {desired). 1. One of the early 
kings of Edom, and successor of Sam- 
lah. Gen. 36:37, 38; 1 Chron. 1:48. 
Properly here as in R. V. “ Shaul.” 

2. The first king of Israel, the son 
of Kish, and of the tribe of Benjamin. 
(b.c. 1095-1055. Ussher.) He was re- 
markable for his strength and activity, 
2 Sam. 1:23, and, like the Homeric 
heroes, of gigantic stature, taller by 
head and shoulders than the rest of 
the people, in personal appearance 
“ every inch a king/’ His father, Kish, 
was a powerful and wealthy chief, 
though the family to which he belonged 
was of little importance. 1 Sam. 9 : 1, 
21. His home was at Gibeah. A por- 
tion of his property consisted of a 
drove of asses. In search of these 
asses, gone astray on the mountains, 
he sent his son Saul. It was at this 
time that Saul met with Samuel at his 
home in Ramah, five miles north of 
Jerusalem, and was anointed by him to 
be king of Israel. Returning home- 
ward, his call was confirmed by the 
incidents which, according to Samuel’s 
prediction, awaited him. 1 Sam. 10 : 9, 
10. What may be named the public call 
occurred at Mizpeh, when lots were 
cast to find the tribe and family which 
was to produce the king. When Saul, 
who had hidden himself, was found 
and stood forth as the chosen one, the 
majority of the people hailed him with 
enthusiasm. 1 Sam. 10 : 17-24. . Return- 
ing to Gibeah, apparently to private life 
until all private jealousies should be 
overcome, he heard the threat issued by 
Nahash king of Ammon against Jabesh- 
gilead. He speedily collected an army, 
and Jabesh was rescued. The effect 
was instantaneous on the people, and 
the monarchy was inaugurated anew at 
Gilgal. 1 Sam. 11 : 1-15. Although 
king of Israel, his rule was at first 
limited; but in the second year of his 
reign he began to organize an attempt 
to shake off the Philistine yoke, and 
an army was formed. Jonathan, the 
eldest son of the king, precipitated the 
struggle by an attack on the Philistine 
garrison of Geba. The whole nation 
was roused to resist the attack which 
must come from the infuriated Philis- 


tines. In this crisis, Saul, who had ex- 
pected Samuel to be present at Gilgal 
to offer the sacrifices before the army 
went into battle, became impatient at 
his delay and offered sacrifice himself. 
Samuel, arriving later, pronounced the 
first curse, on his impetuous zeal. 1 
Sam. 13 : 5-14. An exploit of Jonathan 
and his armor-bearer gave an opening 
for a general battle which resulted in 
the defeat of the Philistines. It was 
in the heat of the pursuit that Saul 
made the rash vow which all but cost 
the life of his son. 1 Sam. 14 : 24, 44. 
The expulsion of the Philistines, al- 
though not entirely completed, ch. 14: 
52, at once placed Saul in a position 
higher than that of any previous ruler 
of Israel, and he made war upon the 
neighboring tribes. In the war with 
Amalek, ch. 14:48; 15:1-9, he diso- 
beyed the prophetical command of Sam- 
uel, which called down the second curse, 
and the first distinct intimation of the 
transference of the kingdom to a rival. 
The rest of Saul’s life is one long trag- 
edy. The frenzy which had given in- 
dications of itself before now at times 
took almost entire possession of him. 
In this crisis David was recommended 
to him. From this time forward their 
lives are blended together. [David.] 
In Saul’s better moments he never lost 
the strong affection which he had con- 
tracted for David. Occasionally, too, 
his prophetical gift returned, blended 
with his madness. 1 Sam. 19:24. But 
his acts of fierce, wild zeal increased. 
At last the end came. The Philistines, 
roused to action, invaded the country 
and encamped in the valley of Jezreel. 
Saul went to meet them, and pitched 
on the slope of Gilboa. But he had 
lost his early courage, and forebodings 
of his fate seemed to trouble him. 
Feeling that Jehovah was against him 
he consulted one of the necromancers, 
the “ Witch of Endor,” who had es- 
caped his persecution. At this dis- 
tance of time it is impossible to deter- 
mine the relative amount of fraud or 
of reality in the scene which follows, 
though the obvious meaning of the nar- 
rative itself tends to the hypothesis of 
some kind of apparition, ch. 28. On 
hearing the denunciation which the ap- 
parition conveyed, Saul fell the whole 
length of his gigantic stature on the 
ground, and remained motionless till 


SAW 


595 


SCO 


the woman and his servants forced him 
to eat. The next day the battle came 
on. The Israelites were driven up the 
side of Gilboa. The three sons of Saul 
were slain. Saul was wounded. Ac- 
cording to one account, he fell upon 
his own sword, 1 Sam. 31 : 4, and died. 
The body on being found by the Philis- 
tines was stripped and decapitated, and 
the headless trunk hung over the city 
walls of Bethshan, with those of his 
three sons, ch. 31 : 9, 10. The head was 
deposited (probably at Ashdod) in the 
temple of Dagon. 1 Chron. 10 : 10. 
The men of Jabesh-gilead, however, 
grateful for what he had done for 
them in the early part of his reign, 
marched by night to Bethshan, took his 
body from his enemies, and buried it 
on the site of his first victory. 1 Sam. 
31 : 13. 

3. The Jewish name of St. Paul. 

Saw. Egyptian saws, so far as has 
yet been discovered, are single-handed. 
As is the case in modern Oriental saws, 
the teeth usually incline toward the 
handle, instead of away from it like 
ours. They have, in most cases, bronze 
blades, apparently attached to the han- 
dles by leathern thongs. We read of 
sawn stones used in the temple. 1 
Kings 7:9. In 2 Sam. 12 : 31 and 1 
Chron. 20 : 3, it seems to be stated that 
David used saws, etc., as instruments 
of torture. This does not seem con- 
sistent with David’s character, and stu- 
dents have found that the change of a 
single letter in each case would give 
the sentence the meaning of setting the 
captives to hard labor with the saw, 
axe, harrow, etc. 

Scapegoat. [Atonement, Day of.] 

Scarlet. [Colors.] 

Sceptre. This word originally meant 
a rod or staff. It was thence, spe- 
cifically applied to the shepherd’s crook, 
Lev. 27 : 32 ; Micah 7 : 14, and to the 
wand or sceptre of a ruler. The allu- 
sions to it are all of a metaphorical 
character, and describe it simply as one 
of the insignia of supreme power. Gen. 
49 : 10. We are consequently unable to 
describe the article from any biblical 
notice; we may infer that it was prob- 
ably made of wood. The sceptre of the 
Persian monarch is described as “gold- 
en,” i. e. probably of massive gold. 
Esther 4 : 11. 

Sce'va (se'va). A chief priest or 


member of one of the priestly families 
of the Jews. His seven sons were ex- 
ordists, and tried to exorcise demons in 
the name of Jesus, without success. 
Acts 19:14-16. (a.d. 54.) 

Schools. In the early ages most of 
the instruction of young children was 
by the parents. The leisure hours of 
the Sabbaths and festival days brought 
the parents in constant contact with 
the children. After the captivity 
schools came more into use, and at 
the time of Christ were very abundant. 
The schools were in connection with 
the synagogues, which were found in 
every city and in almost every village of 
the land. Their idea of the value of 
schools may be gained from such say- 
ings from the Talmud as “ The world 
is preserved by the breath of the chil- 
dren in the schools ;” “ A town in which 
there are no schools must perish 
“Jerusalem was destroyed because the 
education of children was neglected.” 
Josephus says, “ Our principal care is 
to educate our children.” The Talmud 
states that in Bechar there were 400 
schools, having each 400 teachers, with 
400 children each, and that there were 
4000 pupils in the house of Rabban 
Simeon Ben-Gamaliel, but this is with- 
out doubt exaggerated. The pupils sur- 
rounded the teacher who sat slightly 
raised above his pupils, so that every 
one could see the teacher and hear his 
words. Benches were of later inven- 
tion. The children read aloud to ac- 
quire fluency, and also to enable them 
to fix their studies permanently in the 
memory. The number of school-hours 
was limited, and during the heat of the 
summer was only four hours. The 
punishment employed was beating with 
a strap, never with a rod. The chief 
studies were their own language and 
literature, the chief school-book the 
Holy Scriptures; and there were special 
efforts to impress lessons of morality 
and chastity. In some schools they 
also studied mathematics, astronomy 
and the natural sciences. Beyond the 
schools for popular education there 
were higher schools or colleges scat- 
tered throughout the cities where the 
Jews abounded. 

Scorpion (Heb. ' akrdb ), a well- 
known venomous insect of hot climates, 
shaped much like a lobster, and closely 
akin to the spider. It is usually not 


SCO 


596 


SCR 


more than two or three inches long, 
but in tropical climates is sometimes six 
inches in length, and has been found 
as long as 12 inches. The wilderness 
of Sinai is especially alluded to as being 
inhabited by scorpions at the time of 
the exodus, and to this day these ani- 
mals are common in the same district, 
as well as in some parts of Palestine. 
Scorpions are generally found in dry 
and in dark places, under stones and 
in ruins. They are carnivorous in their 
habits, and move along in a threatening 
attitude, with the tail elevated. The 
sting, which is situated at the end of 



SCORPION. 


the tail, has at its base a gland that 
secretes a poisonous fluid, which is dis- 
charged into the wound by two minute 
orifices at its extremity. In hot cli- 
mates the sting often occasions much 
suffering, and sometimes alarming 
symptoms. The sting of the larger va- 
rieties is very apt to cause death; while 
that of even the smallest may do so 
if the throat is attacked. The “ scor- 
pions ” of 1 Kings 12 : 11, 14 ; 2 Chron. 
10 : 11, 14, have clearly no allusion 
whatever to the animal, but to some 
instrument of scourging — unless indeed 
the expression is a mere figure. 

Scourging. There is a distinction in 
the word used between the beating, 



SCOURGING. 


with rods, and the scourging, with 
whips or scourges, made of cords or 


thongs of leather fastened to a handle. 
Usually there were three of these thongs 
in each scourge, and they were often 
reinforced with bits of metal which 
tore the skin and flesh. The principal 
places where the word is used is 1 
Kings 12:11, 14; 2 Chron. 10:11, 14, 
where Rehoboam promises scourgings 
to his complaining people; and in the 



FLAGELLUM OR SCOURGE. 


New Testament in the accounts of the 
scourging of Christ, in the Gospels, and 
of Paul in 2 Cor. 11 : 24. The “ scourge 
of small cords” used by Jesus when 
he drove the traffickers out of the Tem- 
ple was merely the symbol of authority. 
John 2 : 15. 

Scribes (Heb. sopherim). 1 . A sec- 
retary, or government clerk. 2 Kings 
12 : 10 ; Ezra 4 : 8. All clerks were 
called by this name in Old Testament 
times. 

2. More specifically the scribes, or 
Sopherim, were those who copied, taught 
and explained the law. Ezra was one 
of the most noted of these scribes, and 
in his teaching the prototype of these 
of the New Testament times. There 
were few if any of these before the 
exile, as the Levites at that time per- 
formed all such duties as were needed. 


SCR 


597 


SCR 


In the earlier period after the exile 
the scribes belonged to the Levites ; 
but gradually an independent class of 
laymen sprang up, and at last they 
were nearly all laymen. The written 
law, which was considered as binding 
by all the Jews, did not cover all the 
details of daily life, and some of its 
regulations were liable to be misunder- 
stood by the less educated class of the 
people. The duty of the scribes, there- 
fore, was (1) to add to the law the 
regulations for the minor details there 
omitted; (2) explanations of the law 
itself. These together formed the oral 
law. (3) The scribes were to teach 
the law to others, and later (4) make 
decisions, or practically be judges, under 
the law. Since it was understood that 
only the scribes fully understood the 
meaning of the law, their words grew 
to be honored above the law. It was 
greater crime to offend against them 
than against the law. The first step 
was taken toward annulling the com- 
mandments of God for the sake of 
their own traditions. Mark 7:13. The 
casuistry became at once subtle and 
prurient, evading the plainest duties, 
tampering with conscience. Matt. 15 : 
1-6 ; 23 : 16-23. We can therefore un- 
derstand why they were constantly de- 
nounced by our Lord along with the 
Pharisees. The scribes repeated the 
traditions of the elders, it being con- 
sidered a fault for a pupil to change 
even the expressions used by his 
teacher. But Jesus “spake as one hav- 
ing authority,” “ not as the scribes.” 
Matt. 7 : 29. While they confined their 
teachings to the class of scholars, he 
“ had compassion on the multitudes.” 
Matt. 9 : 36. While they were to be 
found only in the council or in their 
schools, he journeyed through the cities 
and villages. Matt. 4 : 23 ; 9:35, etc. 
While they spoke of the kingdom of 
God vaguely, as a thing far off, he 
proclaimed that it had already come 
nigh to men. Matt. 4 : 17. In our 
Lord’s time there were two chief par- 
ties, the disciples of Hillel and of 
Shammai. Nothing is known with cer- 
tainty of the two leaders, though there 
are many traditions. The school of 
Hillel was distinguished for its mild- 
ness, and that of Shammai for its 
strictness in interpretation, but the dif- 
ferences in the two schools did not ex- 


tend to any but trivial subjects. The 
special training for a scribe’s office be- 
gan, probably, about the age of thirteen. 
The boy who was destined by his par- 
ents to the calling of a scribe went to 
Jerusalem and applied for admission in 
the school of some famous rabbi. The 
requirements for the calling consisted 
principally of an accurate and prodi- 
gious memory, and patience enough to 
learn by heart the oral law. They 
also heard disputations on concrete 
cases, or disputed among themselves, 
their words being criticised by the 
teacher. The scholar with the best 
memory was considered the best scholar, 
since all, teacher as well as scholar, 
must adhere closely to the traditions of 
those before them. After a sufficient 
period of training, probably at the age 
of thirty the probationer was solemnly 
admitted to his office. At the time of 
Christ their influence was great. They 
had seats in the Sanhedrin ; they com- 
prised nearly all the teaching force of 
the country; and nearly all the judges 
came from their class. They leaned 
more to the side of the Pharisees than 
the Saaducees, though there is some 
indication that they were not all Phari- 
sees. With the Pharisees they were 
denounced by Jesus for their hypocrisy. 
Matt. 23. In our Lord’s time the pas- 
sion for distinction was insatiable. The 
ascending scale of rab, rabbi, rabban, 
presented so many steps on the ladder 
of ambition. Other forms of worldli- 
ness were not far off. The salutations 
in the market-place, Matt. 23 : 7, the 
reverential kiss offered by the scholars 
to their master or by rabbis to each 
other, the greeting of Abba, father, 
Matt. 23 : 9, the long robes with the 
broad blue fringe, Matt. 23 : 5, — all 
these go to make up the picture of a 
scribe’s life. Theoretically they were 
to take no pay for performing any of 
their regular duties. If they had no 
private fortune they must undertake 
secular work for support. But in fact 
there is no doubt that they received pay 
at least for teaching, in the later pe- 
riods. With all the faults of the 
scribes, Jews and Christians alike owe 
them a debt of gratitude. After the 
fall of Jerusalem in a.d. 70, they set 
themselves diligently to work to reor- 
ganize Judaism. They worked quietly 
and peacefully, avoided extremes, and 


SCR 


598 


SEA 


were successful in keeping what was 
left of the nation faithful to the faith 
of their fathers. The ordinances of the 
oral law were at last written down, and 
to them is due the preservation of all 
of the Hebrew scriptures which now 
exist. 

Scrip. The Hebrew word thus trans- 
lated appears in 1 Sam. 17 : 40 as a 
synonym for the bag in which the shep- 
herds of Palestine carried their food 
or other necessaries. The scrip of the 
Galilean peasants was of leather, used 
especially to carry their food on a jour- 
ney, and slung over their shoulders. 
Matt. 10 : 10 ; Mark 6:8; Luke 9 : 3 ; 22 : 
35. The English word “ scrip ” is prob- 
ably connected with scrape, scrap, and 
was used in like manner for articles of 
food. 

Scripture. [See Bible.] 

Scyth'ian occurs in Col. 3:11 as a 
generalized term for rude, ignorant, de- 
graded. The name often included all 
the nomadic tribes, who dwelt mostly 
on the north of the Black and the Cas- 
pian Sea, stretching thence indefinitely 
into inner Asia, and were regarded by 
the ancients as standing extremely low 
in point of intelligence and civilization. 

Scythop'olis. [Beth-shean.] 

Sea. The sea, yam, is used in Scrip- 
ture to denote — 1. “The gathering of 
the waters,” “ the Ocean,” as distin- 
guished from dry land. Gen. 1 : 2, 10, 
etc. 2.* Some portion of this, as the 
Mediterranean Sea, called the “ hinder,” 
the “ western ” and the “ utmost ” sea, 
Deut. 11 : 24 ; 34 : 2 ; Joel 2 : 20 ; “ sea of 
the Philistines,” Ex. 23:31; “the great 
sea,” Num. 34:6, 7; Josh. 15:47; “the 
sea,” Gen. 49 : 13 ; Ps. 80 : 11. Also 
frequently of the Red Sea. Ex. 15 : 4. 
[Red Sea.] 3. Inland lakes termed 
seas, as the Salt or Dead Sea. [See 
the special article.] 4. Any great col- 
lection of waters, as the river Nile, Isa. 
19:5, and the Euphrates. Jer. 51:36. 

Sea, Molten or Brazen Sea. In the 
place of the laver of the tabernacle, 
Solomon caused a laver to be cast for 
a similar purpose, which from its size 
was called a sea, as the Romans called 
large vessels “lakes” ( lacus ). It was 
made partly or wholly of the brass, or 
rather copper or bronze, which was cap- 
tured by David from “ Tibhath and 
Chun, cities of Hadarezer king of 
Zobah.” 1 Kings 7 : 23-26 ; 1 Chron. 


18 : 8. It is said to have been 15 feet 
in diameter and 7 feet deep, and to 
have been capable of containing 2000, 
or, according to 2 Chron. 4 : 5, 3000 
baths (18,000 to 27,000 gallons). The 
laver stood on twelve oxen, three to- 
ward each quarter of the heavens, and 
all looking outward. It was mutilated 
by Ahaz by being removed from its 
base of oxen and placed on a stone 
base, and was finally broken up by the 
Assyrians. 2 Kings 16 : 14, 17 ; 25 : 13. 

Sea, The Salt, the usual and perhaps 
the most ancient name for the remark- 
able lake which to the western world 
is now generally known as the Dead 
Sect 

I. Names . — (1) The Salt Sea, Gen. 
14:3; Deut. 3:17; (2) Sea of the Ara- 
bah or Plain, Deut. 3 : 17 ; Josh. 3 : 16 ; 
(3) The East Sea, Joel 2:20; (4) Sea 
of salt, and Sea of Sodom, in the Tal- 
mud; (5) The Asphaltic Lake, in Jo- 
sephus; (6) The name “Dead Sea” 
appears to have been first used in Greek 
by Pausanias in the latter half of the 
second century of the Christian era. 
(7) The Arabic name is Bahr Lut, the 
“ Sea of Lot.” 

II. Description . — The Dead Sea lies 
nearly north and south along a line 
corresponding to that of the Jordan 
valley, in the deep fissure which runs 
completely through Palestine, called in 
at least a part of its course the Ghor. 
It receives the waters of the Jordan, 
which amount to an average of six mil- 
lion tons of water every twenty-four 
hours. It also has a number of minor 
tributaries, which when fed by the 
melting snows of the mountains bring 
a vast quantity more. The sea has no 
outlet, yet such is the heat of the val- 
ley that even at the time of the great- 
est floods, the lake does not rise more 
than ten or fifteen feet. Viewed on the 
map, the lake is of an oblong, form, of 
tolerably regular contour, interrupted 
only by a large and long peninsula 
which projects from the eastern shore 
near its southern end, and virtually di- 
vides the expanse of the water into 
two portions, connected by a long, nar- 
row and somewhat devious passage. 
Its surface is from north to south 
about 47 English miles. Its greatest 
width is about 10 English miles. The 
depression of its surface, and the depth 
which it attains below that surface, 


SEA 


599 


SEA 


combined with the absence of any out- 
let, render it one of the most remark- 
able spots on the globe. The surface 
of the lake as ascertained by the officers 
of the Ordnance Survey is 1292 feet 
below the level of the Mediterranean 
at Jaffa. Its maximum depth, near the 
mouth of the Arnon, is 1278 feet. The 
water of the lake is not less remark- 
able than its other features. It is 
much saltier than the water of the 
ocean, the latter containing 6 pounds of 
salt to every 100 pounds of water, while 
in the former each 100 pounds contains 
from 20 to 28 pounds. In consequence 
of this, one bathing in the Dead Sea 
becomes almost ludicrously buoyant. 
■Dr. Robinson “ could never swim be- 
fore, either in fresh or salt water/’ yet 
here he “ could sit, stand, lie or swim 
without difficulty.” ( B . R. i. 506.) It 
has been long supposed that no life 
whatever existed in the lake, but while 
fish are very rare they do exist, and 
some lower forms of life are found in 
small numbers. The statements of an- 
cient travelers and geographers to the 
effect that no living creature could ex- 
ist on the shores of the lake, or bird 
fly across its surface, are amply dis- 
proved by later travelers. The springs 
on the margin of the lake harbor snipe, 
partridges, ducks, nightingales and other 
birds, as well as frogs ; and hawks, 
doves and hares are found along the 
shore. The appearance of the lake does 
not fulfil the idea conveyed by its pop- 
ular name. “ The Dead Sea,” says a 
recent traveler, “ did not strike me 
with that sense of desolation and dreari- 
ness which I suppose it ought. I 
thought it a pretty, smiling lake — a nice 
ripple on its surface.” The truth lies, 
as usual, somewhere between these two 
extremes. On the one hand, the lake 
certainly is not a gloomy, deadly, smok- 
ing gulf. In this respect it does not 
at all fulfil the promise of its name. 
At sunrise and sunset the scene must 
be astonishingly beautiful. But on the 
other hand, there is something in the 
prevalent sterility and the dry, burnt 
look of the shores, the overpowering 
heat, the occasional smell of sulphur, 
the dreary ‘salt marsh at the southern 
end, and the fringe of dead driftwood 
round the margin, which must go far to 
excuse the title which so many ages 
have attached to the lake, and which 


we may be sure it will never lose. The 
connection between this singular lake 
and the biblical history is very slight. 
In the topographical records of the 
Pentateuch and the book of Joshua it 
forms one among the landmarks of the 
boundaries of the whole country, as 
well as of the inferior divisions of 
Judah and Benjamin. Besides this the 
name occurs once or twice in the im- 
agery of the prophets. In the New 
Testament there is not even an allusion 
to it. There is, however, one passage 
in which the “ Salt Sea ” is mentioned 
in a manner different from any of 
those already quoted, viz. as having 
been in the time of Abraham the vale 
of Siddim. Gen. 14 : 3. In conse- 
quence of this passage it has been be- 
lieved that the present lake covered a 
district which in historic times had been 
permanently habitable dry land. But it 
must not be overlooked that the passage 
in question is the only one in the whole 
Bible to countenance the notion that 
the cities of the plain were submerged; 
a notion which does not date earlier 
than the Christian era. [Sodom; Zoar.] 
The belief which prompted the idea 
of some modern writers that the Dead 
Sea was formed by the catastrophe 
which overthrew the “cities of the 
plain ” is a mere assumption. It is not 
only unsupported by Scripture, but is 
directly in the teeth of the evidence of 
the ground itself. The destruction of 
Sodom and Gomorrah may have been 
by volcanic action, but it may be safely 
asserted that no traces of it have yet 
been discovered, and that, whatever it 
was, it can have had no connection 
with that far vaster and far more an- 
cient event which opened the great 
valley of the Jordan and the Dead Sea, 
and at some subsequent time cut it off 
from communication with the Red Sea 
by forcing up between them the tract 
of the Wady Arabah. The researches 
of modern times have resulted in prov- 
ing satisfactorily to those engaged that 
the Dead Sea exists in very nearly the 
same form and area as in the time of 
Abraham. Some slight decrease there 
may have been, however, as it is gen- 
erally considered that in earlier times 
the Jordan had a larger flow of water. 

Seah. [Weights and Measures.] 

Seal. The fact that reading and 
writing have always been in the East 


SEA 


600 


SEI 


the possession of a small minority has 
attached great importance to the seal 
or signet. They are of very ancient 
use, by the Hebrews (Gen. 38:18, 25), 
Egyptians (Gen. 41 : 42) and by the Per- 
sians (Esth. 3:10; 8:2). They were 
of two sorts: (1) The small seal of 
precious stone or metal engraved with 
the owner’s device, and set in a ring, 



SEAL WITH FRAME. 


and (2) the larger cylinder of metal, 
stone or terra-cotta for sealing larger 
surfaces. The material used for the 
impression was often a lump of clay, 
attached to the document by strings. 
In other cases wax was used. In seal- 
ing a sepulchre or box, the fastening 
was covered with clay or wax, and the 


SEAL AND SIGNETS. 

impression from a seal of one in au- 
thority was stamped upon it, so that it 
could not be broken open without dis- 
covery. Job 14:7; 41:15; Dan. 6:17; 
Matt. 27 : 66 ; Rev. 5 : 1. Seals were 
used in the place of signatures ; as a 
sign of authority; to secure a place or 
an article from intrusion. Many cylin- 
der seals have been found in the re- 


searches in Babylonia and elsewhere. 
They are in general much like the one 
pictured here. 

Se'ba (se'ba) (pi. Sebaim ; in Au- 
thorized- Version incorrectly rendered 
Sabeans) heads the list of the sons of 
Cush. Besides the mention of Seba in 
the lists of the sons of Cush, Gen. 10 : 
7 ; 1 Chron. 1 : 9, there are but three 
notices of the nation — Ps. 72:10; Isa. 
43 : 3 ; 45 : 14. These passages seem to 
show that Seba was a nation of Africa, 
bordering on or included in Cush, and 
in Solomon’s time independent and of 
political importance. It may perhaps 
be identified with the island of Meroe. 
Josephus says that Saba was the an- 
cient name of the Ethiopian island and 
city of Meroe, but he writes Seba, in 
the notice of the Noachian settlements, 
Sabas. The island of Meroe lay be- 
tween the Nile and its affluent the At- 
bara. Some consider that it is more 
nearly in the heart of Africa. 

Se'bat (se'bat) ( a rod). [Month.] 

Sec'acah (sek'a-kah), or Seca'cah 
(sek-a'kah) ( enclosure ), one of the 
six cities of Judah which were situated 
in the Midbar (“wilderness”), that is, 
the tract bordering on the Dead Sea. 
Josh. 15 : 61. Its position is not known. 
Some identifications have been made, 
doubtfully, but are disputed. 

Se'chu (se'ku) ( the watch-tower) , a 
place mentioned once only — 1 Sam. 19 : 
22 — apparently as lying on the route be- 
tween Saul’s residence, Gibeah, and 
Ramah, that of Samuel. It was no- 
torious for “ the great well ” (or rather 
cistern) which it contained. ’Several 
identifications have been proposed, but 
none are really satisfactory. 

Secun'dus, a Thessalonian Christian 
who accompanied Paul to Europe. Acts 
20:4. (a.d. 57.) 

Seer. An old term for prophet. 

Se'gub (se'gub) {elevated). 1. The 
youngest son of Hiel the Bethelite, who 
rebuilt Jericho. 1 Kings 16 : 34. 

2. Son of Hezron. 1 Chron. 2 : 21, 

22 . 

Se'ir (se'ir) {hairy, shaggy). 1. We 
have both “ land of Seir,” Gen. 32 : 3 ; 
36:30, and “Mount Seir.” Gen. 14:6. 
It. is the original name of the moun- 
tain region extending along the east 
side of the Arabah, from the Dead 
Sea to the Elanitic Gulf. The Horites 
appear to have been the chief of the 




SEI 


601 


SEN 


aboriginal inhabitants, Gen. 36 : 20 ; but 
it was ever afterward the possession 
of the Edomites, the descendants of 
Esau. The Mount Seir of the Bible 
extended much farther south than the 
modern province, as is shown by the 
words of Deut. 2 : 1-8. 

2. Mount Seir, an entirely different 
place from the foregoing; one of the 
landmarks on the north boundary of the 
territory of Judah. Josh. 15 : 10 only. 
It lay westward of Kirjath-jearim, and 
between it and Beth-shemesh. It is 
commonly supposed to be the ridge 
upon which the modern village of Saris 
now stands. 

Se'irath (se'i-rath) (R. V. “ Sei- 
rah”), the place to which Ehud fled 
after his murder of Eglon. Judges 3: 
26, 27. It was in “ Mount Ephraim,” 
ver. 27, and apparently not far from 
Gilgal. Its locality was not known to 
even the earliest authorities, Eusebius 
and Jerome, and is not yet identified. 

Se'la (se'la), or Se'lah ( the rock), 
2 Kings 14 : 7 ; Isa. 16 : 1 ; so rendered 
in the Authorized Version in Judges 
1 : 36 ; 2 Chron. 25 : 12. Beyond any 
reasonable doubt the city later known 
as Petra, which is the Greek for “ rock,” 
or a translation of the Hebrew word. 
It was in the midst of Mount Seir, in 
the neighborhood of Mount Hor, and 
was the ancient capital of Edom. In 
the end of the fourth century b.c. it 
appears as the headquarters of the 
Nabatheans, who successfully resisted 
the attacks of Antigonus. This came 
to an end in a.d. 105, when Arabia 
Petrsea became a province of Rome. 
The city Petra is one of the most re- 
markable of ancient cities, not only, by 
its position shut in by mountain cliffs, 
and approached only by a narrow ra- 
vine, through which, and across the 
city’s site, the river winds, but by rea- 
son of the ruins there, which are stu- 
pendous, works of art cut out of the 
solid rock. Recent discoveries reveal 
more and more of these wonders. See 
illustration under Edom. 

Se , la=Hammah , lekoth (se'la-ham- 
mah'le-koth) {the cliff of escapes or of 
divisions) , a rock or cliff in the wilder- 
ness of Maon, southeast of Hebron, 
the scene of one of those remarkable 
escapes which are so frequent in the 
history of Saul’s pursuit of David. 1 
Sam. 23 : 28. The great gorge of Wady 


Malaki in this region would be a suit- 
able position, where the two could be 
near enough to see each other easily, 
but be utterly unable to reach each other 
directly. 

Se'lah (se'la). This word, which is 
found only in the poetical books of the 
Old Testament, occurs seventy-one 
times in the Psalms and three times 
in Habakkuk. It is very probably a 
musical or liturgical sign, but it is im- 
possible to determine its meaning. 
There are at least six different opin- 
ions among authorities. The only 
thing known with certainty of it is that 
it has no grammatical or rhetorical 
connection with the passages in which 
it is found. 

Se'led {exultation), one of the sons 
of Nadab, a descendant of Jerahmeel. 
1 Chron. 2 : 30. 

Seleu'cia (se-lu'si-a) (named after 
its founder, Seleucus), near the mouth 
of the Orontes, was the seaport of An- 
tioch. The distance between the two 
towns was about 16 miles. St. Paul, 
with Barnabas, sailed from Seleucia at 
the beginning of his first missionary 
circuit. Acts 13 : 4. This strong for- 
tress and convenient seaport was con- 
structed by the first Seleucus, and here 
he was buried. It retained its impor- 
tance in Roman times, and in St. Paul’s 
day it had the privileges of a free city. 
The remains are numerous. 

Seleu'cus (se-leu'kus), the name of 
five kings of the Greek dominion of 
Syria, who are hence called Seleucidce. 
They ruled Syria from b.c. 312 to b.c. 
65. Several allusions are made to them 
in Daniel 11, but only one — the fourth 
— is mentioned in the Apocrypha. This 
was “ Seleucus Philopator,” the son of 
Antiochus the Great, whom he succeeded 
b.c. 187. He was murdered b.c. 175. 

Sem. Shem the patriarch. Luke 3: 
36. 

Semachi'ah (sem-a-ki'ah) {Jehovah 
has sustained) , one of the sons of 
Shemaiah, 9. 1 Chron. 26 : 7. 

Sem'ei (sem'e-I) (the Greek form of 
Shimei). The father of Mattathias in 
the genealogy of Jesus Christ. Luke 
3: 26. 

Sem'ein. In the Revised Version of 
Luke 3 : 26 for Semei. 

Semit'ic Languages. [Shemitic 
Languages; Hebrew Language.] 

Sen'a=ah (sen'a-ah) {thorny). The 


602 



THE TAYLOR PRISM. 

Face giving account of Sennacherib’s campaign against Jerusalem. 





SEN 


603 


SEP 


“ children ( i . e. the inhabitants) of 
Senaah ” are enumerated among the 
“ people of Israel ” who returned from 
the captivity with Zerubbabel. Ezra 2: 
35; Neh. 7:38. (b.c. 536.) The Mag- 

dal Senna of Eusebius and Jerome de- 
notes a town seven miles north of Jeri- 
cho. 

Se'neh (se'neh) {thorn), the name 
of one of the two isolated rocks be- 
tween which ran the “ passage of Mich- 
mash,” 1 Sam. 14 : 4. It was between 
these that Jonathan and his armor- 
bearer _ passed when they surprised the 
Philistines at Michmash. Its name is 
retained _ in the Wady Suweinit on 
whose right bank the rock must have 
been. 

Se'nir (se'nir) {coat of mail), 1 
Chron. 5:23; Ezek. 27:5, the Amorite 
name for Mount Hermon. 

Sennach'erib (sen-nak'e-rib) {the 
moon-god [Sm] has increased brothers), 
was the son and successor of Sargon. 

[Sargon.] Senna- 



SENNACHERIB ON 
THRONE. 


c h e r i b mounted 
the throne b.c. 705. 
His efforts were 
directed to crush- 
ing the revolt o I 
Babylonia, which 
he invaded with a 
large army. Mero- 
dach-baladan ven- 
tured on a battle, 
but was defeated 
and driven from 
the country. I n 
b.c. 701, Senna- 
cherib turned h i s 
arms toward the 
west, chastised 
Sidon, and, hav- 
ing probably con- 
HIS eluded a conven- 
tion with his 
chief enemy, fi- 
against Hezekiah, king 
was at this time that 
up against all the 


nally marched 
of Judah. It 
“ Sennacherib came 
fenced cities of Judah, and took them.” 
2 Kings 18 : 13. There is a slight 
question whether he made one or two 
campaigns against Judah, but the most 
of the authorities count it as only one. 
The Egyptians, coming to the aid of 
Hezekiah, were defeated and driven 
back, and swept through the country 
of Judah. While besieging Lachish 


he sent an insulting letter to Hezekiah 
at Jerusalem. In answer to Hezekiah’s 
prayer an event occurred which relieved 
both Egypt and Judea from their dan- 
ger. Either by the plague, or by some 
still more direct visitation from God 
the greater portion of his army was de- 
stroyed. The camp immediately broke 
up; the king fled. Sennacherib reached 
his capital in safety, and was not de- 
terred by the terrible disaster which 
had befallen his arms from engaging in 
other wars, though he seems thencefor- 
ward to have carefully avoided Pales- 
tine. His account of the # campaign in 
Palestine, on the Taylor Cylinder 
(Hezekiah) carefully avoids all men- 
tion of this catastrophe; as we should 
expect. Sennacherib was one of the 
most magnificent of the Assyrian kings. 
He seems to have been the first who 
fixed the seat of government perma- 
nently at Nineveh, which he carefully 
repaired and adorned with splendid 
buildings. His greatest work is the 
grand palace at Kouyunjik. He was 
assassinated in b.c. 681 by two of his 
sons, probably actuated by jealousy of 
their brother Esarhaddon, who how- 
ever succeeded his father in the king- 
dom. 

Senu'ah (se-nu'ah), properly Has= 
senuah (with the definite article), a 
Benjamite. Neh. 11:9. 

Seo'rim (se-6'rim) {barley), the 
chief of the fourth of the twenty-four 
courses of priests.' 1 Chron. 24:8. 

Se'phar (se'far) {a numbering) . A 
place which formed the limit of the 
territory of the sons of Joktan. Gen. 
10 : 3. It was without doubt in south- 
ern Arabia, and is commonly identified 
with Zaphar, a coast town in Hadra- 
mant. 

Seph'arad (sef'a-rad), a name which 
occurs in Obad. 20 only. Its situation 
has always been a matter of uncer- 
tainty, though it is conjectured to have 
been the Shaparda of the Assyrian in- 
scriptions, which was probably a dis- 
trict in the northern part of Asia Minor. 

Sepharva'im (sef-ar-va'-im) {the 
two Sipparas) is mentioned by Sen- 
nacherib in his letter to Hezekiah as a 
city whose king had been unable to re- 
sist the Assyrians. 2 Kings 19 : 13 ; Isa. 
37 : 13, comp. 2 Kings 18 : 34. It _ is 
identified with the famous town of Sip- 
para, on the Euphrates above Babylon, 


SEP 


604 


SEP 


which was near the border of Mesopo- 
tamia. The dual form indicates two 
divisions of the city — the equivalent of 
“ twin-city.” One part was the seat of 
the worship of the sun-god, and hence 
called “ Sippara of Shemesh,” i. e. 
“ Sippara of the sun-god.” The other 
part was the seat of the worship of 
Annuit the wife of the god of the sky, 
and hence was called “ Sippara of An- 
nuit.” 

Sep'tuagint ( the seventy). The Sep- 
tuagint or Greek version of the Old 
Testament appears at the present day 
in four principal editions : — 1. Biblia 
Polyglotta Complutensis, a.d. 1514-1517. 

2. The Aldine Edition, Venice, a.d. 1518. 

3. The Roman Edition, edited under 
Pope Sixtus V., a.d. 1587. 4. “ The 
Old Testament in Greek according to 
the Septuagint.” Edited for the Syn- 
dics of the (Cambridge) University 
Press, by H. B. Swete, 1887-1899. The 
Jews of Alexandria had probably still 
less knowledge of Hebrew than their 
brethren in Palestine; their familiar 
language was Alexandrian Greek. 
They had settled in Alexandria in large 
numbers soon after the time of Alex- 
ander, and under the early Ptolemies. 
They would naturally follow the same 
practice as the Jews in Palestine; and 
hence would arise in time an entire 
Greek version. The commonly-received 
story respecting its origin is contained 
in an extant letter ascribed to Aristeas, 
who was an officer at the court of 
Ptolemy Philadelphus. This letter, 
which is addressed by Aristeas to his 
brother Philocrates, gives a glowing ac- 
count of the origin of the Septuagint; 
of the embassy and presents sent by 
King Ptolemy to the high priest at 
Jerusalem, by the advice of Demetrius 
Phalereus, his librarian ; the choosing 
of six interpreters from each of the 
twelve tribes, and their names ; the 
copy of the law, in letters of gold ; 
the feast prepared for the seventy-two, 
which continued for seven days ; their 
lodging by the seashore; and the ac- 
complishment of their work in seventy- 
two days, by conference and compari- 
son. This is the story which probably 
gave to the version the title of the 
Septuagint, and which has been repeated 
in various forms by the Christian wri- 
ters. But it is now generally admitted 
that the letter is spurious, and is prob- 


ably the fabrication of an Alexandrian 
Jew shortly before the Christian era. 
Still there can be no doubt that there 
was a basis of fact for the fiction; 
on three points of the story there is 
no material difference of opinion, and 
they are confirmed by the study of the 
version itself : — 1. The version was 
made at Alexandria. 2. It was begun 
in the time of the earlier Ptolemies, 
about 280 b.c. 3. The law (i. e. the 
Pentateuch) alone was translated at 
first. The Septuagint version was 
highly esteemed by the Hellenistic Jews 
before the coming of Christ. Because 
of the dispersion of the Jews through 
the world the Greek translation of their 
Scriptures was an important factor in 
preparing the way for Christ’s coming. 
Its existence in a language which could 
be read throughout the world made even 
the Gentiles familiar with the beliefs of 
the Jews, and their wonderful history 
which would of course include the guid- 
ing Providence of God, and his prom- 
ises of a Saviour to come, throughout 
the nations. Not less wide was the 
influence of the Septuagint in the 
spread of the gospel. For a long pe- 
riod the Septuagint was the Old Tes- 
tament of the far larger part of the 
Christian Church. Character of the 
Septuagint . — The Septuagint is faithful 
in substance, but not minutely accurate 
in details. It has been clearly shown 
by students that the several books were 
translated by different persons, with- 
out any comprehensive revision to har- 
monize the several parts. Names and 
words are rendered differently in dif- 
ferent books. Thus the character of 
the version varies much in the several 
books; those of the Pentateuch are the 
best. The poetical parts are, generally 
speaking, inferior to the historical, the 
original abounding with rarer words 
and expressions, but the Psalms are 
fairly well produced. The Version of 
Jeremiah differs considerably from the 
Hebrew manuscripts found to-day, 
while the translation of Isaiah is very 
poor. Ezekiel and the minor prophets 
(particularly Amos) seem to be better 
rendered. The close connection be- 
tween the Old and the New Testament 
makes the study of the Septuagint most 
valuable, and indeed indispensable, to 
the theological student. It was mani- 
festly the chief storehouse from which 


SEP 


605 


SER 


both Christ and his apostles drew their 
proofs and precepts. 

Sepulchre. [Burial; Tomb.] 

Se'rah (se'rah), the daughter of 
Asher, Gen. 46 : 17 ; 1 Chron. 7 : 30, 

called in A. V. of Num. 2 $ : 46 Sarah. 

Sera'iah (ser-a'iah). 1. The king’s 
scribe or secretary in the reign of David. 

2 Sam. 8 : 17. 

2. The high priest in the reign of 
Zedekiah, and ancestor of Ezra the 
Scribe. 2 Kings 25 : 18 ; 1 Chron. 6 : 14 ; 
Ezra 7:1; Jer. 52 : 24. 

3. The son of Tanhumeth. 2 Kings 
25: 23; Jer. 40 : 8. 

4. The son of Kenaz and brother of 
Othniel. 1 Chron. 4 : 13, 14. 

5. Ancestor of Jehu, a Simeonite 
chieftain. 1 Chron. 4 : 35. 

6. One of the twelve leaders who re- 
turned with Zerubbabel. Ezra 2 : 2. 
(b.c. 536.) 

7. One of those sent to arrest Jere- 
miah and Baruch. Jer. 36 : 26. 

8. A priest, or priestly family, who 
signed the covenant with Nehemiah. 
Neh. 10:2. Perhaps same as 

9. A priest, the son of Hilkiah. Neh. 
11 : 11 . 

10. The head of a priestly house 
which went up from Babylon with 
Zerubbabel. Neh. 12 : 1, 7. 

11. The son of Neriah, and brother of 
Baruch. Jer. 51 : 59, 61. He went with 
Zedekiah to Babylon in the fourth year 
of his reign, (b.c. 594.) The R. V. 
calls him “ the chief chamberlain,” or 
(marg.) “quartermaster.” 

Seraphim (ser'a-fim) _ ( burning , 
glowing), an order of celestial beings, 
whom Isaiah beheld in vision standing 
above Jehovah as he sat upon his 
throne. Isa. 6:2. They are described 
as having each of them three pairs of 
wings, with one of which they covered 
their faces (a token of humility) ; with 
the second they covered their feet (a 
token of respect) ; while with the third 
they flew. They seem to have borne a 
general resemblance to the human fig- 
ure, ver. 6. Their occupation was two- 
fold— to celebrate the praises of Je- 
hovah’s holiness and power, ver. 3, and 
to act as the medium of communication 
between hedven and earth, ver. 6. 

Se'red (se'red) (fear), the first-born 
of Zebulun. Gen. 46:14: Num. 26:26 

Sergius Pau'Ius (ser'ji-us paw'lus) 
was the proconsul of Cyprus when the 


apostle Paul visited that island with 
Barnabas on his first missionary tour. 
Acts 13 : 7, seq. (a.d. 47.) He is de- 
scribed as an intelligent man, truth- 
seeking, eager for information from all 
sources within his reach. Though at 
first admitting to his society Elymas 
the magian, he afterward, on becoming 
acquainted with the claims of the gospel, 
yielded his mind to the evidence of its 
truth. 

Serpent. The Hebrew word ndchdsh 
is the generic name of any serpent. It 
is used often in the Bible. Its shrewd- 
ness is mentioned in Gen. 3 : 1, and al- 
luded to by our Lord in Matt. 10 : 16 ; 
the poisonous properties of some spe- 
cies are often mentioned, see Ps. 58 : 
4 ; Prov. 23 : 32 ; the sharp tongue of 
the serpent is mentioned in Ps. 140 : 3 ; 



SERPENT. 

Denoting immortality. 


Job 20 : 16 ; the habit serpents have of 
lying concealed in hedges and in holes 
of walls is alluded to in Eccles. 10 : 8 ; 
their dwelling in dry sandy places, in 
Deut. 8 : 15 ; their wonderful mode of 
progression did not escape the obser- 
vation of the author of Prov. 30, who 
expressly mentions it as “ one of the 
three things which were too wonderful 
for him,” ver. 19. The art of taming 
and charming serpents is of great an- 
tiquity, and is alluded to in Ps. 58 : 5 ; 
Eccles. 10:11; Jer. 8:17, and doubtless 
intimated by St, James, James 3 : 7, who 
particularizes serpents among all other 
animals that “ have been tamed by 
man.” It was under the form of a 
serpent that the devil seduced Eve; 
hence in Scripture Satan is called “the 
old serpent,” Rev. 12 : 9, and comp. 2 


SER 


606 


SET 


Cor. 11 : 3. The serpent all through the 
East became the emblem of the spirit 
of evil, and is so pictured even on 'the 
monuments of Egypt, although it had a 
double reputation, b«ng also the em- 
blem of Mercury and of the healing 
art. Some older commentators sup- 
posed that the serpent, prior to the 
Fall, moved along in an erect attitude, 
but this would necessitate a radical 
change in its anatomy, and it is prob- 
able that the mode of progression was 
not new. Probably after the Fall its 
grovelling on the earth was to be the 
memorial of its degradation, and of 
the loathing and disgust which it in- 
spires in men. Serpents are said in 
Scripture to “ eat dust,” see Gen. 3 : 14 ; 



THE VIPER. 


Isa. 65 : 25 ; Micah 7 : 17 ; these animals, 
which for the most part take their 
food on the ground, do consequently 
swallow with it large portions of sand 
and dust. Much has been written on 
the question of the “ fiery serpents ” of 
Num. 21 : 6, 8, with which it is usual 
to erroneously identify the “ fiery fly- 
ing serpent” of Isa. 14:29 and 30:6. 
The latter probably has reference to a 
fabulous serpent found on the monu- 
ments in Egypt. The word “ fiery ” 
probably signifies “burning,” in allusion 
to the sensation produced by the bite. 
The Cerastes, or the Naia haje, or any 
other venomous species frequenting 
Arabia, may denote the “ serpent of the 
burning bite ” which destroyed the chil- 
dren of Israel. The snake that fas- 
tened on St. Paul’s hand when he was 


at Melita, Acts 28 : 3, was perhaps the 
Viper aspis, though as no venomous 
snakes are now found in Malta, it is 
impossible to certainly identify it. [See 
also Adder; Asp.] 

Serpent, Brazen. When God pun- 
ished the murmurs of the Israelites in 
the wilderness by sending among them 
serpents whose fiery bite was fatal, 
Moses, upon their repentance, was com- 
manded to make a serpent of brass, 
whose polished surface shone like fire, 
and to set it up on the banner-pole in 
the midst of the people; and whoever 
was bitten by a serpent had but to look 
up at it and live. Num. 21 : 4-9. The 
comparison used by Christ, John 3:14, 
15, adds a deep interest to this scene. 
To present the serpent form, as de- 
prived of its power to hurt, impaled as 
the trophy of a conqueror, was to assert 
that evil, physical and spiritual, had 
been overcome, and thus help to 
strengthen the weak faith of the Is- 
raelites in a victory over both. Others 
look upon the uplifted serpent as a 
symbol of life and health, it having 
been so worshipped in Egypt. The two 
views have a point of contact, for the 
primary idea connected with the ser- 
pent is wisdom. Wisdom, apart from 
obedience to God, degenerates to cun- 
ning, and degrades and envenoms man’s 
nature. Wisdom, yielding to the divine 
law, is the source of healing and re- 
storing influences, and the serpent form 
thus became a symbol of deliverance 
and health ; and the Israelites were 
taught that it would be so with them 
in proportion as they ceased to be sen- 
sual and rebellious. Preserved as a 
relic, whether on the spot of its first 
erection or elsewhere, the brazen ser- 
pent, called by the name of Nehushtan, 
became an object of idolatrous vener- 
ation, and the zeal of Hezekiah de- 
stroyed it with the other idols of his 
father. 2 Kings 18:4. [Nehushtan.] 

Se'rug (se'rug) {branch), son of 
Reu and great-grandfather of Abraham. 
Gen. 11 : 20-23. 

Servant. [Slave.] 

Seth (seth) {setting, slip), Gen. 4: 
25 ; 5:3; 1 Chron. 1 : 1, the third son 
of Adam, and father of Enos. He was 
born after the murder of Abel. 

Se'thur (se'thur) {hidden), the Ash- 
erite spy, son of Michael. Num. 13: 
13. (b.c. 1490.) 


SEV 


60? 


SHA 


Seven. Certain numbers in the sa- 
cred literature of the Hebrews seem 
to have possessed a distinct symbolical 
meaning. Of these the number seven 
seems to have been both the most com- 
mon, and the most sacred in its sym- 
bolism. This use is not confined to the 
Hebrews, or even the Semites as a 
race, but is also found among the Ar- 
yans of Persia and even of Greece 
(Iliad xix., 243). Its sacredness dates 
back to remote antiquity. It may also 
have an idea of completeness. In Prov- 
erbs 9:1 we read of the seven pillars 
of Wisdom’s house; in Judges 16:13, 
19 of the seven locks of Samson’s hair. 
God blessed the seventh day, and hal- 
lowed it. The 7th month was ushered 
in by the Feast of Trumpets, and sig- 
nalized by the celebration of the Feast 
of Tabernacles and the Great Day of 
Atonement ; 7 weeks was the interval 
between the Passover and the Pente- 
cost; the 7th year the sabbatical year; 
and the year succeeding 7X7 years the 
Jubilee year. Seven days were ap- 
pointed as the length of the feasts of 
Passover and Tabernacles; 7 days for 
the ceremonies of the consecration of 
priests, and so on ; 7 victims to be 
offered on any special occasion, as in 
Balaam’s sacrifice, Num. 23 : 1, and es- 
pecially at the ratification of a treaty, 
the notion of seven being embodied in 
the very term signifying to swear, lit- 
erally meaning to do seven times. Gen. 
21 : 28. 

Sha=arbim (sha-al'bim), or Sha= 
alab'bin (foxes), a town in the allot- 
ment of Dan. Josh. 19:42; Judges 1: 
35 ; 1 Kings 4:9. By Eusebius and 
Jerome it is mentioned in the Onomas- 
ticon as a large village in the district 
of Sebaste (i. e. Samaria), and as then 
called Selaba. But this identification 
does not answer the conditions. 

Sha=al'bonite (sha-al'bo-nite), The. 
Eliahba the Shaalbonite was one of 
David’s thirty-seven heroes. 2 Sam. 
23:32; 1 Chron. 11 : 33. He was a na- 
tive of a place named Shaalbon, but 
where it was is unknown. 

Sha'aph (sha'af). 1. The son of 
Jahdai. 1 Chron. 2 : 47. 

2. The son of Caleb the brother of 
Jerahmeel, by his concubine Maachah. 
1 Chron. 2:49. 

Sha=ara , im (sha-a-ra'im) (two 
gates). 1. A city in the territory al- 


lotted to Judah, Josh. 15 : 36 ; in Au- 
thorized Version incorrectly Sharaim. 
1 Sam. 17 : 52. 

2. Shaaraim, a town of Simeon, 1 
Chron. 4: 31. Called Sharuhen in Josh. 
19: 6, and Shilhim in Josh. 15: 32. 

Sha=ash'gaz (sha-ash'gaz) (servant 
of the beautiful ), the eunuch in the 
palace of Xerxes who had the custody 
of the women in the second house. 
Esther 2 : 14. 

Shab'bethai (shab'be-tha) (sabbat- 
ical), a Levite in the time of Ezra. 
Ezra 10 : 15. It is apparently the same 
who with Jeshua and others instructed 
the people in the knowledge of the law. 
Neh. 8:7. 

Shachi'a (sha-ki'a), a son of Sha- 
haraim by his wife Hodesh. 1 Chron. 
8 : 10 . 

Shad'dai (shad'da-I), an ancient 
word, probably an epithet, rendered 
“ Almighty ” everywhere in the Au- 
thorized Version, is found in connec- 
tion with el, " God,” El Shaddai being 
then rendered “ God Almighty.” By 
the name or in the character of El- 
Shaddai, God was known to the patri- 
archs, Gen. 17 : 1 ; 28:3; 43 : 14 ; 48 : 3 ; 
49:25, before the name Jehovah, in its 
full significance, was revealed. Ex. 6: 
3. [God.] 

Sha'drach (sha'drak) (decree of the 
moon-god) . The name given in Baby- 
lon to Hananiah, one of the three faith- 
ful Hebrews whose story is told in 
Dan. 1-3. After their deliverance from 
the furnace, we hear no more of Sha- 
drach, Meshach and Abednego, except 
in Heb. 11:33, 34; but there are re- 
peated allusions to them in the later 
apocryphal books, and the martyrs of 
the Maccabsean period seem to have 
been much encouraged by their exam- 
ple. 

Sha'ge (sha'ge) (wandering), father 
of Jonathan the Hararite, one of 
David’s guard. 1 Chron. 11:34. [See 
Shammah, 3.] 

Shahara'im (sha-hara'im) (double 
dawn), a Benjamite. 1 Chron. 8:8. 

Shahaz'imah (sha-haz'i-mah) (prob- 
ably lofty places), one of the towns of 
the allotment of Issachar. Josh. 19 : 22 
only. 

Sha'lem (sha'lem) (safe). Gen. 33: 
18. Some consider this a proper name 
of a place. If so it must be Salim, 
4 miles east of Shechem (Nablus)., 


008 



THE BLACK OBELISK OF SHALMANEZER, 



SHA 


609 


SHA 


But probably it is a common noun 
meaning, as in R. V., “ in peace ” or 
“ in safety.” 

Sha'lim (sha'lim), The land of 

(foxes), a district through which Saul 
passed on his journey in quest of his 
father’s asses. 1 Sam. 9 : 4 only. It 
probably was in Ephraim. 

Shal'isha (shal'i-sha), The land of, 
one of the districts traversed by Saul 
when in search of the asses of Kish. 

1 Sam. 9 : 4 only. It was a district near 
Mount Ephraim. In it perhaps was sit- 
uated the place called Baal-shalisha, 2 
Kings 4 : 42, 15 miles north of Lydda. 

Shal'lecheth (shal'le-keth) (casting 
out), The gate, one of the gates of the 
“ house of Jehovah,” which Solomon 
was to build. 1 Chron. 26 : 16. It was 
on the west side of the outer court, ap- 
parently at the head of the causeway 
which led up from the ravine later 
called the Tyropsean Valley. But there 
is so much uncertainty about the to- 
pography of the Temple in the time 
of Solomon that nothing definite can 
be decided. 

Shal'lum (shal'lum) (retribution). 

1. The fifteenth king of Israel, son of 
Jabesh, conspired against Zachariah, 
killed him, and brought the dynasty of 
Jehu to a close, b.c. 741. Shallum, after 
reigning in Samaria for a month only, 
was in his turn dethroned and killed 
by Menahem. 2 Kings 15 : 10-14. 

2. The husband of Huldah the proph- 
etess, 2 Kings 22 : 14 ; 2 Chron. 34 : 22, 
in the reign of Josiah. (b.c. 630.) 

3. A descendant of Sheshan. 1 Chron. 
2 : 40, 41. 

4. The fourth son of Josiah king of 
Judah, known in the books of Kings 
and Chronicles as Jehoahaz. 1 Chron. 
3 : 15 ; Jer. 22 : 11. [Jehoahaz, 2.] 

5. Son of Shaul the son of Simeon. 
1 Chron. 4 : 25. 

6. A high priest of the sons of Zadok. 
1 Chron. 6 : 12, 13 ; Ezra 7 : 2. 

7. A son *f Naphtali. 1 Chron. 7: 
13. Also called Shillem. 

8. The chief of a family of porters or 
gate-keepers of the east gate of the tem- 
ple. 1 Chron. 9 : 17. Perhaps the same 
as 

9. Son of Kore, a Korahite. 1 Chron. 
9: 19, 31. 

10. Father of Jehizkiah, an Ephraim- 
ite. 2 Chron. 28 : 12. 

11. One of the porters of the temple 

39 


who had married a foreign wife. Ezra 
10 : 24. 

12. One of the sons of Bani. Ezra 
10 : 42. 

13. The son of Halohesh and ruler of 
a district of Jerusalem. Neh. 3:12. 

14. The uncle of Jeremiah, Jer. 32:7. 

15. Father or ancestor of Maaseiah, 
Jer. 35: 4; perhaps the same as 9. 

Shal lun (shal'lun) (spoliation) , the 
son of Colhozeh, and ruler of a district 
of Mizpah. Neh. 3:15. 

Shal'mai (shal'ma-i). The children 
of Shalmai were among the Nethinim 
who returned with Zerubbabel. Ezra 2 : 
46; Neh. 7 : 48. 

Shal man (shal'man), probably a con- 
traction for Shalmaneser IV, king of 
Assyria. Hos. 10 : 14. 

Shalmane'ser (sh&l-ma-ne'ser) (God 
Shulman is chief) was the Assyrian 
king who reigned probably between Tig- 
lath-pileser and Sargon, b.c. 727-722. 
He is the Shalmaneser IV, of the mon- 
uments. He led the forces of Assyria 
into Palestine, where Hoshea, the last 
king of Israel, had revolted against his 
authority. 2 Kings 17 : 3. Hoshea sub- 
mitted and consented to pay tribute ; but 
he soon after concluded an alliance 
with the king of Egypt, and withheld 
his tribute in consequence. In b.c. 723 
Shalmaneser invaded Palestine for the 
second time, and, as Hoshea refused to 
submit, laid siege to Samaria. The 
siege lasted to the third year, b.c. 721, 
when the Assyrian arms prevailed. 2 
Kings 17 : 4-6 ; 18 : 9-11. It is probable, 
though not certain, that Sargon suc- 
ceeded Shalmaneser during the siege 
of Samaria. 

Sha'ma (sha'ma) (hearing), one of 
David’s guard. 1 Chron. 11 : 44. 

Shamari'ah (sham-a-ri'ah) (kept by 
Jehovah), son of Rehoboam. 2 Chron. 
11 : 19. Properly “ Shemariah.” 

Sha'med (destruction) , properly Sha- 
mer or Shemer; one of the sons of 
Elpaal the Benjamite. 1 Chron. 8:12. 

Sha'mer. 1. A Merarite Levite. 1 
Chron. 6 : 46. 

2. Shomer, an Asherite. 1 Chron. 7 : 
34. 

Sham'gar (sham'gar), son of Anath, 
judge of Israel. When Israel was in a 
most depressed condition, Shamgar was 
raised up to be a deliverer. With no 
arms in his hand but an ox-goad, Judges 
3 : 31 ; comp. 1 Sam. 13 : 21, he made a 


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desperate assault upon the Philistines, 
and slew 600 of them. 

Sham'huth ( desolation ), the fifth 
captain for the fifth month in David’s 
arrangement of his army. 1 Chron. 27 : 
8. [Shammah, 4.] 

Sha'mir (sha'mir) {a point or thorn). 

1. A town in the mountain district of 
Judah. Josh. 15 : 48 only. It is prob- 
ably identified with Somerah about 13 
miles southwest of Hebron. 

2. A place in Mount Ephraim, the 
residence and burial-place of Tola the 
judge. Judges 10:1, 2. Perhaps Sa- 
mur, half-way between Samaria and 
Jenin. 

3. A Kohathite, son of Micah and 
grandson of Uzziel. 1 Chron. 24:24. 

Sham'ma (sham'ma) {desolation) , 
one of the sons of Zophah, an Asherite. 

1 Chron. 7 : 37. 

Sham'mah (sham'mah) ( desolation ). 

1. The son of Reuel the son of Esau. 
Gen. 36 : 13, 17 ; 1 Chron. 1 : 37. 

2. The third son of Jesse, and brother 
of David. 1 Sam. 16 : 9 ; 17 : 13. Called 
also Shimea, Shimeah and Shimei. 

3. One of David’s famous “ Three.” 

2 Sam. 23 : 11-17. The name also ap- 
pears as one of the “Thirty” preceded 
by the name “ Jonathan ” in 2 Sam. 23 : 
32, 33. In the parallel passage, 1 Chron. 
11 : 34, it reads “ Jonathan, the son of 
Shage the Hararite.” It is generally 
considered by students that Shage here 
is a misreading for Shammah, and that 
in 2 Sam. the words “ son of,” have 
dropped out, making in that case Jon- 
athan one of the Thirty, the son of 
the Shammah who was one of the 
Three. 

4. The Harodite, one of David’s 
mighties. 2 Sam. 23 : 25. He is called 
“ Shammoth the Harorite ” in 1 Chron. 
11 : 27, and “ Shamhuth the Izrahite,” 
27: 8. 

Sham'mai (sham'ma-i) {desolate). 

1. The son of Onam. 1 Chron. 2 : 28, 
32. 

2. Son of Rekern. 1 Chron. 2 : 44, 45. 

3. One of the descendants of Judah. 
1 Chron. 4 : 17. 

Sham'moth. [Shammah, 4.] 
Shammu'a (sham-mu'a) {fame). 1. 
The Reubenite spy, son of Zaccur. 
Num. 13:4. (b.c. 1490.) 

2. Son of David, by his wife Bath- 
sheba. 1 Chron. 14 : 4. 


3. A Levite, the father of Abda. Neh. 
11 : 17. The same as Shemaiah, 6. 

4. The representative of the priestly 

family of Bilgah or Bilgai, in the days 
of Joiakim. Neh. 12:18. (b.c. about 

500.) 

Shammu'ah, son of David, 2 Sam. 
5:14; elsewhere called Shammua and 
Shimea. 

Sham'sherai (sham'she-ra) {sun- 
like), a Benjamite. 1 Chron. 8:26. 

Sha'pham (sha'fam) {hold), a Gad- 
ite of Bashan. 1 Chron. 5 : 12. 

Sha'phan (sha'fan) {coney), the 
scribe or secretary of King Josiah. 2 
Kings 22 : 3, 14 ; 2 Chron. 34 : 8, 20. 
(b.c. 628.) He appears on an equality 
with the governor of the city and the 
royal recorder. 2 Kings 22 : 34 ; 2 

Chron. 34 : 8, 9. 

Sha'phat (sha'fat) {judge). 1. The 
Simeonite spy, son of Hori. Num. 13: 

5. (b.c. 1490.) 

2. The father of the prophet Elisha. 
1 Kings 19 : 16, 19 ; 2 Kings 3 : 11 ; 6 : 31. 

3. One of the six sons of Shemaiah in 
the royal line of Judah. 1 Chron. 3:22. 

4. One of the chiefs of the Gadites in 
Bashan. 1 Chron. 5 : 12. 

5. The son of Adlai, who was over 
David’s herds in the valleys. 1 Chron. 
27 : 29. 

Sha'pher (sha'fer), {beauty), Mount, 
Num. 33 : 23, the name of a desert sta- 
tion where the Israelites encamped dur- 
ing the wanderings in the wilderness. 
R. V. “Shepher.” 

Shar'a=i (shar'a-i) {free), one of the 
sons of Bani. Ezra 10:40. (b.c. 457.) 

Shara'im (sha-ra'im). [Shaaraim.[ 

Sha'rar (sha'rar) {strong), the fath- 
er of Ahiam the Hararite. 2 Sam. 23 : 
33. In 1 Chron. 11 : 35 he is called 
Sacar. 

Share'zer (sha-re'zer) {protect the 
prince). A son of Sennacherib, who, in 
conjunction with his brother Adram- 
melech, murdered his father. 2 Kings 
19 : 37. 

Shar'on (shar'on) {a plain). 1. A 
district of the holy land occasionally 
referred to in the Bible, used with the 
article. 1 Chron. 27 : 29 ; Isa. 33 : 9 ; 
35 : 2 ; 65 : 10. In Acts 9 : 35 called 
Saron. It is a part of the Maritime 
Plain between Joppa and Mount Car- 
mel, and is a rich, well-watered dis- 
trict. It is about 55 miles long, and 


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611 


SHE 


9 or 10 broad, somewhat undulating, 
with oak groves and good pasturage. 

2. Used without the article, 1 Chron. 
5 : 16. Some district on the east of the 
Jordan, in the neighborhood of Gilead 
and Bashan. The name has not been 
met with in that direction. 

Shar'onite, The (shar'on-Ite) ( be- 
longing to Sharon ). Shitrai, who had 
charge of the royal herds in the plain 
of Sharon, I Chron. 27 : 29, is the only 
Sharonite mentioned in the Bible. 

Sharu'hen (sha-ru'hen), a town 
named in Josh. 19 : 6 only, among those 
which were allotted within Judah to 
Simeon. Possibly it was the Canaanite 
fortress Sharuana, mentioned in the 
annals of Thotmes III, of Egypt. 
[Shaaraim, 2.] 

Sha'shai {pale), one of the sons of 
Bani in the time of Ezra. Ezra 10 : 
4 °. 

Sha'shak (sha'shak) {longing), a 
Benjamite, one of the sons of Elpaal. 
1 Chron. 8 : 14, 25. 

Sha'ul (sha'ul) {asked). 1. The son 
of Simeon by a Canaanitish woman, 
Gen. 46:10; Ex. 6:15; Num. 26:13; 

1 Chron. 4‘:24, and founder of the 
family of the Shaulites. 

2. One of the kings of Edom. 1 
Chron. 1 : 48, 49. In the Authorized 
Version of Gen. 36:37 he is less ac- 
curately called Saul. 

Sha'veh (sha'veh) {plain), The val- 
ley of, described Gen. 14 : 17 as “ the 
king’s dale,” is mentioned again in 2 
Sam. 18 : 18 as the site of a pillar set up 
by Absalom. 

Sha'veh Kiriatha'im (sha'veh kir-T- 
a-tha'im) {plain of Kiriathaim), men- 
tioned Gen. 14 : 5 as the residence of 
the Emim at the time of Chedorlao- 
mer’s incursion. If the meaning usu- 
ally given is correct it must have been 
near Kiriathaim, or el-Kureiyat, between 
Dibon and Medeba. 

Shav'sha (shav'sha), the royal secre- 
tary in the reign of David, 1 Chron. 18 : 
16. He was very probably the same as 
Seraiah in 2 Sam. 8 : 17 and Sheva in 

2 Sam. 20 : 25, and in 1 Kings 4 : 3, 
Shisha. The original form of the 
name is unknown. 

She'al (she'al) {asking), one of the 
sons of Bani who had married a for- 
eign wife. Ezra 10:29. (b.c. 457.) 

She=al'ti=el (she-al'ti-el) (/ asked 
God), father of Zerubbabel. Ezra 3: 


2, 8 ; 5:2; Neh. 12 : 1 ; Hag. 1 : 1, 12, 14 ; 

2 : 2, 23. 

She=ari'ah (she'a-ri'ah) {Jehovah 
hath esteemed) , one of the six sons of 
Azel, a descendant of Saul. 1 Chron. 

8 : 38 ; 9 : 44. 

Shearing=house, The, a place on the 
road between Jezreel and Samaria, at 
which Jehu, on his way to the latter, 
encountered forty-two members of the 
royal family of Judah, whom he slaugh- 
tered. 2 Kings 10 : 12, 14. It is pos- 
sibly Beit Kad, 3 miles east of Jenin 
and 16 miles northeast of Samaria. 

She'ar=ja'shub (she'ar-ja'shub) (lit. 
a remnant shall return), the symbolical 
name of the son of Isaiah the prophet. 
Isa. 7 : 3. 

She'ba (she'ba) {an oath). 1. The 
son of Bichri, a Benjamite, 2 Sam. 20: 
1-22, the last chief of the Absalom in- 
surrection. The occasion seized by 
Sheba was the emulation between the 
northern and southern tribes on David’s 
return. 2 Sam. 20 : 1, 2. Sheba trav- 
ersed the whole of Palestine, apparently 
rousing the population, Joab following 
in full pursuit to the fortress Abel 
Beth-maachah, where Sheba was be- 
headed. 2 Sam. 20 : 3-22. . 

2. A Gadite of Gilead in Bashan. 1 
Chron. 5 : 13, ? 6. 

She'ba {a man). Probably more cor- 
rectly Saba. The name of a race (Sa- 
bseans), several times mentioned in the 
Old Testament. Three pedigrees are 
given. 1. Sheba son of Raamah, son 
of Cush ; Gen. 10 : 7. 2. Sheba son of 

Joktan, Gen. 10:28. 3. Sheba son of 

Jokshan, son of Keturah. Gen. 25:3. 
These are all considered by modern 
scholars as referring to a single race, 
related in some way to the various peo- 
ple mentioned in the pedigrees. Sheba 
was a country and people in southwest- 
ern Arabia, well-known since the middle 
of the 19th century through the dis- 
covery of many inscriptions in that 
region. They were a great commercial 
people (Isa. 60:6; Ezek. 27:22; Job 6: 
19) of Semitic origin and language. 
The Queen of Sheba, who visited Sol- 
omon (1 Kings 10), no doubt was a 
ruler among these people. The ruins 
Meriaha are the remains of Saba, a 
capital city. 

She'ba, one of the towns of the al- 
lotment of Simeon, Josh. 19:2, possi- 
bly the same as Shema. Josh. 15 : 26. 


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She'bah or Shibah ( an oath), the 
famous well which gave its name to 
the city of Beersheba. Gen. 26 : 33. 
[Beersheba.] 

She'bam (she'bam) (R. V. “ Se- 
bam”), one of the towns in the pas- 
toral district on the east of Jordan, as- 
signed to the tribes of Reuben and Gad. 
Num. 32 : 3. It is probably the same 
as Shibmah, Num. 32 : 38, and Sibmah, 
Josh. 13:19; Isa. 16:8, 9; Jer. 48:32. 

Shebani'ah (sheb-a-ni'ah) ( Jehovah 
hath dealt tenderly). 1. A Levite in 
the time of Ezra. Neh. 9:4, 5. He 
sealed the covenant with Nehemiah. 
Neh. 10 : 10. 

2. A priest or priestly family who 

sealed the covenant with Nehemiah. 
Neh. 10:4; 12:14. Called Shecha- 

niah in Neh. 12:3. 

3. Another Levite who sealed the cov- 
enant with Nehemiah. Neh. 10:12. 

4. One of the priests appointed by 
David to blow with the trumpets before 
the ark of God. 1 Chron. 15 : 24. 

Sheb'arim (sheb'a-rim) ( the breach- 
es), a place named in Josh. 7:5 only, 
as one of the points in the flight from 
Ai. 

She'bat. [Month.] 

She'ber (she'ber) (breaking), son 
of Caleb ben Hezron by his concubine 
Maachah. 1 Chron. 2 : 48. 

Sheb'na (sheb'na) (tenderness), a 
person of high position in Hezekiah’s 
court, holding at one time the office of 
prefect of the palace, Isa. 22 : 15, but 
subsequently the subordinate office of 
secretary. Isa. 36:3; 2 Kings 19 : 2. 

Sheb'uel (sheb'u-el), or Shebu'el 
(captive of God). 1. A descendant of 
Moses, 1 Chron. 23 : 16 ; 26 : 24, called 
also Shubael. 1 Chron. 24 : 20. 

2. One of the fourteen sons of Heman 
the minstrel, 1 Chron. 25:4; called also 
Shubael. 1 Chron. 25 : 20. 

Shechani'ah (shek-a-ni'ah) (Jehovah 
hath dwelt). 1. The tenth in order of 
the priests who were appointed by lot 
in the reign of David. 1 Chron. 24 : 11. 

2. A priest in the reign of Hezekiah. 

2 Chron. 31 : 15. (b.c. 725.) 

3. A descendant of Zerubbabel. 1 
Chron. 3 : 21, 22. 

4. Some descendants of Shechaniah 
returned with Ezra. Ezra 8 : 3. Prob- 
ably this was the same as 3. 

5. The sons of Shechaniah were an- 
other family who returned with Ezra. 


Ezra 8 : 5. This may be a mistake for 
“of the sons of Zattu, Shechaniah the 
son of Jahaziel.” 

6. The son of Jehiel of the sons of 
Elam. Ezra 10 : 2. 

7. The father of Shemaiah, 2. Neh. 
3 : 29. Possibly the same as 3. 

8. The son of Arah. Neh. 6 : 18. 

9. The head of a priestly family who 
returned with Zerubbabel. Neh. 12:3. 
Also called Shebaniah. 

She'chem (she'kem) (shoulder) . 1. 

An important city in central Palestine, 
in the valley between mounts Ebal and 
Gerizim, 32 miles north of Jerusalem 
and 5J4 miles southeast of Samaria. 
Its present name, Nablus, is a corrup- 
tion of Neapolis, which succeeded the 
more ancient Shechem, and received its 
new name from Vespasian. On coins 
still extant it is called Flavia Neapolis. 
The situation of the town is one of 
surpassing beauty. It lies in a sheltered 
valley, protected by Gerizim on the 
south and Ebal on the north. The feet 
of these mountains, where they rise 
from the town, are not more than five 
hundred yards apart. The site of the 
present city, which was also nearly or 
quite that of the Hebrew city, occurs 
exactly on the water-summit ; and 
streams issuing from the numerous 
springs there flow down the opposite 
slopes of the valley, spreading verdure 
and fertility in every direction. Trav- 
ellers vie with each other in the lan- 
guage which they employ to describe 
the scene that here bursts so suddenly 
upon them on arriving in spring or 
early summer at this paradise of the 
holy land. “ The whole valley,” says 
Dr. Robinson, “ was filled with gardens 
of vegetables and orchards of all kinds 
of fruits, watered by fountains which 
burst forth in various parts and flow 
westward in refreshing streams. It 
came upon us suddenly like a scene of 
fairy enchantment. We saw nothing to 
compare with it in all Palestine.” The 
allusions to Shechem in the Bible are 
numerous, and show how important the 
place was in Jewish history. Abraham, 
on his first migration to the land of 
promise, pitched his tent and built an 
altar under the oak (or terebinth) of 
Moreh at Shechem. “ The Canaanite 
was then in the land;” and it is evi- 
dent that the region, if not the city, 
was already in possession of the aborig- 


SHE 


613 


SHE 


inal race. See Gen. 12 : 6. At the time 
of Jacob’s arrival here, after his so- 
journ in Mesopotamia, Gen. 33 : 18 ; 34, 
Shechem was a Hivite city, of which 
Hamor, the father of Shechem, was the 
headman. It was at this time that the 
patriarch purchased from that chieftain 
“ the parcel of the field ” which he sub- 
sequently bequeathed, as a special pat- 
rimony, to his son Joseph. Gen. 33: 
19; Josh. 24:32; John 4:5. The field 
lay undoubtedly on the rich plain of 
the Mukhna, and its value was the 
greater on account of the well which 
Jacob had dug there, so as not to be 
dependent on his neighbors for a sup- 
ply of water. In the distribution of 
the land after its conquest by the He- 
brews, Shechem fell to the lot of Eph- 
raim, Josh. 20:7, but was assigned to 
the Levites, and became a city of ref- 
uge. Josh. 21 : 20, 21. It acquired new 
importance as the scene of the renewed 
promulgation of the law, when its bless- 
ings were heard from Gerizim and its 
curses from Ebal, and the people bowed 
their heads and acknowledged Jehovah 
as their king and ruler. Deut. 27 : 11 ; 
Josh. 24 : 23-25. It was here Joshua as- 
sembled the people, shortly before his 
death, and delivered to them his last 
counsels. Josh. 24 : 1, 25. After the 
death of Gideon, Abimelech, his bastard 
son, induced the Shechemites to revolt 
from the Hebrew commonwealth and 
elect him as king. Judges 9. In re- 
venge for his expulsion, after a reign 
of three years, Abimelech destroyed the 
city, and as an emblem of the fate to 
which he would consign it, sowed the 
ground with salt. Judges 9 : 34-45. It 
was soon restored, however, for we are 
told in 1 Kings 12 that all Israel as- 
sembled at Shechem, and Rehoboam, 
Solomon’s successor, went thither to 
be inaugurated as king. Here, at this 
same place, the ten tribes renounced the 
house of David, and transferred their 
allegiance to Jeroboam, 1 Kings 12:16, 
under whom Shechem became for a 
time the capital of his kingdom. From 
the time of the origin of the Samari- 
tans, the history of Shechem blends it- 
self with that of this people and of 
their sacred mount, Gerizim. [Sama- 
ria.] Shechem has been thought to be 
the Sychar of John 4 : 5, near which 
the Saviour conversed with the Samari- 
tan woman at Jacob’s well, but modern 


scholars think them different places. 
The population of Nablus is about 
25,000, among whom are the remnant, 
about 170, of the Samaritans, a few Jews 
and perhaps 1000 Christians. The en- 
mity between the Samaritans and Jews 
is as inveterate still as it was in the 
days of Christ. The Mohammedans, 
of course, make up the bulk of the pop- 
ulation. The well of Jacob and the 
tomb of Joseph are still shown in the 
neighborhood of the town. The well 
of Jacob lies about a mile and a half 
east of the city, close to the lower road, 
and just beyond the hamlet of Balata. 
The Christians sometimes call it Bir 
es-Samariyeh — “the well of the Samari- 
tan woman.” [Jacob’s Well.] The 
tomb of Joseph lies about a quarter of 
a mile north of Jacob’s well, exactly 
in the centre of the opening of the 
valley between Gerizim and Ebal. It 
resembles an ordinary grave of an emi- 
nent Moslem. There are in fact two 
small chapels shown as the original 
tomb of Joseph. There are Hebrew, 
Samaritan and Arabic inscriptions on 
the wall, but they are apparently mod- 
ern, and have no importance. The 
tomb is in a very dilapidated condition. 

2. The son of Hamor, the chieftain 
of the Hivite settlement of Shechem 
at the time of Jacob’s arrival. Gen. 
33:19; 34:2-26; Josh. 24:32; Judges 
9: 28. 

3. A man of Manasseh, of the clan 
of Gilead. Num. 26 : 31. 

4. A Gileadite, son of Shemida. 1 
Chron. 7 : 19. 

She'chemites (she'kem-ites), The, 
the family of Shechem son of Gilead. 
Num. 26:31; comp. Josh. 17:2. 

Shechi'nah (she-ki'nah) ( that which 
dwells). This term is not found in the 
Bible. It was used by the later Jews, 
and borrowed by Christians from them, 
to express the visible majesty of the 
divine Presence, especially when resting 
or dwelling between the cherubim on 
the mercy-seat in the tabernacle and 
in the temple of Solomon, but not in 
the second temple. The use of the 
term is first found in the Targums, 
where it forms a frequent periphrasis 
for God, considered as dwelling among 
the children of Israel. The idea which 
the different accounts in Scripture con- 
vey is that of a most brilliant and 
glorious light, enveloped in a cloud, and 


SHE 


614 


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usually concealed by the cloud, so that 
the cloud itself was for the most part 
alone visible ; but on particular occa- 
sions the glory appeared. The allu- 
sions in the New Testament to the 
shechinah are not unfrequent : Luke 2 : 
9; John 1:14; Rom. 9:4; and we are 
distinctly taught to connect it with the 
incarnation and future coming of the 
Messiah as type with antitype. 

Shed'eur (shed'e-ur), the father of 
Elizur, chief of the tribe of Reuben 
at the time of the exodus. Num. 1:5; 
2: 10; 7:30, 35; 10:18. 

Sheep. Sheep were an important 
part of the possessions of the ancient 



BROAD-TAILED SHEEP. 


Hebrews and of eastern nations gen- 
erally. The first mention of sheep oc- 
curs in Gen. 4 : 2. They were used in 
the sacrificial offerings, both the adult 
animal. Ex. 20 : 24, and the lamb. See 


Ex. 29 : 38 ; Lev. 9:3; 12 : 6. Sheep and 
lambs formed an important article of 
food. 1 Sam. 25 : 18. The wool was 
used as clothing. Lev. 13 : 47. “ Rams’ 
skins dyed red ” were used as a cov- 
ering for the tabernacle. Ex. 25 : 5. 
Sheep and lambs were sometimes paid 
as tribute. 2 Kings 3:4. It is very 
striking to notice the immense numbers 
of sheep that were reared in Palestine 
in biblical times. The king of Moab 
paid an annual tribute of 100,000 lambs 
and 100,000 rams to the king of Israel, 
2 Kings 3 : 4. Solomon sacrificed 120,- 

000 sheep at the dedication of the tem- 
ple. 1 Kings 8 : 63. His household 
consumed 100 sheep a day. 1 Kings 4: 
23. Sheep-shearing is alluded to in Gen. 
31 : 19. Sheep-dogs were employed in 
biblical times. Job 30 : 1. Shepherds in 
Palestine and the East generally go be- 
fore their flocks, which they induce to 
follow by calling to them, comp. John 
10:4; Ps. 77:20; 80:1. The following 
quotation from Hartley’s “ Researches 
in Greece and the Levant,” p. 321, is 
strikingly illustrative of the allusions 
in John 10: 1-16: “Having had my at- 
tention directed last night to the words 
in John '10:3, I asked my man if it 
was usual in Greece to give names to 
the sheep. He informed me that it 
was, and that the sheep obeyed the 
shepherd when he called them by their 
names. This morning I had an oppor- 
tunity of verifying the truth of this 
remark. Passing by a flock of sheep, 

1 asked the shepherd the same ques- 
tion which I had put to the servant, 
and he gave me the same answer. I 
then bade him call one of his sheep. 
He did so, and it instantly left its pas- 
turage and its companions and 
ran up to the hands of the shep- 
herd with signs of pleasure and 
with a prompt obedience which I 
had never before observed in any 
other animal. It is also true i n 
this country that ‘a stranger will 
they^not follow, but will flee from 
him.’ The shepherd told me that 
many of his sheep were still wild, 
that they had not yet learned their 
names, but that by teaching them 
they would all learn them.” The 
common sheep of Syria and Pales- 
tine are the broad-tailed. As the 
sheep is an emblem of meekness, 
patience and submission, it is ex- 



EASTERN SHEEPFOLD. 


SHE 


615 


SHE 


pressly mentioned as typifying these 
qualities in the person of our blessed 
Lord. Isa. 53 : 7 ; Acts 8 : 32, etc. The 
relation that exists between Christ, “ the 
chief Shepherd,” and his members is 
beautifully compared to that which in 
the East is so strikingly exhibited by 
the shepherds to their flocks. [Shep- 
herd.] 

Sheep=gate, The, one of the gates 
of Jerusalem as rebuilt by Nehemiah. 
Neh. 3:1, 32; 12:39. It stood between 
the tower of Meah and the chamber of 
the corner, ch. 3 : 1, 32, or gate of the 
guard-house, ch. 12: 39, Authorized Ver- 
sion, “ prison-gate ; ” and was appar- 
ently near the northeast angle of the 
city wall. 

Sheep=market, The. John 5 : 2. 
The word “ market ” is an interpolation 
of our translators. We ought probably 
to supply the word “ gate.” 

Shehari'ah (she-ha-ri'ah) ( dawning 
of Jehovah), a Benjamite, son of Je- 
horam. 1 Chron. 8 : 26. 

Shekel. [Money and Weights.] 

She'lah (she'lah) (a petition). 1. 
The third son of Judah. Gen. 38 : 5, 
11, 14, 26; 46:12; Num. 26:20; 1 

Chron. 2:3; 4:21. 

2. The proper form of the name of 
Salah. 1 Chron. 1 : 18, 24. 

She'lanites (she'lan-ites) , The, the 
descendants of Shelah, 1. Num. 26 : 20. 

Shelemi'ah (shel-e-mi'ah) ( Jehovah 
repays). 1. One of the sons of Bani 
in the time of Ezra. Ezra 10 : 39. (b.c. 

458.) 

2. The father of Hananiah. Neh. 3 : 
30. 

3. A priest in the time of Nehemiah. 
Neh. 13: 13. 

4. The father of Jehucal, or Jucal, in 
the time of Zedekiah. Jer. 37:3. 

5. The father of Irijah, the captain of 
the ward who arrested Jeremiah. Jer. 
37: 13. 

6. The same as Meshelemiah and 
Shallum. 1 Chron. 26 : 14. 

7. Another of the sons of Bani in 
the time of Ezra. Ezra 10 : 41. 

8. Ancestor of Jehudi in the time of 
Jehoiakim. Jer. 36:14. 

9. Son of Abdeel ; one of those who 

received the orders of Jehoiakim to 
take Baruch and Jeremiah. Jer. 36: 
26. (b.c. 604.) 

She'leph (she'lef) (extraction) , a 
son of Joktan, and the people descended 


from him. The name is quite common 
in Yemen. Gen. 10:26; 1 Chron. 1: 
20 . 

She'lesh (she'lesh) (triad), an Ash- 
erite, son of Helem. 1 Chron. 7 : 35. 

Sheromi (shel' 0 -mi) (peaceful), an 
Asherite, father of Ahihud. Num. 34: 
27. (b.c. before 1450.) 

Sheromith (shel'o-mith) (peaceful). 

1. The daughter of Dibri, of the tribe 
of Dan, and mother of the Israelite 
who was put to death in the wilderness 
for blasphemy. Lev. 24 : 11. 

2. The daughter of Zerubbabel. 1 
Chron. 3 : 19. 

3. Chief of the Izharites. 1 Chron. 
23 : 18. 

4. A descendant of Eliezer the son 
of Moses, in the reign of David. 1 
Chron 26:25, 26, 28. R. V. “ Shelo- 
moth.” 

5. A Gershonite. 1 Chron. 23 : 9. 
R. V. “ Shelomoth.” 

6. One whose sons returned from 
Babylon with Ezra. Ezra 8 : 10. 

Shel'omoth (shel'o-moth), the same 
as Shelomith, 3. 1 Chron. 24 : 22. 

Shelu , mi=el (she-lu'mi-el) (a friend 
is God), the son of Zurishaddai, and 
prince of the tribe of Simeon at the 
time of the exodus. Num. 1:6; 2:12; 
7:36, 41; 10:19. (b.c. 1491.) 

Shem (name), probably the eldest 
son of Noah. Gen. 5:32. Apparently 
he was 98 years old, married, and child- 
less, at the time of the flood. After 
it, he, with his father, brothers, sisters- 
in-law and wife, received the blessing 
of God, Gen. 9 : 1, and entered into the 
covenant. He acted with filial respect 
to his father when the latter committed 
his great sin, and received the first 
blessing. Gen. 9 : 25-27. The portion 
of the earth occupied by the descend- 
ants of Shem, Gen. 10 : 21, 31, consists 
of a part of Asia Minor, Assyria, Ara- 
bia, etc. Modern scholars have given 
the name of Shemitic or Semitic to the 
languages spoken by his real or sup- 
posed descendants. [Hebrew.] 

She'ma (she'ma). 1. A Reubenite, 
ancestor of Bela. 1 Chron. 5 : 8. Same 
as Shemaiah, 4. 

2. Son of Elpaal. 1 Chron. 8 : 13. 
Probably the same as Shim hi. (b.c. 
after 1450.) 

3. One of those who stood at Ezra’s 

right hand when he read the law to the 
people. Neh. 8:4. (b.c. 458.) 


SHE 


616 


SHE 


4. A town in the south of Judah, per- 
haps Sheba. Josh. 15 : 26. 

Shem'a=ah (shem'a-ah) ( the rumor), 
a Benjamite of Gibeah, and father of 
Ahiezer and Joash. 1 Chron. 12 : 3. 

Shemai'ah (shem-a-i'ah) ( Jehovah 
has heard). 1. A prophet in the reign 
of Rehoboam, who forbade him to 
make war against the revolted tribes, 
1 Kings 12:22; 2 Chron. 11:2. (b.c. 

934.) He wrote a chronicle containing 
the events of Rehoboam’s reign. 2 
Chron. 12 : 5, 15. 

2. The son of Shechaniah, among the 
descendants of Zerubbabel. 1 Chron. 
3 : 22 ; and perhaps Neh. 3 : 29. 

3. A prince of the tribe of Simeon. 1 
Chron. 4 : 37. 

4. Son of Joel, a Reubenite. 1 Chron. 
5:4. (Called Shema in verse 8.) 

5. Son of Hasshub, a Merarite Le- 
vite. 1 Chron. 9 : 14 ; Neh. 11 : 15. 

6. Father of Obadiah or Abda, a Le- 
vite. 1 Chron. 9 : 16. Called Sham- 
mua in Neh. 11 : 17. 

7. Son of Elizaphan, and chief of his 

house in the reign of David. 1 Chron. 
15 : 8, 11. (b.c. 1042.) Possibly same 

as 

8. A Levite, son of Nethaneel, and 
also a scribe in the time of David. 1 
Chron. 24 : 6. 

9. The eldest son of Obed-edom the 
Gittite. 1 Chron. 26 : 4, 6, 7. 

10. A descendant of Jeduthun the 
singer, who lived in the reign of Heze- 
kiah. 2 Chron. 29 : 14. Possibly the 
same as 23. 

11. One of the sons of Adonikam 
who returned with Ezra. Ezra 8 : 13. 

12. One of Ezra’s messengers. Ezra 
8:16. 

13. A priest of the family of Harim, 

who put away his foreign wife at Ezra’s 
bidding. Ezra 10:21. (b.c. 458.) 

14. A layman of Israel, son of an- 

other Harim, who had also married a 
foreigner. Ezra 10:31. (b.c. 458.) 

15. Son of Delaiah the son of Me- 

hetabeel, a prophet in the time of Nehe- 
miah. Neh. 6:10. (b.c. 446.) 

16. The head of a priestly house who 
signed the covenant with Nehemiah. 
Neh. 10 : 8 ; 12 : 6, 18. 

17. One of the princes of Judah at 
the time of the dedication of the wall of 
Jerusalem. Neh. 12 : 34. 

18. A Levite of the lineage of Asaph. 
Neh. 12: 35. 


19. One of the choir on the same 
occasion. Neh. 12 : 36. Perhaps the 
same as 

20. A priest. Neh. 12:42. 

21. A false prophet at Babylon in the 
time of Jeremiah, who prophesied a 
speedy return from captivity. Jer. 29 : 
24-32. 

22. A Levite in the reign of Jehosha- 

phat, among those commissioned to 
teach the law. 2 Chron. 17 : 8. (b.c. 

867.) 

23. A Levite in the reign of Heze- 

kiah, 2 Chron. 31 : 15. (b.c. 726.) Pos- 

sibly the same as 10. 

24. A Levite in the reign of Josiah. 

2 Chron. 35 : 9. (b.c. 628.) 

25. The father of Urijah of Kirjath- 
jearim. Jer. 26 : 20. 

26. The father of Delaiah. Jer. 36: 

12 . 

Shemari'ah (shem-a-ri'ah) ( Jehovah 
has kept). 1. A Benjamite warrior who 
came to David at Ziklag. 1 Chron. 12: 

5. (b.c. 1057.) 

2. One of the family of Harim, a lay- 
man of Israel who put away his foreign 
wife in the time of Ezra. Ezra 10 : 32. 
(b.c. 458.) 

3. A son of Bani who did the same. 
Ezra 10 : 41. 

Sheme'ber (shem-e'ber), king of Ze- 
boim, and ally of the king of Sodom 
when he was attacked by Chedorlaomer. 
Gen. 14:2. (b.c. 1913.) 

She'mer (she'mer) (lees of wine), 
the owner of the hill on which the city 
of Samaria was built. 1 Kings 16:24. 
(b.c. 881.) [Samaria.] 

Shemida (she-mi'da) (fame of wis- 
dom), a son of Gilead. Num. 26:32; 
Josh. 17 : 2. 

Shemi'dah. Shemida the son of 
Gilead. 1 Chron. 7 : 19. 

Shemida'ites (she-mid-a'ites), The, 
the descendants of Shemida the son of 
Gilead. Num. 26 : 32. 

Shem'inith (shem'i-mth) (eighth), 
a musical term found in the titles of 
Ps. 6, and Ps. 12. Comp. 1 Chron. 
15: 21. It is variously explained as de- 
noting the number of strings on the 
instrument used, the name of the key 
or pitch, or, in contrast with alamoth, 
soprano, “an octave below” or in the 
bass. 

Shemir'amoth (she-rmr'a-moth) 
(lofty name). 1. A Levite in the choir 
of David. 1 Chron. 15:18, 20; 16:5. 


SHE 


617 


SHE 


2. A Levite in the reign of Jehosha- 
phat. 2 Chron. 17 : 8. (b.c. 867.) 

Shemit'ic Languages (she-mit'ic), 
the family of languages spoken by the 
descendants of Shem, chiefly the He- 
brew, Chaldaic, Assyrian, Arabic, Phoe- 
nician and Aramaic or Syriac. The 
Jews in their earlier history spoke the 
Hebrew, but in Christ’s time they spoke 
the Aramaic, sometimes called the Syro- 
chaldaic. They are perhaps more often 
called Semitic from the Greek form 
Sem. 

Shemu'el (she-mu'el) ( name of 
God). 1. A commissioner appointed 
from the tribe of Simeon to aid in the 
division of the land of Canaan. Num. 
34:20. (b.c. 1450.) 

2. Samuel the prophet. 1 Chron. 6: 
33. R. V. “ Samuel.” 

3. Son of Tola, and one of the chiefs 
of the tribe of Issachar. 1 Chron. 7: 
2 . 

Shen (shen) {tooth), a place men- 
tioned only in 1 Sam. 7 : 12. Nothing 
is known of it. 

Shena'zar (shen-a'zar) {splendid 
leader), son of Jeconiah. 1 Chron. 3 : 
18. 

She'nir (she'nir). [Senir.] 

Sheol. [See Hell.] 

She'pham (she'fam), a place on the 
eastern boundary of the promised land. 
Num. 34 : 10, 11. 

Shephathi'ah. A Benjamite, father 
of Meshullam, 6. 1 Chron. 9 : 8. An 
incorrect form of Shephatiah. 

Shephati'ah (shef-a-ti'ah) {Jehovah 
has judged). 1. The fifth son of David. 
2 Sam. 3:4; 1 Chron. 3 : 3. 

2. The family of Shephatiah, 372 in 
number, returned with Zerubbabel. 
Ezra 2:4; Neh. 7:9; see also Ezra 8: 
8 . 

3. The family of another Shephatiah, 
who came up with Zerubbabel. They 
were classified with Solomon’s servants. 
Ezra 2 : 57 ; Neh. 7 : 59. 

4. A descendant of Judah, family of 
Perez. Neh. 11 : 4. 

5. One of the princes of Judah who 

counselled Zedekiah to put Jeremiah to 
death on the ground that he was fright- 
ening the people by his prophecies. Jer. 
38:1. (b.c. 589.) 

6. One of the Benjamite warriors who 

joined David in his retreat at Ziklag. 
1 Chron. 12 : 5. (b.c. 1057.) 


7. Chief of the Simeonites in the 
reign of David. 1 Chron. 27 : 16. 

8. Son of Jehoshaphat. 2 Chron. 21: 

2. ( b.c. 845.) 

Sheph'elah. A word variously ren- 
dered in the A. V. by “vale,” “valley,” 

“ low country,” “ plain,” etc., in R. V. 
uniformly “lowland,” Jer. 17:26; 1 

Chron. 27 : 28 ; Deut. 1 : 7 ; 2 Chron. 1 : 
15; Jer. 32:44, etc. The term Sheph- 
elah, the translation of the Hebrew, 
is often used by modern scholars and 
commentators. It always refers to the 
region of low hills between the Philis- 
tine plain and the high central range 
of Palestine, in the southern part of 
Judah. 

Shepherd. In a nomadic state of so- 
ciety every man, from the sheikh down 
to the slave, is more or less a shepherd. 
The progenitors of the Jews in the pa- 
triarchal age were nomads, and their 
history is rich in scenes of pastoral life. 
The occupation of tending the flocks 
was undertaken, not only by the sons 
of wealthy chiefs, Gen. 30 : 29 ff. ; 37 : 
12 ff., but even by their daughters. Gen. 
29 : 6 ff. ; Ex. 2 : 19. Later in the his- 
tory, after the nation had settled in 
Palestine, and become less of a no- 
madic race, many of the wealthy own- 
ers employed shepherds at regular 
wages, or several less wealthy joined 
their flocks under the care of a single 
shepherd. The office of the eastern 
shepherd, as described in the Bible, was 
attended with much hardship, and even 
danger. He was exposed to the ex- 
tremes of heat and cold, Gen. 31:40; 
his food was scanty, and such as he 
could find in a natural state; he had to 
encounter the attacks of wild beasts, 
occasionally of the larger species, such 
as lions, wolves, panthers and bears, 
1 Sam. 17:34; Isa. 31:4; Jer. 5:6; 
Amos 3 : 12 ; nor was he free from the 
risk of robbers or predatory hordes. 
Gen. 31 : 39. He was responsible to the 
owner for the loss of any of the sheep 
(Gen. 31:39), unless he could prove 
that the loss was not due to his neg- 
lect (Ex. 22:10-13). The shepherd’s 
equipment consisted of the following 
articles: a mantle, made probably of 
sheepskin with the fleece on, which he 
turned inside out in cold weather, as 
implied in the comparison -in Jer. 43: 
12 (cf. Juv. xiv. 187) ; a scrip or wal- 


SHE 


618 


SHE 


let, containing a small amount of food, 
1 Sam. 17 : 40 ; a sling, which is still 
the favorite weapon of the Bedouin 
shepherd, 1 Sam. 17 : 40 ; and lastly, a 
staff, which served the double purpose 
of a weapon against foes and a crook 
for the management of the flock. 1 
Sam. 17:40; Ps. 23:4; Zech. 11:7. If 
the shepherd was at a distance from 
his home, he was provided with a light 
tent, Cant. 1:8; Jer. 35:7, the re- 
moval of which was easily effected. Isa. 
38 : 12. There were in such places as 
were more commonly used as pastures, 
stone enclosures, or folds for the pro- 
tection of the flocks by night. These 
often had the extra protection of a 
tower (Gen. 35:21; 2 Chron. 26:10; 
Micah 4:8). In other places the shep- 
herd himself made a temporary fold 
with thorn branches, etc. The routine 
of the shepherd’s duties appears to 
have been as follows : In the morning 
he led forth his flock from the fold, 
John 10:4, which he did by going be- 
fore them and calling to them, as is 
still usual in the East; arrived at the 
pasturage, he watched the flock with 
the assistance of dogs, Job 30 : 1, and 
should any sheep stray, he had to 
search for it until he found it, Ezek. 
34 : 12 ; Luke 15 : 4 ; he supplied them 
with water, either at a running stream 
or at troughs attached to wells, Gen. 
29 : 7 ; 30 : 38 ; Ex. 2 : 16 ; Ps. 23 : 2 ; at 
evening he brought them back to the 
fold, and reckoned them to see that 
none were missing, by passing them 
“ under the rod ” as they entered the 
door of the enclosure, Lev. 27 : 32 ; 
Ezek. 20 : 37, checking each sheep, as 
it passed, by a motion of the hand, 
Jer. 33: 13; and, finally, he watched the 
entrance of the fold throughout the 
night, acting as porter. John 10 : 3. 
The shepherd’s office thus required 
great watchfulness, particularly by 
night. Luke 2:8; cf. Nah. 3:18. It 
also required tenderness toward the 
young and feeble, Isa. 40:11, particu- 
larly in driving them to and from the 
pasturage. Gen. 33 : 13. In large es- 
tablishments there are various grades 
of shepherds, the highest being styled 
“ rulers,” Gen. 47 : 6, or “ chief shep- 
herds,” 1 Pet. 5:4; in a royal house- 
hold the title of abbir, “ mighty,” was 
bestowed on the person who held the 
post. 1 Sam. 21:7. [Sheep.] 


She'phi (she'fi) ( smoothness ), son 
of Shobal, of the sons of Seir. 1 
Chron. 1 : 40. Called also Shepho. 
Gen* 36 : 23. 

She=pho (she'fo). Gen. 36:23. 
[Shephi.] 

Shephu'phan (she-fu'fan) ( an ad- 
der), a son or descendant of Bela the 
first-born of Benjajnin. 1 Chron. 8 : 5. 
His name is also written Shephupham 
(Authorized Version “Shupham”), 
Num. 26 : 39 ; Shuppim, 1 Chron. 7 : 12, 
15 ; and Muppim. Gen. 46 : 21. 

She' rah (she'rah) ( kinswoman ), 
“ daughter ” of Ephraim, 1 Chron. 7 : 
24, and foundress of the Beth-horons 
and of a town called after her Uzzen- 
sherah. 

Sherebi'ah (sher-e-bi'ah), a Levite 
in the time of Ezra. Ezra 8 : 18, 24. 
(b.c. 458.) When Ezra read the law to 
the people, Sherebiah was among the 
Levites who assisted him. Neh. 8 : 7. 
He signed the covenant with Nehemiah. 
Neh. 10: 12. 

She'resh (she'resh) {root), son of 
Machir the son of Manasseh by his 
wife Maachah. 1 Chron. 7 : 16. 

Shere'zer (she-re'zer) ( protect the 
prince), one of the people’s messen- 
gers mentioned in Zech. 7 : 2. 

She'shach (she'shak), is a term 
which occurs only in Jer. 25:26; 51: 
41, where it is evidently used as a 
synonym for Babylon. It was probably 
either an ancient cipher for Babylon, or 
a section of the city. 

She'shai (she'sha) {whitish), one of 
the three sons of Anak who dwelt in 
Hebron. Num. 13 : 22. 

She'shan (she'shan), a descendant 
of Jerahmeel the son of Hezron. 1 
Chron. 2 : 31, 34, 35. 

Sheshbaz'zar (shesh-baz'zar). Most 
probably the Chaldaean or Persian name 
given to Zerubbabel in Ezra 1:8, 11 ; 
5 : 14, 16. Although some students dis- 
tinguish between Zerubbabel the actual 
and Sheshbazzar the official founders 
of the temple, claiming that Zerubbabel 
succeeded Sheshbazzar. [Zerubbabel.] 

Sheth (sheth) {compensation). 1. 
The patriarch Seth. 1 Chron. 1 : 1. 

2. In the Authorized Version of Num. 
24:17, there is reason to regard it as 
an appellative, rather than as a proper 
name. Read instead of “the sons of 
Sheth,” “ the sons of tumult.” Comp. 
Jer. 48 : 45. 


SHE 


619 


SHI 


She'thar (she'thar), one of the seven 
princes of Persia and Media. Esther 
1 : 14. (b.c. 483.) 

She'thar=boz'nai (she'thar-boz'na-i), 
a Persian officer of rank in the reign 
of Darius Hystaspes. Ezra 5:3, 6; 6: 
6, 13. 

She'va (she'va) {vanity). 1. The 
scribe or royal secretary of David. 2 
Sam. 20 : 25. He is called elsewhere 
Seraiah, 2 Sam. 8 : 17 ; Shisha, 1 
Kings 4:3; and Shavsha. 1 Chron. 
18 : 16. 

2. Son of Caleb ben-Hezron by his 
concubine Maachah. 1 Chron. 2 : 49. 

Shew=bread, Ex. 25 : 30 ; 35 : 13 ; 39 : 
36, etc., literally “ bread of the face ” 
or “ presence.” Shew-bread was un- 
leavened bread placed upon a table 
which stood in the sanctuary together 
with the seven-branched candlestick and 
the altar of incense. See Ex. 25 : 23- 
30 for description of this table. Every 
Sabbath twelve newly-baked loaves, 
representing the twelve tribes of Israel, 
were put on it in two piles, six in each, 
surmounted by a censer of incense, 
where they remained till the following 
Sabbath. Then they were replaced by 
twelve new ones, and were eaten by the 
priests in the holy place, out of which 
they might not be removed. It prob- 
ably was for a standing expression of 
the people’s gratitude for the bounties 
of Jehovah’s providence, and the con- 
stant expression of man’s dependence 
upon God. The old idea that “ bread 
of the face ” indicated that by eating 
of the bread, sight of God was ob- 
tained, is not upheld by either the true 
meaning of the word, or the history of 
the rite. 

Shibboleth (shib'bo-leth), Judges 12: 
6. One difference between the local 
dialects of the Israelites east and west 
of the Jordan was in the pronunciation 
of the initial sh. The Ephraimites pro- 
nounced it as s. For this reason the 
Gileadites under Jephthah used it after 
a victory over the Ephraimites, to test 
those who wished to cross over the 
river. The pronunciation betrayed 
whether they were friends or enemies. 
In this way there fell 42,000 Ephraim- 
ites. There is no mystery in this par- 
ticular word. Any word beginning 
with the sound sh would have answered 
equally well as a test. The word has 
come into use in the English language 


with the meaning of test word, or pet 
phrase of a party or sect. 

Shib'mah (shib'mah) (properly Sib- 
mah). [Shebam.] 

Shi'cron (shi'kron) {drunkenness) , 
one of the landmarks on the north 
boundary of Judah. Josh. 15 : 11 only. 
It lay between Ekron and Jabneel. Its 
site is unknown. 

Shield. The ordinary shield con- 
sisted of a framework of wood cov- 
ered with leather; it thus admitted of 
being burnt. Ezek. 39 : 9. It was fre- 
| quently cased with metal, either brass 
or copper; its appearance in this case 
resembled gold when the sun shone on 
it, 1 Macc. 6:39. From this or be- 
cause it was sometimes dyed, it had in 
battles often a red appearance. Nah. 
2:3. It was anointed with oil before 
battle to make its surface slippery. 
Isa. 21 : 5. The shield was worn on the 
left arm, to which it was attached by 
a strap. Shields of state were covered 
with beaten gold. Shields were sus- 
pended about public buildings for orna- 
mental purposes. 1 Kings 10 : 17. In 
the metaphorical language of the Bible 
the shield generally represents the pro- 
tection of God : e. g. Ps. 3:3; 28 : 7 ; 
but in Ps. 47 : 9 it is applied to earthly 
rulers, and in Eph. 6 : 16 to faith. 
[Arms.] 

Shigga'ion (shig-ga'yon), Ps. 7, title, a 
musical term, the signification of which 
cannot be certainly known; perhaps a 
“ wild, mournful ode.” 

Shi'hdn (shi'hon) {ruin), a town of 
Issachar, named only in Josh. 19:19. 
Eusebius mentions it as then existing 
“ near Mount Tabor,” and its identifica- 
tion with Ayun esh-Shain is generally 
accepted. 

Shi'hor (shi'hor) of Egypt. [Sihor.] 

Shi'hor=lib'nath (shi'hor-lib'nath) 
{turbid (stream) of Libnath), named 
only in Josh. 19 : 26 as one of the land- 
marks of the boundary of Asher. It 
is probably the Nah cs Zerka near Car- 
mel. According to Pliny it was the 
southern boundary of Phoenicia. 

Shil'hi (shil'hi) {armed.), the father 
.of Azubah the mother of Jehoshaphat, 
1 Kings 22:42; 2 Chron. 20:31. 

Shirhim (shil'him) {missiles), one 
of the cities in the southern portion of 
the tribe of Judah. Josh. 15:32. 
[Shaaraim, 2; Sharuhen.] 

Shillem (shil'lem) {requital), son 


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about 8 miles north of that place, turns 
aside to the right for about a . mile, 
in order to visit Seilun, the Arabic for 
Shiloh; and then passing through the 
narrow wady which brings him to the 
main road, leaves el-Lebban, the Le- 
bonah of Scripture, on the left, as he 
pursues “ the highway ” to Nablus, the 
ancient Shechem. [Shechem.] Shiloh 
was one of the earliest and most sacred 
of the Hebrew sanctuaries. The ark 
of the covenant, which had been kept 
at Gilgal during the progress of the 
conquest, Josh. 18:1, seq., was removed 
thence on the subjugation of the coun- 
try, and kept at Shiloh from the last 
days of Joshua to the time of Samuel. 
Josh. 18:10; Judges 18:31; 1 Sam. 4: 



THE SITE OF SHILOH. 


of Naphtali and an ancestor of the 
family of the Shillemites. Gen. 46:24; 
Num. 26:49. [Shallum, 7.] 

Shiriemites, The. [Shillem.] 

Shilo'ah (shi-lo'ah), The waters of, 
a certain soft-flowing stream, Isa. 8 : 
6, better known under the later _ name 
of Siloam — the only perennial spring of 
Jerusalem. 

Shi'loh (shi'lo). In the Authorized 
Version of the Bible Shiloh is once 
used in a very difficult passage, in Gen. 
49 : 10, “ The sceptre shall not depart 
from Judah, nor a lawgiver from be- 
tween his feet, until Shiloh come; and 
unto him shall the gathering of the 
people be.” There are several ex- 
planations of the passage, none of 
which are really satisfac- 
tory. It has long been sup- 
posed to refer directly t o 
the Messiah, but there are 
several strong objections, 
one of the strongest being 
the absence of any New 
Testament reference to the 
word. Another possible 
rendering (R. V. marg.) is 
“ Till he come to Shiloh.” 

I n this case the allusion 
would be to the primacy of 
Judah in war, Judges 1:1, 

2; 20: 18; Num. 2: 3; 10: 

14, which was t o continue 
until the promised land was 
conquered and the ark o f 
the covenant was solemnly 
deposited at Shiloh. But 
there are objections to this 
as well, one being that Judah never had 
a real connection with the town of 
Shiloh. A third rendering, that of the 
Septuagint is “ Until that which is his 
shall come.” This less definite reference 
to the Messianic hope may be the correct 
form. Still another rendering in an- 
cient versions is “ Till he come whose 
it is,” a reading adopted by many of 
the Christian Fathers. 

Shi'loh ( place of rest), a city of 
Ephraim. In Judges 21 : 19 it is said 
that Shiloh is “on the north side of 
Bethel, on the east side of the highway 
that goeth up from Bethel to Shechem, 
and on the south of Lebonah.” In 
agreement with this the traveler of our 
own day, going north from Jerusalem, 
passes Beitin the ancient Bethel, and 


3. It was here the Hebrew conqueror 
divided among the tribes the portion of 
the west Jordan region which had not 
been already allotted. Josh. 18 : 10 ; 19 : 
51. In this distribution, or an earlier 
one, Shiloh fell within the limits of 
Ephraim. Josh. 16:5. The ungodly 
conduct of the sons of Eli occasioned 
the loss of the ark of the covenant, 
which had been carried into battle 
against the Philistines, and Shiloh from 
that time sank into insignificance. It 
stands forth in the Jewish history as 
a striking example of the divine indig- 
nation. Jer. 7 : 12. 

Shilo'ni (shi-lo'nl). This word oc- 
curs in the Authorized Version only 
in Neh. 11 : 5, where it should be ren- 
dered — as it is in other cases — “ the 



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SHI 


Shilonite,” that is, the descendant of 
Shelah the youngest son of Judah, as 
in 1 Chron. 9 : 5. 

Shi'Ionite, The, that is, the native 
or resident of Shiloh; a title ascribed 
only to Ahijah. 1 Kings 11 : 29; 12 : 15 ; 
15 : 29 ; 2 Chron. 9 : 29 ; 10 : 15. 

Shi'Ionites, The, are mentioned 
among the descendants of Judah dwell- 
ing in Jerusalem at a date difficult to 
fix. 1 Chron. 9 : 5. They are doubtless 
the members of the house of Shelah, 
who in the Pentateuch are more ac- 
curately designated Shelanites. 

Shil'shah (shil'shah) ( triad ), son of 
Zophah of the tribe of Asher. 1 Chron. 
7 : 37. 

Shim'ea (shim'e-a) {fame). 1. Son 
of David by Bath-sheba. 1 Chron. 3: 

5. (Same as Shammua, 2.) 

2. A Merarite Levite. 1 Chron. 6 : 
30. 

3. A Gershonite Levite, ancestor of 
Asaph the minstrel. 1 Chron. 6 : 39. 

4. The brother of David, 1 Chron. 
20 : 7, elsewhere called Shammah, Shim- 
ma and Shimeah. 

Shim'eah. 1. Brother of David, and 
father of Jonathan. 2 Sam. 21 : 21 ; 
called also Shammah, Shimea, and 
Shimma. 

2. A descendant of Jehiel, the father 
or founder of Gibeon. 1 Chron. 8 : 32. 

Shim'eam (shim'e-am) ( fame ), a 
descendant of Jehiel, the founder or 
prince of Gibeon. 1 Chron. 9 : 38. 
Called Shimeah in 1 Chron. 8 : 32. 

Shim'eath (shim'e-ath) (feminine of 
Shimeah), an Ammonitess, mother of 
Jozachar or Zabad, one of the mur- 
derers of King Joash. 2 Kings 12:21; 

2 Chron. 24:26. (b.c. 796.) 

Shim'ei (shim'e-i) {renowned). 1. 
Son of Gershon the son of Levi, Num. 

3 : 18 ; 1 Chron. 6 : 17 ; 23 : 7, 10 ; Zech. 
12 : 13 ; called Shimi in Ex. 6 : 17. 

2. Shimei the son of Gera, a Benja- 
mite of the house of Saul, who lived 
at Bahurim. (b.c. 1023.) When David 
and his suite were seen descending the 
long defile, on his flight from Absalom, 
2 Sam. 16 : 5-13, the whole feeling of 
the clan of Benjamin burst forth with- 
out restraint in the person of Shimei. 
He ran along the ridge, cursing and 
throwing stones at the king and his 
companions. The next meeting was 
very different. The king was now re- 
turning from his successful campaign. 


Just as he was crossing the Jordan, 2 
Sam. 19 : 18, the first person to welcome 
him was Shimei, who threw himself at 
David’s feet in abject penitence. But 
the king’s suspicions were not set at 
rest by this submission ; and on his 
death-bed he recalls the whole scene to 
the recollection of his son Solomon. 
Solomon gave Shimei notice that from 
henceforth he must consider himself 
confined to the walls of Jerusalem, on 
pain of death. 1 Kings 2 : 36, 37. For 
three years the engagement was kept. 
At the end of that time, for the pur- 
pose of capturing two slaves who had 
escaped to Gath, he went out on his 
ass, and made his journey successfully. 
1 Kings 2 : 40. On his return the king 
took him at his word, and he was slain 
by Benaiah. 1 Kings 2 : 41-46. 

3. One of the adherents of Solomon 

at the time of Adonijah’s usurpation. 1 
Kings 1 : 8. (b.c. 1015.) 

4. Solomon’s commissariat officer in 
Benjamin. 1 Kings 4:18. 

5. Son of Pedaiah, and brother of 
Zerubbabel. 1 Chron. 3 : 19. . (b.c. 536.) 

6. A Simeonite, who had sixteen sons 
and six daughters. 1 Chron. 4 : 26, 27. 

7. A Reubenite descendant of Joel. 
1 Chron. 5 : 4. 

8. A Merarite Levite. 1 Chron. 6: 
29. 

9. A Gershonite Levite, son of Jahath. 
1 Chron. 6 : 42. 

10. Son of Jeduthun, and chief of the 
tenth division of the singers. 1 Chron. 
25 : 17. 

11. The Ramathite who was over 
David’s vineyards. 1 Chron. 27 : 27. 

12. A Levite of the sons of Heman, 

who took part in the purification of the 
temple under Hezekiah. 2 Chron. 29 : 
14. (b.c. 726.) 

13. The brother of Cononiah the Le- 
vite, in the reign of Hezekiah. 2 Chron. 
31 : 12, 13. Perhaps the same as the 
preceding. 

14. A Levite in the time of Ezra who 
had married a foreign wife. Ezra 10 : 
23. 

15. One of the family of Hashum, who 
put away his foreign wife at Ezra’s 
command. Ezra 10 : 33. 

16. A son of Bani, who had also mar- 

ried a foreign wife, and put her away. 
Ezra 10:38. (b.c. 458.) 

17. Son of Kish, a Benjamite, and an- 
cestor of Mordecai. Esther 2 : 5. 


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SHI 


Shim'eon (shim'e-on) - ( hearing 
{prayer)), a layman of Israel, of the 
family of Harim, who had married a 
foreign wife, and divorced her in the 
time of Ezra. Ezra 10:31. (b.c. 458.) 

Shim'hi (shim'hi) {renowned) , a 
Benjamite, apparently the same as 
Shema the son of Elpaal. 1 Chron. 8 : 
21. R. V. “ Shimei.” 

Shim'i (shim'i)= Shimei, 1. Ex. 6: 
17. 

Shim'ites, The, the descendants of 
Shimei the son of Gershon. Num. 3: 
21 . 

Shim'ma, the third son of Jesse, and 
brother of David. 1 Chron. 2 : 13. 
Same as Shimeah. 

Shi'mon (shi'mon). The four sons 
of Shimon are enumerated in an ob- 
scure genealogy of the tribe of Judah. 
1 Chron. 4 : 20. 

Shim'rath (shim' rath), a Benjamite, 
of the sons of Shimhi, 1 Chron. 8 : 21. 

Shim'ri (shjm'ri) {vigilant). 1. A 
Simeonite, son of Shemaiah. 1 Chron. 
4: 37. 

2. The father of Jediael, one of 
David’s guard. 1 Chron. 11 : 45. 

3. A Kohathite Levite in the reign of 

Hezekiah. 2 Chron. 29:13. (b.c. 726.) 

Shim'rith (shim'rith) (feminine of 
Shimri, vigilant), a Moabitess, mother 
of Jehozabad, one of the assassins of 
King Joash. 2 Chron. 24:26. In 2 
Kings 12 : 21 she is called Shomer. 
(b.c. 796.) 

Shim'rom (shim'rom). 1 Chron. 7: 
1. [Shimron.] 

Shim'ron (shim'ron) {watch-height). 
1. A city of Zebulun. Josh. 11:1; 19: 

15. 

2. The fourth son of Issachar accord- 
ing to the lists of Genesis, Gen. 46 : 13, 
and Numbers, Num. 26 : 24, and the 
head of the family of the Shimronites. 

Shim'ronites, The. [Shimron.] 

Shim'ron=me'ron (shim'ron-me'ron) 
{watch-height of Meron). The king of 
Shimron-meron is mentioned as one of 
the thirty-one kings vanquished by 
Joshua. Josh. 12:20. It is probably 
identical with, and possibly the full 
name of the place elsewhere called 
Shimron, a city of Zebulun. Josh. 11: 
1; 19: 15. 

Shim'shai (shim'sha) {sunny), the 
scribe or secretary of Rehum, who was 
a kind of satrap of the conquered 
province of Judea and of the colony of 


Samaria, supported by the Persian 
court. Ezra 4:8, 9, 17, 23. He was 
apparently an Aramaean, for the letter 
which he wrote to Artaxerxes was in 
Syriac. Ezra 4 : 7. 

Shi'nab (shi'nab), the king of Ad- 
mah in the time of Abraham. Gen. 14: 
2. (b.c. 1913.) 

Shi'nar (shi'nar), the ancient name 
of the great alluvial tract through 
which the Tigris and Euphrates pass 
before reaching the sea — the tract 
known in later times as Babylonia. It 
was a plain country, where brick had 
to be used for stone and slime for 
mortar. Gen. 11 : 3. Among the cities 
were Babel (Babylon), Erech, Calneh 
or Calno and Accad. The Tell-el- 
Amarna inscriptions show that the 
same region was known by the name 
of Shanhar to the Semites of Mesopo- 
tamia. 

Ship. No one writer in the whole 
range of Greek and Roman literature 
has supplied us with so much informa- 
tion concerning the merchant-ships of 
the ancients as St. Luke in the narrative 
of St. Paul’s voyage to Rome. Acts 
27, 28. It is important to remember 
that he accomplished it in three ships : 
first, the Adramyttian vessel which took 
him from Caesarea to Myra, and which 
was probably a coasting-vessel of no 
great size, Acts 27 : 1-6 ; secondly, the 
large Alexandrian corn-ship, in which 
he was wrecked on the coast of Malta, 
Acts 27 : 6-28 : 1 ; and thirdly, another 
large Alexandrian corn-ship, in which 
he sailed from Malta by Syracuse and 
Rhegium to Puteoli. Acts 28 : 11-13. 
1. Size of ancient ships. — The narrative 
which we take as our chief guide af- 
fords a good standard for estimating 
this. The ship in which St. Paul was 
wrecked had 276 persons on board, 
Acts 27 : 37, besides a cargo of wheat, 
Acts 27 : 10, 38 ; and all these passengers 
seem to have been taken on to Puteoli 
in another ship, Acts 28 : 11, which had 
its own crew and its own cargo. Now, 
in modern transport-ships, prepared for 
carrying troops, it is a common estimate 
to allow a ton and a half per man. On 
the whole, if we say that an ancient 
merchant-ship might range from 500 to 
1000 tons, we are clearly within the 
mark. Lucian describes a vessel as 180 
feet long and 45 in breadth. This was 
somewhere about 1200 or 1300 tons, and 
was so unusual that its size attracted 


SHI 


623 


Sill 



ROMAN GALLEY. 


attention. “ The exceptionally large war 
galley of Ptolemy Philopator measured 
420 feet in length and 57 feet in 
breadth.” (Davis’ B.D.) 2. Steering 

apparatus. — Some commentators have 
fallen into strange perplexities from 
observing that in Acts 27:40 (“the 
fastenings of the rudders”) St. Luke 
uses the plural. Ancient ships were 
in truth not steered at all by rudders 
fastened or hinged to the stern, but by 
means of two paddle-rudders, one on 
each quarter, acting in a rowlock or 
through a port-hole, as the vessel might 
be small or large. 3. Build and orna- 



A PHCENICIAN SHIP. 

From an Egyptian Monument. 


ments of the hull. — It is probable that 
there was no very marked difference 
between the bow and the stern. The 
“ hold,” Jonah 1 : 5, would present no 
special peculiarities. That personifica- 
tion of ships which seems to be in- 
stinctive led the ancients to paint an 


eye on each side of the bow. Comp. 
Acts 27 : 15. An ornament of the ship 
which took Paul from Malta to Poz- 
zuoli is more explicitly referred to. 
The “ sign ” of that ship, Acts 28 : 11, 
was Castor and Pollux; and the sym- 
bols of those heroes were doubtless 
painted or sculptured on each side of 
the bow, or carved as a figure-head. 
4. Under-girders. — The imperfection of 
the build, and still more (see below, 6) 
the peculiarity of the rig, in ancient 
ships, . resulted in a greater tendency 
than in our times to the starting of 
the planks, and consequently to leak- 
ing and foundering. Hence it was cus- 
tomary in case of necessity, to pass 
cables or chains, called “ helps ” or 
“ undergirders ” round the frame of the 
ship, at right angles to its length, and 
made _ tight. Acts 27 : 17. 5. Anchors. 

— Ancient anchors were similar in form 
to those which we use now, except that 
they were without flukes. The ship in 
which Paul was sailing had four an- 
chors on board. The sailors on this 
occasion anchored by the stern. Acts 
27 : 29. 6. Masts, sails, ropes and yards. 

— The rig of an ancient ship was more 
simple and clumsy than that employed 
in modern times. Its great feature was 
one large mast, with one large square 
sail fastened to a yard of great length. 
Hence the strain upon the hull, and the 
danger of starting the planks, were 
greater than under the present system, 
which distributes the mechanical pres- 


SHI 


624 


SHI 


sure more evenly over the whole ship. 
Not that there were never more masts 
than one, or more sails than one on the 
same mast, in an ancient merchantman ; 
but these were repetitions, so to speak, 
of the same general unit of rig. An- 
other feature of the ancient, as of the 
modern, ship is the flag at the top of 
the mast. Isa. 30:17 (see margin). We 
must remember that the ancients had 
no compass, and very imperfect charts 
and instruments, if any at all. 7. Rate 
of sailing. — The rig which has been de- 
scribed is, like the rig of Chinese junks, 
peculiarly favorable to a quick run be- 
fore the wind. Acts 16 : 11 ; 27 : 16. 

With such a wind an ancient ship could 
make fully seven knots an hour. It 
would, however, be a great mistake to 
suppose that ancient ships could not 
work to windward. But modern ships 
by their superior rig and build can do 
much better than those of olden times. 
8. Boats on the Sea of Galilee. — In the 
narrative of the call of the disciples 
to be “fishers of men,” Matt. 4:18-22; 
Mark 1 : 16-20 ; Luke 5 : i-11, there is 
no special information concerning the 
characteristics of these. With the large 
population round the Lake of Tiberias, 
there must have been a vast number of 
both fishing-boats and pleasure-boats, 
and boat-building must have been an 
active trade on its shores. From ac- 
counts in other authors there seems to 
have been in Roman times a large num- 
ber, ranging from the tiny pleasure or 
fishing boat, up to war galleys of a con- 
siderable size. There is no mention of 
boats on its waters in Old Testament 
times. 

Shi'phi (shi'fl) {abundant), a Sim- 
eonite, father of Ziza. 1 Chron. 4 : 37. 

Shiph'mite* (shif'mite), The, prob- 
ably, though not certainly, the native 
of Shepham. 1 Chron. 27 : 27. 

Shiph'rah (shif'rah) {brightness), 
Ex. 1 : 15, the name of one of the two 
midwives of the Hebrews who disobeyed 
the command of Pharaoh to kill the 
male children, vs. 15-21. (b.c. 1570.) 

Shiph'tan (shif'tan) {judicial), 
father of Kemuel, a prince of the tribe 
of Ephraim. Num. 34:24. 

Shi'sha (shi'sha), father of Eliho- 
reph and Ahiah, the royal secretaries 
in the reign of Solomon. 1 Kings 4: 
3. He is - " apparently the same as Shav- 
sha, who held the same position under 
David. 


Shi'shak (shi'shak), king of Egypt, 
the Sheshonk I. of the monuments, first 
sovereign of the Bubastite twenty-sec- 
ond dynasty. His reign offers the first 
determined synchronism of Egyptian 
and Hebrew history. He must have 
been an able statesman, for he harbored 
the enemy of Solomon, Jeroboam (1 
Kings 11 : 40) and yet avoided a rup- 
ture between the kingdoms. Either at 
the suggestion of Jeroboam, or shrewdly 
taking advantage of conditions in 
Palestine he invaded the country in the 
5th year of Rehoboam. He exacted all 
the treasures of his city from Reho- 



boam, and apparently made him tribu- 
tary. 1 Kings 14 : 25, 26 ; 2 Chron. 12 : 
2-9. Shishak has left a record of this 
expedition sculptured on the wall of 
the great temple of El-Karnak. It is 
a list of the countries, cities and tribes 
conquered or ruled by him, or tributary 
to him. It is not certain that Shishak’s 
invasion was confined to the southern 
kingdom, though the passage in the 
Bible gives color to the belief. 

Shittah tree, Shittim wood, is with- 
out doubt correctly referred to some 
species of Acacia, of which three or 
four kinds occur in the Bible lands. 
The wood of this tree — perhaps the 
Acacia seyal is more definitely signified 
— was extensively employed in the con- 
struction of the tabernacle. See Ex. 25, 
26, 36, 37, 38. Even now common in 
Palestine, though it has been constantly 
[used for lumber, and for making char- 


SHI 


625 


SHO 


coal. Trees are found with trunks 2 
feet in diameter. In olden times they 
very probably were sometimes three or 
four feet in diameter. The wood is 
close-grained and hard, of a fine yellow- 
brown color, and admirably adapted to 
cabinet work. The A. seyal is very 
common in some parts of the peninsula 
of Sinai. It yields the well-known sub- 
stance called gum arabic, which is ob- 
tained by incisions in the bark, but it 
is impossible to say whether the ancient 
Jews were acquainted with its use. 
From the tangled thicket into which 
the stem of this tree expands, Stanley 
well remarks that hence is to be traced 
the use of the plural form of the Heb. 
noun shittim, the singular number oc- 
curring once only in the Bible. This 
acacia must not be confounded with the 
tree ( Robinia pseudo-acacia ) popularly 
known by this name in England, which 
is a North American plant, and be- 
longs to a different genus and sub- 
order. The true acacias belong to the 
order Legwninosce, sub-order Mimosece. 

Shit'tim ( the acacias ), the place of 
Israel’s encampment between the con- 



shittim-wood. (Acacia.) 


quest of the transjordanic highlands 
and the passage of the Jordan. Num. 
25:1; 33: '49; Josh. 2:1; 3:1; Micah 

4G 


6 : 5. Its full name appears to be given 
in the first of these passages — Abel has- 
Shittim, “ the meadow, or moist place, 
of the acacias.” It was “ in the Arboth- 
moab, by Jordan- Jericho,” Num. 22:1; 
26 : 3 ; 31 : 12 ; 33 : 48, 49 ; that is to say, 
it was in the Arabah or Jordan valley, 
opposite Jericho. 

Shi'za (shi'za) ( vehement love), a 
Reubenite, father of Adina, 1 Chron. 
11 : 42, one of David’s warriors. 

Sho'a (sho'a) {rich), a proper name 
which occurs only in Ezek. 23 : 23, in 
connection with Pekod and Koa. The 
three apparently designate districts of 
Assyria with which the southern king- 
dom of Judah had been intimately con- 
nected, and which were to be arrayed 
against it for punishment. 

Sho'bab (sho'bab) (restored). 1. 
Son of David by Bath-sheba. 2 Sam. 
5 : 14 ; 1 Chron. 3:5; 14 : 4. 

2. Apparently the son of Caleb the 
son of Hezron by his wife Azubah. 1 
Chron. 2 : 18. 

Sho'bach (sho'bak) ( one who pours 
out), the general of Hadadezer king of 
the Syrians of Zoba, who was defeated 
by David. 2 Sam. 10 : 15-18. In 1 
Chron. 19 : 16, 18 he is called Shophach. 

Sho'ba=i (sho'ba-i) ( one who . leads 
captive). The children of Shobai were 
a family of the door-keepers of the 
temple, who returned with Zerubbabel. 
Ezra 2 : 42 ; Neh. 7 : 45. 

Sho'bal (sho'bal) (flowing). 1. A 
son of Seir the Horite, Gen. 36 : 20 ; 1 
Chron. 1 : 38, and one of the “ dukes ” 
of the Horites. Gen. 36 : 29. 

2. Son of Caleb the son of Hur, and 
founder or prince of Kirjath-jearim. 
1 Chron. 2 : 50, 52 ; 4:1, 2. 

Sho'bek (sho'bek) (forsaker), one 
of the heads of the people who sealed 
the covenant with Nehemiah. Neh. 10 : 
24. 

Sho'bi (sho'bi) (one who takes cap- 
tive), son of Nahash of Rabbah of the 
children of Ammon. 2 Sam. 17 : 27. 
He was one of the first to meet David 
at Manhanaim on his flight from Ab- 
salom. (b.c. 1023.) 

Sho'cho (sho'ko), 2 Chron. 28:18, 
one of the four varieties of the name 
Socoh. 

Sho'choh, 1 Sam. 17 : 1, same as So* 
coh. 

Sho'co, 2 Chron. 11 : 7, a variation in 
the Authorized Version of the name So- 
coh. 


SHO 


626 


SHO 


Shoe. [Sandal.] 

Sho'ham (sho'ham) (onyx), a Mera- 
rite Levite, son of Jaaziah. 1 Chron. 
24 : 27. 

Sho'mer (sho'mer) (keeper). 1. 
An Asherite, 1 Chron. 7 : 32 ; also called 
Shamer, ver. 34. R. V. “ Shemer.” 

2. The mother of Jehozabad, who 
slew King Joash. 2 Kings 12:21.. In 
the parallel passage in 2 Chron. 24 : 26 
the name is converted into the feminine 
form Shimrith, who is further described 
as a Moabitess. [Shimrith.] (b.c. 
796.) 

Sho'phach (one who pours out), the 
general of Hadadezer. 1 Chron. 19 : 16, 
18. [Shobach.] 

Sho'phan (sho'fan), one of the forti- 
fied towns on the east of Jordan which 
were taken possession of and rebuilt by 
the tribe of Gad. Num. 32:35. [At- 
roth.] 

ShosharTnim (sho-shan'nim) (lilies). 
“ To the chief musician upon Shoshan- 
nim ” is a musical direction to the 
leader of the temple choir which oc- 
curs in Pss. 45, 69, and most probably 
indicates the melody to which the psalms 
were to be sung. Shoshannim-eduth 
occurs in the same way in the title of 
Ps. 80. As the words now stand they 
signify “ Lilies a testimony/’ and are 
probably a fragment of the beginning 
of an older psalm with which the choir 
were familiar. 

Shu'ah (shu'ah). 1. Son of Abra- 
ham by Keturah. Gen. 25 : 2 ; 1 Chron. 
] : 32. 

2. Properly Shuhah, brother of Che- 
lub. 1 Chron. 4 : 11. 

3. The father of Judah’s wife, Gen. 
38 : 2, 12 ; called also Shua. 

Shu'al (shu'al) (a jackal), son of 
Zophah, an Asherite. 1 Chron. 7 : 36. 

Shu'al, The land of, a district named 
in 1 Sam. 13 : 17 only. It is pretty cer- 
tain from the passage that it lay north 
of Michmash, and not far from Oph- 
rah, now et-Taiyibeh. 

Shu'bael (shu'ba-el). 1. Shebuel the 
son of Gershon. 1 Chron. 24 : 20. 

2. Shebuel the son of Heman the min- 
strel. 1 Chron. 25 : 20. 

Shu'ham (shu'ham) (pitman), son 
of Dan and ancestor of the Shuhamites. 
Num. 26 : 42. 

Shu'hamites, The. [Shuham.] 

Shu'hite (shu'hite) (descendant of 
Shuah). This ethnic appellative “ Shu- 
hite ” is frequent in the book of Job, 


but only as the epithet of one person, 
Bildad. The tribe may have been the 
Suchu of the inscriptions, on the west 
bank of the Euphrates south of Carche- 
mish. 

Shu'lamite (shu'lam-ite), The, one 
of the personages in the poem of Sol- 
omon’s Song. 6 : 13. The name de- 
notes a woman belonging to a place 
called Shulem, which is probably the 
same as Shunem. [Shunem.] 

Shu mathites (shu'math-ites),- The, 
one of the four families who sprang 
from Kirjath-jearim. 1 Chron. 2:53. 

Shu'nammite, The, i. e. the native 
of Shunem, is applied to two persons : 
Abishag, the nurse of King David, 1 
Kings 1:3, 15 ; 2 : 17, 21, 22, and the 
nameless hostess of Elisha. 2 Kings 4: 
12, 25, 36. 

Shu'nem (shu'nem) (two resting- 
places), one of the cities allotted to 
the tribe of Issachar. Josh. 19:18. It 
is mentioned on two occasions — 1 Sam. 
28:4; 2 Kings 4:8. It was besides the 
native place of Abishag. 1 Kings 1 : 3. 
It is mentioned by Eusebius as five 
miles south of Mount Tabor, and then 
known as Sulem. This agrees with the 
position of the present Solam, a vil- 
lage three miles north of Jezreel and 
five from Gilboa. 

Shu'ni (shu'ni) (calm, quiet), son 
of Gad, and founder of the family of 
the Shunites. Gen. 46 : 16 ; Num. 26 : 15. 

Shu'nites, The, the descendants of 
Shuni. 

Shu'pham (shu'fam). [Shuppim.] 

Shu'phamites, The, the descendants 
of Shupham or Shephupham, the Ben- 
jamite. Num. 26:39. 

Shup'pim (shup'pim) (serpents) . In 
the genealogy of Benjamin “ Shuppim 
and Huppim, the children of Ir,” are 
reckoned in 1 Chron. 7 : 12. Ir is the 
same as Iri the son of Bela the son of 
Benjamin, so that, if all the links are 
preserved, Shuppim was the great-grand- 
son of Benjamin. 

Shur (shur) (a wall). Shur is 'first 
mentioned in the narrative of Hagar’s 
flight from Sarah. Gen. 16 : 7. Abra- 
ham afterward “ dwelled between Ka- 
desh and Shur, and sojourned in Gerar.” 
Gen. 20 : 1. The wilderness of Shur 
was entered by the Israelites after 
they had crossed the Red Sea. Ex. 15 : 
22, 23. It was also called the wilder- 
ness of Etham. Num. 33 : 8. It has 
not been identified, but probably was 


SHU 


627 


SIH 


connected with the line of fortresses 
on the border of Egypt. 

Shu'shan (shu'shan), or Su'sa (a 
Persian name which to the Hebrews 
would suggest the lily.) It was orig- 
inally the capital of the country called 
in Scripture Elam, and by the classical 
writers Susis or Susiana. Asshurbani- 
pal captured and later it became subject 
to the Babylonian kings. Cyrus is said 
to have made it one of his capitals, but 
its palace, according to inscriptions, was 
built by Darius Hystaspis. Daniel men- 
tions Shushan (Dan. 8:2), and Nehe- 
miah lived here. Neh. 1:1. It was 
captured by Alexander in b.c. 331, and 
again by Antigonus in b.c. 315. It was 
still defensible when the Saracens con- 
quered Persia, but was then destroyed. 
Shushan was situated on the Ulai pr 
Choaspes. It is identified with the mod- 
ern Sus or Shush , and its ruins are 
about three miles in circumference. 
Here have been found the remains of 
the great palace built by Darius, the 
father of Xerxes, in which and the sur- 
rounding buildings took place the 
scenes recorded in the life of Esther. 
The great central hall was 343 feet 
long by 244 feet wide. The king’s gate, 
says Schaff, where Mordecai sat, “ was 
probably a hall 100 feet square, 150 feet 
from the northern portico. Between 
these two was probably the inner court, 
where Esther appeared before the king.” 

Shu'shan=e'duth ( shu'shan-e'duth) 
( the lily of testimony) , Ps. 60, is the 
singular form of “ Shoshannim-eduth.” 
Ps. 80. [Shoshannim.] 

Shu'thalhites (shu'thal-ites), The. 
[Shuthelah.] 

Shu'thelah (shu'the-lah), head of an 
Ephraimite family, called after him 
Shuthalhites, Num. 26:35, and lineal 
ancestor of Joshua the son of Nun. 1 
Chron. 7 : 20-27. 

Si a (si'a). The “children of Sia ” 
were a family of Nethinim who re- 
turned with Zerubbabel. Neh. 7 : 47. 
The name is written “ Siaha ” in Ezra 
2 : 44 and “ Sua ” in 1 Esd. 5 : 29. 

Si'aha (si'a-ha)— Sia. Ezra 2 : 44. 

Sib'becai (sib'be-ka)= Sibbechai the 
Hushathite. 

Sib'bechai (entangling) , one of Da- 
vid’s guard, and captain for the eighth 
month of 24,000 men of the king’s 
army. 1 Chron. 11 : 29 ; 27 : 11. He 

belonged to one of the principal families 
of Judah, the Zarhites or descendants 


of Zerah, and is called “ the Husha- 
thite,” probably from the place of his 
birth. Sibbechai’s great exploit, which 
gave him a place among the mighty 
men of David’s army, was his single 
combat with Saph or Sippai, the Phi- 
listine giant, in the battle at Gezer or 
Gob. 2 Sam. 21 : 18 ; 1 Chron. 20 : 4. 

Sibboleth (sib'bo-leth), the Ephraim- 
ite pronunciation of the word Shibbo- 
leth. Judges 12:6. [Shibboleth.] 
Sib'mah (sib'mah). [Shebam.] 
Sib'raim (sib'ra-im), one of the land- 
marks on the northern boundary of the 
holy land as stated by Ezekiel. Ezek. 
47 : 16. It has not been identified. 

Si'chem (si'kem). Gen. 12:6. 
[Shechem.] 

Sic'yon (sik'yon), 1 Macc. 15:23, a 
celebrated Greek city in Peloponnesus, 
upon the Corinthian Gulf. 

Sid'dim (sid'dim) (plains), The 
vale of, a place named only in one pas- 
sage of Genesis — 14 : 3, 8, 10. It was 
one of that class of valleys which the 
Hebrews designated by the word emek. 
This term appears to have been assigned 
to a broad, flattish tract, sometimes of 
considerable width, enclosed on each 
side by a definite range of hills. It was 
so far a suitable spot for the combat 
between the four and five kings, ver. 8 ; 
but it contained a multitude of bitumen- 
pits sufficient materially to affect the 
issue of the battle. In this valley the 
kings of the five allied cities of Sodom, 
Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboim and Bela 
seem to have awaited the approach of 
the invaders. There is considerable 
doubt as to the meaning of “ which is 
the Salt Sea.” It cannot mean the 
identity of Siddim with the Dead Sea 
of to-day, as the most if not all of the 
latter is older than the time of Abra- 
ham. It may possibly be what is now 
the shallow southern end of the Dead 
Sea. [Sea, the Salt.] 

Si'de, a city on the coast of Pam- 
phylia, 10 or 12 miles to the east of the 
river Eurymedon. It is mentioned in 
1 Macc. 15 : 23, and was a colony of 
Cumaeans, It is now known as Eski 
A dalia. 

Si'don (si'don), the Greek form of 
the Phoenician name Zidon. [Zidon.] 
Sido nians, the Greek form of the 
word Zidonians. It occurs Deut. 3:9; 
Josh. 13:4, 6; Judges 3:3; 1 Kings 
5 : 6. [Zidon.] 

Si'hon (si'hon) (a brush), king of 


SIH 


628 


SIL 


the Amorites when Israel arrived on the 
borders of the promised land. Num. 
21:21. (b.c. 1451.) Shortly before the 

time of Israel’s arrival he had dispos- 
sessed the Moabites of a splendid ter- 
ritory, driving them south of the nat- 
ural bulwark of the Arnon. Num. 21 : 
26-29. The Israelites asked permission 
to cross his territory. He refused, but 
the Israelites nevertheless entered it. 
He at once gathered his people together 
and attacked them. But the battle was 
his last. He and all his host were de- 
stroyed, and their district from Arnon 
to Jabbok became at once the possession 
of the conqueror. 

Si'hor (si'hor) (dark), accurately 
Shi'hor, once The Shihor, or Shihor 
of Egypt, when unqualified a name of 
the Nile. It is held to signify “the 
black ” or “ turbid.” In Isa. 23 : 3 ; Jer. 
2 : 18 the identity of Shihor with the 
Nile seems distinctly stated. The 
stream mentioned in Josh. J3 : 3 ; 1 

Chron. 13 : 5 is probably that of the 
Wady el’ Arish. 

Si'las (si'las) (contracted form of 
Silvanus, (sylvan)) , an eminent member 
of the early Christian Church, described 
under that name in the Acts, but as 
Silvanus in St. Paul’s epistles. He first 
appears as one of the leaders of the 
church at Jerusalem, Acts 15:22, hold- 
ing the office of an inspired teacher, 
15 : 32. His name, derived from the 
Latin silva, “ wood,” betokens him a 
Hellenistic Jew, and he appears to have 
been a Roman citizen. Acts 16 : 37. 
He was appointed as a delegate to ac- 
company Paul and Barnabas on their 
return to Antioch with the decree of 
the Council of Jerusalem. Acts 15:22, 
32. Remaining in Antioch after the 
others had returned to Jerusalem (Acts 
15 : 34) he was selected by St, Paul as 
the companion of his second missionary 
journey. Acts 15 : 40-47 : 10. At Berea 
he was left behind with Timothy while 
St. Paul proceeded to Athens, Acts 17 : 
14, and we hear nothing more of his 
movements until he rejoined the apos- 
tle at Corinth. Acts 18 : 5. His pres- 
ence at Corinth is several times noticed. 
2 Cor. 1 : 19 ; 1 Thess. 1 : 1 ; 2 Thess. 1 : 
1. Whether he was the Silvanus who 
conveyed St. Peter’s first epistle to 
Asia Minor, 1 Pet. 5 : 12, is doubtful ; 
the probabilities are in favor of the 
identity. A tradition of very slight au- 


thority represents Silas to have become 
bishop of Corinth. 

Silk. The only undoubted notice of 
silk in the Bible occurs in Rev. 18 : 12, 
where it is mentioned among the treas- 
ures of the typical Babylon. It is, how- 
ever, in the highest degree probable that 
the texture was known to the Hebrews 
from the time that their commercial re- 
lations were extended by Solomon. 
The well-known classical name of the 
substance does not occur in the Hebrew 
language. 

Silla (sil'la). “The house of Millo 
which goeth down to Silla ” was the 
scene of the murder of King Joash. 
2 Kings 12 : 20. What or where Silla 
was is entirely matter of conjecture. 

Silo'ah (si-lo'a), The pool of, prop- 
erly “the pool of Shelah.” Neh. 3:15. 
[Siloam.] 

Silo'am (si-lo'am) (sent). Shiloah, 
Isa. 8:6; Silo ah, R. V. “ Shelah,” Neh. 
3 : 15 ; Siloam, John 9 : 7, 11. A pool 
at Jerusalem, “by the king’s garden.”' 
Josephus states that it was at the ex- 
tremity of the valley of the cheese- 
mongers (or at the mouth of the Ty- 
ropaeon Valley). There seems no doubt 
that the present Birkit Silwan occupies 
the site of the ancient pool. It is a 
mere suburban tank of no great size, 
and for many an age not particularly 
good or plentiful in its waters, though 
Josephus tells us that in his day they 
were both “ sweet and abundant.” A 
little way below the Jewish burying- 
ground, but on the opposite side of 
the valley, where the Kedron turns 
slightly westward and widens itself 
considerably, is the fountain of the Vir- 
gin, near the beginning of that saddle- 
shaped projection of the temple hill 
supposed to be the Ophel of the Bible 
and the Ophlas of Josephus. At the 
back part of this fountain a subter- 
raneous passage begins, through which 
the water flows, and through which a 
man may make his way, sometimes 
walking erect, sometimes stooping, 
sometimes kneeling, and sometimes 
crawling to Siloam. An inscription 
found in June, 1880, on the east side 
of the tunnel about 25 feet from its 
exit at Siloam records that it was ex- 
cavated from both ends, the workmen 
meeting in the middle, and that it was 
1200 cubits long. Conder measured it 
as 1706.8 feet. There is nothing in the 


629 



POOL OF SILOAM. 



THE MODERN VILLAGE OF SILOAM, 




SIL 


630 


SIM 


inscription to oppose the view that it 
was made by Hezekiah. At a former 
time it had tributaries which sent their 
waters down from the city pools or 
temple wells to swell Siloam. It en- 
ters Siloam at the northwest angle; or 
rather enters a small rock-cut chamber 
which forms the vestibule of Siloam, 
about five or six feet broad. To this 
you descend by a few rude steps, under 
which the water pours itself into the 
main pool. This pool is oblong, about 
58 feet long, 18 feet broad and 19 feet 
deep ; but it is never filled, the water 
either passing directly through or being 
maintained at a depth of three or four 
feet. It is built on the site of the orig- 
inal pool which measured 75 feet by 
71 feet. Surely after the Return, per- 
haps even as late as the time of Herod, 
a covered arcade ran around its four 
sides. This was its condition in the 
time of Christ. The present pool is a 
ruin, with no moss or ivy to make it 
romantic; its sides fallen in; its pillars 
broken; its stair a fragment; its walls 
giving way; the edge of every stone 
worn round or sharp by time; in some 
parts mere debris, though around its 
edges wild flowers, and among other 
plants the caper tree, grow luxuriantly. 
This pool, which we may call the sec- 
ond, seems anciently to have poured its 
waters into a third before it proceeded 
to water the royal gardens. This third 
is' perhaps that which Josephus calls 
“ Solomon’s pool,” and which Nehemiah 
calls the “ king’s pool.” Neh. 2 : 14. 
The expression in Isa. 8:6, “ waters of 
Shiloah that go softly,” seems to point 
to the slender rivulet, flowing gently 
though once very profusely out of Si- 
loam into the lower breadth of level 
where the king's gardens, or royal para- 
dise, stood, and which is still the green- 
est spot about the holy city. Siloam is 
a sacred spot even to the Moslem; 
much more to the Jew. It was to Si- 
loam that the Levite was sent with the 
golden pitcher on the “ last and great 
day of the feast” of Tabernacles; it 
was from Siloam that he brought the 
water which was then poured over the 
sacrifice, in memory of the water from 
the rock of Rephidim; and it was to 
this Siloam water that the Lord pointed 
when he stood in the temple on that 
day and cried, “ If any man thirst, let 
him come unto me and drink.” The 
Lord sent the blind man to wash, not 


in, as our version has it, but at (els), 
the pool of Siloam; for it was the clay 
from his eyes that was to be washed off. 

Siloam, Tower in. Luke 13:4. Of 
this we know nothing definitely beyond 
these words of the Lord. It was very 
likely one of the city towers on the 
Ophel ridge near Siloam. 

Silvanus (sil-va'nus). [Silas.] 

Silver. In very early times silver was 
used for ornaments, Gen. 24 : 53, and for 
vessels of various kinds. Images for 
idolatrous worship were made of silver 
or overlaid with it, Ex. 20:23 ; Hos. 13: 
2 ; Hab. 2 : 19 ; Bar. 6 : 39, and the man- 
ufacture of silver shrines for Diana 
was a trade in Ephesus. Acts 19 : 24. 
But its chief use was as a medium of 
exchange, and throughout the Old Tes- 
tament we find “ silver ” used for 
money, like the French argent. Silver 
was brought to Solomon from Arabia, 
2 Chron. 9:14, and from Tarshish, 2 
Chron. 9 : 21, which supplied the mar- 
kets of Tyre. Ezek. 27:12. From 
Tarshish it came in the form of plates, 
Jer. 10:9, like those on which the sa- 
cred books of the Singhalese are writ- 
ten to this day. Spain appears to have 
been the chief source whence silver was 
obtained by the Romans. Possibly the 
hills of Palestine may have afforded 
some supply of this metal. Silver 
mixed with alloy is referred to in Jer. 
6 : 30, and a finer kind, either purer in 
itself or more thoroughly purified, is 
mentioned in Prov. 8 : 19. 

Silverlings, a word used once only 
in the Authorized Version, Isa. 7 : 23, as 
a translation of the Hebrew word else- 
where rendered “ silver ” or “ shekel.” 

Simeon (sim'e-on) {hearing). 1. 
The second of Jacob’s sons by Leah. 
His birth is recorded in Gen. 29 : 33. 
Besides the massacre of Shechem, Gen. 
34 : 25, the only personal incident re- 
lated of Simeon is the fact of his be- 
ing selected by Joseph as the hostage 
for the appearance of Benjamin. Gen. 
42:19, 24, 36; 43:23. The chief fam- 
ilies of the tribe of Simeon are men- 
tioned in the lists of Gen. 46:10. At 
the census of Sinai Simeon numbered 
59,300 fighting men. Num. 1 : 23. 
When the second census was taken, at 
Shittim, the numbers had fallen to 22,- 
200, and it was the weakest of all the 
tribes. To Simeon was allotted a por- 
tion of land out of the territory of 
Judah, on its southern frontier, which 


SIM 


631 


SIM 


contained eighteen or nineteen cities, 
with their villages, spread round the 
venerable well of Beersheba. Josh. 19: 
1-8 ; 1 Chron. 4 : 28-33. Of these places, 
with the help of Judah, the Simeonites 
possessed themselves, Judges 1:3, 17. 
What part the tribe took at the time of 
the division of the kingdom we are not 
told, but it is not necessary. The tribe 
had practically been absorbed by Judah 
before that time. There are very few 
mentions of Simeon later. See 2 
Chron. 15 : 9 ; 34 : 6. 

2. A devout Jew, inspired by the Holy 
Ghost, who met the parents of our Lord 
in the temple, took him in his arms, and 
gave thanks for what he saw and knew 
of Jesus. Luke 2 : 25-35. 

Sim'eon Niger. Acts 13 : 1. [Niger.] 

Si'mon (contracted form of Simeon). 
1. Son of Mattathias. [Maccabees.] 

2. Son of Onias the high priest, whose 
eulogy _ closes the “ praise of famous 
men ” in Ecclesiasticus, 4. 

3. A “ governor of the temple ” in the 
time of Seleucus Philopator, whose in- 
formation as to the treasures of the 
temple led to the sacrilegious attack of 
Heliodorus. 2 Macc. 3 : 4, etc. 

4. Simon the brother of Jesus. The 
only undoubted notice of this Simon oc- 
curs in Matt. * 13 : 55, Mark 6 : 3. He 
has been identified by some writers with 
Simon the Canaanite, and still more 
generally with Symeon who became 
bishop of Jerusalem after the deafh of 
James. The former of these opinions 
rests on no evidence whatever, nor is 
the latter without its difficulties. 

5. Simon the Canaanite, one of the 
twelve apostles, Matt. 10 : 4 ; Mark 3 : 
18, otherwise described as Simon Ze- 
lotes, Luke 6 : 15 ; Acts 1 : 13. The lat- 
ter term, which is peculiar to Luke, is 
the Greek equivalent for the Chaldee 
term preserved by Matthew and Mark. 
[Canaanite.] Each of these equally 
points out Simon as belonging to the 
faction of the Zealots, who were con- 
spicuous for their fierce advocacy of 
the Mosaic ritual. 

6. Simon of Cyrene, a Hellenistic 
Jew, born at Cyrene, on the north coast 
of Africa. He was compelled to aid in 
carrying the cross when Jesus sank un- 
der the burden. Matt. 27 : 32 ; Mark 
15 : 21 ; Luke 23 : 26 ; comp. John 19 : 17. 
Mark describes him as the father of 
Alexander and Rufus, perhaps because 
this was the Rufus known to the Roman 


Christians, Rom. 16 : 13, for whom he 
more especially wrote. 

7. Simon, a resident at Bethany, dis- 
tinguished as “ the leper.” It is not im- 
probable that he had been miraculously 
cured by Jesus. In his house Mary 
anointed Jesus preparatory to his death 
and burial. Matt. 26 : 6, etc. ; Mark 14 : 
3, etc. ; John 12 : 1, etc. 

8. Simon Magus, a Samaritan living 
in the apostolic age, distinguished as a 
sorcerer or “ magician,” from his prac- 
tice of magical arts. Acts 8 : 9. The 
story in the New Testament is short. 
He so “ amazed ” the people of Sa- 
maria with his arts that he was pro- 
nounced to be “ the power of God 
which is called great.” Acts 8 : 10. He 
was apparently converted by Philip and 
received baptism at his hands, a.d. 36. 
Subsequently he witnessed the effect 
produced by the imposition of hands, 
as practised by the apostles Peter and 
John, and, being desirous of acquiring 
a similar power for himself, he offered 
a sum of money for it. His proposi- 
tion met with a severe denunciation 
from Peter, followed by a petition on 
the part of Simon, the tenor of which 
bespeaks terror, but not penitence. Acts 
8 : 9-24. The memory of his peculiar 
guilt has been perpetuated in the word 
simony , as applied to all traffic in spir- 
itual offices. Ecclesiastical writings are 
full of traditions concerning this man, 
none of which seem to have any real 
ground. According to these he was 
born at Gitton, a village of Samaria, 
and probably educated in Alexandria. 
He became the pertinacious foe of the 
apostle Peter, whose movements he fol- 
lowed for the purpose of seeking en- 
counters, in which he was signally de- 
feated. He is said to have followed the 
apostle to Rome. His death is asso- 
ciated with this meeting. According to 
Hippolytus, the earliest authority on the 
subject, Simon was buried alive at his 
own request, in the confident assurance 
that he would rise on the third day. 

9. Simon Peter. [Peter.] 

10. Simon, a Pharisee, in whose house 
a penitent woman anointed the head and 
feet of Jesus. Luke 7 : 40. 

11. Simon the tanner, a Christian con- 
vert living at Joppa, at whose house 
Peter lodged. Acts 9 : 43. The house 
was near the seaside, Acts 10 : 6, 32, 
for the convenience of the water, (a.d. 
39.) 


SIM 


632 


SIN 


12. Simon the father of Judas Isca- 
riot. John 6:71; 13 : 2, 26. 

Sim'ri (sim'ri) {vigilant), properly 
Shimri, son of Hosah, a Merarite Levite 
in the reign of David. 1 Chron. 26 : 10. 

Sin, a city of Egypt, mentioned only 
by Ezekiel. Ezek. 30 : 15, 16. The 

name is Hebrew, or at least Semitic, 
perhaps signifying clay. It is identified 
in the Vulgate with Pelusium, “ the 
clayey or muddy ” town. Its antiquity 
may perhaps be inferred from the men- 
tion of “ the wilderness of Sin ” in the 


after leaving the encampment by the 
Red Sea. Num. 33 : 11, 12. Their next 
halting-place, Ex. 16 : 1 ; 17 : 1, was Rep- 
hidim. The identification is uncertain. 
It was nearer Egypt than Sinai, since 
the camp at Rephidim lay between the 
two. It is generally considered as the 
wilderness northwest of the commonly 
received site of Mt. Sinai, on the shore 
of the Red Sea, or more exactly Gulf 
of Suez. 

Sin offering. The sin offering among 
the Jews was the sacrifice in which the 



THE REPUTED WILDERNESS OF SIN. 


journeys of the Israelites. Ex. 16 : 1 ; 
Num. 33 : 11. Ezekiel speaks of Sin as 
“ Sin the stronghold of Egypt.” Ezek. 
30 : 15. This place was held by Egypt 
from that time until the period of the 
Romans. Herodotus relates that Sen- 
nacherib advanced against Pelusium, 
and that near Pelusium Cambyses de- 
feated Psammenitus. In like manner 
the decisive battle in which Ochus de- 
feated the last native king, Nectanebos, 
was fought near this city. 

Sin, Wilderness of, a tract of the 
wilderness which the Israelites reached 


ideas of propitiation and of atonement 
for sin were most distinctly marked. 
The ceremonial of the sin offering is de- 
scribed in Lev. 4 and 6. The trespass 
offering is closely connected with the 
sin offering in Leviticus, but at the 
same time clearly distinguished from it, 
being in some cases offered with it as a 
distinct part of the same sacrifice ; as, 
for example, in the cleansing of the 
leper. Lev. 14. The distinction of cere- 
monial clearly indicates a difference in 
the idea of the two sacrifices. The 
actual difference is, however, difficult to 


SIN 


633 


SIN 


decide upon, and has given rise to much 
discussion. Apparently the sin offerings 
were— 1 . Regular, (a) For the whole 
people, at the New Moon, Passover, 
Pentecost, Feast of Trumpets and Feast 
of Tabernacles, Num. 28:15-29:38; be- 
sides the solemn offering of the two 
goats on the Great Day of Atonement. 
Lev. 16. ( b ) For the priests and Le- 

vites at their consecration. Ex. 29 : 10- 
14, 36; besides the yearly sin offering 
(a bullock) for the high priest on the 
Great Day of Atonement. Lev. 16. 
2. Special. For any sin of “ ignorance ” 
and the like, recorded in Lev. 4 and 5. 
Josephus declares that the sin offering 
is presented by those “ who 
fall into sin in ignorance,” 
and the trespass offering by 
“ one who has sinned and 
is conscious of his sin, but 
has no one to convict him 
thereof.” Dr. Davis, in his 
Bible Dictionary gives h i s 
opinion as follows : “ The 

sin offering was made for 
sins o f which the effect 
terminates primarily on the 
sinner; the trespass offer- 
ing for sins of which the 
effects terminate primarily 
on another, and for which, 
in addition to the sacrifice, 
restitution was made. But 
sins committed deliberately 
and for which the penalty 
was death could not be ex- 
piated. Num. 15 : 30, 31.” 

Si'na, Mount, the Greek 
form of the well-known 
name Sinai. Acts 7 : 30, 38. 

Si'na=i (si'na-i) pertain- 
ing to Sin [the moon- 
•god]). Nearly in the cen- 
tre of the peninsula which 
stretches between the horns 
of the Red Sea lies a wedge of granite, 
grunstein and porphyry rocks rising to 
between 8000 and 9000 feet above the 
sea. Its shape resembles a scalene tri- 
angle. These mountains may be divided 
into two great masses — that of Jebel 
Serbal (6712 feet high), in the north- 
west above Wady Feirdn, and the cen- 
tral group, roughly denoted by the gen- 
eral name of Sinai. This group rises 
abruptly from the Wady es-Sheikh at 
its north foot, first to the cliffs of the 
Ras Sufsafeh, behind which is the pin- 
nacle of Jebel Musa (the Mount of 


Moses), and farther back to the right 
of it the summit of Jebel Katerin 
(Mount St. Catherine). 

1. Names. — These mountains are called 
Horeb, and sometimes Sinai. The dis- 
tinction is one of usage, both names 
being applied to the same place by dif- 
ferent persons. 

2 . The mountain from which the law 
was given. — Modern investigators are 
exceedingly uncertain as to the identity 
of Mt. Sinai, some being inclined to the 
belief that it was in Midian, east of 
the Gulf of Akaba, far from the tra- 
ditional site. Others believe it Jebel 
Serbal, the principal objection to which 


THE PEAK OF MT. SINAI. 

is the lack of a suitable plain at its 
base for the encampment. The tradi- 
tional site is the long range which rises 
from the plain er-Rahah , with the Wady 
es-Sheikh and Wady es-Deir, bordering 
it on the northeast. The plain of er- 
Rahah is about two miles long by. half 
a mile broad, and is entirely suitable 
for a camping ground. Its size is such 
that the whole people of Israel, two 
million in number, would find ample 
accommodations for seeing and hear- 
ing. The peak overlooking this plain 
is Ras es-Sufsafeh, a precipitous cliff 




634 



THE PEAKS OF SINAT 




SIN 


635 


SLA 


rising directly from the plain. If the 
law was proclaimed orally to the people 
from any of the peaks in this region 
this would certainly seem to answer the 
purpose perfectly. Dean Stanley says 
that “ from the highest point of Ras 
Sufsafeh to its lower peak, a distance 
of about 60 feet, the page of a book 
distinctly but not loudly read was per- 
fectly audible.” Jebel Musa, at the 
southern end of the range is also a 
traditional site, but there is no such 
commodious plain at its foot. Some 
believe that the law was delivered to 
Moses on Jebel Musa, and proclaimed 
’to the people from Ras-es-Sufsafeh. It 
has been thought for some time that 
the tradition naming Jebel Musa was 
much later than that naming Jebel Ser- 
bal, but a manuscript found in 1887 de- 
scribes a pilgrimage which could only 
have had for its object the region of 
Jebel Musa, and the plain of er-Rahah. 

Si'nim (si'nim), a people noticed in 
Isa. 49 : 12, as living at the extremity of 
the known world. There are several 
theories as to their identity, but the 
most common is that it refers to China. 

Si'nite (si'nite), a tribe of Canaan- 
.ites, Gen. 10:17; 1 Chron. 1:15, whose 
position is to be sought for in the north- 
ern part of the Lebanon district. 

Si'on (si'on) ( elevated ), Mount. 1. 
One of the various names of Mount 
Hermon. Deut. 4 : 48 only. 

2. The Greek form of the Hebrew 
name Zion, the famous mount of the 
temple. 1 Macc. 4:37, 60 ; 5 : 54 ; 6 : 48, 
62; 7:33; 10:11; 14:27; Heb. 12:22; 
Rev. 14:1. [Jerusalem.] 

Siph'moth (sif'moth), one of the 
places in the south of Judah which 
David frequented, during his freeboot- 
ing life. 1 Sam. 30 : 28. 

Sip'pa=i (threshold) , Saph, one of 
the sons of Rephaim, or “ the giants,” 
slain by Sibbechai at Gezer. 1 Chron. 
20:4. (b.c. about 1050.) 

Si'rach (si'rak), the father of Jesus 
(Joshua), • the writer of the Hebrew 
original of the book of Ecclesiasticus. 

Si'rah (sfrah), The well of, from 
which Abner was recalled by Joab to 
his death at Hebron. 2 Sam. 3 : 26 
only. It was apparently on the north- 
ern road from Hebron. There is a 
spring and reservoir on the western side 
of the ancient northern road, about one 
mile out of Hebron, which is called 
Ain Sarah, which is probably the one. 


Sir'ion (sir'i-on) (breastplate), one 
of the various names of Mount Her- 
mon, that by which it was known to 
the Zidonians. Deut. 3:9; Ps. 29:6. 

Sis'ama=i (sis'a-ma-i), a descendant 
of Sheshan in the line of Jerahmeel. 
1 Chron. 2 : 40. 

Sis'era (sis'e-ra) (battle array). 1. 
Captain of the army of Jabin king of 
Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. He 
himself resided in Harosheth of the 
Gentiles. The particulars of the rout 
of Megiddo and of Sisera’s flight and 
death are given under the heads of 
Barak, Deborah, Jael, Kishon. (b.c. 
1229.) 

2. After a long interval the name re- 
appears in the lists of the Nethinim who 
returned from the captivity, with Zerub- 
babel. Ezra 2:53; Neh. 7:55. It per- 
haps tells of Canaanite captives devoted 
to the lowest offices of the temple. 

Sit'nah (sit'nah) (enmity), the sec- 
ond of the two wells dug by Isaac in 
the valley of Gerar, the possession of 
which the herdmen of the valley dis- 
puted with him. Gen. 26 : 21. 

Sivan (si' van). [Month.] 

Slave. Slavery existed in remote 
antiquity. There is no record of its 
institution, and no indication of a pe- 
riod when it did not exist. It is recog- 
nized in the Mosaic code, apparently 
with a view to soften its hardships and 
give every one his rights. No Hebrew 
could become permanently the slave of 
another Hebrew, while the redemption 
of those in bondage to Gentiles was 
recognized as a duty. Slaves from the 
Gentiles were well treated among the 
Hebrews, and had certain recognized 
legal rights and could rise to responsi- 
ble positions. 

1 . Hebrew Slaves. — Hebrews became 
slaves to others of their own race, — (1) 
because of debt, the debtor, and per- 
haps his children being held as slaves 
until the debt was “ worked out.” Ex. 
22 : 3 ; 2 Kings 4:1; Neh. 5:5, 8 ; Amos 
2:6; Matt. 18:25. (2) Thieves unable 

to make restitution on the scale pre- 
scribed by the law were treated as 
debtors. Ex. 22:1, 3. (3) On account 

of poverty men at times sold themselves 
or their children. Ex. 21 : 2, 7 ; Lev. 25 : 
39, 47. A daughter of tender age was 
often sold as a maid-servant, with a 
view to her becoming the wife or the 
concubine of the purchaser or of his 
son. Ex. 21 : 7-11. This latter may in 


SLA 


636 


SLA 


some cases have been considered as 
dowry given to the parents of the bride. 
The price of the slave varied greatly 
according to circumstances, but was 
reckoned as averaging 30 shekels. Ex. 
21 : 32. Joseph, at 17 years of age was 
sold for 20 shekels. 

The legal status of a Hebrew slave 
among the Hebrews was quite different 
from that of a non-Hebrew slave. The 
condition of a Hebrew servant was by 
no means intolerable. His master was 
admonished to treat him, not “ as a 
bond-servant, but as an hired servant 
and as a sojourner,” and, again, “not 
to rule over him with rigor.” Lev. 25 : 
39, 40, 43. At the termination of his 
servitude the master was enjoined not 
to “ let him go away empty,” but to 
remunerate him liberally out of his 
flock, his floor and his wine-press. 
Deut. 15 : 13, 14. All the members of 
the Hebrew race, bond or free, were 
regarded as members of the common- 
wealth of Israel, and equal before God, 
having the same part in sacrifices and 
religious festivals (Ex. 12:44; Lev. 22: 
11; Deut. 12:12, 18; 16:11, 14), and 
enjoying the rest on the Sabbath day 
(Ex. 20: 10; 23: 12). 

Still more valuable to the Hebrew 
slave was the legal right of manumis- 
sion contained in the law. The debtor 
would of course be released when his 
debt was paid. But in the case of 
large debtors and heavy task masters 
that might take a long time. It was 
therefore a part of the Mosaic code 
that no Hebrew slave should be held 
longer than six years. In the seventh 
he was to “go out free.” All pur- 
chases of slaves was based on this prin- 
ciple. At the year of Jubilee all slaves 
were set free, whatever their period of 
servitude. If a servant did not de- 
sire to avail himself of the opportunity 
of leaving his service, he was to signify 
his intention in a formal manner before 
the judges (or more exactly at the 
place of judgment) , and then the mas- 
ter was to take him to the door-post, 
and to bore his ear through with an 
awl, Ex. 21 : 6, driving the awl into or 
“ unto the door,” as stated in Deut. 15 : 
17, and thus fixing the servant to it. 
A servant who had submitted to this 
operation remained, according to the 
words of the law, a servant “ forever.” 
Ex. 21 : 6. Josephus and the Rabbinists 
however apply this regulation to the 


manumissions at the end of the seven 
years, and explain it as meaning only 
till the year of Jubilee. A Hebrew 
woman might enter into voluntary servi- 
tude on the score of poverty, and in 
this case she was entitled to her free- 
dom after six years service, together 
with her usual gratuity at leaving, just 
as in the case of a man. Deut. 15 : 12, 
13. The position of a maiden sold by 
her father was subject to the following 
regulations: (1) She could not “go 
out as the men-servants do,” i. e. she 
could not leave at the termination of six 
years, or in the year of Jubilee, if her 
master was willing to fulfill the object 
for which he had purchased her. (2) 
Should he not wish to marry her, he 
should call upon her friends to procure 
her release by the repayment of the 
purchase money. (3) If he betrothed 
her to his son, he was bound to make 
such provision for her as he would 
for one of his own daughters. (4) If 
either he or his son, having married 
her, took a second wife, it should not 
be to the prejudice of the first. (5) If 
neither of the three first specified alter- 
natives took place, the maid was en- 
titled to immediate and gratuitous lib- 
erty. Ex. 21 : 7-11. If a master gave 
as wife to a Hebrew slave another slave, 
a non-Hebrew, neither she nor the chil- 
dren might leave with him when his 
term was ended, but became the abso- 
lute property of the master. Ex. 21: 
4, 5. The custom of reducing He- 
brews to servitude appears to have 
fallen into disuse subsequent to the 
Babylonish captivity. Vast numbers of 
Hebrews were reduced to slavery as 
war-captives at different periods by the 
Phoenicians, Joel 3 : 6, the Philistines, 
Amos 1 : 6, the Syrians, 1 Macc. 3 : 41 ; 
2 Macc. 8:11, the Egyptians, Joseph. 
Ant. xii. 2, § 3, and above all by the 
Romans. Joseph. B. J. vi 9, § 3. 

II. Non-Hebrew slaves . — The major- 
ity of non-Hebrew slaves were war- 
captives, either of the Canaanites who 
had survived the general extermination 
of their race under Joshua or such as 
were conquered from the other sur- 
rounding nations Num. 31 : 26 ff. Be- 
sides these, many were obtained by pur- 
chase from foreign slave-dealers, Lev. 
25 : 44, 45 ; and others may have been 
resident foreigners who were reduced 
to this state by either poverty or crime. 
The children of slaves remained slaves, 


SLI 


637 


SNA 


being the class described as “born in 
the house,” Gen. 14 : 14 ; 17 : 12 ; Eccles. 
2 : 7, and hence the number was likely 
to increase as time went on. The aver- 
age value of a slave appears to have 
been thirty shekels. Ex. 21 : 32. 

That the slave might be manumitted 
appears from Ex. 21 : 26, 27 ; Lev. 19 : 
20 . 

The slave is described as the “ posses- 
sion” of his master, apparently with a 
special reference to the power which the 
latter had of disposing of him to his 
heirs, as he would any other article of 
personal property. Lev. 25 : 45, 46. 

But, on the other hand, provision was 
made for the protection of his person. 
Ex. 21:20; Lev. 24:17, 22. A minor 
personal injury, such as the loss of an 
eye or a tooth, was to be recompensed 
by giving the servant his liberty. Ex. 
21 : 26, 27. The position of the slave 
in regard to religious privileges was 
favorable. He was to be circumcised, 
Gen. 17 : 12, and hence was entitled to 
partake of the paschal sacrifice, Ex. 12 : 
44, as well as of the other religious 
festivals. Deut. 12 : 12, 18 ; 16 : 11, 14. 
The occupations of slaves were of a 
menial character, as implied in Lev. 25 : 
39, consisting partly in the work of the 
house and partly in personal attendance 
on the master. It will be seen that the 
whole tendency of the Bible legislation 
was to mitigate slavery, making it lit- 
tle more than hired service. Christian- 
ity avoided a sudden reversal of these 
long-established usages, and enjoined 
on slaves obedience to the master (Eph. 
6:5-8; 1 Pet. 2 : 18-21), even sending 
back a runaway slave (Philemon). But 
it inculated principles which led by de- 
grees to the abolition of slavery, be- 
ginning with the improved condition in 
the Roman empire. 

Slime, translated bitumen in the Vul- 
gate and in the R. V. margin. It is 
first spoken of as used for cement by 
the builders in the plain of Shinar or 
Babylonia. Gen. 11 : 3. The bitumen 
pits in the vale of Siddim are mentioned 
in the ancient fragment of Canaanitish 
history, Gen. 14:10; and the ark of 
papyrus in which Moses was placed 
was made impervious to water by a 
coating of bitumen and pitch. Ex. 2 : 
3. Herodotus, i. 179, tells us of the 
bitumen found at Is, the modern Hit , 
a town of Babylonia, eight days jour- 
ney from Babylon. Bitumen, or as- 


phalt, is “the product of the decomposi- 
tion of vegetable and animal substances. 
It is usually found of a black or brown- 
ish-black color, externally not unlike 
coal, but it varies in consistency from 
a bright, pitchy condition, with a con- 
choidal fracture, to thick, viscid masses 
of mineral tar.” — Encyc. Brit. It is 
obtained in various places in Asia, and 
even now occasionally from the Dead 
Sea. 

Sling. [Arms.] 

Smith. [Handicraft.] 

Smyr'na (smlr'na) {myrrh ) , a city 
of Asia Minor, situated on the yEgean 
Sea, 40 miles north of Ephesus. Allu- 
sion is made to it in Rev. 2 : 8-11. It 
was founded by the successors of Alex- 
ander the Great, and was situated 3 
miles from the city of the same name, 
which after a long series of wars with 
the Lydians had been finally taken and 
sacked by Alyattes. The ancient city 
was a colony of Aeolic Greeks, but was 
taken by the Ionians and transformed 
into an Ionian city. The message to 
the church at Smyrna was entirely 
laudatory, and they were exhorted to 
stand firm in the midst of persecution. 
Its bishop, Polycarp, suffered martyr- 
dom in a.d. 169. Smyrna suffered much 
from earthquakes; in a.d. 178 or 180 it 
was destroyed by one, but was once 
rebuilt. In the time of Strabo the 
ruins of the old Smyrna still existed, 
and were partially inhabited, but the 
new city was one of the most beautiful 
in all Asia. The streets were laid out 
as near as might be at right angles. 
There was a large public library there, 
and also a handsome building sur- 
rounded with porticos which served as 
a museum. It was consecrated as a 
heroiim to Homer, whom the Smyrnse- 
ans claimed as a countryman. Olym- 
pian games were celebrated here, and 
excited great interest. Smyrna is still 
a large city of about 400,000 inhabitants, 
of which a larger proportion are Franks 
than in any other town in Turkey. It 
is the most important city of the re- 
gion, and the railroad center. 

Snail. 1 . The Hebrew word shab - 
belul occurs only in Ps. 58 : 8, and is 
translated “ snail ” in all versions. It 
means, more literally “ moist, slimy 
one.” It may denote one of the Lima- 
cidae, or shell-less variety, which are 
particularly noticeable for the slimy 
track they leave behind them, by which 


SNO 


638 


soc 


they seem to waste themselves away. 
To this, or to the fact that many of 
them are shrivelled up among the rocks 
in the long heat of the summer, the 



psalmist refers. 2. The Hebrew word 
chomet occurs only as the name of some 
unclean animal in Lev. 11 : 30. Perhaps 
some kind of lizard may be intended. 

Snow. The historical books of the 
Bible contain only two notices of snow 
actually falling — 2 Sam. 23 : 20 ; 1 Macc. 
13 : 22 ; but the allusions in the poetical 
books are so numerous that there can 
be no doubt as to its being an ordinary 
occurrence in the winter months. Ps. 
147 : 16 ; 148 : 8. The snow lies deep in 
the ravines of the highest ridge of 
Lebanon until the summer is far ad- 
vanced, and indeed never wholly disap- 
pears; the summit of Hermon also per- 
petually glistens with frozen snow. 
From these sources probably the Jews 
obtained their supplies of ice for the 
purpose of cooling their beverages in 
summer. Prov. 25 : 13. The liability to 
snow must of course vary considerably 
in a country of such varying altitude 
as Palestine. It never falls on the sea- 
board of Philistia, Sharon or Phoenicia, 
and seldom inland where the altitude 
is below 2000 feet. Around Jericho it 
never falls, and south of Hebron it is 
rare. In Jerusalem it often falls in 
December-March, but not every year, 
and the amount varies from a little 
over a foot to a few inches, though 
cases have been known of a fall of 
several feet. In Galilee it is more rare, 


but sometimes falls occur, with a precip- 
itation of several inches. 

So. “ So, king of Egypt,” is once 
mentioned in the Bible— 2 Kings 17 : 4. 
So has been variously identified as 
one of the kings of the 25th dy- 
nasty. There is an inscription 
found which speaks of a Tartan 
or commander-in-chief of Pharaoh 
who was sent against Sargon. His 
name, Sibe, is similar to the Hebrew 
Seve, a possible form of the word 
which appears as So. 

Soap. The Hebrew term borith 
is a general term for any substance 
of cleansing qualities. As, how- 
ever, it appears in Jer. 2»: 22 in con- 
tradistinction to nether, which un- 
doubtedly means “ natron ” or min- 
eral alkali, it is fair to infer that 
borith refers to vegetable alkali, or 
some kind of potash, which forms 
one of the usual ingredients in our 
soap. Numerous plants capable of 
yielding- alkalies exist in Palestine 
and the surrounding countries ; we 
may notice ^ one named hubeibeh (the 
Salsola kali of botanists) found near 



the Dead Sea, the ashes of which are 
called elkuli, from their strong alkaline 
properties. 

So'cho (so'ko). 1 Chron. 4:18. 
One of the towns called Socoh, in 
Judah, which of the two cannot be cer- 
tainly stated, although it seems prob- 
able it is 2. 

So'choh (so'ko), another form of 
the name Socoh, 1 Kings 4 : 10. Prob- 
ably, though not certainly, Socoh, 1. 


I 


soc 


639 


SOD 


So'coh (so'ko), the name of two 
towns in the tribe of Judah. 1. In the 
district of the Shephelah. Josh. 15:35; 
1 Sam. 17 : 1 ; 2 Chron. 11 : 7 ; 28 : 18. 
In the time of Eusebius it bore the 
name of Socchoth, and lay between 
eight and nine Roman miles from 
Eleutheropolis, on the road to Jerusa- 
lem. It may be identified with Shu- 
weikeh, on the edge of the valley of 
Elah, 13 miles west. of Bethlehem. 

2. Also a town of Judah, but in the 
mountain district. Josh. 15 : 48. It has 
been discovered about 10 miles south- 
west of Hebron ; bearing, like the other 
Socoh, the name of Shuweikeh. 

So'di (so'di), the father of Geddiel, 
the spy selected from the tribe of Zeb- 
ulun. Num. 13 : 10. 

Sod'om '(sod'om) (burning), one of 
the most ancient cities of Syria. It is 
commonly mentioned in connection 
with Gomorrah, but also with Admah 
and Zeboim, and on one occasion — 
Gen. 14 — with Bela or Zoar. Sodom 
was evidently the chief town in the 
settlement. The four are first named 
in the ethnological records of Gen. 10 : 
19 as belonging to the Canaanites. The 
position of Sodom is unknown, and 
probably can never be absolutely settled. 
There are three general opinions held. 

(1) That they were on the site now 
occupied by the Dead Sea. This is not 
a necessary inference from the Bible, 
though it was inferred therefrom. But 
still more conclusive as a proof is the 
absolute certainty from geological in- 
vestigation that the Dead Sea was in 
existence for ages before Abraham. 

(2) These cities were in the Arabah, 
north or northwest of the Dead Sea. 
There are strong arguments for this 
position, (a) Abraham and Lot, stand- 
ing on a height of land near Bethel, 
could see “ all the plain of Jordan.” 
Gen. 13 : 3, 10. It was one great oasis 
— “ a garden of Jehovah,” ver. 10. In 
the midst pf the garden the four cities 
of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah and 
Zeboim appear to have been situated. 
But it must be noted that “ all the 
land ” to be occupied by the Israelites 
is seen by Moses on Pisgah according 
to the statement in Deuteronomy, a fact 
which shows a possible exaggeration in 
the use of .“all” here also. ( b ) Che- 
dor-laomer, coming from the south 
fought at En-gedi before encountering 
the king of Sodom and his allies. (3) 


They lay to the south of the Dead Sea 
as it then existed, either south or south- 
west of the present sea, or on a site now 
covered by the southern end of the Sea 
itself, which is there indubitably less 
ancient and more shallow than at its 
northern end. There are weighty ar- 
guments for this, (a) Asphalt, bitu- 
men, is still found at the southern end. 
( b ) Zoar, one of the five cities, the 
only one which escaped (Gen. 18:21) 
according to Josephus (War iv, 8, 4), 
was at the southern end, while other 
references to it in the Bible seem to 
point to this site. [Zoar.] (c) If we 
must believe the cities to be covered 
by the lake the site at the southern 
end is the only possible one, since at 
its northern end it is from 600 to 1000 
feet deep, and of far more ancient ori- 
gin. ( d ) A fourth argument, is the 
existence of the salt mountain at the 
south of the lake, and its tendency to 
split off in columnar masses presenting 
a rude resemblance to the human form. 
But it is by no means certain that salt 
does not exist at other spots round the 
lake, (e) A fifth argument is drawn 
from the fact that Abraham saw the 
smoke of the burning cities from He- 
bron. It thus appears that on the sit- 
uation of Sodom no satisfactory con- 
clusion can at present be reached. Of 
the catastrophe which destroyed the 
city and the district of Sodom we can 
hardly hope ever to form a satisfactory 
conception. Some catastrophe there un- 
doubtedly was ; but what secondary 
agencies, besides fire, were employed in 
the accomplishment of the punishment 
cannot be safely determined in the al- 
most total absence of exact scientific 
description of the natural features of 
the ground round the lake. We may 
suppose, however, that the actual agent 
in the ignition and destruction of the 
cities had been of the nature of a tre- 
mendous thunder-storm accompanied by 
a discharge of meteoric stones, and that 
these set on fire the bitumen with which 
the soil was saturated, and which was 
used in building the city. The miser- 
able fate of Sodom and Gomorrah is 
held up as a warning in numerous pas- 
sages of the Old and New Testaments. 
Mark 6:11; 2 Pet. 2:6; Jude 4-7. 

Sod'oma (sod'6-ma). Rom. 9:29. 
In this place alone the Authorized Ver- 
sion has followed the Greek and Vulgate 
form of the well-known name Sodom. 


SOD 


640 


SOL 


Sod'omites (sod'o-mites). This word 
does not denote the inhabitants of 
Sodom; but it is employed in the Au- 
thorized Version of the Old Testament 
for those who practiced as a religious 
rite the abominable and unnatural vice 
from which the inhabitants of Sodom 
and Gomorrah have derived their last- 
ing infamy. 

Sol'omon (sol'6-mon) {peaceful). I. 
Early life. Solomon was the son of 
David and Bathsheba. 2 Sam. 12 : 24 ; 
1 Chron. 3 : 5. The former passage 
leads one to infer that he was the first 
son after their legal marriage ; while 
the latter names him as the last of 
four. Some explain this by stating that 
he was named last as the most impor- 
tant. 

His name, Solomon, means The 
Peaceful, one whose reign was fore- 
told to be a reign of peace and quiet- 
ness (1 Chron. 22:9). It may have 
also expressed the fact that David him- 
self had found the peace of forgiveness. 
Nathan called him Jedidiah=“ Beloved 
of Jehovah.” 

His parental inheritance was remark- 
ably strong in several directions. His 
father David was in the maturity of 
his age, and his mother Bathsheba was 
the granddaughter of the wise Ahitho- 
phel, whose advice “ was as if a man 
had inquired at the oracle of God.” 

“He inherited from his mother and 
the counsellor Ahithophel sagacity, 
quickness of judgment, judicial insight, 
and perhaps some measure of sensual 
weakness; from his father, thoughtful- 
ness, literary tastes, the skill of ruling, 
and an interest in religion.” 

Of his personal appearance we have 
no direct description, as we have of 
the earlier kings. There are, however, 
materials for filling up the gap. What- 
ever higher mystic meaning may be 
latent in Ps. 45, or the Song of Songs, 
we are all but compelled to think of 
them as having had at least a historical 
starting-point. They tell of one who 
was, in the eyes of the men of his 
own time, “ fairer than the children of 
men,” the face “white and ruddy” as 
his father’s, Cant. 5 : 10 ; 1 Sam. 17 : 42, 
bushy locks, dark as the raven’s wing, 
yet not without a golden glow, the eyes 
soft as “ the eyes of doves,” the “ coun- 
tenance as Lebanon, excellent as the 
cedars,” “ the chiefest among ten thou- 
sand, the altogether lovely.” Cant. 5 : 


9-16. Add to this all gifts of a noble, 
far-reaching intellect, large and ready 
sympathies, a playful and genial humor, 
the lips “ full of grace,” and the soul 
“ anointed ” as “ with the oil of glad- 
ness,” Ps. 45, and we may form some 
notion of what the king was like in 
that dawn of his golden prime. 

He had a most excellent education, 
if we may judge by what he was in 
manhood. The common opinion is that 
he was placed under the care and train- 
ing of Nathan; but there is no real 
proof of this, and there is no trace of 
prophetical influence over his later 
years. He showed however that he had 
been brought up in the religion and 
learning of the Jews. He developed a 
great taste for science and literature 
(1 Kings 4:32-34). He had the ad- 
vantages of being the child of David’s 
later years and of being under the in- 
fluence of the subdued piety which char- 
acterized those years. His mother, too, 
doubtless joined with David in his pen- 
itential piety, for she had great influ- 
ence over him to the last. 

On the other hand, he was “ born to 
the purple ” ; he was brought up in lux- 
ury and wealth, and knew nothing of 
the hardships which developed much of 
the character of his father. The in- 
fluences of the court were often bad. 
He came in contact with other princes 
and he had to resist all the temptations 
of a beautiful and flattered youth. t 

II. Accession to the throne . — At some 
period, it is not known when, David 
had promised Bathsheba that Solomon 
should be his heir. In addition to the 
oath there were other reasons why Sol- 
omon seemed a fitting successor. On 
account of it he had probably received 
a different training from that given 
those who would not naturally ascend 
the throne. The older sons, born of 
heathen mothers in David’s warrior 
days, were turbulent and of fierce pas- 
sions. They would not be fitting heads 
for a nation chosen by God for his 
service. There is no difficulty in the 
fact that he was one of the younger 
children. The law of primogeniture 
did not hold among kings of that day, 
much being left to the choice of the 
father. 

When David was old and feeble, 
Adonijah, Solomon’s older brother, at- 
tempted to gain possession of the 
throne; but he was defeated through 


SOL 


641 


SOL 


Nathan and Bathsheba, and Solomon 
went down to Gihon and was pro- 
claimed and anointed king. 1 Kings 1. 
A few months more and Solomon 
found himself, by his father’s death, 
the sole occupant of the throne. The 
position to which he succeeded was 
unique. Never before, and never after, 
did the kingdom of Israel take its place 
among the great monarchies of the East. 
Large treasures, accumulated through 
many years, were at his disposal. 

His first occupation was to make his 
seat secure, and to punish the heads of 
the conspiracy. Adonijah was par- 
doned, but later was put to death be- 
cause he had asked for permission to 
marry Abishag, the young Shunammite 
for his wife, which was in Oriental 
ideas tantamount to another attempt 
upon the throne. Abiathar the high 
priest was degraded, and Joab was put 
to death. After he was strengthened 
in the kingdom he held a religious con- 
vocation at Gibeon, where during the 
night following he had the dream 
where he chose wisdom as the gift of 
God in preference to wealth or long 
life. 

III. Foreign policy. — 1 . Egypt. The 
first act of the foreign policy of the 
new reign must have been to most 
Israelites a very startling one. He 
made affinity with Pharaoh, king of 
Egypt, by marrying his daughter. 1 
Kings 3 : 1. The immediate results 
were probably favorable enough. The 
new queen brought with her as a 
dowry the frontier city of Gezer. Pha- 
raoh’s daughter always remained the 
principal personage at the court. From 
a worldly point of view this was a 
most valuable alliance, both commer- 
cially and politically. From Egypt he 
procured horses and chariots; his posi- 
tion made it possible for him to secure 
to himself a goodly share of profit in 
the commerce between Egypt and the 
nations of the Far East. From the re- 
ligious point of view it paved the way 
for at least a tendency to idolatry, al- 
though all that can be absolutely proved 
is that he allowed his various wives per- 
fect religious freedom, even going so 
far as to provide the altars for the 
idolatrous worship. 

2. Tyre. The alliance with the Phoe- 
nician king rested on a somewhat differ- 
ent footing. It had been a part of 
David’s policy from the beginning of 
41 


his reign. Hiram had been “ ever a 
lover of David.” At once on hearing 
of Solomon’s accession' he sent ambas- 
sadors to salute him. A correspondence 
passed between the two kings, which 
ended in a treaty of commerce. The 
opening of Joppa as a port created a 
new coasting-trade, and the materials 
from Tyre were conveyed to that city 
on floats, and thence to Jerusalem. 2 
Chron. 2 : 16. In return for these ex- 
ports, the Phoenicians were only too 
glad to receive the corn and oil of Sol- 
omon’s territory. The results of the al- 
liance did not end here. Now, for the 
first time in the history of the Jews, 
they entered on a career as a commer- 
cial people. Still more important was 
the aid given by the Phoenicians in the 
building of the temple. His own sub- 
jects would apparently have been totally 
incapable of supplying the necessary 
skill for either the construction or the 
ornamentation of the numerous build- 
ings from which much of his fame is 
derived. It was chiefly through Phoeni- 
cia that Hebrew art was derived. 

3. The foregoing were the two most 
important alliances. There were many 
others, as in all probability most of his 
harem consisted of princesses or ladies 
of noble families sent to him to cement 
an alliance. The absence of any refer- 
ence to Babylon and Assyria, and the 
fact that the Euphrates was recognized 
as the boundary of Solomon’s kingdom, 
2 Chron. 9 : 26, suggests the inference 
that the Mesopotamian monarchies were 
at this time comparatively feeble. Other 
neighboring nations were content to 
pay annual tribute in the form of gifts. 
2 Chron. 9 : 28. 

4. The survey of the influence exer- 
cised by Solomon on surrounding na- 
tions would be incomplete if we were to 
pass over that which was more directly 
personal — the fame of his glory and his 
wisdom. Wherever the ships of Tar- 
shish went, they carried with them the 
report, losing nothing in its passage, of 
what their crews had seen and heard. 
The journey of the queen of Sheba, 
though from its circumstances the most 
conspicuous, did not stand alone. 5. 
Solomon was not a military ruler. His 
father had left him a wide kingdom, 
surrounded by neighbors who were 
nearly all subject or tributary. Only one 
military expedition seems to have been 
undertaken, that against Hamath in or- 


SOL 


642 


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der to secure the northeastern part of 
his dominions. Besides this he merely 
needed to see that his fortifications 
remained secure, and that the roads to 
his seaports were open and safe. 

IV. Internal history. — The first prom- 
inent scene in Solomon’s reign is one 
which presents his character in its no- 
blest aspect. God in a vision having 
offered him the choice of good things 
he would have, he chose wisdom in 
preference to riches or honor or long 
life. The wisdom asked for was given 
in large measure, and took a varied 
range. The wide world of nature, ani- 
mate and inanimate, the lives and char- 
acters of men, lay before him, and he 
took cognizance of all. But the highest 
wisdom was that wanted for the high- 
est work, for governing and guiding, 
and the historian hastens to give an 
illustration of it. The pattern-instance 
is, in all its circumstances thoroughly 
oriental. 1 Kings 3 : 16-28. 

His organization of the kingdom was 
complete. It seems to have, for the 
time, at least, entirely lost the tribal 
divisions, and all remains of patriarchal 
government. The monarchy was des- 
potic. Officers were stationed in vari- 
ous parts of the land to apportion and 
secure the large amount necessary for 
the provisioning of the royal household. 
The army, also, was carefully organ- 
ized though it had little beyond gar- 
rison duty to perform. In reference to 
the king’s finances, the first impression 
of the facts given us is that of abound- 
ing plenty. Large quantities of the 
precious metals were imported from 
Ophir and Tarshish. 1 Kings 9:28. 
All the kings and princes of the sub- 
ject provinces paid tribute in the form 
of gifts, in money and in kind, “ at a 
fixed rate year by year.” 1 Kings 10: 
25. Monopolies of trade contributed to 
the king’s treasury. 1 Kings 10 : 28, 29. 
The total amount thus brought into the 
treasury in gold, exclusive of all pay- 
ments in kind, amounted in one year 
to 666 talents. 1 Kings 10 : 14. It was 
hardly possible, however, that any fi- 
nancial system could bear the strain of 
the king’s passion for magnificence. 
The cost of the temple was, it is true, 
provided for by David’s savings and 
the offerings of the people; but even 
while that was building, yet more when 
it was finished, one structure followed 
on another with ruinous rapidity. All 


the equipment of his court, the “ ap- 
parel ” of his servants, was on the same 
scale. A body-guard attended him, 
“ threescore valiant men,” tallest and 
handsomest of the sons of Israel. 
Forty thousand stalls of horses for his 
chariots, and twelve thousand horse- 
men, made up the measure of his mag- 
nificence. 1 Kings 4 : 26. As the treas- 
ury became empty, taxes multiplied and 
monopolies became more irksome. 

He was a great builder and spent time 
and money in vast amounts in beautify- 
ing his capital. A description of the 
temple erected by Solomon is given 
elsewhere. [Temple.] After seven 
years and a half the work was com- 
pleted, and the day came to which all 
Israelites looked back as the culminat- 
ing glory of their nation. In addition, 
and probably later in his reign, he built 
a palace for his queen, the daughter of 
Pharaoh (1 Kings 7:8); a palace for 
himself in building which thirteen years 
were spent (1 Kings 7:1); the house 
of the forest of Lebanon (1 Kings 7: 
2); Millo (1 Kings 9:24); aqueducts, 
cisterns, etc. He also built “ store 
cities,” and built or fortified other cities 
in various parts of his kingdom. (2 
Chron. 8:4-6). We canpot ignore the 
fact that even now there were some 
darker shades in the picture. He re- 
duced the “ strangers ” in the land, the 
remnant of the Canaanite races, to the 
state of helots, and made their life 
“ bitter with all hard bondage.” One 
hundred and fifty-three thousand, with 
wives and children in proportion, were 
torn from their homes and sent off to 
the quarries and the forests of Lebanon. 
1 Kings 5 : 15 ; 2 Chron. 2 : 17, 18. 

V. His literary works. — Little remains 
out of the songs, proverbs, treatises, of 
which the historian speaks. 1 Kings 
4:32, 33. Excerpta only are given 

from the three thousand proverbs. Of 
the thousand and five songs we know 
absolutely nothing. Two psalms (72 
and 127) are attributed to him by their 
titles. Ecclesiastes and Canticles 
were formerly attributed to his pen ; 
but modern scholarship has made it 
quite evident that though he is prob- 
ably the hero in each case he is in 
neither case the author. 

Solomon’s Porch. [Palace; Tem- 
ple.] 

Solomon’s servants, Children of. 

Ezra 2 : 55, 58 ; Neh. 7 : 57, 60. The per- 


SOL 


643 


SPA 


sons thus named appear in the lists of 
the exiles who returned from the cap- 
tivity. They were the descendants of 
the Canaanites who \vere reduced by 
Solomon to the helot state, and com- 
pelled to labor in the king’s stone-quar- 
ries and in building his palaces and 
cities. 1 Kings 5 : 13, 14 ; 9 : 20, 21 ; 2 
Chron. 8:7, 8. They appear to have 
formed a distinct order, inheriting prob- 
ably the same functions and the same 
skill as their ancestors. 

Solomon’s Song. [Canticles.] 
Solomon, Wisdom of. [Wisdom.] 
Son. The term “ son ” is used in 
Scripture language to imply almost any 
kind of descent or succession, as a 
grandson is called a son. So ben shandh , 
“son of a year,” i. e. a year old; ben 
kesheth, “ son of a bow,” i. e. an arrow. 
The word bar (Aramaic for son) is 
often found in the New Testament in 
composition, as Bar-timaeus. 

Soothsayer. [Divination.] 

Sop. In eastern lands, where our ta- 
ble utensils are unknown, the meat, 
with the broth, is brought upon the 
table in a large dish, and is eaten usu- 
ally by means of pieces of bread dipped 
into- the common dish. The bread so 
dipped is called a “ sop.” It was such 
a piece of bread dipped in broth that 
Jesus gave to Judas, John 13:26; and 
again, in Matt. 26 : 23, it is said “ he 
that dippeth his hand with me in the 
dish,” i. e. to make a sop by dipping 
a piece of bread into the central dish. 

Sop'ater (sop'a-ter), son of Pyrrhus 
of Berea, was one of the companions 
of St. Paul on his return from his 
third missionary journey. Acts 20:4. 
(a.d. 57.) 

Soph'ereth (sof'e-reth) ( secretary- 
ship ). “The children of Sophereth ” 
were a family who returned from 
Babylon with Zerubbabel among the 
descendants of Solomon’s servants. 
Ezra 2 : 55 ; Neh. 7 : 57. 

Sorcerer. [Divination.] 

So'rek (so'rek), The valley of, a 
wady in which lay the residence of 
Delilah. Judges 16:4. It is Wady 
Surar which commencing about 13 miles 
west of Jerusalem near Beeroth 
( Bireh ) runs in a generally northwest- 
ern direction. The name Surik is still 
borne by a ruin in the vicinity. 

Sosip'ater (so-sip'a-ter) ( saviour of 
his father), kinsman or fellow tribes- 
man of St. Paul, Rom. 16 : 21, is pos- 


sibly the same person as Sopater of 
Berea, (a.d. 57.) 

Sos'thenes (sos'the-nes) (of sound 
strength), was a Jew at Corinth who 
was seized and beaten in the presence' 
of Gallio. See Acts 18 : 12-17. The 
same or another Sosthenes is named in 
1 Cor. 1:1. (a.d. 52.) 

So'tai (so'ta-I) (deviator). The 
children of Sotai were a family of the 
descendants of Solomon’s servants who 
returned with Zerubbabel. Ezra 2 : 55 ; 
Neh. 7 : 57. 

South Ra'moth. [Ramath of the 
south.] 

Sow. [Swine.] 

Sower, Sowing. The operation of 
sowing with the hand is one of so sim- 
ple a character as to need little descrip- 
tion. The Egyptian paintings furnish 
many illustrations of the mode in which 
it was conducted. The sower held the 
vessel or basket containing the seed in 
his left hand, while with his right he 
scattered the seed broadcast. The 
“ drawing out ” of the seed is noticed, 
as the most characteristic action of the 
sower, in Ps. 126 : 6 (Authorized Ver- 
sion “ precious ”) and Amos 9 : 13. The 
sowing season began in October and 
continued to the end of February, wheat 
being put in before, and barley after, 
the beginning of January. The Mosaic 
law prohibited the sowing of mixed 
seed. Lev. 19 : 19 ; Deut. 22 : 9. 

Spain. 1 Macc. 8:3; Rom. 15 : 24, 
28. The local designation, Tarshish, 
representing the Tartessus of the 
Greeks, probably prevailed until the 
fame of the Roman wars in that coun- 
try reached the East, when it was, super- 
seded by its classical name. The mere 
intention of St. Paul to visit Spain 
whether he really did so or not, implies 
two interesting facts,, viz., the estab- 
lishment of a Christian community in 
that country, and that this was done 
by Hellenistic Jews resident there. The 
early introduction of Christianity into 
that country is attested by Irenaeus and 
Tertullian. 

Span. [Weights and Measures.] 

Sparrow (Heb. tzippor, from a root 
signifying to “ chirp ” or “ twitter,” 
which appears to be a phonetic repre- 
sentation of the call-note of any pas- 
serine (sparrow-like) bird). This 
Hebrew word occurs upwards of forty 
times in the Old Testament. In all 
passages except two it is rendered by 


SPA 


644 


SPI 




of very little value, selling for the 
merest trifle, and are thus strikingly 
used by our Saviour, Matt. 10 : 29, as an 
illustration of our Father’s care for his 
children. Some consider that the blue 
thrush ( Petrocossyphus cynaneus ) is 
probably the bird to which the psalmist 
alludes in Ps. 102 : 7 as “ the sparrow 
that sitteth alone upon the house-top.” 
It is a solitary bird, eschewing the so- 
ciety of its own species, and rarely 
more than a pair are seen together. 
The English tree-sparrow ( Passer mon- 
tanus, Linn.) is also very common, and 
may be seen in numbers on Mount 
Olivet, and also about the sacred en- 
closure of the mosque of Omar. This 
is perhaps the exact species referred 
to in Ps. 84 : 3. Dr. Thompson, in 
speaking of the great numbers of the 
house-sparrows and field-sparrows in 
Palestine, says : “ They are a tame, 

troublesome and impertinent generation, 
and nestle just where you do not want 
them. They stop up your stove-and 
water-pipes with their rubbish, build in 
the windows and under the beams of the 
roof, and would stuff your hat full o»f 
stubble in half a day if they found it 
hanging in a place to suit them.” 

Spar'ta, a celebrated city of Greece, 
also known as Lacedemon, between 
whose inhabitants and the Jews a re- 
lationship was believed to subsist, 
based on the supposed connection 
between the names Peleg and Pe- 
lasgians. The actual relationship of 
the Jews and Spartans, 2 Macc. 5:9, 
is, however, an ethnological error, 
which it is difficult to trace to its 
origin. There was some correspond- 
ence and attempts at alliance between 
them and the Maccabees, about 300 
B.C. 

Spear. [Arms.] 

Spearmen. Acts 23 : 23. These 
were probably troops so lightly armed 
as to be able to keep pace on the 
march with mounted soldiers. 

Spice, Spices. 1. Heb. has am, 
bdsem, plural besamin. A generic 
name for the Aromatic spices myrrh, 
cinnamon, cassia and calamus. I n 
Cant. 5:1, 13 ; 6:2 the word may 
refer more specifically to balsam or 
balm of Gilead ; the tree which yields 
# this substance is now generally ad- 
mitted tc be the Balsamodenron opobal- 
samum. [Balm.] 2. Necoth. Gen. 37: 
25 ; 43 : 11. The most common explana-* 


the Authorized Version indifferently 
“ bird ” or “ fowl,” and denotes any 
small bird, both of the sparrow-like 
species and such as the starling, chaf- 
finch, greenfinch, linnet, goldfinch, corn- 


SYRIAN SPARROW. 

bunting, pipits, blackbird, song-thrush, 
etc. In Ps. 84:3 and Ps. 102:7 it 
is rendered “ sparrow.” The Greek 
crpovdLov (Authorized Version “spar- 
row”) occurs twice in the New Testa- 


SPARROWS IN MARKET. 

ment, Matt. 10 : 29 ; Luke 12 : 6, 7. The 
birds above mentioned are found in 
great numbers in Palestine, and are 


SPI 


645 


SPO 


tion is that which refers the word to 
the Arabic naka’at, “ the gum obtained 
from the tragacanth,” but some deny 
that this is the true meaning of the 
Arabic. 3. Sammlm, a general term to 
denote those aromatic substances which 
were used in the preparation of the 
anointing oil, the incense offerings, etc. 
4. The spices mentioned as being used 
by Nicodemus for the preparation of 
our Lord’s body, John 19 : 39, 40, are 
“ myrrh and aloes,” by which latter word 
must be understood not the aloes of 
medicine, but the highly-scented wood 
of the Aquilaria agallochum. 

Spider. The Hebrew word ’accabish 
in Job 8 : 14, Isa. 59 : 5 is correctly ren- 
dered “ spider.” But semdmith is 
wrongly translated “ spider ” in Prov. 
30:28; it refers probably to some kind 
of lizard. “ There are many species of 
spider in Palestine : some which spin 
webs, like the common garden spider; 
some which dig subterranean cells and 
make doors in them, like the well- 
known trap-door spider of southern 
Europe ; and some which have no web, 
but chase their prey upon the ground, 
like the hunting-and the wolf-spider.” — 
Wood’s Bible Animals. 

Spikenard (Heb. nerd ) is mentioned 
twice in the Old Testament, viz. in Cant. 



SPIKENARD. 


1 : 12 ; 4 : 13, 14. The ointment with 
which our Lord was anointed as he sat 
at meat in Simon’s house at Bethany 
consisted of this precious substance, the 
costliness of which may be inferred from 
the indignant surprise manifested by some 


of the witnesses of the transaction. See 
Mark 14 : 3-5 ; John 12 : 3, 5. Spikenard, 
from which the ointment was made, 
was an aromatic herb of the valerian 
family ( Nardostachys jatamansi) . Tt 
was imported from an early age from 
Arabia, India and the Far East. It is 
now found on the* slopes of the Hima- 
layas. The costliness of Mary’s offer- 
ing (300 pence = $48) may best be seen 
from the fact that a penny (denarius, 
15 to 17 cents) was in those days the 
day-wages of a laborer. Matt. 20 : 2. 
In our day this would equal at least 
$300 or $400. 

Spinning. The notices of spinning 
in the Bible are confined to Ex. 35 : 25, 
26; Prov. 31:19; Matt. 6 :28. The lat- 
ter passage implies (according to the 
Authorized Version) the use of the 
same instruments which have been in 
vogue for hand-spinning down to the 
present day, viz. the distaff and spindle. 
The term rendered distaff however in 
Prov. 31 : 19, means the spindle itself, 
or the whorl of the spindle, a button 
of circular rim which was affixed to 
it, and gave steadiness to its circular 
motion. The “ whorl ” of the Syrian 
women was made of amber in the time 
of Pliny. The spindle was held per- 
pendicularly in the one hand, while the 
other was employed in drawing out the 
thread. Spinning was the business of 
women among the Jews, though both 
men and women engaged in spinning 
among the Egyptians. 

Sponge, a soft, porous marine sub- 
stance. Sponges were for a long time 
supposed to be plants, but are now con- 



SPONGE OF COMMERCE. 


sidered by the best naturalists to belong 
to the animal kingdom. Sponge is men- 
tioned only in the New Testament. 


SPO 


646 


STE 


Matt 27:48; Mark 15: 36; John 19: 
29. The commercial value of the sponge 
was known from very early times; and 
although there appears to be no notice 
of it in the Old Testament, yet it is 
probable that it was used by the ancient 
Hebrews, who could readily have ob- 
tained it from the Mediterranean, where 
it was principally found. 

Spouse. [Marriage.] 

Sta'chys (sta'kis), a Christian at 
Rome, saluted by St. Paul in the Epis- 
tle to the Romans. Rom. 16 : 9. (a.d. 

57.) 

Stacte (stak'te) (Heb. nataf), the 
name of one of the sweet spices which 
composed the holy incense. See Ex. 
30 : 34 — the only passage of Scripture 
in which the word occurs. Some iden- 
tify the nataf with the gum of the 
storax tree ( Styrax officinale), but all 
that is positively known is that it sig- 


nifies an odorous distillation from some 
plant. 

Standards. The Assyrian standards 
were emblematic of their religion, and 
were therefore the more valuable as in- 
struments for leading and guiding men 
in the army. The forms were imita- 
tions of animals (1), emblems of deities 

(2) , and symbols of power and wisdom 

(3) . Many of them were crude, but 
others were highly artistic and of great 
cost. The Egyptian standards were 
designed in the same idea as those of 
the Romans, exhibiting some sacred 
emblem (5, 6, 8), or a god in the form 
of an animal (3, 4), a group of victory 
(7), or the king’s name or his portrait 
as (1), of lower, and (2), of upper, 
Egypt, or an emblematic sign, as No. 9. 

Star of the wise men. [Magi.] 

Stater. [Money.] 

Steel. In all cases where the word 
“ steel ” occurs in the Authorized 
Version the true rendering of the 
Hebrew i s “ copper ” ; “ bronze ” ; 
R. V. “ brass.” Whether the an- 
cient Hebrews were acquainted 
with steel is not perfectly certain. 
It has been inferred from a pas- 
sage in Jeremiah, 15:12, that the 
“ iron from the north ” there 
spoken of denoted a superior kind 
of metal, hardened in an unusual 
manner, like the steel obtained 
from the Chalybes of the Pontus, 
the ironsmiths of the ancient world. 
There is, however, a word in He- 
brew, paldah, which occurs only in 
Nah. 2 : 3, and is there rendered 
in the A. V. “ torches,” but which 
most probably denotes steel or har- 
dened iron and is rendered “ steel ” 
in the R. V. It may refer to the 
flashing scythes of the Assyrian 
chariots. Steel appears to have 
been known to the Egyptians. The 
steel weapons in the tomb of 
Raineses III., says Wilkinson, are 
painted blue, the bronze red. 

Stephanas (stef'a-nas), a Chris- 
tian convert o f Corinth whose 
household Paul baptized as the 
“ first-fruits of Achaia.” 1 Cor. 1 : 
16; 16: 15. 

Ste'phen (ste'ven), the first 
Christian martyr, was the chief of 
the seven (commonly called Dea- 
cons) appointed to rectify the com- 
plaints in the early Church of Je- 
rusalem, made by the Hellenistic 
against the Hebrew Christians. 



EGYPTIAN STANDARDS. 


STE 


647 


STE 


His name signifies “ a crown,” and 
he was the first of the Christians to 
receive the crown of martyrdom. 

He was a Hellenist, that is one of 
the Greek speaking Jews who were dis- 
persed throughout the empire. 

Naturally his great work was in the 
synagogues of the foreign Jews, who 
were abundant in Jerusalem as their 
assembling places for Sabbath instruc- 
tion and daily schools for their children 
indicate ; just as in every great city here 
we find French and German and Swe- 
dish and other national churches and 
Jewish synagogues. 

Stephen is thought by many to have 


The source of his power was that he 
was filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 
6:5). * 

The fruits of his power were deeds 
of healing and love, wonderful miracles, 
“ signs,” which were God’s indorsement 
of his teachings. It is almost impos- 
sible to prove that one’s teachings are 
from God, except by deeds that only 
God can do — miracles of transformed 
character, or miracles of healing and 
help. 

“ A young man of such original 
genius and special grace that there was 
nothing he might not have attained to 
had he been allowed to live. His won- 



scene of Stephen’s death. 

The place where, according to tradition, Stephen was stoned. 


been one of the Roman freedmen (the 
meaning of libertines in Acts 6:9), a 
goldsmith from Rome, one of the com- 
munity of Jews, “which had its origin 
in the thousands of Jewish captives 
taken to Rome by Pompey (b.c. 61), 
and afterward set at liberty and given 
the rights of Roman citizens.” 

He was a man of power, the power 
of faith and character aflame with the 
Holy Spirit. His eloquence was “ logic 
on fire.’’ 

He was full of grace, and of graces, 
and the beauty of holiness. Grace and 
power do not. always go together. 
Some things are beautiful, but not 
strong. Some things are strong and 
not beautiful. 


derful openness of mind ; his perfect 
freedom from all the prepossessions, 
prejudices, and superstitions of his day; 
his courage, his eloquence, his spotless 
character ; with a certain sweet, and 
at the same time majestic manner, all 
combined to set Stephen in the very 
front rank both of service and of risk. 
He was already all but the foremost 
man of his day .” — Alexander Whyte, 
Bible Characters. He shot far ahead 
of his six companions, and far above 
his particular office. First, he arrests 
attention by the “ great wonders and 
miracles that he did.” Then begins a 
series of disputations with the Hellenis- 
tic Jews of north Africa, Alexandria 
and Asia Minor. The subject of these 


STE 


648 


STO 


disputations is not expressly mentioned; 
but from what follows it is obvious 
that he struck into a new vein of teach- 
ing, which evidently caused his martyr- 
dom. He was arrested at the instiga- 
tion of the Hellenistic Jews, and 
brought before the Sanhedrin. The 
witnesses contended that he had spoken 
blasphemous words against Moses, the 
Temple, and the religious customs of 
the Jews. His speech in his defence, 
and his execution by stoning outside 
the gates of Jerusalem, are related at 
length in Acts 7. In this speech he 
shows his knowledge of the political 
and religious history of his country. 
He speaks of the Law with the utmost 
respect. Some have asserted that Ste- 
phen must have opposed more strongly 
than others the ritual of the Jews, thus 
giving some ground for an accusation 
against him. But his speech shows no 
such tendency; his Christian compan- 
ions would have been among the first 
to oppose such teaching; while all that 
would be necessary for a ground for 
accusation at that time would have been 
some attack on the “traditions of the 
elders,” such as Jesus himself made. 
(Matt. 15.) It would seem that, just 
at the close of his argument, or before 
its close, Stephen saw a change in the 
aspect of his judges as if their pa- 
tience was nearly exhausted. He broke 
off from his calm address, and turned 
suddenly upon them in an impassioned 
attack, which shows that he saw what 
was in store for him. As he spoke 
they showed by their faces that their 
hearts “ were being sawn asunder,” and 
they kept gnashing their set teeth 
against him; but still, though with diffi- 
culty, restraining themselves. He, in 
this last crisis of his fate, turned his 
face upward to the open sky, and as 
he gazed the vault of heaven seemed 
to him to part asunder; and the divine 
Glory appeared through the rending of 
the earthly veil — the divine Presence, 
seated on a throne, and on the right 
hand the human form of Jesus. Ste- 
phen spoke as if to himself, describing 
the glorious vision. As his judges 
heard the words, they would listen no 
longer. They broke into a loud yell; 
they clapped their hands to their ears; 
they flew as with one impulse upon 
him, and dragged him out of the city 
to the place of execution. Those who 
took the lead in the execution were 


the persons who had taken upon them- 
selves the responsibility of denouncing 
him. Deut. 17 : 7 ; comp. John 8:7. In 
this instance they were the witnesses 
who had reported or misreported the 
words of Stephen. They, according to 
the custom, stripped themselves ; and 
placed their garments under the keep- 
ing of a young man from Tarsus, the 
future apostle of the Gentiles. [Paul.] 
As the first volley of stones burst upon 
him, Stephen called upon the Master 
whose human form he had just seen 
in the heavens, and repeated almost the 
words with which he himself had. given 
up his life on the cross, “ O Lord 
Jesus, receive my spirit.” Another 
crash of stones brought him on his 
knees. One loud, piercing cry, answer- 
ing to the shriek or yell with which 
his enemies had flown upon him, es- 
caped his dying lips. Again clinging to 
the spirit of his Master’s words, he 
cried, “ Lord, lay hot this sin to their 
charge,” and instantly sank upon the 
ground, and, in the touching language 
of the narrator, who then uses for the 
first time the words afterward applied 
to the departure of all Christians, but 
here the more remarkable from the 
bloody scenes in the midst of which 
death took place, fell asleep. His man- 
gled body was buried by “ devout men,” 
probably Jews, who, while not followers 
of Christ, had known and respected 
Stephen; and felt the iniquity of their 
leaders in the illegal transaction. The 
importance of Stephen’s career may be 
briefly summed up under three heads : 
1. He was the first great Christian 
ecclesiastic, “the Archdeacon,” as he is 
called in the eastern Church. 2. He is 
the first martyr — the protomartyr. To 
him the name “ martyr ” is first applied. 
Acts 22 : 20. 3. Through his death and 

the consequent scattering of the disci- 
ples the gospel was carried to the Gen- 
tiles. There is some question how far 
this was advocated in the teaching of 
Stephen himself. 

Stocks. An instrument of punish- 
ment, consisting of two beams, the 
upper one being movable, with small 
openings between them, large enough 
for the ankles of the prisoner. The 
term “ stocks ” is applied in the Au- 
thorized Version to two different arti- 
cles, one of which answers rather to 
our pillory, inasmuch as the body was 
placed in a bent position, by the con- 


STO 


649 


STO 


finement of the neck and arms as well 
as the legs, while the other answers to 
our “ stocks,” the feet alone being con- 
fined in it. The prophet Jeremiah was 
confined in the first sort, Jer. 20:2, 
which appears to have been a common 
mode of punishment in his day, Jer. 
29 : 26, as the prisons contained a cham- 
ber for the special purpose, termed “ the 
house of the pillory.” 2 Chron. 16 : 
10 (Authorized Version “ prison- 
house”). The stocks, properly so 
called, are noticed in Job 13 : 27 ; 33 : 
11 ; Acts 16 : 24. The term used in 
Prov. 7:22 (Authorized Version 
“ stocks ”) more properly means fetters 
as in R. V. 

Sto'ics (sto'iks). The Stoics and 
Epicureans, who are mentioned together 
in Acts 17 : 18, represent the two oppo- 
site schools of practical philosophy 
which survived the fall of higher spec- 
ulation in Greece. The Stoic school 
was founded by Zeno of Citium in 
Cyprus, and derived its name from the 
painted “portico” (stoa) at Athens in 
which he taught. Zeno was followed 
by Cleanthes {cir. b.c. 260) ; Cleanthes 
by Chrysippus (b.C. 280-207), who was 
regarded as the intellectual founder of 
the Stoic system. “ They regarded God 
and the world as power and its mani- 
festation, matter being a passive ground 
in which dwells the divine energy. 
Their ethics were a protest against 
moral indifference, and to live in har- 
mony with nature, conformably with 
reason and the demands of universal 
good, and in the utmost indifference to 
pleasure, pain and all external good } or 
evil, was their fundamental maxim.” — 
American Cyclopaedia. The ethical 
system of the Stoics has been com- 
monly supposed to have a close con- 
nection with Christian morality; but the 
morality of stoicism is essentially based 
on pride, that of Christianity on hu- 
mility; the one upholds individual in- 
dependence, the other absolute faith, in 
another; the one looks for consolation 
in the issue of fate, the other in Provi- 
dence; the one is limited by periods of 
cosmical ruin, the other is consummated 
in a personal resurrection. Acts 17 : 
18. But in spite of the fundamental 
error of stoicism, which lies in a su- 
preme egotism, the teaching of this 
school gave a wide currency to the 
noble doctrines of the fatherhood of 
God, the common bonds of mankind, 


the. sovereignty of the soul. Among 
their most prominent representatives 
were Zeno and Antipater of Tarsus, 
Epictetus, Seneca and Marcus Aurelius. 

Stomacher. The Hebrew word so 
translated, Isa. 3 : 24, describes some ar- 
ticle of female attire, the character of 
which is a mere matter of conjecture. 

Stones. Besides the ordinary uses to 
which stones were applied, we may 
mention that large stones were set up 
to commemorate any remarkable event. 
Gen. 28:18; 35 : 14 ; 31 : 45 ; Josh. 4 : 9 ; 1 
Sam. 7 : 12. Such stones were occasion- 
ally consecrated by anointing. Gen. 28: 
18. Heaps of stones were piled up on 
various occasions, as in token of a 
treaty, Gen. 31 : 45, 48, or over the grave 
of some notorious offender. Josh. 7: 
26 ; 8:29; 2 Sam. 18 : 17. The “ white 
stone ” noticed in Rev. 2 : 17 has been 
variously regarded. Some of the ex- 
planations are the pebble of acquittal 
used in the Greek courts ; the lot cast 
in elections in Greece; the stone tablets 
written with the name of a person used 
in some methods of casting lots ; the 
stones in the high priest’s breastplate; 
the tickets presented to the victors at 
the public games; the custom of writ- 
ing on stones. Stones are used meta- 
phorically to denote hardness or insen- 
sibility, 1 Sam. 25 : 37 ; Ezek. 11 : 19 ; 
36 : 26, as well as firmness or strength. 
Gen. 49 : 24. The members of the 
Church are called “ living stones,” as 
contributing to rear that living temple 
in which Christ, . himself “a living 
stone,” is the chief or head of the 
corner. Eph. 2 : 20-22 ; 1 Pet. 2 : 4-8. 

Stones, Precious. Precious stones 
are frequently alluded to in the Holy 
Scriptures; they were known and very 
highly valued in the earliest times. The 
art of engraving on precious stones 
was known from the very earliest 
times. Gen. 38 : 18. The twelve stones 
of the breastplate were engraved each 
one with the name of one of the tribes. 
Ex. 28:17-21. It is an undecided 
question whether the diamond was 
known to the early nations of antiquity. 
The Authorized Version gives it as the 
rendering of the Heb. yahalom, but it 
is probable that the jasper or some 
form of onyx is intended. Precious 
stones are used in Scripture in a figura- 
tive sense, to signify value, beauty, 
durability, etc., in those objects with 
which they are compared. See Cant. 


STO 


650 


STR 


5:14; Isa. 54:11, 12; Lam. 4:7; Rev. 
4:3; 21 : 11, 21. 

Stoning. [Punishments.] 

Stork (Heb. chasidah), a large bird 
of passage of the heron family. The 
white stork ( Ciconia alba, Linn.) is 
one of the largest and most conspicu- 
ous of land birds, standing nearly four 
feet high, the jet black of its wings 
and its bright-red beak and legs con- 
trasting finely with the pure white of its 
plumage. Zech. 5:9. In the neigh- 
borhood of man it devours readily all 
kinds of offal and garbage. For this 
reason, doubtless, it is placed in the 
list of unclean birds by the Mosaic law. 



THE STORK. 


Lev. 11 : 19 ; Deut. 14 : 18. The range 
of the white stork extends over con- 
tinental Europe, Africa and Asia as far 
at least as Burmah. The black stork 
( Ciconia nigra, Linn.), though less 
abundant in places, is scarcely less 
widely distributed but has a more east- 
erly _ range than its congener. Both 
species are very numerous in Palestine. 
While the black stork is never found 
about buildings, but prefers marshy 
places in forests, and breeds on the 
tops of the loftiest trees, the white 
stork attaches itself to man, and for 
the service which it renders in the de- 
struction of reptiles and the removal 
of offal has been repaid from the ear- 
liest times by protection and reverence. 
The derivation of chasidah (from 
chesed, “ kindness ”) points to the pa- 
ternal and filial attachment of which 


the stork seems to have been a type 
among the Hebrews no less than the 
Greeks and Romans. It was believed 
that the young repaid the care of their 
parents by attaching themselves to 
them for li’fe, and tending them in old 
age. That the parental attachment of 
the stork is very strong has been proved 
on many occasions. Few migratory 
birds are more punctual to the time of 
their reappearance than the white stork. 
The stork has no note, and the only 
sound it emits is that caused by the 
sudden snapping of its long mandibles. 

Stranger. A “ stranger/’ in the tech- 
nical sense of the term, may be defined 
to be a person of foreign, i. e. non- 
Israelitish, extraction resident within 
the limits of the promised land. He 
was distinct from the proper “ for- 
eigner/’ inasmuch as the latter still be- 
longed to another country, and would 
only visit Palestine as a traveller : he 
was still more distinct from the “ na- 
tions,” or non-Israelite peoples. The 
term may be compared with our ex- 
pression “ naturalized foreigner.” The 
terms applied to the “ stranger ” have 
special reference to the fact of his re- 
siding in the land. The existence of 
such a class of persons among the Is- 
raelites is easily accounted for. The 
“ mixed multitude ” that accompanied 
them out of Egypt, Ex. 12: 38, formed 
one element; the Canaanitish popula- 
tion, which was never wholly extirpated 
from their native soil, formed another 
and a still more important one ; cap- 
tives taken in war formed a third ; 
fugitives, hired servants, merchants, 
etc., formed a fourth. With the ex- 
ception of the Moabites and Ammon- 
ites, Deut. 23 : 3, all nations were ad- 
missible to the rights of citizenship 
under certain conditions. The stranger 
appears to have been eligible to all 
civil offices, that of king excepted. 
Deut. 17 : 15. In regard to religion, it 
was absolutely necessary that the 
stranger should not infringe any of 
the fundamental laws of the Israelitish 
state. If he were a bondman, he was 
obliged to submit to circumcision, Ex. 
12 r44 ; if he were independent, it was 
optional with him; but if he remained 
uncircumcised, he was prohibited from 
partaking of the Passover, Ex. 12 : 48, 
and could not be regarded as a full 
citizen. Liberty was also given to an 
uncircumcised stranger in regard to the 


STR 


651 


sue 


use of prohibited food. Assuming, 
however, that the stranger was circum- 
cised, no distinction existed in regard 
to legal rights between the stranger and 
the Israelite; the Israelite is enjoined 
to treat him as a brother. Lev. 19: 
34; Deut. 10:19. The chief disability 
under which he labored was that if he 
became a bondman the laws regulating 
the release of slaves did not apply to 
him. Lev. 25 : 45, 46. It also appears 
that the “ stranger ” formed the class 
whence the hirelings were drawn ; the 
terms being coupled together in Ex. 
12 : 45 ; Lev. 22 : 10 ; 25 : 6, 40. The lib- 
eral spirit of the Mosaic regulations 
respecting strangers presents a strong 
contrast to the rigid exclusiveness of 
the Jews at the commencement of the 
Christian era. The growth of this 
spirit dates from the time of the Baby- 
lonish captivity. 

Straw. Both wheat and barley straw 
were used by the ancient Hebrews 
chiefly as fodder for the horses, cattle 
and camels. Gen. 24 : 25 ; 1 Kings 4 : 
28 ; Isa. 11 : 7 ; 65 : 25. There is no in- 
timation that straw was used for litter. 
It was employed by the Egyptians for 
making bricks, Ex. 5 : 7, 16, being 

chopped up and mixed with the clay 
to make them more compact and to 
prevent their cracking. [See Brick.] 
The ancient Egyptians reaped their 
corn close to the ear, and afterward 
cut the straw close to the ground and 
laid it by. This was the straw that 
Pharaoh refused to give to the Israel- 
ites, who were therefore compelled to 
gather it and prepare it for themselves. 
The hardship consisted in allowing no 
extra time for this, but requiring the 
same number of bricks as when this 
portion of work was done for them. 
It resulted, however, in the use of a 
less suitable material than was usually 
provided, as the Hebrews had no time 
to search out and select the best for 
the purpose. 

Stream of Egypt occurs once in the 
Old Testament— Isa. 27 : 12. [River of 
Egypt.] 

Street. The streets of a modern 
Oriental town present a great contrast 
to those with which we are familiar, 
being generally narrow, tortuous and 
gloomy, even in the best towns. Their 
character is mainly fixed by the climate 
and the style of architecture, the nar- 
rowness being due to the extreme heat, 


and the gloominess to the circumstance 
of the windows looking for the most 
part into the inner court. The street 
called “ Straight,” in Damascus, Acts 
9 : 11, was an exception to the rule of 
narrowness : it was a noble thorough- 
fare, one hundred feet wide, divided in 
the Roman age by colonnades into 
three avenues, the central one for foot 
passengers, the side passages for ve- 
hicles and horsemen going in different 
directions. The shops and warehouses 
were probably collected together into 
bazaars in ancient as in modern times. 
Jer. 37 . 21. That streets were gener- 
ally unpaved may be inferred from the 
notices of the pavement laid by Herod 
the Great at Antioch, and by Herod 
Agrippa II, at Jerusalem. Hence 
pavement forms one of the peculiar 
features of the ideal Jerusalem. Tob. 
13 : 17 ; Rev. 21 : 21. Each street and 
bazaar in a modern town is locked up 
at night; the same custom appears to 
have prevailed in ancient times. Cant. 
3:3. 

Stripes. [Punishments.] 

Su'ah (su'ah) {sweepings) , son of 
Zophah, an Asherite. 1 Chron. 7 : 36. 

Suc'coth (suk'koth) {booths). 1. 
An ancient town, first heard of in the 
account of the homeward journey of 
Jacob from Padan-aram. Gen. 33 : 17. 
The name is derived from the fact of 
Jacob’s having there put up “booths” 
{succoth) for his cattle, as well as a 
house for himself. From the itinerary 
of Jacob’s return it seems that Succoth 
lay between Peniel, near the ford of 
the torrent Jabbok, and Shechem. 
Comp. Gen. 32:30 and 33 :18. In ac- 
cordance with this is the mention of 
Succoth in the narrative of Gideon’s 
pursuit of Zebah and Zalmunna. Judges 
8 : 5-17. It would appear from this 
passage that it lay east of the Jordan, 
which is corroborated by the fact that 
it was allotted to the tribe of Gad. 
Josh. 13 : 27. Succoth is named once 
again after this — in 1 Kings 7:46; 2 
Chron. 4 : 17 — as marking the spot at 
which the brass foundries were placed 
for casting the metal work of the tem- 
ple. Tell Deir Alla, one mile north of 
the Jabbok, and Sakut about 10 miles 
south of Beisan, west of the Jordan 
have been proposed, but neither answers 
the conditions. 

2. The first camping-place of the Is- 
raelites when they left Egypt. Ex. 12 : 


sue 


652 


SUR 


37; 13 : 20 ; Num. 33 : 5, 6. This place 
was apparently reached at the close of 
the first day’s march. Egyptologists 
consider it the equivalent of the Egyp- 
tian word Thuku, the name of the re- 
gion of which Pithom was the capital. 

Suc'coth=be'noth (suk'koth-be'noth) 
occurs only in 2 Kings 17: 30. It has 
generally been supposed that this term 
is pure Hebrew, and signifies the tents 
of daughters; which some explain as 
“ the booths in which the daughters of 
the Babylonians prostituted themselves 
in honor of their idol,” others as “ small 
tabernacles in which were contained 
images of female deities.” Many 
scholars believe that Succoth-benoth rep- 
resents the Chaldaean goddess Zarpanit, 
the wife of Merodach, who was espe- 
cially worshipped at Babylon. 

Su'chathites (su'kath-ites), one of 
the families of scribes at Jabez. 1 
Chron. 2 : 55. 

Suk'kiim (suk'ki-im) (booth-dwell- 
ers), a nation mentioned 2 Chron. 12: 
3 with the Lubim and Cushim as sup- 
plying part of the army which came 
with Shishak out of Egypt when he in- 
vaded Judah. The Sukkiim may cor- 
respond to some one of the shepherd 
or wandering races mentioned on the 
Egyptian monuments. 

Sun. In the history of the creation 
the sun is described as the “ greater 
light,” in contradistinction to the moon, 
the “ lesser light,” in conjunction with 
which it was to serve “ for signs, and 
for seasons, and for days, and for 
years,” while its special office was “to 
rule the day.” Gen. 1 : 14-16. The 
“ signs ” referred to were probably such 
extraordinary phenomena as eclipses, 
which were regarded as conveying 
premonitions of coming events. Jer. 
10 : 2 ; Matt. 24 : 29 with Luke 21 : 25. 
The joint influence assigned to the sun 
and moon in deciding the “ seasons,” 
both for agricultural operations and 
for religious festivals, and also in reg- 
ulating the length and subdivisions of 
the “ years,” correctly describes the 
combination of the lunar and solar year 
which prevailed at all events subse- 
quent to the Mosaic period. Sunrise 
and sunset are the only defined points 
of time in the absence of artificial con- 
trivances for telling the hour of the 
day. Between these two points the 
Jews recognized three periods, viz., 
when the sun became hot, about 9 a.m., 


1 Sam. 11:9; Neh. 7:3; the double 
light, or noon, Gen. 43 : 16 ; 2 Sam. 4 : 
5; and “the cool of the day,” shortly 
before sunset. Gen. 3 : 8. The sun 
also served to fix the quarters of the 
hemisphere, east, west, north and south, 
which were represented respectively by 
the rising sun, the setting sun, Isa. 45: 
6 ; Ps. 50 : 1, the dark quarter, Gen. 13 : 
14; Joel 2:20, and the brilliant quarter, 
Deut. 33:23; Job 37:17; Ezek. 40:24; 
or otherwise by their position relative 
to a person facing the rising sun — be- 
fore, behind, on the left hand and on 
the right hand. Job 23 : 8, 9. 

The worship of the sun, as the most 
prominent and powerful agent in the 
kingdom of nature, was widely diffused 
throughout the countries adjacent to 
Palestine. The Arabians appear to have 
paid direct worship to it without the 
intervention of any statue or symbol, 
Job 31 : 26, 27, and this simple style of 
worship was probably familiar to the 
ancestors of the Jews in Chaldaea and 
Mesopotamia. The Hebrews must have 
been well acquainted with the idolatrous 
worship of the sun during the cap- 
tivity in Egypt, both from the con- 
tiguity of On, the chief seat of the 
worship of the sun, as implied in the 
name itself (On being the equivalent 
of the Hebrew Beth-shemesh, “ house of 
the sun,” Jer. 43:13), and also from 
the connection between Joseph and Poti- 
pherah (“ he who belongs to Ra ”) the 
priest of On. Gen. 41 : 45. After their 
removal to Canaan, the Hebrews came 
in contact with various forms of idol- 
atry which originated in the worship 
of the sun; such as the Baal of the 
Phoenicians, the Molech or Milcom of 
the Ammonites, and the Hadad of the 
Syrians. The importance attached to 
the worship of the sun by the Jewish 
kings may be inferred from the fact 
that the horses sacred to the sun were 
stalled within the precincts of the tem- 
ple. 2 Kings 23 : 11. In the metaphor- 
ical language of Scripture the sun is 
emblematic of the law of God, Ps. 19 : 5- 
7, of the cheering presence of God, Ps. 
84 : 11, of the person of the Saviour, 
John 1:9; Mai. 4:2, and of the glory 
and purity of heavenly beings. Rev. 1 : 
16 ; 10 : 1 ; 12 : 1. 

Suretyship. In the entire absence 
of commerce the law laid down no 
rules on the subject of suretyship ; but 
it is evident that in the time of Solomon 


sus 


653 


SWI 


commercial dealings had become so 
multiplied that suretyship in the com- 
mercial sense was common. Prov. 6 : 
1 ; 11 : 15 ; 17 : 18 ; 20 : 16 ; 22 : 26 ; 27 : 
13. But in older times the notion of 
one man becoming a surety for a serv- 
ice to be discharged by another was in 
full force. See Gen. 44 : 32. The sure- 
ty of course became liable for his client’s 
debts in case of his failure. 

Su'sa (su'sa). Esther 11:3; 16:18. 
[Shushan.] 

Su'sanchites (su'san-kltes) is found 
once only — in Ezra 4:9. It refers to 
the inhabitants of Susa, or Shushan, 
who were among the colonists settled 
by Osnappar, or Asshurbanipal, in Sa- 
maria. 

Susanna (su-zan'na) ( a lily). 1. 
The heroine of the story of the Judg- 
ment of Daniel. The book which gives 
an account of her life is also called 
“ The history of Susanna,” and is one 
of the apocryphal books of the Bible. 

2. One of the women who ministered 
to the Lord. Luke 8:3. (a.d. 28-30.) 

Su'si (su'si), the father of Gaddi the 
Manassite spy. Num. 13 : 11. 

Swallow (Heb. deror in Ps. 84 : 3, 
Prov. 26 : 2 ; Heb. ’dgur in Isa. 38 : 14, 
Jer. 8 : 7, which is translated in the 
R. V. “crane.” [Crane], and Sus, Isa. 



SWALLOW. 


38 : 14 ; Jer. 8:7. R. V., which in A. V. 
is translated “crane.” The rendering 
of the Authorized Version for deror 
seems correct. The characters ascribed 
in the passages where the names occur 
are strictly applicable to the swallow, 
viz., its swiftness of flight, its nest- 
ing in the buildings of the temple, its 
mournful, garrulous note, and its reg- 
ular migrations, shared indeed in com- 
mon with several others. Many species 
of swallow occur in Palestine. All 
those common in England are found. 


Swan (Heb. tinshemeth), thus ren- 
dered by the Authorized Version in 
Lev. 11 : 18 ; Deut. 14 : 16, where it oc- 
curs in the list of unclean birds. But 
either of the renderings “porphyrio” 
(purple water-hen) or “ ibis ” is more 
probable. Neither of these birds oc- 
curs elsewhere in the catalogue; both 
would be familiar to residents in Egypt, 
and the original seems to point to some 
water- fowl. The purple water-hen is 
allied to our corn-crake and water-hen, 
and is the largest and most beautiful 
of the family Rallidce. It frequents 
marshes and the sedge by the banks 
of rivers in all the countries bordering 
on the Mediterranean, and is abundant 
in lower Egypt. 

Swearing. [Oath.] 

Sweat, Bloody. One of the physical 
phenomena attending our Lord’s agony 
in the garden of Gethsemane is de- 
scribed by St. Luke, Luke 22 : 44 : “ His 
sweat was as it were great drops (lit. 
clots) of blood falling down to the 
ground.” It used to be considered as a 
real exudation of blood, and exam- 
ples quoted of similar cases in ancient 
and modern times, arising from violent 
mental emotion. None of the exam- 
ples, however, are authenticated, and 
modern authorities generally prefer to 
consider it a simile “ as it were ” drops 
of blood. 

Swine (Heb. chdzir). The flesh of 
swine was forbidden as food by the 
Levitical law. Lev. 11 : 7 ; Deut. 14 : 8 ; 
the abhorrence which the Jews as a na- 
tion had of it may be inferred from 
Isa. 65:4 and 2 Macc. 6:18, 19. No 
other reason for the command to ab- 
stain from swine’s flesh is given in the 
law of Moses beyond the general one 
which forbade any of the mammalia 
as food which did not literally fulfill 
the terms of the definition of a “ clean 
animal,” viz., that it was to be a cloven- 
footed ruminant. It is, however, prob- 
able that dietetical considerations may 
have influenced Moses in his prohibi- 
tion of swine’s flesh: it is generally be- 
lieved that its use in hot countries is 
liable to induce cutaneous disorders; 
hence in a people liable to leprosy the 
necessity for the observance of a strict 
rule. Although the Jews did not breed 
swine during the greater period of their 
existence as a nation, there can be little 
doubt that the heathen nations of Pales- 
tine used the flesh as food. At the 


swo 


654 


SYN 


time of our Lord’s ministry it would 
appear that the Jews occasionally vio- 
lated the law of Moses with regard to 
swine’s flesh. Whether “ the herd of 
swine” into which the devils were al- 
lowed to e^ter, Matt. 8 : 32 ; Mark 5 : 
13, were the property of the Jewish or 



THE WILD BOAR. 


of the Gentile (Greek) inhabitants of 
Gadara does not appear from the sacred 
narrative. The Greeks esteemed swine’s 
flesh as food. The wild boar of the 
wood, Ps. 80 : 13, is the common Sus 
scrofa , which is frequently met with in 
the woody parts of Palestine, especially 
in Mount Tabor. 

Sword. [Arms.] 

Sycamine tree is mentioned only 
Luke 17 : 6. From the fact that Luke 
17 : 6 ; 19 : 4 uses both names “ Syca- 
mine ” and “ Sycomore,” we infer that 
he intended to distinguish between 
them, though the same Hebrew words 
are used for both. The sycamine is 
the mulberry tree ( Morns ). Both 

black and white mulberry trees are com- 
mon in Syria and Palestine. 

Sycamore, properly as in R. V. 
“ Sycomore,” not at all the same tree 
as the “ Sycamore ” of England and 
America. (Heb. shikmdh). Although 
it may be admitted that the sycamine 
is properly, and in Luke 17 : 6, the mul- 
berry, and the sycomore the fig-mul- 
berry, or sycomore-fig ( Ficus syco- 
morus), yet the latter is the tree gen- 
erally referred to in the Old Testament, 
and called by the Septuagint sycamine, 


as 1 Kings 10 : 27 ; 1 Chron. 27 : 28 ; 
Ps. 78 : 47 ; Amos 7 : 14. The sycomore, 
or fig-mulberry, is in Egypt and Pales- 
tine a tree of great importance and 
very extensive use. It attains the size 
of a walnut tree, has wide-spreading 
branches, and affords a delightful shade. 
On this account it is frequently 
planted by the waysides. Its leaves 
are heart-shaped, downy on the un- 
der side, and fragrant. The fruit 
grows directly from the trunk itself 
on little sprigs, and in clusters like 
the grape. To make it eatable, each 
fruit, three or four days before gath- 
ering, must, it used to be said, be 
punctured with a sharp instrument 
or the finger-nail, this being, it was 
supposed, the original employment 
of the prophet Amos. Amos 7 : 14. 
But this is not done to-day, the fruit 
being plucked and eaten when ripe 
without preparation. So great was 
the value of these trees that David 
appointed for them in his kingdom 
a special overseer, as he did for the 
olives, 1 Chron. 27 : 28 ; and it is 
mentioned as one of the heaviest of 
Egypt’s calamities that her sycomores 
were destroyed by hailstones. Ps. 
78 : 47. Its value lay chiefly in its use 
as timber. 

Sy'char (sl'kar), a place named only 
in John 4 : 5. Sychar was either a 
name applied to the town of Shechem 
or it was an independent place. The 
latter of these alternatives is now ac- 


Sy'chem (si'kem), the Greek form 
of the word Shechem. It occurs in 
Acts 7 : 16 only. [Shechem.] 

Sye'ne (sy-e'ne), properly Seveneh, 
a town of Egypt, on the frontier of 
Cush or Ethiopia, Ezek. 29 : 10, 30 : 6, 
represented by the modern Assouan. 

Sym'eon (sym'e-on). The Jewish 
form of the name Simeon, used in the 
Revised Version. 

Synagogue. 1. History. — The word 
synagogue (evvayuyfi) } which means a 
“ congregation,” is used in the New 
Testament to signify a recognized place 
of worship. A knowledge of the his- 
tory and worship of the synagogues is 
of great importance, since they are the 
characteristic institution of the later 
phase of Judaism. The first clear men- 
tion of them is during the exile, in 


cepted by the majority of scholars, it 
being identified with Askar near Jacob’s 
well. 


SYN 


655 


SYN 


the abeyance of the temple-worship, but 
there are some reasons to think that 
they were in existence centuries earlier, 
though they doubtless received their full 
development on the return of the Jews 
from captivity. The whole history of 
Ezra presupposes the habit of solemn, 
probably of periodic, meetings. Ezra 
6:15; Neh. 8:2; 9:1; Zech. 7:5. 

After the Maccabsean struggle for inde- 
pendence, we find almost every town or 
village had its one or more synagogues. 
Where the Jews were not in sufficient 
numbers to be able to erect and fill a 



RUINS OF ANCIENT SYNAGOGUE 

At Kefr Birim, in Galilee. 


building, there was the proseucha 
(jrpocrevx'n) , or place of prayer, some- 
times open, sometimes .covered in, com- 
monly by a running stream or on the 
seashore, in which devout Jews and 
proselytes met to worship, and perhaps 
to read. Acts 16:13; Juven. Sat. iii. 
296. It is hardly possible to overesti- 
mate the influence of the system thus 
developed. To it we may ascribe the 
tenacity with which, after the Macca- 
baean struggle, the Jews adhered to the 


religion of their fathers, and never 
again relapsed into idolatry. 

2. Structure . — The size of a syna-' 
gogue varied with the population. Its 
position was, however, determinate. It 
stood, if possible, on the highest ground, 
in or near the city to which it belonged. 
There is an early tradition that the 
worshipper must face Jerusalem, and 
that in consequence the synagogue was 
so constructed that the worshippers, as 
they entered and as they prayed, looked 
toward it. In Galilee, where several 
ruins have been found, the buildings 
ran. north and south, with three doors 
in the entrance or south end. They 
were divided by rows of columns into 
three or five aisles, and some had a 
portico in front. The building was 
commonly erected at the cost of the 
district. Sometimes it was built by a 
rich Jew, or even, as in Luke 7 : 5, by a 
friendly proselyte. In the internal ar- 
rangement of the synagogue we trace 
an obvious analogy to the type of the 
tabernacle. At the upper end stood the 
chest which, like the older and more 
sacred ark, contained the Book of the 
Law. It gave to that end the name and 
character of a sanctuary. This part of 
the synagogue was naturally the place 
of honor. Here were the “ chief seats,” 
for which Pharisees and scribes strove 
so eagerly, Matt. 23 : 6, and to which 
the wealthy and honored worshipper 
was invited. James 2:2, 3. Here too, 
in front of the ark, still reproducing 
the type of the tabernacle, was, at least 
in some cases, the eight-branched lamp, 
lighted only on the greater festivals. 
Besides this there was one lamp kept 
burning perpetually. More toward the 
middle of the building was a raised 
platform, on which several persons 
could stand at once, and in the middle 
of this rose a pulpit, in which the 
reader stood to read the lesson or sat 
down to teach. In later times the con- 
gregation was divided, men on one 
side, women on the other, a low parti- 
tion, five or six feet high, running be- 
tween them. The arrangements of 
modern synagogues, for many centuries, 
have made the separation more com- 
plete by placing the women in low side- 
galleries, screened off by lattice-work. 

3. Officers . — In smaller towns there 
was often but one rabbi. .Where a 
fuller organization was possible, there 
was a college of elders, Luke 7 : 3, pre- 



SYN 


656 


SYN 


sided over by one who was “the chief 
of the synagogue/’ who had the re- 
sponsibility of maintaining order, de- 
ciding on the order of public service, 
etc. Luke 8:41, 49; 13:14; Acts 18: 
8, 17. The chazzan or “minister” of 
the synagogue, Luke 4 : 20, had duties 
of a lower kind, resembling those of 
the Christian deacon or sub-deacon. 
He was to open the doors and to pre- 
pare the building for service. But he 
often was the one who read the Scrip- 
tures, and was either the schoolmaster 
of the synagogue school or his assist- 
ant. Besides these there were ten men 
attached to every synagogue, known as 
the batlanim (= otiosi) . They were 
supposed to be men of leisure, not 
obliged to labor for their livelihood, able 
therefore to attend the week-day as 
well as the Sabbath services. 

4. Worship . — It will be enough, in this 
place, to notice in what way the ritual, 
no less than the organization, was con- 
nected with the facts of the New Tes- 
tament history, and with the life and 
order of the Christian Church. From 
the synagogue came the use of fixed 
forms of prayer. To that the first dis- 
riples had been accustomed from their 
youth. They had asked their Master 
to give them a distinctive one, and he 
had complied with their request, Luke 
11:1, as the Baptist had done before 
for his disciples, as every rabbi did for 
his. “ Moses ” was “ read in the syn- 
agogues every Sabbath day,” Acts 15 : 
21, the whole Pentateuch being read 
consecutively, so as to be completed, 
in one year. The writings of the 
prophets were read as second lessons 
in a corresponding order. They were 
followed by the derash, Acts 13 : 15, the 
exposition, the sermon of the syna- 
gogue. The solemn days of the syn- 
agogue were the second, the fifth and 
the seventh, the last or Sabbath being 
the conclusion of the whole. The 
transfer of the sanctity of the Sabbath 
to the Lord’s day involved a corre- 
sponding change in the order of the 
week, and the first, the fourth and the 
sixth became to the Christian society 
what the other days had been to the 
Jewish. From the synagogue, lastly, 
come many less conspicuous practices, 
which meet us in the liturgical life of 
the first three centuries : Ablution, en- 
tire or partial, before entering the place 
of meeting, John 13:1-15; Heb. 10:22; 


standing, and not kneeling, as the atti- 
tude of prayer, Luke 18 : 11 ; the arms 
stretched out; the face turned toward 
the east; the responsive amen of the 
congregation to the prayers and bene- 
dictions of the elders. 1 Cor. 14 : 16. 

5. The Synagogue school. — The syn- 
agogue was the place where the chil- 
dren received the first rudiments of such 
education as they had, — principally in- 
struction in the law and other Scrip- 
tures. In the time of Jesus every syn- 
agogue probably had its school, and 
every boy began there his education. 

6. Judicial functions . — The language 
of the New Testament shows that the 
officers of the synagogue exercised in 
certain cases a judicial power. It is 
not quite so easy, however, to define 
the nature of the tribunal and the pre- 
cise limits of its jurisdiction. In two 
of the passages referred to — Matt. 10 : 
17; Mark 13:9 — they are carefully dis- 
tinguished from the councils. It seems 
probable that the council was the larger 
tribunal of twenty-three, which sat in 
every city, and that under the term syn- 
agogue we are to understand a smaller 
court, probably that of the ten judges 
mentioned in the Talmud. Here also 
we trace the outline of a Christian in- 
stitution. The Church, either by itself 
or by appointed delegates, was to act 
as a court of arbitration in all disputes 
among its members. The elders of the 
church were not, however, to descend 
to the trivial disputes of daily life. 
For the elders, as for those of the syn- 
agogue, were reserved the graver of- 
fences against religion and morals. 

Synagogue, The Great. On the re- 
turn of the Jews from Babylon, a great 
council was appointed, according to rab- 
binic tradition, to reorganize the re- 
ligious life of the people. It consisted 
of 120 members, and these were known 
as the men of the Great Synagogue, 
the successors of the prophets, them- 
selves, in their turn, succeeded by 
scribes prominent, individually, as 
teachers. Ezra was recognized as presi- 
dent. Their aim was to restore again 
the crown, or glory, of Israel. To this 
end they collected all the sacred writ- 
ings of the former ages and their own, 
and so completed the canon of the Old 
Testament. They instituted the feast 
of Purim, organized the ritual of the 
synagogue, and gave their sanction to 
the Shemoneh Esreh, the eighteen sol- 


SYN 


657 


SYR 


emn benedictions in it. Much of this 
is evidently uncertain. The absence of 
any historical mention of such a body, 
not only in the Old Testament and the 
Apocrypha, but in Josephus, Philo, etc., 
has led some critics to reject the whole 
statement as a rabbinic invention. The 
narrative of Neh. 8:13 clearly implies 
the existence of a body of men acting 
as councillors under the presidency of 
Ezra; and these may have been an as- 
sembly of delegates from all prpvin- 
cial synagogues — a synod of the na- 
tional Church. 

Syn'tyche (sin'ti-ke) ( fortunate ), a 
female member of the church of Phi- 
lippi whom Paul exhorts to become 
reconciled with another, Euodia. Phi- 
lip. 4:2, 3. (a.d. 60.) 

Syr'acuse (sir'a-kuse), the celebrated 
city on the eastern coast of Sicily. Ac- 
cording to one authority, the city was 
the largest and richest that the Greeks 
possessed in any part of the world, be- 
ing 22 miles in circumference. St. 
Paul arrived thither in an Alexandrian 
ship from Melita, on his voyage to 
Rome. Acts 28 : 12. The site of Syr- 
acuse rendered it a convenient place 
for the African corn-ships to touch at, 
for the harbor was an excellent one, 
and the fountain Arethusa in the is- 
land furnished an unfailing supply of 
excellent water. The city is still called 
Siracusa but is much reduced in size 
and importance. 

Syria (sir'i-a) is the term used 
throughout our version for the Hebrew 
Aram, as well as for the Greek 2i >pla. 
The word was first used by Herodotus. 
In Homer’s list the name "Api^oi, 
Aramaeans, is used. .It is difficult to 
fix the limits of Syria, partly because 
of its loose use in Herodotus and 
Xenophon, who may have been misled 
by its likeness to Assyria, as Herodotus 
states them to have been of the same 
race (7:63). Syria as usually used 
by Strabo, Pliny and Ptolemy, indicates 
a country bounded by Amanus and 
Taurus on fhe north, by the Euphrates 
on the east, by the Arabian desert on 
the south and by the Mediterranean on 
the west. A more special use of the 
term “ Syria,” which still prevails, con- 
fined it to that part of the wider area 
which lies north of Palestine, and ex- 
cluding Phoenicia. This tract is about 
300 miles long from north to south, 
and from 50 to 150 miles broad. It 
42 


contains an area of about 30,000 square 
miles. 

General physical features. — The gen- 
eral character of the tract is mountain- 
ous, as the Hebrew name Aram (from 
a root signifying “height”) sufficiently 
implies. The most fertile and valuable 
tract of Syria is the long valley inter- 
vening between Libanus and Anti-Li- 
banus. Of the various mountain ranges 
of Syria, Lebanon possesses the great- 
est interest. It extends from the mouth 
of the Litany to Arka, a distance of 
nearly 100 miles. Anti-Libanus, as the 
name implies, stands over against Leb- 
anon, running in the same direction, 
i. e. nearly north and south, and ex- 
tending the same length. [Lebanon.] 
The principal rivers of Syria are the 
Litany and the Orontes. The Litany 
springs from a small lake situated in 
the middle of the Coele-Syrian valley, 
about six miles to the southwest of 
Baalbek. \t enters the sea about five 
miles north of Tyre. The source of 
the Orontes is but about 15 miles from 
that of the Litany. Its modern name 
is the Nahr-el-Asi, or “ rebel stream,” 
an appellation given to it on account 
of its violence and impetuosity in many 
parts of its course. The chief cities of 
Syria mentioned in the Bible are Damas- 
cus and Antioch. 

History— For the history during the 
earliest periods exclusively and in great 
measure for those of later periods we 
must rely on the accounts of neighbor- 
ing peoples who conquered the coun- 
try. The population was a mixture of 
Semites and “ Hittites,” with sometimes 
one predominating and sometimes the 
other. In the period before the set- 
tlement of the Israelites in Palestine, 
after the wilderness wandering the only 
Syrian town whose existence we find 
distinctly marked is Damascus, Gen. 14 : 
15 ; 15 : 2, which appears to have been 
already a place of some importance. 
Next to Damascus must be placed Ha- 
math. Num. 13 : 21 ; 34 : 8. Syria at 

this time, and for many centuries after- 
ward, seems to have been broken up 
into a number of petty kingdoms, or 
more correctly, tribes. Some of these 
petty peoples came into contact with 
Israel in the days of Saul and later 
kings. 1 Sam. 14 : 47 ; 2 Sam. 8:3; 
10 : 6, 16. The kingdom of Solomon 
seems to have included a portion at 
least of the country Syria, north and 


SYR 


658 


SYR 


east of Palestine. 1 Kings 4 : 21. In 
Damascus, an independent kingdom was 
set up by Rezon, a native of Zobah. 
1 Kings 11 : 23-25. The northern king- 
dom never seems to have had any con- 
trol over the districts of Syria outside of 
Palestine. The two peoples waged war 
intermittently during the entire existence 
of the kingdom of Israel. During these 
periods Damascus and Hamath, — or 
Aram-Damascus and Aram-Zobah — 
were by far the strongest among the 
Syrian peoples. Syria was rarely free 
from the domination of some one of the 
“ great powers ” of the ancient world. 
It was tributary to Egypt, as we find 
in the Tel-el-Amarna letters; Baby- 
lonian and Assyrian records speak of 
conquests and tribute from one or all 
of its tribes. In b.c. 333 it submitted 
to. Alexander without a struggle. Upon 
the death of Alexander, Syria became, 
for the first time, the head of a great 
kingdom. On the division of the prov- 
inces among his generals, b.c. 321, Seleu- 
cus Nicator received Mesopotamia and 
Syria. The city of Antioch was be- 
gun in b.c. 300, and, being finished in 
a few years, was made the capital of 
Seleucus’ kingdom. The country grew 
rich with the wealth which now flowed 
into it on all sides. 

Syria was added to the Roman em- 
pire by Pompey, b.c. 64, and was formed 
into a Roman province, under govern- 
ors resident at Antioch. After the 
formal division of the provinces be- 
tween Augustus and the senate, Syria, 
being from its exposed situation among 
the provincice principis, was ruled by 
legates, who were of consular rank 
( consular es ) and bore severally the 
full title of “ Legatus Augusti pro 


praetore.” Judea occupied a peculiar 
position ; a special procurator was 
therefore appointed to rule it, who was 
subordinate to the governor of Syria, 
but within his own province had the 
power of a legatus. On the fall of 
Jerusalem it was separated from Syria, 
and made a distinct province under an 
imperial legate. In a.d. 44-47 it was 
the scene of a severe famine. A little 
earlier, Christianity had begun to 
spread into it, partly by means of those 
who “ were scattered ” at the time of 
Stephen’s persecution, Acts 11 : 19, 
partly by the exertions of St. Paul. 
Gal. 1 : 21. The Syrian Church soon 
grew to be one of the most flourishing. 
Acts 13 : 1 ; 15 : 23, 35, 41, etc. Syria 
remained under Roman and Byzantine 
rule till a.d. 634, when it was overrun 
by the Mohammedans; after which it 
was for many years the scene of fierce 
contests, and was finally subjugated by 
the Turks, a.d. 1516, under whose rule 
it still remains. 

SyTo=phoeni'cian (si-ro-fe-ni'shi-an) 
occurs only in Mark 7 : 26. The word 
denoted either a Syrian resident in 
Phoenicia proper, or a Phoenician of 
Syria in distinction from one in the 
Carthaginian colony of Phoenicia. The 
former is the more likely explanation. 

Syr'tis (syr'tis), The, Acts 27:17; 
in the Revised Version in place of 
“ quicksands ” in the Authorized Ver- 
sion. It was the well-known Syrtis 
Major, the terror of all Mediterranean 
sailors. “ It is a dangerous shallow on 
the coast of Africa, between Tripoli 
and Barca, southwest of the island of 
Crete.” The other Syrtis, Syrtis Minor, 
was too far west to be feared by Paul’s 
fellow voyagers. [Quicksands.] 


Ta'anach (ta'a-nak), an ancient Ca- 
naanitish city whose king is enumerated 
among the thirty-one kings conquered 
by Joshua. Josh. 12:21. It came into 
the half tribe of Manasseh, Josh. 17 : 
11 ; 21 : 25 ; 1 Chron. 7 : 29, and was 
bestowed on the Kohathite Levites. 
Josh. 21:25. Taanach is almost always 
named in company with Megiddo, and 
they were evidently the chief towns of 
that fine rich district which forms the 
western portion of the great plain of 
Esdraelon. 1 Kings 4 : 12. It is still 
called Ta’annuk, and stands about four 
miles southeast of Lejjun and 7 miles 
southwest of Jezreel. 

Taanath=shi'Ioh (ta'a-nath-shi'lo) 
( approach to Shiloh ), a place named 
once only — Josh. 16 : 6 — as one of the 
landmarks of the boundary of Ephraim. 
It is the ruin Tana about 7 miles south- 
east of Nablus. 

Tab'baoth (tab'ba-oth) {rings). 
The children of Tabbaoth were a family 
of Nethinim who returned with Zerub- 
babel. Ezra 2 : 43 ; Neh. 7 : 46. 

Tab'bath (tab'bath), a place men- 
tioned only in Judges 7:22, in describ- 
ing the flight of the Midianite host after 
Gideon’s night attack. It was in the 
vicinity of AbelrMeholah, probably not 
far from the spot where the Samaritan 
hills approach the Jordan; but no trace 
of its site has been found. 

Ta'beal (ta'be-al) {God is good). A 
man whose son went with the armies 
of Pekah, the king of Israel, and Rezin 
of Damascus, when they invaded Judah 
in the time of Ahaz. The son was to 
have been set up as puppet king of 
Jerusalem if the allies had succeeded 
in capturing the city. Isa. 7 : 6. 

Ta'be=el (ta'be-el) {God is good), an 
officer of the Persian government in 
Samaria in the reign of Artaxerxes. 
Ezra 4 : 7. His name appears to indi- 
cate that he was a Syrian. 

Tab'erah (tab'e-rah), the name of a 
place in the wilderness of Paran. Num. 


11 : 3 ; Deut. 9 : 22. It has not been 
identified. 

Tabering, an obsolete English word 
used in the Authorized Version of Na- 
hum 2 : 7. The Hebrew word connects 
itself with toph, “ a timbrel.” The Au- 
thorized Version reproduces the orig- 
inal idea. The “ tabour ” or “ tabor ” 
was a musical instrument of the drum 
type, which with the pipe formed the 
band of a country village. To “tabour,” 
accordingly, is to beat with loud strokes, 
as men beat upon such an instrument. 

Tabernacle. The tabernacle was the 
tent of Jehovah , called by the same 
name as the tents of the people in the 
midst of which it stood. It was also 
called the Sanctuary and the Taber- 
nacle of the congregation , A. V., bet- 
ter, the Tent of meeting, the dwelling- 
place of God, where he manifests him- 
self to his people. The first ordinances 
given to Moses, after the proclamation 
of the outline of the law from Sinai, 
related to the ordering of the taber- 
nacle, its furniture and its service, as 
the type which was to be followed when 
the people came to their own home and 
“ found a place ” for the abode of God. 
During the forty days of Moses’ first 
retirement with God in Sinai, an exact 
pattern of the whole was shown him, 
and all was made according to it. Ex. 
25 : 9, 40 ; 26 : 30 ; 39 : 32, 42, 43 ; Num. 
8:4; Acts 7 : 44 ; Heb. 8 : 5. The de- 
scription of this plan is preceded by an 
account of the freewill offerings which 
the children of Israel were to be asked 
to make for its execution. 

There are not a few difficulties in 
the way of obtaining an accurate idea 
of the form and construction of the 
tabernacle, from the descriptions given; 
as is usual in all attempts to realize a 
description. Even the form of so sim- 
ple a thing as the golden candlestick 
it was impossible to copy in brass from 
the description given till the model was 
found in the triumphal arch of Titus at 


TAB 


660 


TAB 


Rome pictured among the treasures he 
brought from Jerusalem after its de- 
struction. 

Those who wish to enter upon this 
discussion can consult Hastings’ Bible 
Dictionary, article, “ Tabernacle.” 

The Court of the Tabernacle, in 
which the tabernacle itself stood, was 
an oblong space, 100 cubits by 50 (i. e. 
150 feet by 75), equal to two squares of 
50 cubits each, having its longer axis 
east and west, with its front to the east. 
It was enclosed by a screen of pillars 
and linen curtains. 

Pillars 5 cubits (7% feet) high were 
placed in bronze sockets 5 cubits apart, 
twenty each on the north and south 
sides, and ten on the east and west. 

On these pillars were hung long white 
curtains of fine-twined linen of a uni- 
form height of 5 cubits; two of them 
were 100 cubits long; one 50 cubits for 
the west end; two were 15 cubits for 
the extremities of the east end, while 
the intervening 20 cubits were closed 
by six portieres of fine-twined linen, 
embroidered in gorgeous shades of pur- 
ple on a white ground, for the entrance. 
The pillars were kept in position by 
cords fastened to bronze pins stuck in 
the ground. 

We can understand this best by the 
accompanying diagram; similar to one 
given in Hastings’ Bible Dictionary. 
This diagram will also show the situa- 
tion and arrangement of the courts, the 
tabernacle and the furnishings for wor- 
ship. 

The Tabernacle itself, or Tent of 
Meeting. — This was a tent with wooden 
walls, 30 cubits (45 feet) long by 10 
cubits (15 feet) wide; situated in the 
rear square of the court, with its front 
entrance on the middle dividing line be- 
tween the two squares of the court. 

The materials were — ( a ) Metals: 
gold, silver and brass. ( b ) Textile 
fabrics : blue, purple, scarlet and fine 
(white) linen, for the production of 
which Egypt was celebrated; also a 
fabric of goat’s hair, the produce of 
their own flocks, (c) Skins : of the 
ram, dyed red, and of the badger, (d) 
Wood : the shittim wood, the timber of 
the wild acacia of the desert itself, the 
tree of the “burning bush.” (e) Oil, 
spices and incense for anointing the 
priests and burning in the tabernacle. 
(/) Gems : onyx stones and the precious 


stones for the breastplate of the high 
priest. The people gave jewels, and 
plates of gold and silver and brass, 
wood, skins, hair and linen; the women 
wove ; the rulers offered precious stones, 
oil, spices and incense; and the artists 
soon had more than they needed. Ex. 
25 : 1-8 ; 35 : 4-29 ; 36 : 5-7. 

The walls were made of boards 15 
feet high and 27 inches wide ; either 
solid boards, or, as Dr. Kennedy thinks, 
a framework of that width, set into 


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EAST 


PLAN OF THE TABERNACLE. 

Scale 1-32 inch to a cubit. 

T — Tabernacle. 

A — Brazen altar. 

L — Laver in the court. 

G — Golden candlestick. 

S — Table of shewbread. 

I — Golden altar of incense in Holy Place. 
C, C — Curtains around the court. 

E — Entrance to the court, 
a — Ark in the Holy of Holies. 


silver bases. These were held together 
by three series of rods, one at the top, 
one at the middle, and one near the 
base. 

A Large Tent was placed over this 
Tent of Meeting, probably running over 


TAB 


661 


TAB 


a ridge-pole and held in place by strong 
cords, something like a huge A tent, as 
an additional protection against the 
weather. 

Inside, the tent was adorned by a 
curtain of fine linen, blue and purple 
(crimson) and scarlet, woven with 
figures of cherubim. This curtain, ac- 
cording to Professor Strong, hung ver- 
tically upon the walls; others think it 
was an inner roof, and Colton considers 
it a special roof and wall covering for 
the Holy of Holies. “ The veil,” a 
curtain of the same material, hung 
from four pillars, divided the inner 
Space into two apartments. The outer, 
toward the entrance, was the Holy 
Place, where a priest entered daily to 
serve the table, the altar of incense, and 
the candlestick. It was thirty feet long. 
The inner, toward the west, was the 
Most Holy Place, entered only by the 
high priest, and by him only once a 
year. It contained the ark, and was a 
cube, fifteen feet each way. 

The Situation. When the tribes were 
encamped, the tabernacle was the cen- 
tral point of the encampment in a huge 
square; three tribes were on the north, 
three on the south, three east, and three 
west. _ Within this square was another 
occupied by the priests and Levites. 

Within. — In the centre of the square 
court in front of the tent was the great 
brazen altar for burnt sacrifice. Mov- 
ing toward the tent, we come to the 
great laver, 15 feet in front of its por- 
tiere entrance. 

Entering the tent, we find the golden 
candlestick, the only source of light, for 
there were no windows, the table of 
shewbread, and the golden altar of in- 
cense. 

In the Holy of Holies was only the 
ark of the testimony or witness con- 
taining the tables of the law. 

The Religious Meaning. — At all times 
there is need of visible expressions and 
manifestations of the unseen spiritual 
things to help even the most educated, 
cultured, and holy men to realize the 
unseen God and character and life. So 
through nature we understand God and 
keep him in mind, as nearly all we 
know of the sun is revealed to us by 
the reflection of its rays on material 
particles in the air. So the institutions 
of religion are “the shadow of heavenly 
things” (Heb. 8:5). Still more were 
these institutions necessary in the early 


education of man. So the great 
churches and cathedrals of the ages 
when few could read and write are 
filled with pictures and carvings of the 
Bible story. 

Thus the tabernacle was the means 
of training the. people who had just 
come out of Egypt in religious truth 
and religious life. There is no place 
for the tabernacle except under Moses 
at the very beginning of Jewish na- 
tional history. 

The tabernacle and its furnishings 
express the progress of man toward 
God, and the aids He has given them 
to come to him. 

It may be easier to see the truth if 
we start where an Israelite must start, 
and where all must start in reaching 
the final goal of the Holy of Holies. 

1. From without we enter the courts 
of the Lord where we come under the 
influence, of religious teaching and com- 
panionship. 

2 . We first go to the great altar of 
sacrifice, a symbol of sacrifice for sin, 
and the forgiveness of God. 

3. We next come to the laver, the 
symbol of the washing of regeneration, 
the cleansing from sin. “ Wash me 
and I shall be whiter than snow,” fitted 
to enter the Tabernacle itself. 

4. The table of shewbread in the 
Holy Place teaches us that we need our 
daily spiritual bread in order to grow 
good and to be fitted for God’s service 
as much as we need daily bread for 
our bodies. The healthy soul is full of 
hungers and thirsts, and every one of 
them needs the food that satisfies them. 
The soul that does not hunger is sickly, 
as is the body without appetite. Jesus 
Christ satisfies all these hungers. 

5. Coming to the golden candlestick 
we see the symbol of the light of the 
world, the answer to the cry for more 
light; and that we too are to let our 
light shine in the dark world. 

6. Next we draw near to the altar of 
incense which stood before the door of 
the Holy of Holies. The fragrance of 
incense, its preciousness, and its beau- 
tiful clouds rising to heaven make it a 
suitable symbol for prayer and thanks- 
giving, the means of communion with 
God. 

7. After the experiences typified by 
these objects, one can meet God in the 
Holy of Holies. Here is the Mercy 
Seat of God’s forgiving love. Here are 


TAB 


662 


TAB 


the cherubim, the perfect servants of 
God. Here are the commandments now 
written on the heart and life. Here is 
the shining presence of God himself. 

History. — “ The tabernacle, as the 
place in which Jehovah dwelt, was 
pitched in the centre of the camp, Num. 
2:2, as the tent of a leader always is in 
the East; for Jehovah was the Captain 
of Israel. Josh. 5 : 14, 15. During the 
marches of Israel, the tabernacle was 
still in the centre. Num. 2. The tribes 
camped and marched around it in the 
order of a hollow square. In certain 
great emergencies it led the march. 
Josh. 3:11-16. Upon the tabernacle 
abode always the cloud, dark by day 
and fiery red by night, Ex. 40 : 38, giv- 
ing the signal for the march, Ex. 40 : 
36, 37; Num. 9 : 17, and the halt. Num. 
9 : 15-23. It was always the special 
meeting-place of Jehovah and his peo- 
ple. Num. 11 : 24, 25 ; 12 : 4 ; 14 : 10 ; 16 : 
19, 42 ; 20 : 6 ; 27 : 2 ; Deut. 31 : 14.” 

During the conquest of Canaan the 
tabernacle, at first moved from place 
to place, Josh. 4 : 18 ; 8 : 30-35 ; 9:6; 10 : 

15, was finally located at Shiloh. Josh. 
9 : 27 ; 18 : 1. Here it remained during 
the time of the judges, till it was cap- 
tured by the Philistines, who carried 
off the sacred ark of the covenant. 1 
Sam. 4 : 22. From this time forward 
the glory of the tabernacle was gone. 
When the ark was recovered, it was 
removed to Jerusalem, and placed in 
a new tabernacle, 2 Sam. 6 : 17 ; 1 Chron. 
15 : 1 ; but the old* structure still had its 
hold on the veneration of the commu- 
nity, and the old altar still received 
their offerings. 1 Chron. 16 : 39 ; 21 : 29. 
It was not till the temple was built, and 
a fitting house thus prepared for the 
Lord, that the ancient tabernacle was 
allowed to perish and be forgotten. 

Tabernacles, The Feast of (Ex. 23: 

16, “the feast of ingathering”), the 
third of the three great festivals of the 
Hebrews, which lasted from the 15th till 
the 22d of Tisri. 1. The following are 
the principal passages in the Pentateuch 
which refer to it : Ex. 23 : 16 ; Lev. 23 : 
34-36, 39-43 ; Num. 29 : 12-38 ; Deut. 16 : 
13-16; 31: 10-13. In Neh. 8 there is an 
account of the observance of the feast 
by Ezra. 2. The time of the festival 
fell in the autumn, when the whole of 
the chief fruits of the ground, the corn, 
the wine and the oil, were gathered in. 
Ex. 23 : 16 ; Lev. 23 : 39 ; Deut. 16 : 13- 


15. Its duration was strictly only seven 
days, Deut. 16 : 13 ; Ezek. 45 : 25 ; but it 
was followed by a day of holy convo- 
cation, distinguished by sacrifices of its 
own, which was sometimes spoken of 
as an eighth day. Lev. 23:36; Neh. 
8 : 18. During the seven days the Is- 
raelites were commanded to dwell in 
booths or huts formed of the boughs of 
trees. The boughs were of the olive, 
palm, pine, myrtle and other trees with 
thick foliage. Neh. 8:15, 16. Accord- 
ing to rabbinical tradition, each Israel- 
ite used to tie the branches into a 
bunch, to be carried in his hand, to 
which the name lulab was given. The 
burnt offerings of the Feast of Taber- 
nacles were by far more numerous than 
those of any other festival. The eighth 
day was a day of holy convocation of 
peculiar solemnity. On the morning of 
this day the Hebrews left their huts 
and .dismantled them, and took up their 
abode again in their houses. The main 
purposes of the Feast of Tabernacles 
are plainly set forth in Ex. 23 : 16 and 
Lev. 23 : 43. It was to be at once a 
thanksgiving for the harvest and a com- 
memoration of the time when the Is- 
raelites dwelt in tents during their pas- 
sage through the wilderness. In one of 
its meanings it stands in connection 
with the Passover, as the Feast of 
Abib, and with Pentecost, as the feast 
of harvest; in its other meaning, it is 
related to the Passover as the great 
yearly memorial of the deliverance from 
the destroyer and from the tyranny of 
Egypt. 

The Feast of Tabernacles was some- 
what like our thanksgiving season. It 
was the feast of ingathering, celebrating 
the harvest and rejoicing over the past 
deliverance of the nation. It was cele- 
brated in booths, and everything about 
it was symbolical. The feast pointed 
to joy, gratitude, and hope. Pouring 
out the water symbolized the Holy 
Spirit’s influences. The temple illumi- 
nation typified the light of God. The 
silver trumpets marshaled the hosts of 
God and awakened from spiritual drow- 
siness. There are two particulars in the 
observance of the Feast of Tabernacles 
which appear to be referred to in the 
New Testament, but are not noticed in 
the Old. These were the ceremony of 
pouring out some water of the pool of 
Siloarn and the display of some great 
lights in the court of the women. One 


TAB 


663 


TAB 


of the priests fetched some water in 
a golden ewer from the pool of Siloam, 
which he brought into the court through 
the water-gate. As he entered the trum- 
pets sounded, and he ascended the 
slope of the altar. In the evening, both 
men and women assembled in the court 
of the women, expressly to hold a re- 
joicing for the drawing of the water 
of Siloam. At the same time there 
were set up in the court two lofty 
stands, each supporting four great 
lamps. These were lighted on each 
night of the festival. It appears to 
be’ generally admitted that the words 
of our Saviour, John 7 : 37, 38 — “ If any 
man thirst, let him come unto me and 
drink. He that believeth on me, as the 
Scripture hath said, out of his belly 
shall flow rivers of living water ” — 
were suggested by the pouring out of 
the water of Siloam. Edersheim in The 
Temple and its Services thus describes 
this scene : 

“ Let us suppose ourselves in the num- 
ber of worshippers who, on ‘the last, 
the great day of the feast/ are leaving 
their ‘ booths ’ at daybreak to take part 
in the service. The pilgrims are all in 
festive array. In his right hand each 
carries a branch consisting of a myrtle 
or willow branch tied together with a 
palm branch (Lev. 23:40). In his left 
hand he carries a bough of the so-called 
Paradise apple, a species of citron. 
Thus armed, the festive multitude 
would divide into three bands. One of 
these, to the sound of music, started 
in a procession from the temple. It 
followed a priest who bore a golden 
pitcher capable of holding three log 
(rather more than two pints). They 
proceeded to the fountain of Siloam, in 
the valley south of the temple. Here 
the priest filled from this fountain the 
golden pitcher, and brought it back into 
the court of the temple amid the shouts 
of the multitude and the sound of cym- 
bals and trumpets. The rejoicing was 
so great that the rabbis used to say 
that he who had never been present at 
this ceremony, and at the other similar 
ceremonies by which this feast was dis- 
tinguished, did not know what rejoicing 
meant. The return was so timed that 
they should arrive just as they were 
laying the pieces of the sacrifice on the 
great altar of burnt offering, towards 
the close of the ordinary morning sac- 
rifice service. The water from the 


golden pitcher was poured upon the 
altar. Immediately the great ‘ Hallel/ 
consisting of Ps. 113-118, was chanted 
antiphonally, or, rather, with responses, 
to the accompaniment of the flute. At 
the close of this festive morning serv- 
ice there was a pause in the services 
while the priests prepared to offer the 
special sacrifices for the day. At this 
moment there arose, so loud as to be 
heard throughout the temple, the voice 
of Jesus. He interrupted not the serv- 
ices, for they had for the moment 
ceased; he interpreted, and he fulfilled 
them.” 

Tab'itha (tab'itha) {gazelle), also 
called Dorcas by St. Luke, a female 
disciple of Joppa, “ full of good works,” 
among which that of making clothes 
for the poor is specifically mentioned. 
While St. Peter was at the neighboring 
town of Lydda, Tabitha died ; upon 
which the disciples at Joppa sent an 
urgent message to the apostle begging 
him to come to them without delay. 
Upon his arrival Peter found the de- 
ceased already prepared for burial, and 
laid out in an upper chamber, where 
she was surrounded by the recipients 
and the tokens of her charity. Aftei 
the example of our Saviour in the 
house of Jairus, Matt. 9:25; Mark 5: 
40, “ Peter put them all forth,” prayed 
for the divine assistance, and then 
commanded Tabitha to arise. Comp. 
Mark 5:41; Luke 8 : 54. She opened 
her eyes and sat up, and then, assisted 
by the apostle, rose from her couch. 
This great miracle, as we are further 
told, produced an extraordinary effect 
in Joppa, and was the occasion of many 
conversions there. Acts 9 : 36-42. The 
name “Tabitha” is an Aramaic word, 
signifying a “ female gazelle.” St. 
Luke gives “ Dorcas ” as the Greek 
equivalent of the name. 

Tabor (ta'bor), or Mount Ta'bor, 
one of the most interesting and re- 
markable of the single mountains in 
Palestine. It rises abruptly from the 
northeastern arm of the plain of Es- 
draelon, to a height of 1843 feet above 
the sea, and stands entirely isolated, 
except on the west, where a narrow 
ridge connects it with the hills of Naz- 
areth. It presents to the eye, as seen 
from a distance, a beautiful appearance, 
being symmetrical in its proportions, 
and rounded off like a hemisphere _ or 
the segment of a circle, yet varying 


664 



MOUNT TABOR 



TAB 


665 


TAD 


somewhat as viewed from different di- 
rections. It is now called Jebel-et-Tur. 
It lies about 5 or 6 miles east from 
Nazareth. “ The slopes are steep and 
rocky, but the ascent can be made with 
ease — nearly everywhere on foot, and 
in more than one place on horse back.” 
The top of Tabor consists of an irreg- 
ular platform, embracing a circuit of 
half an hour’s walk, and commanding 
wide views of the subjacent plain from 
end to end. Tabor is not mentioned in 
the New Testament, but makes a prom- 
inent figure in the Old. The book of 
Joshua, 19:22, mentions a Tabor, prob- 
ably the mountain, as the boundary be- 
tween Issachar and Zebulun. See ver. 
12. Barak, at the command of Debo- 
rah, assembled his forces on Tabor, 
and descended thence, with “ ten thou- 
sand men after him,” into the plain, 
and conquered Sisera on the banks of 
the Kishon. Judges 4 : 6-15. Whether 
this is the Tabor at which the brothers 
of Gideon, each of whom “ resembled 
the children of a king,” were murdered 
by Zebah and Zalmunna is doubtful. 
Judges 8 : 18, 19. There are at present 
the ruins of a fortress round all the 
summit of Tabor. The Latin Chris- 
tians have now an altar here, at which 
their priests from Nazareth perform an 
annual mass. The Greeks also have a 
chapel, where, on certain festivals, they 
assemble for the celebration of religious 
rites. The idea that our Saviour was 
transfigured on Tabor prevailed exten- 
sively among the early Christians, and 
still reappears often in popular religious 
works. It is impossible, however, to 
acquiesce in the correctness of this opin- 
ion. It can be proved from the Old 
Testament and from later history that 
a fortress or town existed on Tabor 
from very early times down to b.c. 53 
or 50; and, as Josephus says that he 
strengthened the fortifications . there 
about a.d. 60, it is morally certain that 
Tabor must have been inhabited during 
the intervening period, that is, in the 
days of Christ. Tabor, therefore, could 
not have been the Mount of Trans- 
figuration [see Hermon] ; for when it 
is said that Jesus took his disciples “up 
into a high mountain apart, and was 
transfigured before them,” Matt. 17 : 1, 
2, we must understand that he brought 
them to the summit of the mountain, 
where they were alone by themselves. 

Tabor is mentioned in the lists of 


1 Chron. 6 as a city of the Merarite 
Levites, in the tribe of Zebulun, ver. 
77. The list of the towns of Zebulun, 
Josh. 19, contains the name of Chisloth- 
tabor, ver. 12. It is, therefore, possi- 
ble, that Chisloth-tabor is abbreviated 
into Tabor by the chronicler. 

Ta'bor, The plain of. This is an 
incorrect translation, and should be 
the oak of Tabor. It is mentioned in 
1 Sam. 10 : 3 only, as one of the points 
in the homeward journey of Saul after 
his anointing by Samuel. 

Tabret. [Timbrel.] 

Tab'rimon (tab'ri-mon) (properly 
Tabrimmon, i. e. good is Rimmon , the 
Syrian god), the father of Ben-hadad 
I., king of Syria in the reign of Asa. 
1 Kings 15 : 18. 

Tache. The word thus rendered oc- 
curs only in the description of the 
structure of the tabernacle and its fit- 
tings, Ex. 26 : 6, 11, 33 ; 35 : 11 ; 36 : 13 ; 
39 : 33, and appears to indicate the small 
hooks or clasps by which a curtain is 
suspended to the rings from which it 
hangs, or connected vertically, as in 
the case of the veil of the Holy of 
Holies, with the loops of another cur- 
tain. 

Tach'monite (tak'mo-nite), The. 
“ The Tachmonite that sat in the seat,” 
chief among David’s captains, 2 Sam. 
23 : 8, is in 1 Chron. 11 : 11 called 
“ Jashobeam an Hachmonite,” or, as 
the margin gives it, “ son of Hach- 
moni.” Kennicott has shown that the 
words translated “ he that sat in the 
seat” are a corruption of Jashobeam, 
and that “the Tachmonite” is a cor- 
ruption of the “ son of Hachmoni,” 
which was the family or local name 
of Jashobeam. Therefore he concludes 
“Jashobeam the Hachmonite” to have 
been the true reading. 

Tad'mor (tad'mor) ( city of palms), 
called “ Tadmor in the wilderness,” is 
the same as the city known to the 
Greeks and Romans under the name of 
Palmyra. It lay between the Euphrates 
and Hamath, to the southeast of that 
city, in a fertile tract or oasis of the 
desert. Being situated at a convenient 
distance from both the Mediterranean 
Sea and the Persian Gulf, it had great 
advantages for caravan traffic. It was 
built by Solomon after his conquest 
of Hamath-zobah. 1 Kings 9 : 18 ; 2 
Chron. 8 : 4. The city is nowhere else 
mentioned in the Bible. In the second 


TAH 


666 


TAM 


century a.d. it seems to have been beau- 
tified by the emperor Hadrian. In the 
beginning of the third century — 211-217 
a.d. — it became a Roman colony under 
Caracalla. Subsequently, in the reign 
of Gallienus, the Roman senate invested 
Odenathus, a senator of Palmyra, with 
the regal dignity, on, account of his 
services in defeating Sapor, king of 
Persia. On the assassination of Ode- 
ndthus, his wife, Zenobia, seems to 
have conceived the design of erecting 
Palmyra into an independent monarchy; 
and in prosecution of this object, she 
for a while successfully resisted the 
Roman arms. She was at length de- 
feated and taken captive by the em- 
peror Aurelian, a.d. 273, who left a 
Roman garrison in Palmyra. This gar- 
rison was massacred in a revolt; and 
Aurelian punished the city by the exe- 
cution not only of those who were 
taken in arms, but likewise of common 
peasants, of old men, women and chil- 
dren. From this blow Palmyra never 
recovered, though there are proofs of 
its having continued to be inhabited 
until the downfall of the Roman em- 
pire. The grandeur and magnificence 
of the ruins of Palmyra cannot be ex- 
ceeded, and attest its former greatness. 
Among the most remarkable are the 
Tombs, the Temple of the Sun and the 
Street of Columns. 

Ta'han (ta'han), a descendant of 
Ephraim. Num. 26 : 35. In 1 Chron. 
7 : 25 he appears as the son of Telah. 

Ta'hanites, The. Num. 26:35. 
[Tahan.] 

Ta'hath (ta'hath). 1. A Kohathite 
Levitt, ancestor of Samuel and Heman. 
1 Chron. 6 : 24, 37. 

2. Son of Bered, and great-grandson 
of Ephraim. 1 Chron. 7 : 20. 

3. Grandson of the preceding. 1 
Chron. 7 : 20. 

Ta'hath (ta'hath), the name of a 
desert station of the Israelites between 
Makheloth and Tarah. Num. 33:26. 
The site has not been identified. 

Tah'panhes (ta-pan-hes), Tehaph'= 
nehes, Tahap'anes (ta'hap'a-nez), a 
city of Egypt, mentioned in the time 
of the prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel. 
The name is evidently Egyptian, and 
closely resembles that of the Egyptian 
queen Tahpenes. It was evidently a 
town of lower Egypt, near or on the 
eastern border. When Johanan and 
the other captains went into Egypt in 


Jeremiah’s time they established a col- 
ony here. Jer. 43:7; 44:1. It was 
an important town, being twice men- 
tioned by the former prophet with Noph 
or Memphis. Jer. 2 : 16 ; 46: 14. Its de- 
struction by the Assyrians was prophe- 
sied by Jeremiah (43:8-13). No con- 
firmation of this has been found in the 
monuments but the excavations give 
evidence of a violent destruction with 
conflagrations. It is doubtless the classic 
Daphne, a fortified city on the Pelusiac 
branch of the Nile (Herod, ii, 30, 107). 
The site is now a desolate mound on 
the edge of the desert, called Defenneh. 

Tah'penes (tah'pe-nes), an Egyptian 
queen, was wife of the Pharaoh who 
received Hadad the Edomite, and who 
gave him her sister in marriage. 1 
Kings 11 : 18-20. 

Tah'rea (tah're-a) (cunning), son 
of Micah and grandson of Mephibo- 
sheth. 1 Chron. 9 : 41. 

Tah'tim=hod'shi (tah'tim-hod'shi) , 
The land of, one of the places visited 
by Joab during his census of the land 
of Israel. It occurs between Gilead and 
Dan-jaan. 2 Sam. 24:6. The word 
probably means the Hittites towards 
Kadesh and should not be considered 
a proper name. 

Talent. [Weights and Measures; 
Money.] 

Tal'itha cu'mi (tal'i-tha ku'mi), two 
Aramaic words, Mark 5:41, signifying 
damsel, arise. 

Tal'mai (tal'ma) (pertaining to fur- 
rows). 1. One of the three sons of 
“ the Anak ” who were slain by the 
men of Judah. Num. 13:22; Josh. 15: 
14; Judges 1:10. (b.c. 1450.) 

2. Son of Ammihud king of Geshur. 
2 Sam. 3:3; 13 : 37 ; 1 Chron. 3:2. He 
was probably a petty chieftain, depend- 
ent on David. 

TaI'mon (tal'mon) (oppressed) , the 
head of a family of door-keepers in 
the temple, “the porters for the camps 
of the sons of Levi.” 1 Chron. 9:17; 
Neh. 11 : 19. Some of his descendants 
returned with Zerubbabel, Ezra 2 : 42 ; 
Neh. 7 : 45, and were employed in their 
hereditary office in the days of Nehe- 
miah and Ezra. Neh. 12:25. 

Ta'mah (ta'mah) (laughter). The 

children of Tamah or Thamah, Ezra 

2:53, were among the Nethinim who 
returned with Zerubbabel. Neh. 7 : 55. 

Ta'mar (ta'mar) (palm tree). 1. 

The wife successively of the two sons 


TAM 


667 


TAR 


of Judah,— Er and Onan. Gen. 38 : 6- 
30. Her importance in the sacred nar- 
rative depends on the great anxiety to 
keep up the lineage of Judah. It 
seemed as if the family were on the 
point of extinction. Er and Onan had 
successively perished suddenly. Judah’s 
wife, Bathshuah, died; and there only 
remained a child, Shelah, whom Judah 
was unwilling to trust to the dangerous 
union, as it appeared, with Tamar, lest 
he should meet with the same fate as 
his brothers. Accordingly she resorted 
to the desperate expedient of entrap- 
ping the father himself into the union 
which he feared for his son. The 
fruits of this intercourse were twins, 
Pharez and Zarah, and through Pharez 
the sacred line was continued. 

2. Daughter of David and Maachah 
the Geshurite princess, and thus full 
sister of Absalom. 2 Sam. 13 : 1-32 ; 1 
Chron. 3 : 9. She and her brother were 
alike remarkable for their extraordinary 
beauty. This fatal beauty inspired a 
frantic passion in her half-brother Am- 
non, the oldest son of David. The in- 
tense hatred of Amnon ' succeeding to 
his brutal passion, and the indignation 
of Tamar at his barbarous insult, even 
surpassing her indignation at his shame- 
ful outrage, are pathetically and graph- 
ically told. 

3. Daughter of Absalom, 2 Sam. 14: 
27. She was perhaps identical with 
Maachah, who became the wife of 
Rehoboam, although some consider her 
to have been the mother of Maachah. 
1 Kings 15 : 2 ; 2 Chron. 11 : 20 ; 13 : 2. 

4. A spot on the southeastern frontier 
of Judah, named in Ezek. 47 : 19 ; 48 : 
28 only, evidently called from a palm 
tree. It must have been near the 
southern end of the Dead Sea, and is 
perhaps identical with the village Tha- 
mara mentioned by Eusebius and Je- 
rome. It has not been identified. 

Tam'muz (tam'muz) ( son of life). 
Ezek. 8 : 14. He was originally the sun- 
god, primarily a god of Babylonia, 
slain by a wild boar while hunting, and 
mourned long and vainly by the god- 
dess Istar. He is generally identified 
with Adonis, of Greek mythology, 
whose story is practically the same. 
According to Sayce the Canaanites 
called him “ Adonai ” lord, from which 
when the myth reached Greece came 
the name Adonis. A festival in honor 
of Adonis was celebrated at Byblus in 


Phoenicia and in most of the Grecian 
cities, and even by the Jews when they 
degenerated into idolatry. It took place 
in July, and was accompanied by ob- 
scene rites. 

Ta'nach (ta'nak), a slight variation 
of the name Taanach. Josh. 21:25. 

Tan'humeth (tan'hu-meth) {con- 
solation), the father of Seraiah in the 
time of Gedaliah. 2 Kings 25 : 23 ; Ter. 
40:8. 

Ta'phath (ta'fath) (a drop), the 
daughter of Solomon, who was married 
to Ben-Abinadab. 1 Kings 4 : 11. 

Ta'phon (ta'fon), one of the cities 
m Judea, fortified by Bacchides. 1 
Macc. 9 : 50. It is probably a modifica- 
tion of the name “ Tappuah,” but it is 
not known which one is intended. 

Tap'puah (tap'pu-ah) {the apple- 
city). 1. A city of Judah, in the dis- 
trict of the Shefelah or lowland. Josh. 
15 : 34. 

2. A place on the boundary of the 
“ children of Joseph.’’ Josh. 16 : 8 ; 17 : 
8. Its full name was probably En-tap- 
puah. Josh. 17 : 7. The city belonged 
to Ephraim but the land around it to 
Manasseh. 

3. One of the sons of Hebron, of the 
tribe of Judah. 1 Chron. 2 : 43. 

Ta'rah (ta'rah), a desert-station of 
the Israelites between Tahath and 
Mithcah. Num. 33 : 27. It is the same 
name as Terah. 

Tar'alah (tar'a-lah) {reeling), one 
of the towns in the allotment of Ben- 
jamin. Josh. 18:27. 

Tar'ea (tar're-a), the same as ,Tah- 
reah, the son of Micah. 1 Chron. 8: 
35. 

Tares. There can be little doubt 
that the zizania of the parable, Matt. 
13 : 25, denotes the weed called “ dar- 
nel ” {Lolium temulentum). The 
darnel before it comes into ear is very 
similar in appearance to wheat; hence 
the command that the zizania should 
be left to the harvest, lest while men 
plucked up the tares “ they should root 
up also the wheat with them.” “ It is 
customary to gather out of the grain 
fields, not only tares, but all the taller 
plants growing among the grain which 
can be easily pulled up without causing 
the person engaged to bend over in 
a way to . endanger breaking the stalks 
of grain.” “The allusion in the para- 
ble is in substantial accord with modern 


TAR 


668 


TAR 


custom in the East which is to leave 
the cleaning of the fields until the grain 
is well advanced towards the harvest, 
and can be readily distinguished from 
all other plants.” (G. E. Post in Hast- 
ings’ Bible Dictionary.') The grains of 
the L. temulentum, if eaten by man and 



TARES. 


the herbivorous animals, produce con- 
vulsions, and even death, but are harm- 
less to poultry. 

Tar'gum. [See Versions.] 

Tar'pelites (tar'pel-ites), The, a 
race of Assyrian colonists who were 
planted in the cities of Samaria after 
the captivity of the northern kingdom 
of Israel. Ezra 4:9. They have not 
been identified with any certainty. 

Tar'shish (tar'shish). In the A. V. 
sometimes “ Tharshish.” 1. Probably 
Tartessus, a city and emporium of the 
Phoenicians in the south of Spain, repre- 
sented as one of the sons of Javan. 
Gen. 10:4; 1 Kings 10 : 22 ; 1 Chron. 
1:7; Ps. 48:7; Isa. 2:16; Jer. 10:9; 
Ezek. 27 : 12, 25 ; Jonah 1:3; 4:2. The 
identity of the two places is rendered 
highly probable by the following cir- 
cumstances : 1st : There is a very close 
similarity of name between them, Tar- 
tessus being merely Tarshish in the 
Aramaic form. 2d. There seems to 
have been a special relation between 
Tarshish and Tyre, as there was at one 
time between Tartessus and the Phoe- 


nicians. 3d. The articles which Tar- 
shish is stated by the prophet Ezekiel, 
Ezek. 27 : 12, to have supplied to Tyre 
are precisely such as we know, through 
classical writers,, to have been produc- 
tions of the Spanish peninsula. In re- 
gard to tin, the trade of Tarshish in 
this metal is peculiarly significant, and, 
taken in conjunction with similarity of 
name and other circumstances already 
mentioned, is reasonably conclusive as 
to its identity with Tartessus. For even 
now the countries in Europe or on the 
shores of the Mediterranean Sea where 
tin is found are very few; and in ref- 
erence to ancient times, it would be 
difficult to name any such countries ex- 
cept Iberia or Spain, Lusitania, which 
was somewhat less in extent than Por- 
tugal, and Cornwall in Great Britain. 
In the absence of positive proof, we 
may acquiesce in the statement of 
Strabo, that the river Bsetis (now the 
Guadalquivir) was formerly called Tar- 
tessus, that the city Tartessus was sit- 
uated between the two arms by which 
the river flowed into the sea, and that 
the adjoining country was called Tar- 
tessis. 

2. From the book of Chronicles there 
would seem to have been a Tarshish ac- 
cessible from the Red Sea, in addition 
to the Tarshish of the south of Spain. 
Thus, with regard to the ships of Tar- 
shish, which Jehoshaphat caused to be 
constructed at Ezion-geber on the Elani- 
tic Gulf of the Red Sea, 1 Kings 22: 
48, it is said in the Chronicles, 2 Chron. 
20 : 36, that they were made to go to 
Tarshish; and in like manner the navy 
of ships, which Solomon had previously 
made in Ezion-geber, 1 Kings 9:26, is 
said in the Chronicles, 2 Chron. 9 : 21, 
to have gone to Tarshish with the serv- 
ants of Hiram. It is not to be sup- 
posed that the author of these passages 
in the Chronicles contemplated a voyage 
to . Tarshish in the south of Spain by 
going round what has since been called 
the Cape of Good Hope. The expres- 
sion “ ships of Tarshish ” originally 
meant ships destined to go to Tarshish; 
and then probably came to signify large 
ships of a particular size and descrip- 
tion, destined for long voyages, just as 
in English " East Indiaman ” was a 
general name given to vessels, some of 
which were not intended to go to India 
at all. Hence we may infer that the 


TAR 


669 


TAX 


word Tarshish was also used to signify 
any distant place, and in this case would 
be applied to one in the Indian Ocean. 

3. One of the seven highest princes 
of Persia. Esth. 1:14. 

4. A Benjamite, son of Bilhan. A. V. 
Tharshish. 1 Chron. 7:10. 

Tarsus (tar'sus), the chief town of 
Cilicia, “ no mean city ” in other re- 
spects, but illustrious to all time as the 
birthplace and early residence of the 
apostle Paul. Acts 9 : 11 ; 21 : 39 ; 22 : 3. 
Even in the flourishing period of Greek 
history it was a city of some consider- 
able consequence. In the civil wars of 
Rome it took Caesar’s side, and on the 
occasion of a visit from him had its 
name changed to Juliopolis. Marc 
Antony made it a “ free city ” ; a priv- 
ilege which Augustus continued, and 
even increased. It was renowned as a 
place of education under the early 
Roman emperors. Strabo compares it 
in this respect to Athens and Alexan- 
dria. Tarsus also was a place of much 
commerce. It was situated in a wild 
and fertile plain on the banks of the 
Cydnus. The city is much decayed 
from its former greatness. Its popula- 
tion is about 15,000, of whom about 
half are Christians. No ruins of any 
importance remain. 

Tar'tak, one of the gods of the Avite 
or Avvite colonists of Samaria. 2 
Kings 17 : 31. According to rabbinical 
tradition, Tartak is said to have been 
worshipped under the form of an ass. 

Tar' tan (tar'tan), which occurs only 
in 2 Kings 18 : 17 and Isa. 20 : 1, was 
long regarded as a proper name; but 
like Rabsaris and Rabshakeh, it is 
proved to be an official designation, and 
indicates the Assyrian commander-in- 
chief. 

Tat'na=i (tat'na-i) (gift), satrap of 
the province west of the Euphrates in 
the time of Daruis Hystaspes. Ezra 5 : 
3, 6; 6:6, 13. (b.c. 520.) He opposed 

the rebuilding of the temple. 

Taverns, The three. [Three Tav- 
erns.] 

Taxes. I. Under the judges, accord- 
ing to the theocratic government con- 
templated by the law, the only payments 
incumbent upon the people as of per- 
manent obligation were for the. support 
of the Tabernacle and the priesthood. 
These were maintained by the Tithes, 
the First-fruits, the Redemption-money 
of the first-born, and other offerings 


as belonging to special occasions, and 
by the land which was permanently 
given for the use of the Levites. 

II. The kingdom, with its centralized 
government and greater magnificence, in- 
volved, of course, a larger expenditure, 
and therefore a heavier taxation. The 
chief burdens appear to have been — (1) 
A tithe of the produce both of the soil 
and _ of live stock. 1 Sam. 8 : 15, 17 ; 

1 Kings 4:7, 28. (2) Forced military 

service for a month every year. 1 Sam. 

8 : 12 ; 1 Kings 9 : 22 ; 1 Chron. 27 : 1. , 
(3) Gifts to the king. 1 Sam. 10:27; 
16 : 20 ; 17 : 18. (4) Import duties. 1 

Kings 10:15. (5) The monopoly of 

certain branches of commerce. 1 Kings 
9:28; 22:48; 10:28, 29. (6) The ap- 

propriation to the king’s use of the 
early crop of hay. Amos 7:1. At 
times, too, in the history of both the 
kingdoms there were special burdens. 
A tribute of fifty shekels a head had 
to be paid by Menahem to the Assyrian 
king, 2 Kings 15 :'20, and under his suc- 
cessor Hoshea this assumed the form of 
as annual tribute. 2 Kings 17 : 4. 

III. Under the Persian empire the 
taxes paid by the Jews were, in their 
broad outlines, the same in kind as those 
of other subject races. The financial sys- 
tem which gained for Darius Hystaspes 
the name of the “ shopkeeper king ” 
involved the payment by each satrap of 
a fixed sum as the tribute due from 
his province. In Judea, as in other 
provinces, the inhabitants had to pro- 
vide in kind for the maintenance of 
the governor’s household, besides a 
money payment of forty shekels a day. 
Neh. 5 : 14, 15. In Ezra 4 : 13, 20 ; 7 : 24, 
we get a formal enumeration of the 
three great branches of the revenue. 
The influence of Ezra secured for the 
whole ecclesiastical order, from the 
priests down to the Nethinim, an im- 
munity from all three, Ezra 7 : 24 ; but 
the burden pressed heavily on the great 
body of the people. In addition to the 
taxes laid by the Persian rulers there 
was, after the Exile, a Temple tax vol- 
untarily assumed by the people of half 
a shekel on each Israelite of 20 years or 
over. This later became a fixed tax, 
the collectors visited every town in 
Judea at a fixed time, and in foreign 
lands certain places were named where 
it should be paid. 

IV. Under the Egyptian and Syrian 
kings the taxes paid by the Jews became 


TAX 


670 


TEL 


yet heavier. The “ farming ” system of 
finance was adopted in its worst form. 
The taxes were put up to auction. The 
contract sum for those of Phoenicia, 
Judea and Samaria had been estimated 
at about 8000 talents. An unscrupulous 
adventurer would bid double that sum, 
and would then go down to the province, 
and by violence and cruelty, like that of 
Turkish or Hindoo collectors, squeeze 
out a large margin of profit for himself. 

V. The pressure of Roman taxation, 
if not absolutely heavier, was probably 
more galling, as being more thorough 
and systematic, more distinctively a 
mark of bondage. The capture of Jeru- 
salem by Pompey was followed imme- 
diately by the imposition of a tribute, 
and within a short time the sum thus 
taken from the resources of the country 
amounted to 10,000 talents. When Ju- 
dea became formally a Roman province, 
the whole financial system of the em- 
pire came as a natural consequence. 
The taxes were systematically farmed, 
and the publicans appeared as a new 
curse to the country. The portoria 
were levied at harbors, piers and the 
gates of cities. Matt. 9:9; Rom. 13 : 
7. In addition to this there was the 
poll-tax paid by every Jew, and looked 
upon, for that reason, as the special 
badge of servitude. United with this, 
as part of the same system, there was 
also, in all probability, a property tax 
of some kind. In addition to these 
general taxes, the inhabitants of Jeru- 
salem were subject to a special house- 
duty about this period. 

Taxing. The English word now con- 
veys to us more distinctly the notion of 
a tax or tribute actually levied ; but it 
appears to have been used in the six- 
teenth century for the registration or 
enrolment of the people for the purpose 
of a poll-tax. Two distinct registra- 
tions, or enrolments, are mentioned in 
the New Testament, both of them by 
St. Luke. The first is said to have been 
the result of an edict of the emperor 
Augustus, that “ all the world (t. e. 
the Roman empire) should be taxed,” 
Luke 2 : 1, and is connected by the 
evangelist with the name of Cyrenius 
or Quirinius. [Cyrenius. 1 The second 
and more important, Acts 5 : 37, is dis- 
tinctly associated, in point of time, with 
the revolt of Judas of Galilee. 

Te'bah (te'bah) {.slaughter), eldest 


of the sons of Nahor, by his concu- 
bine Reumah. Gen. 22 : 24. 

Tebali'ah (teb-a-li'ah) {Jehovah hath 
purified), third son of Hosah of the 
children of Merari. 1 Chron. 26 : 11. 

Te'beth (te'beth). [Month.] 

Tehin'nah (te-hm'nah) {supplica- 
tion), the father or founder of Ir-na- 
hash, the city of Nahash, and son of 
Eshton. 1 Chron. 4 : 12. 1 

Teil tree. [Oak.] 

Teko'a (t§-ko'a), or Teko'ah. 1. A 
town in the tribe of Judah, 2 Chron. 
11 : 6, on the range of hills which rise 
near Hebron and stretch eastward to- 
ward the Dead Sea. The “ wise wom- 
an ” whom Joab employed to effect a 
reconciliation between David and Absa- 
lom was obtained from this place. 2 
Sam. 14:2. Here also Ira the son of 
Ikkesh, one of David’s thirty, “ the 
mighty men,” was born, and was called 
on that account “the Tekoite.” 2 Sam. 
23:26. It was one of the places which 
Rehoboam fortified, at the beginning of 
his reign, as a defence against invasion 
from the south. 2 Chron. 11 : 6. Some 
of the people from Tekoa took part in 
building the walls of Jerusalem, after 
the return from the captivity. Neh. 3 : 
5, 27. In Jer. 6: 1 the prophet exclaims, 
“ Blow the trumpet in Tekoa, and set 
up a sign of fire in Beth-haccerem.” 
But Tekoa is chiefly memorable as the 
birthplace of the prophet Amos. Amos 
1:1. Tekoa is known still as Teku’a. 
It lies on an elevated hill, which spreads 
itself out into an irregular plain of 
moderate extent. Various ruins exist, 
such as the walls of houses, cisterns, 
broken columns and heaps of building- 
stones. 

2. A name occurring in the genealo- 
gies of Judah, 1 Chron. 2:24; 4:5, as 
the son of Ashur. There is little doubt 
that the town of Tekoa is meant. 

Teko'ite (te-ko'ite), The. Ira ben- 
Ikkesh, one of David’s warriors, is thus 
designated. 2 Sam. 23 : 26 ; 1 Chron. 
11 : 28 ; 27 : 9. The common people 

among the Tekoites displayed great 
activity in the repairs of the wall of 
Jerusalem under Nehemiah. Neh. 3:5, 
27. 

TeLa'bib (tel-a'bib) {cornhill), a 
city of Babylonia, near the Chebar, one 
of the rivers or canals of that country. 
Some of the Jewish exiles were settled 


TEL 


671 


TEM 


there. Its site is unknown. Ezek. 3 : 15. 

Te'lah (te'lah) (fracture), a de- 
scendant of Ephraim, and ancestor of 
Joshua. 1 Chron. 7 : 25. 

Tel'a=im (tel'a-im) (lambs), the 
place at which Saul collected and num- 
bered his forces before his attack on 
Amalek, 1 Sam. 15 : 4, may be identical 
with Telem, which see. 

Telas'sar (te-las'sar) (Assyrian hill) 
is mentioned in 2 Kings 19 : 12 and in 
Isa. 37 : 12 as a city inhabited by “ the 
children of Eden,” which had been 
conquered and was held in the time of 
Sennacherib, by the Assyrians. It must 
have been in western Mesopotamia, in 
the neighborhood of Harran. 

Telem (te'lem) (oppression). 1. 
One of the cities in the extreme south 
of Judah, Josh. 15 : 24, probably the 
same as Telaim. The name Dhallam 
is found in connection with some Arabs 
living south of Moladah, Tell Milk — 
a position very suitable. 

2. A porter or doorkeeper of the tem- 
ple in the time of Ezra. Ezra 10 : 24. 
He is perhaps the same as Talmon in 
Neh. 12: 25. 

TeUhar'sa, or Tel=hare'sha (tel-ha- 
re'sha) (hill of the wood), one of the 
Babylonian towns or villages mentioned 
in Ezra 2:59; Neh. 7:61, along with 
Tel-melah and Cherub. Its site is un- 
known. 

Tel=meiah (tel-me'lah). [Tel-har- 
sa.] 

Te'ma (te'ma) (south), a son of 
Ishmael, Gen. 25 : 15 ; 1 Chron. 1:30; 
whence the tribe called after him, men- 
tioned in Job 6 : 19 ; Jer. 25 : 23, and also 
the land occupied by this tribe. Isa. 21 : 
13, 14. The name is identified with 
Teima, in N. Arabia, on an old route 
from the Gulf of Akaba to the Per- 
sian Gulf. 

Te'man (te'man) (the south). A 
son of Eliphaz, son of Esau by Adah. 
Gen. 36 : 11, 15, 42 ; 1 Chron. 1 : 36, 53. 

2. A country, and probably a city 
named after the Edomite “ duke ” or 
from which the “ duke ” took his 
name. It is sometimes used as a syn- 
onym for Edom and is without doubt 
a district in Edom, but the references 
make it uncertain whether it is in the 
northern or southern part. Eze. 25 : 13 ; 
Am. 1:12; Jer. 49:20, 21. Eusebius 
speaks of it as 15 miles from Petra, 
but does not give the direction. No 


trace of the city can be found, but it 
is thought to have been on the road 
between Elath and Bozrah. 

Tem'ani (tem'a-ni). [Teman.] 

Te'manite (te'man-ite), an inhabitant 
of Teman. 

Tem'eni (tem'e-ni), son of Ashur 
the father of Tekoa, by his wife Naarah 
1 Chron. 4:6. 

Temple. Tfyere is perhaps no build- 
ing of the ancient world which has ex- 
cited so much attention since the time 
of its destruction as the Temple which 
Solomon built at Jerusalem, and its 
successor as rebuilt by Herod. Its 
spoils were considered worthy of form- 
ing the principal illustration of one of 
the most beautiful of Roman triumphal 
arches, the Arch of Titus. Throughout 
the middle ages it influenced to a con- 
siderable degree the forms of Christian 
churches, and its peculiarities were the 
watchwords and rallying-points of all 
associations of builders. 

Purpose of the Temple. “The tem- 
ple was the approach of a nation to 
their God. Israelites alone could enter 
its Inner Sanctuary.” It was the sym- 
bol of God’s presence among the peo- 
ple. It expressed by means of worship, 
and every available form of ceremony 
and symbolism, the presence and power 
and glory of God. It was the visible 
means of access to God. “ Yet amid 
all the symbolism, God Himself was 
not adored in any material form. One 
could represent only His Presence or 
Dwelling. And this was double. God 
was both the Far and the Near, above 
all things, filling the Heavens, and yet 
abiding with His people. His Name 
dwelt there.” He was transcendent, 
with His throne in Heaven, but the 
Temple was His earthly seat. 

Thus the temple bound the nation 
together. It was the religious centre 
and capital. Its influence permeated the 
whole nation. 

The three Temples. There were 
three temples in Jewish history, — (1) 
Solomon’s for a little more than 400 
years from about b.c. 1000 to 588, from 
Solomon to the Exile; (2) Zerubbabel’s 
or the Temple of the Return, nearly 
500 years, from its completion b.c. 515 
to b.c. 20, when Herod began to build 
his temple or perhaps better, to trans- 
form the old into a new temple. (3) 
Herod’s Temple, lasting only about 90 


672 



MOSQUE OF OMAR. 

On Site of Jewish Temple Area 



TEM 


673 


TEM 


years, from the time Herod began to 
build in b.c. 20, to its destruction by 
Titus, August, a.d. 70. The whole area, 
or platform with its various buildings 
was called the Temple. 

The site. All these temples were 
built upon the eastern hill of Jerusalem 
(see Art. Jerusalem). The lower, 
southern part of this hill is now gen- 
erally regarded by scholars as Mount 
Zion (or Sion). North of Zion was 
the temple platform, greatly enlarged 
by building immense walls around its 
southern and eastern sides. This plat- 


walls formed a square of about 600 
feet; but the sanctuary itself was com- 
paratively small, inasmuch as it was 
intended only for the ministrations of 
the priests, the congregation of the peo- 
ple assembling in the courts. In this 
and all other essential points the tem- 
ple followed the model of the taber- 
nacle, from which it differed chiefly by 
having chambers built about the sanc- 
tuary for the abode of the priests and 
attendants and the keeping of treasures 
and stores. In all its dimensions, 
length, breadth and height on its ground 



GROUND PLAN OF THE HOLY HOUSE OF SOLOMON’S TEMPLE. 

P, Porch; H, Holy Place; H H, Holy of Holies; S, Stairway to Chambers; C C, Chambers; 

B, T, Pillars Boaz and Tachin. 


form, nearly square, was gradually in- 
creased on its northern side. Solomon 
made it about 600 feet square, contain- 
ing 12 acres. This area, according to 
Josephus, was nearly doubled when 
Herod built the third temple. 

Solomon’s Temple. In his later 
years David gathered a great amount 
of material for the temple to be builded 
by his son. The gold and silver alone 
accumulated by David are at the lowest 
reckoned to have amounted to 2450 mil- 
lion dollars, a sum which can be par- 
alleled from secular history. The 
building occupied the site prepared for 
it by David, which had formerly been 
the threshing-floor of the Jebusite Or- 
nan or Araunah, on Mount Moriah. 
The whole area enclosed by the outer 
43 


plan, the sanctuary itself was exactly 
double the size of the tabernacle. 

The ground plan can best be under- 
stood by the accompanying diagram. 
Counting a cubit as eighteen inches, the 
main building was as follows : 

Porch . . 30' broad, 15' deep, 180' high. 

Holy Place . 60' long, 30' wide, 30' high. 

Holy of Holies 30' long, 30' wide, 30' high. 
Chambers . 15' wide on the two sides and 
rear. 

The Holy of Holies was a cube. It 
was without light. It contained the Ark 
of the Covenant, and the Cherubim. It 
was entered only once a year and then 
by the high priest alone. The space 
over it, 15 feet high was probably oc- 
cupied by upper chambers, gold lined. 
(1 Chron. 28:11; 2 Chron. 3:9.)' 



674 



GROUND PLAN OF SOLOMON’S BUILDINGS. 

After Geo. Adam Smith’s “ Jerusalem.” 


1. The Temple. 

2. Court of the House of the Lord. 

3. Greater or Outer Court. 

4. King’s house. 

e. House of Pharaoh’s Daughter. 

6. “ Other ” or “ Middle ” Court. 


7. Throne Hall. 

8. Hall of Pillars. 

9. House of the Forest of Lebanon. 
P. Ascents to Palace and Temple. 

W. Wall of present Temple platform. 


TEM 


675 


TEM 


In the Holy Place were ten golden 
candlesticks, ten tables of shewbread, 
and the altar of incense. 

The front of the Porch was sup- 
ported, after the manner of some Egyp- 
tian temples, by the two great brazen 
pillars, Jachin and Boaz, 18 cubits high, 
with capitals of 5 cubits more, adorned 
with lily-work and pomegranates. 1 
Kings 7 : 15-22. 

Around three sides were chambers 
for the priests arranged in three stories. 

There were two courts (2 Chron. 33 : 
5). The outer court was surrounded 
by a wall partly of stone, partly of 
cedar ; on the eastern border was a 
cloister or colonnade. This court was 
adorned with trees, and free to all the 
people. Within this quadrangle was a 
smaller court, the court of the priests, 
on the highest ridge of the hill, enclos- 
ing the temple, and the great brazen 
altar, and brazen sea, and the lavers. 

In the inner court were the great 
brazen altar of sacrifice, fifteen feet 
high and thirty feet square, in sight of 
all the worshippers of the outer court, 
and the molten or brazen sea supported 
by twelve huge brazen oxen, each seven 
and one-half feet high. 

The outer court was for the wor- 
shippers, who were intended to exercise 
the feelings suggested and symbolized 
by the ceremonies going on visibly in 
the court or unseen in the sanctuary, 
but well known as to their meaning. 

The Temple was built of marble 
hewn into shape at the quarry, part of 
which was doubtless in the rock under 
the city. The whole interior was lined 
with woodwork of cedar and cypress, 
richly carved and overlaid with gold. 
Indeed, both within and without the 
building was conspicuous chiefly by the 
lavish use of the gold. 

The group of Royal Buildings. We 
will understand better the temple built 
by Solomon if we see it in connection 
with the whole group of his royal build- 
ings, covering the larger part of the 
eastern hill, thus including Zion as well 
as the Temple mount. The plan on 
page 674 is modified from Stade’s. It is 
best described in George Adam Smith’s 
new book Jerusalem, vol. 2, p. 58 f. 

Temple of the Return, built by gov- 
ernor Zerubbabel, with the aid of the 
prophets Zechariah and Haggai, and 
completed b.c. 515, twenty years after 


the first return from the captivity in 
Babylon. We see by the description in 
Ezra that this temple was about one- 
third. larger than Solomon’s. The di- 
mensions are given in Ezra 6 : 3, when 
quoting the decree of Cyrus, it is said, 
“ Let the house be builded, the place 
where they offered sacrifices, and let the 
foundations thereof be strongly laid; 
the height thereof three-score cubits, 
and the. breadth thereof three-score 
cubits, with three rows [rather stories] 
of great stones, and a row of new tim- 
ber.” While larger in size than Sol- 
omon’s. temple, it was greatly its in- 
ferior in architectural splendor, in orna- 
mentation, and lavish display of gold 
and precious stones, and the beauty of 
its textile fabrics. 

The Temple in the Time of Christ, 
called Herod’s Temple, because it was 
biiilt by Herod the Great on the basis 
of the old temple. 

This temple has by far the largest 
interest for Christians of to-day, be- 
cause it is so closely associated with the 
life and teachings of our Lord, and with 
the apostles and the early church. 

The sources of our knowledge con- 
cerning it, in addition to the New Tes- 
tament, are (1) Josephus’ Antiquities, 
xv, 11 and Jewish Wars, v, 5 ; (2) the 
tract Middoth of the Mishna; and (3) 
the holy site itself. 

The most helpful books which sum 
up the conclusions of modern scholars 
are Professor George Adam Smith’s 
Jerusalem (1908) and Prof. Sanday’s 
Sacred Sites of the Gospels (1903). 

This temple was begun by Herod in 
the winter of b.c. 20, 19. The house 
was completed in 18 months, being but 
a transformation of the old temple, 
the cloisters occupied 8 years more, but 
the work on the entire complex of 
courts and buildings dragged along 
slowly, even after the death of Herod, 
for nearly half a century (John 2:20). 
This temple was destroyed by Titus, 
August, a.d. 70, having accomplished its 
purpose. A Mohammedan mosque now 
stands on its site. 

General View. To one standing up- 
on the Mount of Olives the general 
plan of the Temple and its courts would 
be like that given in the accompanying 
plans. A large court surrounded by a 
high strong wall, making the whole 
one great fortification for defence. 


TEM 


676 


TEM 


Within the larger court toward the 
northwest was a smaller one of great 
strength and magnificence, 555 feet long 
from east to west, 230 feet wide, en- 
closed by a double wall of defence. 
This inner court was not level like the 
outer one, but consisted of several lesser 


courts each rising above the other by 
flights of stairs till that on which the 
temple building stood is 15 cubits 
higher than the level of the outer court 
of the Gentiles. The house towered 172 
feet higher still. The whole was domi- 
nated by the tower of Antonia adjoin- 



herod’s temple. 

1. Thirteen trumpet-mouthed money boxes, on either side of the Court of the Women. 

2. Shusan Gate, the still existing Golden Gate. 

3. Gate with bridge across the Tyropean Valley to the street that led across the city to 
Jaffa Gate. 

4. Gates to the commercial suburb. ^ 

5. Holy of Holies, containing the Ark of the Covenant. 

6. Sanctuary, or Holy Place, containing candlestick, table and altar of incense. 

7. The Porch. 

8. The slaughter-house for sacrifices. 

9. The Soreg or wall, shutting out all Gentiles. 

10. Council of the Sanhedrim outside the wall. Hall Gazith, where the Sanhedrim some- 
times met. 

u. Beautiful Gate. 




TEM 


677 


TEM 


ing the northwest corner of the court 
of the Gentiles, a huge castle and bar- 
racks for the Roman soldier guard. 

The Temple Building stood upon 
the highest ground in the enclosure. 
The ground plan was in general the 
same as that of Solomon’s temple, the 
interior being 60 1 cubits (103 ft.) by 20 
(35 ft.) wide, divided into (1) the 
Holy of Holies , a cube of 20 cubits 
each way entirely empty, with no open- 
ings for light, and (2) the Holy Place, 
40 cubits long by 20 cubits wide, and 
40 cubits high. Between them hung the 
great veil referred to in Matt. 27:51; 
Mark 15:38; Heb. 9:3. 

In the Holy Place were the Altar of 
Incense, the Table of Shewbread, and 
seven-branched Candlestick. On both 


propylaeum, 11 cubits deep, 100 cubits 
high, but in width extending 15 cubits 
on either side, making its total front- 
age to be 100 cubits (172 feet). The 
vast entrance 122 feet high by 35 broad 
lay open without doors. 

Thus there rises before us a building 
172 feet high, 172 feet long, with a 
porch of 172 feet broad, “ built of huge 
blocks of white stone with plates of 
gold upon the front, so that in the dis- 
tance it appeared like a mountain cov- 
ered with snow.” 

The Courts around the House were 
enclosed by a double wall which formed 
of the temple mount a strong inner 
fortification, a separate citadel which 
in a.d. 70 the Jews were able to hold 
for some time after Titus had pene- 



THE TEMPLE OF HEROD — RESTORED BY FERGUSSON. 

The covered Portico on the left is the Royal porch extending along the southern side of 
the Temple area. The colonnade running from left to right is Solomon’s Porch extending 
across the eastern side of the area. The courts here are greatly condensed, but the true 
proportions can be seen on the ground plan of the whole area. 


sides and the rear were three story 
buildings 40 cubits high containing 
chambers reached by winding stairs. 
Over it lay a second chamber of 40 
cubits in height, which with the solid 
foundations 6 cubits high, the ceilings 
and roof made 100 cubits in all (172 
feet). 

The Porch was built as a great 


trated the Court of the Gentiles. 
Around this series of courts at the foot 
of the terrace was a wall called the 
Soreg, 3 cubits high, surmounted by 
pillars on which were inscriptions for- 
bidding all persons save those of the 
commonwealth of Israel to enter the 
enclosure. One of these inscriptions 
has been found. It reads in Greek, — 


1 Geo. Adam Smith counts a cubit as the sacred cubit, 20.67 inches. 



678 



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679 


TEM 


“ Let no Gentile enter inside of the 
barrier and the fence around the sanc- 
tuary. Any one trespassing will bring 
death upon himself as a penalty.” With- 
in this Soreg wall a flight of 14 steps 
led up to a narrow terrace, called the 
Chel or Fortification, from which rose 
a high-towered and gated way (25 
cubits = 43 ft.), very thick like the 

walls of a fortress, with cloisters and 
chambers on the inside. These walls 



had 9 gates, 4 on the south, 4 on the 
north, and one on the east. 

Within this double wall was the 
Court of the Women, that is the court 
into which all Jews, men and women, 
could enter, but women could not go 
beyond. The east gate leading from 
the Court of the Gentiles to the Court 
of the Women, was probably the gate 
Beautiful of Acts 3 : 2, 10. This gate- 
way had magnificent doors of Corin- 
thian brass seventy-five feet high, and 
adorned with plates of silver and gold. 
Compare the magnificent gates to the 
cathedrals of Europe, especially the 
splendid bronze doors of the Baptistery 
at Florence, which Michelangelo said 
were fit to be the gates of paradise. 

The Court of the Women was “ a 
large court 135 cubits square, and prob- 
ably the finance and much other busi- 
ness of the temple was transacted 
within it.” t The vaults under the Court 
of Israel opened into it. Here were 
the Temple’s Treasury and Exchange, 
and the 13 trumpet-shaped money boxes 
for offerings. Here we would see “a 


crowd of Levites in charge of the 
people’s offerings, hucksters, money 
changers and worshippers on their way 
to the inner court. The Court of the 
Women had a gallery high enough to 
allow the women to view the services 
in the Court of the Priests. Into this 
gallery no men were admitted. 

Fifteen steps led up from the Court 
of the Women to the Court of Israel, 
separated from one another by a wall. 
Beyond the Court of Israel, separated 
by a barrier, was the Court of the 
Priests, into which none but priests 
could enter. 

In this court was the great Altar of 
Sacrifices. The base was 32 cubits 
square, and one cubit high. Above it 
the altar, 30 cubits square, rose 5 cubits 
high to a ledge one cubit broad on 
which were the horns of the altar; a 
little higher another ledge also a cubit 
broad, “ the place for the feet of the 
priests ” ; and above this the hearth it- 
self 24 cubits square. On the south 
a slope of masonry led to the ledge on 
which the officiating priests stood. This 
altar stood in front of the open porch 
of the sanctuary which was reached by 
a flight of 12 broad steps. 

Such is the picture of this strong 
inner fortress, sanctuary within sanc- 
tuary, court within court, signifying a 
gradual progress toward God himself 
and his kingdom of righteousness. 

The Court of the Gentiles was the 
great outer court surrounding the inner 
court just described. It was a vast 
stone stage, almost rectangular, held up 
above Ophel and the Kidron valley by 
a high and massive wall from 50 to 150 
feet and more in height, according to 
the levels of the rock from which it 
rises. It was paved throughout. It 
was defended on all sides by the mas- 
sive walls rising high above the plat- 
form. It was about 900 feet square. 
The Mishna defines it as a square of 
500 cubits = 860 feet. The most mag- 
nificent part of the temple, in an archi- 
tectural point of view, seems certainly 
to have been the porticos or cloisters 
which were added to the outer court 
when it was enlarged by Herod. The 
cloisters in the west, north and east 
sides were composed of double rows of 
Corinthian columns, 25 cubits or 43 
feet in height, with flat roof, and rest- 
ing against the outer wall of the tern- 


680 



THE HOLY STONE, THE PEAK OF MT. ZION. 

Probably once the basis of the Temple Altar of burnt-offerings; now enclosed by the Mosque 

of Omar. 


TEM 


681 


TEM 


pie. The one on the east was called 
Solomon’s Porch. These, however, 
were immeasurably surpassed in mag- 
nificence by the Royal Porch or Stoa 
Basilica, which overhung the southern 
wall. It consisted of 162 Corinthian col- 
umns in four rows. Each column was 
a monolith- of white stone 25 cubits 
high. The columns were arranged as 
a nave and two aisles, that toward the 
temple being open, that toward the 
country closed by a wall. The breadth 
of the centre aisle was 45 feet; of the 
side aisles, 30 from centre to centre 



CROSS-SECTION OF THE ROYAL PORCH, 

With its four rows of pillars and roof. Be- 
low are arched vaults or cellars. 

of the pillars ; their height 43 feet. Its 
section was thus something in excess 
of that of York Cathedral, while its 
total length was one stadium or 600 
Greek feet, or 100 feet in excess of 
York or our largest Gothic cathedrals. 
The roof was ceiled with cedar, cu- 
riously carved and carefully polished. 
In these cloisters sat teachers with 
groups of disciples around them. “ On 
the open pavement stand the booths 
of hucksters and money changers, and 
from the north sheep and bullocks are 
being driven toward the inner sanc- 
tuary.” 

Gates. The walls were pierced by at 
least 8 gates. 

On the north one gate. 

On the east toward the north the gate 
Shushan, now called “ The Golden.” 

On the south at least two gates, low 
down in the wall, with passages leading 
under the Royal Porch to the Inner 
Temple. 

On the west four gates, to the city. 

The whole Temple Area was domi- 
nated by the Tower of Antonia, sit- 
uated near the northwest angle of the 
temple area. Its basis was “a rock 50 
cubits high and precipitous all around. 


.Around the edge ran a rampart 3 cubits 
high. The tower-like castle was 40 
cubits high, while of the towers at the 
four corners three were 50 cubits high, 
and the fourth was 70 cubits so as to 
overlook the temple. This castle did 
not abut upon the temple cloisters, but 
between them was either a pair of 
bridges, as in Sanday’s ground plan (see 
pp. 306-307), or an open space, accord- 
ing to Professor G. A. Smith. Here 
was a Roman garrison. 

The Teaching of the Temple. The 
temple and all connected with it* had a 
religious teaching for the people, most 
of whom could not read, but could un- 
derstand symbols and visible expressions 
of great truths. 

1. The temple taught the presence of 
God, and made it real. The arrange- 
ment of courts and rooms expressed 
the progress of the religious life, from 
the outer world into the court of gen- 
eral worship, then into the more sacred 
court, the Holy Place, the Holy of 
Holies. 

2. We enter into the Court of the 
Gentiles through one of the gates which 
lead into it from the outer world. 
Men of every kind, from every race, 
could enter, and come _ within the in- 
fluence of the true religion. 

3. Entering the inner court is coming 
into the church and under its influences. 
It means a decision to begin the new 
Christian life. 

4. We first come to the great altar of 
burnt offerings. It symbolized sacrifice 
for sin, some atoning power, expressing 
our need of forgiveness and God’s will- 
ingness to forgive. It also expresses 
consecration to God, giving ourselves 
to him and to his service. 

5. Next we come to the lavers for 
cleansing, symbolizing the “ washing of 
regeneration,” the cleansing of heart 
and life from sin, as does Christian 
Baptism. 

6. Thus cleansed and forgiven we en- 
ter the Holy Place, expressing the holy 
and useful life of the people of God. 
Here we find the golden candlestick, 
signifying the light from heaven by 
which the Christian walks ; the table 
of shewbread symbolizing the bread 
of life, and the altar of incense sym- 
bolizing the life of prayer. 

7. We look through the hangings into 
the Holy of Holies, the presence- of 
God himself, the perfected life of 


TEN 


682 


TEN 


heaven, toward which every true child 
of God is moving all his life, his ideal, 
his hope, his joy, his' eternal home. 

8. The people brought their offerings 
and sacrifices into the inner courts, for 
no religious service is perfect without 
the act of giving; and they returned 
with parts of the animals to join in 
family parties, or gatherings of friends 
to thanksgiving feasts all over the city. 

9. The whole service was one of re- 
ligious instruction and inspiration and 
the enthusiasm of numbers worshipping 
together. 

Ten Commandments. The popular 
name in this, as in so many instances, 
is not that of the Hebrew. There we 
have the “Ten Words,” Ex. 34:28; 
Deut. 4 : 13 ; 10 : 4 ; the “ Covenant,” 
Ex., Deut. //. cc.; 1 Kings 8:21; 2 
Chron. 6 : 11, etc., or, very often as the 
solemn attestation of the divine will, 
the “Testimony.” Ex. 25:16, 21; 31: 
18, etc. 

The Ten Commandments are a Cove- 
nant of Love, “ a loving covenant of 
God with his people, and not arbitrary 
commandings of God to his subjects.” 
They are “ a loving covenant that binds 
two parties in mutual affection and fi- 
delity,” “ having its statement of prom- 
ises on the one hand, and responsibilities 
on the other.” “ A covenant among the 
Orientals is, and always has been, a 
sacred compact binding two parties in 
loving agreement.” — Henry Clay Trum- 
bull. 

On the one hand, God agrees to be 
their God, giving his fatherly care and 
love and forgiveness and protection, 
while they, on their part, agree to keep 
his commandments and serve him alone. 
If they disobey, they forfeit all these 
blessings, as described in Deuteronomy 
28-30. “ Like her in the ‘ Knight’s 

Dream of Raphael,’ it carries in one 
hand the book of duty, ‘ This do, and 
thou shalt live ’ ; but in the other the 
drawn sword, ‘ Do it not, and thou shalt 
perish.’ ” — Farrar. 

The two forms. (1) The original 
form contained in Ex. 20; and (2) a 
free citation of the words by Moses 
(Deut. 5:6-21) in his oration to Is- 
rael nearly forty years later. There 
are slight differences in expression, as 
would be natural in* such a reference 
to them. Such changed forms are com- 
mon in our reference to them and to 
the Beatitudes. They do not imply 
contradictions. 


The three-fold expression of the 
Law. God has spoken this law in three 
ways: (1) By his voice; (2) by writ- 
ing them on the tablets of stone; and 
(3) he has written them on the very 
nature of man. It is necessary that 
they should be definitely expressed, be- 
cause it would have taken ages for man 
to discover them by himself, and more- 
over, they needed the divine authority 
behind them to make them effective. 

We are not to imagine that nothing 
of these commands was known before 
Moses. They were written on the 
hearts and consciences of men from the 
beginning. We see them in the early 
history. 

They are a Law for all mankind. 
The Jews said that this was the reason 
why the commandments were not de- 
livered in Palestine, which belonged to 
Israel, but in the wilderness, which be- 
longs to all the world. Heaven lives 
according to these commands. But they 
needed to be put in clear and memorable 
form, distinct, with God’s whole nature 
and authority behind them. He im- 
pressed them on the Jews in such a 
way that they mark a decisive epoch 
not only in the history of the Jews, 
but of all mankind, “the greatest and 
most important event in universal his- 
tory” up to the advent of Christ. 
“ They are eternal, inexorable, irresisti- 
ble ! ” They are germs or seeds from 
which the tree of the virtues grows and 
blossoms and bears fruit; unfolding 
their details through the ages accord- 
ing to their circumstances and needs. 
“ There is not a sin but is aimed at and 
denounced in one or other of the ten ! 
God looks over this awful ‘ world ’ of 
sin. He divides sins, just as we divide 
languages, into certain classes or sets. 
He takes ten great classes, or nations, 
or languages, or tribes of sins, and de- 
nounces them all,” under the title of 
their head or chief. None of them 
have been repealed ; for it would 
be absurd to repeal in words a law 
which is written in the very nature of 
man. 

The sum of the ten commandments 
is Love to God and Love to Man. 

Their Connection with religion. 
Love being the inspiration and the 
guide to the keeping of these commands, 
shows their intimate connection with 
religion. “ Josephus said that in other 
systems virtue was made a part of re- 


TEN 


683 


TEN 


ligioji, but in God’s covenant with Is- 
rael religion was but a part of virtue. 
It would be truer to 'say that the two 
are inseparably united. In no other 
religion was it made so clear that the 
end of the law is to make men right- 
eous. Because, if there be one thing 
which history has taught more clearly 
than another, it is that a nation can- 
not lose its religion without losing also 
its virtue and its integrity; and the fate 
of nation after nation, in epoch after 
epoch, has shown that ages of mental 
disbelief are ages also of moral iniq- 
uity.” — Farrar. 

The Two Tables. Their division 


duty toward man. The fifth is a con- 
necting link between the two tables, for 
the authority of parents heads the second 
table, as the earthly reflex of that au- 
thority of the Father of his people and 
of all men which heads the first, and 
as the first principle of the whole law 
of love to our neighbor; because we 
are all brethren, and the family is, for 
good and ill, the model of the state. 
3. The division recognized by the old 
Jewish writers, Josephus and Philo, 
which places five commandments in 
each table. It has been maintained that 
the law of filial duty, being a close 
consequence of God’s fatherly relation 



CAMP OF BEDOUIN 

in Galilee. 


into two tables is not only expressly 
mentioned, but the stress laid upon 
the two leaves no doubt that the dis- 
tinction was important, and that it an- 
swered to that summary of the law 
which was made both by Moses and by 
Christ into two precepts; so that the 
first table contained Duties to God, and 
the second, Duties to our Neighbor. 
There are three principal divisions of 
the two tables; 1. That of the Roman 
Catholic Church, making the first table 
contain three commandments, and the 
second the other seven. They unite the 
first and second, and divide the tenth 
into two. 2. The familiar division, re- 
ferring the first four to our duty to- 
ward God and the six remaining to our 


to us, may be referred to the first table. 

Tent. Among the leading character- 
istics of the nomad races, those two 
have always been numbered whose ori- 
gin has been ascribed to Jabal the son 
of Lamech, Gen. 4:20, viz., to be tent- 
dwellers and keepers of cattle. The 
same may be said of the forefathers 
of the Hebrew race; nor was it until 
the return into Canaan from Egypt that 
the Hebrews became inhabitants of 
cities. An Arab tent is called beit, 
“house;” its covering consists of black 
goat’s hair cloth, Cant. 1 : 5. This is 
sufficient to resist the heaviest rain. 
The tent-poles or columns are usually 
nine in number, placed in three groups ; 
but many tents have only one pole, 



TER 


684 


THA 


others two or three. The tent is held 
in position by long cords fastened to 
the cloth, which are attached to short 
sticks or pins, which are driven into 
the ground with a mallet. Judges 4: 21. 
Round the more exposed sides of the 
tent runs a pipce of stuff removable at 
pleasure to admit air. The tent is di- 
vided into two apartments, separated 
by a carpet partition drawn across the 
middle of the tent and fastened to the 
three middle posts. When the pasture 
near an encampment is exhausted, the 
tents are taken down, packed on camels 
and removed. Gen. 26 : 17, 22, 25 ; Isa. 
38 : 12. In choosing places for encamp- 
ment, Arabs prefer the neighborhood of 
trees, for the sake of the shade and 
coolness which they afford. Gen. 18 : 4, 
8 . 

Te'rah (te'rah), the father of Abram, 
Nahor and Haran, and through them 
the ancestor of the great families of 
the Israelites, Ishmaelites, Midianites, 
Moabites and Ammonites. Gen. 11 : 
24-32. The account given of him in 
the Old Testament narrative is very 
brief. We learn from it simply that 
he was an idolater, Josh. 24 : 2, that he 
dwelt beyond the Euphrates in Ur of 
the Chaldees, Gen. 11:28, and that in 
the southwesterly migration, which 
from some unexplained cause he under- 
took in his old age, he went with his 
son Abram, his daughter-in-law Sarai, 
and his grandson Lot, “ to go into the 
land of Canaan, and they came unto 
Haran, and dwelt there.” Gen. 11 : 31. 
And finally, “the days of Terah were 
two hundred and five years; and Terah 
died in Haran.” Gen. 11 : 32. (b.c. 

1921.) 

Teraphim (ter'a-fim). This word 
occurs only in the plural, and denotes 
images connected with magical rites. 
The derivation of the name is obscure. 
In one case — 1 Sam. 19 : 13, 16 — a single 
statue seems to be intended by the 
plural. The teraphim, translated “ im- 
ages ” in the Authorized Version, car- 
ried away from Laban by Rachel were 
regarded by Laban as gods, and it 
would therefore appear that they were 
used by those who added corrupt prac- 
tices to the patriarchal religion. Tera- 
phim again are included among Mi- 
cah’s images. Judges 17 : 3-5 ; 18 : 17, 
18, 20. Teraphim were consulted for 
oracular answers by the Israelites, Zech. 
10:2; comp. Judges 18:5, 6; 1 Sam. 


15:22, 23; 19:13, 16, LXX., and 2 
Kings 23 : 24, and by the Babylonians 
in the case of Nebuchadnezzar. Ezek. 
21 : 19-22. 

Te'resh (te'resh) {strictness) , one of 
the two eunuchs whose plot to assas- 
sinate Ahasuerus was discovered by 
Mordecai. Esther 2 : 21 ; 6 : 2. He was 
hanged, (b.c. 479.) 

Ter'tius (ter'shus) {third), probably 
a Roman, was the amanuensis of Paul 
in writing the Epistle to the Romans. 
Rom. 16:22. (a.d. 57.) 

Terturius (ter-tul'lus) (diminutive 
from Tertius), “a certain orator,” Acts 
24 : 1, who was retained by the high 
priest and Sanhedrin to accuse the apos- 
tle Paul at Caesarea before the Roman 
procurator Antonius Felix. He evi- 
dently belonged to the class of profes- 
sional orators. We may infer that 
Tertullus was of Roman, or at all 
events of Italian, origin, (a.d. 58.) 

Tes'tament, New. [New Testa- 
ment; Bible.] 

Tes'tament, Old. [Old Testament; 
Bible.] 

Tetrarch (te'trark), properly the sov- 
ereign or governor of the fourth part 
of a country. Matt. 14 : 1 ; Luke 3:1; 
9:7; Acts 13 : 1. The title was, how- 
ever, often applied to any one who 
governed a Roman province, of what- 
ever size. The title of king was some- 
times used in courtesy to a tetrarch. 
Matt. 14 : 9 ; Mark 6 : 14, 22. 

Thadde'us (thad-de'us), one of the 
twelve apostles. Matt. 10 : 3 ; Mark 3 : 
18. From a comparison with the cat- 
alogue of St. Luke, Luke 6:16; Acts 
1 : 13, it seems scarcely possible to doubt 
that the three names of Judas, Lebbeus 
and Thaddeus were borne by one and 
the same person. [See Judas or Jude.] 

Tha'hash (tha'hash) (probably por- 
poise), son of Nahor by his concubine 
Reumah. Gen. 22 : 24. 

Tha'mah (tha'mah) {laughter). 
“ The children of Thamah ” were a 
family of Nethinim who returned with 
Zerubbabel. Ezra 2 : 53. 

Tha'mar (tha'mar). Tamar, 1. 
Matt. 1 : 3. 

Thammuz. [Months.] 

Thank offering, or Peace offering, 

the properly eucharistic offering among 
the Jews, in its theory indicated that 
the offerer was already reconciled to 
and in covenant with God. Its cere- 
monial is described in Lev. 3. The 


THA 


685 


THE 


peace offerings, unlike other sacrifices, 
were not ordained to be offered in fixed 
and regular course. The only constant- 
ly recurring peace offering appears to 
have been that of the two firstling 
lambs . at Pentecost. Lev. 23 : 19. The 
general principle of the peace offering 
seems to have been that it should be 
entirely spontaneous, offered as occa- 
sion should arise, from the feeling of 
the sacrificer himself. Lev. 19 : 5. On 
the first institution, Lev. 7 : 11-17, peace 
offerings are divided into “offerings of 
thanksgiving” and. “vows or freewill 
offerings;” of which latter class the 
offering by a Nazirite on the comple- 
tion of his vow is the most remarkable. 
Num. 6 : 14. We find accordingly peace 
offerings offered for the people on a 
great scale at periods of unusual so- 
lemnity or rejoicing. In two cases only 
— Judges 20:26; 2 Sam. 24:25 — peace 
offerings are mentioned as offered with 
burnt offerings at a time of national 
sorrow and fasting. 

Tha'ra (tha'ra). Terah the father 
of Abraham. Luke 3 : 34. 

Thar'ra (thar'ra), Esther 12: 1, a cor- 
rupt form of Teresh. 

Thar'shish (thar'shish). Probably 
Tartessus in Spain. [Tarshish.] 

2. A Benjamite, one of the family of 
Bilhan and the house of Jediael. 1 
Chron. 7 : 10 only. R. V. Tarshish. 

Theatre. For the explanation of the 
biblical allusions, two or three points 
only require notice. The Greek term, 
like the corresponding English term, 
denotes the place where dramatic per- 
formances are exhibited, and also the 
scene itself or spectacle which is wit- 
nessed there. It occurs in the first or 
local sense in Acts 19 : 29. The same 
Greek word in the other sense- is trans- 
lated “ spectacle in 1 Cor. 4 : 9. Mar- 
gin “theatre.” 

Thebes (Authorized Version No, the 
multitude of No, populous No, R. V. 
No, and No-Amon), a chief city of 
ancient Egypt, long the capital of the 
upper country, and the seat of the 
Diospolitan dynasties, that ruled over 
all Egypt at the era of its highest splen- 
dor. It was situated on both sides of 
the Nile, 400 or 500 miles from its 
mouth. [No-amon.] The origin of the 
city is lost in antiquity. Niebuhr is of 
opinion that Thebes was much older 
than Memphis, and that, “after the 


centre of Egyptian life was transferred 
to lower Egypt, Memphis acquired its 
greatness through the ruin of Thebes.” 
But both cities date from our earliest 
authentic knowledge of Egyptian his- 
tory. The first allusion to Thebes in 
classical literature is the familiar pas- 
sage of the Iliad (ix. 381-385) : “ Egyp- 

tian Thebes, where are vast treasures 
laid up in the houses ; where are a 
hundred gates, and from each two hun- 
dred men go forth with horses and 
chariots.” In the first century before 



Christ, Diodorus visited Thebes, and he 
devotes several sections of his general 
work to its history and appearance. 
Though he saw the city when it had 
sunk to quite secondary importance, he 
confirms the tradition of its early grand- 
eur — its circuit of 140 stadia, the size 
of its public edifices, the magnificence 
of its temples, the number of its monu- 
ments, the dimensions of its private 
houses, some of them four or five 
stories high — all giving it an air of 
grandeur and beauty surpassing not 
only all other cities of Egypt, but of 
the world. It was conquered by As- 
syria, Babylonia and Persia, but still 
remained a city of importance. By the 
Roman prefect Cornelius Gallus it was 
totally destroyed in 30-29 b.c., for its 
part in a revolt in Upper Egypt. To 
Strabo (b.c. 24) Thebes was a city of 
ruins as it is to-day. Monuments . — The 



THE 


686 


THE 


monuments of Thebes are the most re- 
liable witnesses for the ancient splen- 
dor of the city. These are found in 
almost equal proportions upon both 
sides of the river. The plan of the 
city, as indicated by the principal monu- 
ments, was nearly quadrangular, meas- 
uring two miles from north to south 
and four from east to west. Its four 
great landmarks were, Karnak and 
Luxor upon the eastern or Arabian 
side, and Qoornah and Medeenet Haboo 
upon the western or Libyan side. There 
are indications that each of these tem- 
ples may have been connected with 
those facing it upon two sides by grand 
dromoi, lined with sphinxes and other 
colossal figures. Upon the western 
bank there was almost a continuous 
line of temples and public edifices for 
a distance of two miles, from Qoornah 
to Medeenet Haboo; and Wilkinson 
conjectures that from a point near the 
latter, perhaps in the line of the colossi, 
the “ Royal street ” ran down to the 
river, which was •eossed by a ferry 
terminating at Luxor, on the eastern 
side. Behind this long range of tem- 
ples and palaces are the Libyan hills, 
which for a distance of five miles are 
excavated to the depth of several hun- 
dred feet for sepulchral chambers. Some 
of these, in the number and variety of 
their chambers, the finish of their sculp- 
tures, and the beauty and freshness, of 
their 'frescoes, are among the most re- 
markable monuments of Egyptian grand- 
eur and skill. The eastern side of the 
river is distinguished by the remains 
of Luxor and Karnak, the latter being 
of itself a city of temples. The ap- 
proach to Karnak from the south is 
marked by a series of majestic gateways 
and towers, which were the appendages 
of later times to the original structure. 
The temple properly faces the river, 
i. e. toward the northwest. The courts 
and propylsea connected with this struc- 
ture occupy a space nearly 1800 feet 
square, and the buildings represent al- 
most every dynasty of Egypt. Ezekiel 
proclaims the destruction of Thebes by 
the arm of Babylon, Ezek. 30:14-16; 
and Jeremiah predicted the same over- 
throw. Jer. 46:25, 26. The city lies 
to-day a nest of Arab hovels amid 
crumbling columns and drifting sands. 

The'bez (the'bez) ( brightness ), a 
place memorable for the death of the 
brave Abimelech, Judges 9 : 50, was 


known to Eusebius and Jerome, in 
whose time it was situated “ in the dis- 
trict of Neapolis,” 13 Roman miles 
therefrom, on the road to Scythopolis. 
There it still is, its name — Tubas — 
hardly changed. 

Thela'sar (the-la'sar). [Telassar.] 

Theoph'ilus (the-of'i-lus) ( friend of 
God), the person to whom St. Luke 
dedicated his Gospel and the Acts of 
the Apostles. Luke 1:3; Acts 1:1. 
From the' honorable epithet applied to 
him in Luke 1:3, it has been argued 
with much probability that he was a 
person in high official position. All 
that can be conjectured with any degree 
of safety concerning him comes to this, 
that he was a Gentile of rank and con- 
sideration, who came under the influ- 
ence of St. Luke or under that of St. 
Paul at Rome, and was converted to the 
Christian faith. 

Thessalo'nians, Epistles to the. 

These Epistles are not only the earliest 
of Paul’s extant writings, but the ear- 
liest in the New Testament. 

The first Epistle to the Thessalo- 
nians was written by the apostle Paul at 
Corinth, a.d. 51 or 52, a few months 
after he had founded the church at 
Thessalonica, and soon after Silas and 
Timothy had joined Paul there, bringing 
news from Thessalonica. 

The second Epistle followed after 
a short period, for Silas (Silvanus) 
and Timothy, were still with Paul (2 
Thes. 1:1). Its purpose was to cor- 
rect still further the misconceptions 
which led to the writing of the first, 
epistle, and to. give additional instruc- 
tion and comfort. The general subject 
was the same in both. 

The Epistle, says Farrar, “ has the 
six features which occur in nearly all 
St. Paul’s letters to churches, namely : 
(1) The greeting, (2) the thanksgiving, 
(3) a doctrinal section, (4) a practical 
section, (5) personal messages, (6) a 
final salutation.” 

Historical Situation. Three mis- 
sionaries had come there from Philippi, 
two of them torn and bruised by a 
terrible flagellation at Philippi, emerg- 
ing from the lowest dungeon of a 
prison, their whole aspect bespeaking 
“ their poverty, their sufferings, their 
earthly insignificance.” A famine, says 
Farrar, “was raging in the Roman em- 
pire, and the commonest necessaries of 
life had risen to six times their proper 


THE 


687 


THE 


value.” These poor persecuted wander- 
ers supported themselves by weaving 
black goat’s hair into tent cloth. Here 
they preached a few weeks, founded a 
church, and were driven away by per- 
secution, before Paul had finished the 
work he had hoped to accomplish there. 
Paul longed to visit them again, and 
made three vain attempts to do so, from 
Berea, from Athens, from Corinth. He 
felt their need of training and of more 
knowledge of the truth, of comfort, of 
guidance. Instead, he sent Timothy 
there to strengthen them (1 Thes. 3:2). 
And finally, three or four months after 
he left them, he wrote them a letter. 
Timothy had just come back from 
Thessalonica, and had brought a report 
concerning the church, giving a favor- 
able Account in general. But two facts 
were made known by him. One was 
that they were suffering severe perse- 
cutions from both Jews and Gentiles; 
the other that they were discouraged 
and troubled by the death of some be- 
fore the second coming of the Lord 
Jesus. 

As a comfort and encouragement to 
the Thessalonians in their persecutions 
and troubles, Paul who himself had 
been driven from them by persecution, 
and knew by experience the truth of 
what he was saying, wrote them an 
Epistle whose keynote is hope and joy 
as seen through the darkness of afflic- 
tion and calamity, stars shining through 
rifts in the clouds showing the heaven 
beyond. “ Much affliction with joy of 
the Holy Ghost” (1 Thes. 1:6). This 
“ was the sign of a new epoch in the 
history of human souls.” This is re- 
inforced by his emphasis on practical 
duties, for it is through these that men 
triumph over trouble, and are best pre- 
pared for the coming of the Lord. 
Paul assures the Thessalonians that 
the Lord is coming as he promised, 
but they had no need to fear that the 
living should be excluded from their 
share in the glories of that day. The 
Thessalonians were not mistaken as to 
the nearness of the coming which Christ 
had promised should be within a gen- 
eration of his death, but they did not 
understand how he would come, and 
some failed to realize the true way of 
preparation for the coming. 

Thessaloni'ca (thes-sa-lo-ni'ka) . 

The original name of this city was 


Therma; and that part of the Mace- 
donian shore on which it was situated 
retained through the Roman period the 
designation of the Thermaic Gulf. Cas- 
sander the son of Antipater rebuilt and 
enlarged Therma, and named it after 
his wife Thessalonica, the sister of 
Alexander the Great. The name ever 
since, under various slight modifications, 
has been continuous, and the city itself 
has never ceased to be eminent. Saloni- 
ki is still the most important town of 
European Turkey, next after Constanti- 
nople. Strabo in the first century 
speaks of Thessalonica as the most pop- 
ulous city in Macedonia. 

Visit of Paul. — St. Paul visited Thes- 
salonica (with Silas and Timothy) dur- 
ing his second missionary journey, and 
introduced Christianity there. The first 
scene of the apostle’s work at Thes- 
salonica was the synagogue. Acts 17 : 

2, 3. It is stated that the ministrations 
among the Jews continued for three 
weeks, ver. 2. Not that we are obliged 
to limit to this time the whole stay of 
the apostle at Thessalonica. A flourish- 
ing church was certainly formed there ; 
and the epistles show that its elements 
were more Gentile than Jewish. [For 
persecution and further history see 
Paul.] Circumstances which led Paul to 
Thessalonica. — Three circumstances must 
here be mentioned which illustrate in an 
important manner this visit and this 
journey as well as the two Epistles 
to the Thessalonians. 1. This was the 
chief station on the great Roman road 
called the Via Egnatia, which connected 
Rome with the whole region to the 
north of the ^Egean Sea. 2. Placed as 
it was on this great road, and in con- 
nection with other important Roman 
ways, Thessalonica was an invaluable 
centre for the spread of the gospel. 
In fact it was nearly if not quite on 
a level with Corinth and Ephesus in 
its share of the commerce of the Levant. 

3. The circumstance noted in Acts 17 : 
1, that here was the synagogue of the 
Jews in this part of Macedonia, had 
evidently much to do with the apos- 
tle’s plans, and also doubtless with his 
success. Trade would inevitably bring 
Jews to Thessalonica; and it is remark- 
able that they have ever since had a 
prominent place in the annals of the 
city. Later ecclesiastical history. — Dur- 
ing several centuries this city was the 


THE 


688 


THO 


bulwark, not simply of the later Greek 
empire, but of Oriental Christendom, 
and was largely instrumental in the con- 
version of the Slavonians and Bulga- 
rians. Thus it received the designation 
of “ the orthodox city and its strug- 
gles are very prominent in the writings 
of the Byzantine historians. 

Theu'das (thu'das) (God-given) , the 
name of an insurgent mentioned in 
Gamaliel’s speech before the Jewish 
council, Acts 5 : 35-39, at the time of 
the arraignment of the apostles. He 
appeared, according to Luke’s account, 
at the head of about four hundred men. 
He was probably one of the insurrec- 
tionary chiefs or fanatics by whom the 
land was overrun in the last year of 
Herod’s reign. Josephus speaks of a 
Theudas who played a similar part in 
the time of Claudius, about a.d. 44; 
but the Theudas mentioned by St. Luke 
must be a different person from the one 
spoken of by Josephus. 

Thieves, The two. The men who 
under this name appear in the history of 
the crucifixion were robbers rather than 
thieves, belonging to the lawless bands 
by which Palestine was at that time and 
afterward infested. Against these brig- 
ands every Roman procurator had to 
wage continual war. It was necessary 
to use an armed police to encounter 
them. Luke 22:52. Of the previous 
history of the two who suffered on Gol- 
gotha we know nothing. They had 
been tried and condemned, and were 
waiting their execution before our Lord 
was accused. It is probable enough, as 
the death of Barabbas was clearly ex- 
pected at the same time, that they had 
taken part in his insurrection. Some 
of these brigands were so from a mis- 
taken sense of patriotism. The popular 
cry for Barabbas makes it at least pos- 
sible that he was one of these, and if 
these were his followers they might be 
of the same class. Both caught at first 
the prevailing tone of scorn at the 
crucifixion, and reviled Jesus. One 
however, was at last touched with awe 
at the meekness and forgiving spirit 
of Jesus, and rebuking his fellow asked 
for acceptance by Jesus when he came 
into his kingdom. 

Thim'nathah (thim'na-thah), a town 
in the allotment of Dan. Josh. 19 : 43 
only. It is named between Elon and 
Ekron. [See Timnah.] 


Thistle. [Thorns and Thistles.] 
Thomas (a twin), one of the apos- 
tles. According to Eusebius, his real 
name was Judas. This may have been 
a mere confusion with Thaddeus, who 
is mentioned in the extract, but it may 
also be that the name was his. Out of 
this name has grown the tradition that 
he had a twin-sister, Lysia, or that he 
was a twin-brother of our Lord, for 
which there is no ground. He is said 
to have been born at Antioch. In the 
catalogue of the apostles he is coupled 
with Matthew in Matt. 10:3; Mark 3 : 
18 ; Luke 6 : 15, and with Philip in Acts 
1:13. All that we know of him is de- 
rived from the Gospel of St. John; and 
this amounts to three traits, which, how- 
ever, so exactly agree together that, 
slight as they are, they place his char- 
acter before us with a precision which 
belongs to no other of the twelve apos- 
tles except Peter, John and Judas Is- 
cariot. This character is that of a man 
slow to believe, seeing all the difficulties 
of a case, subject to despondency, view- 
ing things on the darker side, yet full 
of ardent love of his Master. The lat- 
ter trait was shown in his speech when 
our Lord determined to face the dan- 
gers that awaited him in Judea on his 
journey to Bethany. Thomas said to 
his fellow disciples, “ Let us also go, 
that we may die with him.” John 11: 
16. His unbelief appeared in his ques- 
tion during the Last Supper : “ Thomas 

saith unto him, Lord, we know not 
whither thou goest, and how can we 
know the way?” John 14:5. It was 
the prosaic, incredulous doubt as to 
moving a step in the unseen future, and 
yet an eager inquiry as to how this step 
was to be taken. The first-named trait 
was seen after the resurrection. He 
was absent from the first assembly when 
Jesus had appeared. The others told 
him what they had seen. He broke 
forth into an exclamation, the terms of 
which convey to us at once the vehe- 
mence of his doubt, and at the same 
time the vivid picture that . his mind 
retained of his Master’s form as he 
had last seen him lifeless on the cross. 
John 20:25. On the eighth day he was 
with them at their gathering, perhaps 
in expectation of a recurrence of the 
visit of the previous week; and Jesus 
stood among them. He uttered the 
same salutation, “ Peace be unto you ;” 


THO 


689 


THR 


and then turning to Thomas, offered 
him the evidence he required. The 
effect on him was immediate. The 
conviction produced by the removal of 
his doubt became deeper and stronger 
than that of any of the other apostles. 
The words in which he expressed his 
belief contain a far higher assertion of 
his Master’s divine nature than is con- 
tained in any other expression used by 
apostolic lips — “ My Lord and my God.” 
The answer of our Lord sums up the 
moral of the whole narrative: “Be- 
cause thou hast seen me, thou hast be- 
lieved : blessed are they that have not 
seen me, and yet have believed.” John 
20 : 29. In the New Testament we hear 
of Thomas only twice again, once on 
the Sea of Galilee with the seven dis- 
ciples, where he is ranked next after 
Peter, John 21 : 2, and again in the as- 
semblage of the apostles after the as- 
cension. Acts 1 : 13. The earlier tradi- 
tions, as believed in the fourth century, 
represent him as preaching in Parthia 
or Persia, and as finally buried at 
Edessa. The later traditions carry him 
farther east. His martyrdom, whether 
in Persia or India, is said to have been 
occasioned by a lance, and is commem- 
orated by the Latin Church on Decem- 
ber 21, by the Greek Church on October 
6, and by the Indians on July 1. 

Thorns and Thistles. There appear 
to be eighteen or twenty Hebrew words 
which point to different kinds of prickly 



PALESTINE THORN. 


or thorny shrubs. These words are 
variously rendered in the Authorized 
Version by “thorns,” “briers,” “this- 
tles,” etc. Palestine abounded in a 
great variety of such plants. Probably 
there is no country on earth where so 
many plants of this sort exist. As 
many as 200 different species of thorny 
plants are found there besides many 
44 


others which are “ clothed with scabrous, 
strigose or stinging hairs, and another 
multitude with prickly fruits.” One of 
the most striking sights in Palestine is 
the relish with which goats and camels 
eat these tough thorny plants. Crown 
of thorns. — The “ crown of thorns,” 
Matt. 27 : 29, which was put in derision 
upon our Lord’s head before his cruci- 
fixion, is by some supposed to have been 
the Rhamnus, or Spina Christi ; others 
think it the Cap paris spinosa. [Crown 
of Thorns.] 

Three Taverns, a station on the Ap- 
pian Road, along which St. Paul trav- 
eled from Puteoli to Rome. Acts 28 : 
15. The distances, reckoning southward 
from Rome, are given as follows in the 
Antonine Itinerary: “To Aricia, 16 
miles; to Three Taverns, 17 miles; to 
Appii Forum, 10 miles;” and, compar- 
ing this with what is still observed 
along the line of road, it is generally 
inferred that “ Three Taverns ” was 
near the modern Cisterna. Just at this 
point a road came in from Antium on 
the coast. There is no doubt that 
“ Three Taverns ” was a frequent meet- 
ing-place of travelers. 

Threshing. [Agriculture.] 

Threshold. Of th'e two words so 
rendered in the Authorized Version, 
One, miphthan, seems to be the special 
term for the threshold of the sanctuary 
proper. 1 Sam. 5:4; Zeph. 1:9; Ezek. 
9: 3; 10: 4, 18; 46: 2; 47 : 1. 

Thresholds, The. This word, Asup- 
pe, translated in the A. V. “ the thresh- 
olds of the gates ” is rendered in the 
R. V. “the storehouses of the gates.” 
They were probably buildings for the 
storage of temple goods. Neh. 12:25. 

Throne. The Hebrew word so trans- 
lated applies to any elevated seat occu- 
pied by a person in authority, whether 
a high priest, 1 Sam. 1 : 9, a judge, Ps. 
122:5, or a military chief. Jer. 1:15. 
The use of a chair in a country where 
the usual postures were squatting and 
reclining was at all times regarded as a 
symbol of dignity. 2 Kings 4 : 10 ; 
Prov. 9 : 14. In order to specify a 
throne in our sense of the term, it was 
necessary to add to the word the notion 
of royalty; hence the frequent occur- 
rence of such expressions as “throne 
of the kingdom.” Deut. 17 : 18 ; 1 

Kings 1 : 46 ; 2 Chron. 7 : 18. The char- 
acteristic feature in the royal throne 


THU 


690 


THY 


was its elevation : Solomon’s throne 
was approached by six steps, 1 Kings 
10 : 19 ; 2 Chron. 9 : 18 ; and Jehovah’s 
throne is described as “ high and lifted 
up.” Isa. 6 : 1. The materials and 
workmanship of Solomon’s throne were 
costly. It was made of wood inlaid 
with ivory and then covered with gold 
except where the ivory showed. It was 
furnished with arms or “ stays.” The 
steps were also lined with pairs of 
lions. As to the form of chair, we are 



only informed in 1 Kings 10 : 19 that 
“ the top was round behind.” The king 
sat on his throne on state occasions. 
At such times he appeared in his royal 
robes. The throne was the symbol of 
supreme power and dignity. Gen. 41 : 
40. Similarly, “ to sit upon the throne ” 
implied the exercise of regal power. 
Deut. 17 : 18 ; 1 Kings 16 : 11. 

I'hummim. [Urim and Thummim.] 

Thunder is hardly ever heard in 
Palestine from the middle of April to 
the middle of September ; hence it was 
selected by Samuel as a striking ex- 
pression of the divine displeasure to- 
ward the Israelites. 1 Sam. 12 : 17. 
Rain in harvest was deemed as ex- 
traordinary as snow in summer, Prov. 
26:1, and Jerome states that he had 
never witnessed it in the latter part of 
June or July. Comm, on Amos 4 : 7. 
In the imaginative philosophy of the 
Hebrews, thunder was regarded as the 
voice of Jehovah. Job 37:2, 4, 5; 40: 


9; Ps. 18:13; 29:3-9; Isa. 30:30, 31, 
who dwelt behind the thunder-cloud. 
Ps. 81 : 7. Thunder was, to the mind 
of the Jew, the symbol of divine power, 
Ps. 29 : 3, etc., and vengeance. 1 Sam. 
2: 10; 2 Sam. 22: 14. 

Thyatira (thi-a-ti'ra), an ancient 
city of Lydia, refounded' by Seleucus 
Nicator, on the road from Pergamos 
to Sardis, and on the very confines of 
Mysia and Lydia, so as to be sometimes 
reckoned within the one and sometimes 
within the other. Dyeing apparently 
formed an important part of the indus- 
trial activity of Thyatira, as it did of 
that of Colossae and Laodicea. It is 
first mentioned in connection with 
Lydia, “ a seller of purple,” Acts 16 : 
14. One of the Seven Churches of Asia 
was established here. Rev. 2 : 18-29. 
The principal deity of the city was 
Apollo; but there was another super- 
stition, of an extremely curious nature, 
which seems to have been brought 
thither by some of the corrupted Jews 
of the dispersed tribes. A fane stood, 
outside the walls, dedicated to Sam- 
batha — the name of the sibyl who is 
sometimes called Chaldsean, sometimes 
Jewish, sometimes Persian — in the 
midst of an enclosure designated “ the 
Chaldseans’ court.” This seems to lend 
an illustration to the obscure passage 
in Rev. 2 : 20, 21. Now there is evi- 
dence to show that in Thyatira there 
was a great amalgamation of races. If 
the sibyl Sambatha was in reality a 
Jewess, lending her aid to the amalga- 
mation of different religions, and not 
discountenanced by the authorities of 
the Judeo-Christian Church at Thyatira, 
both the censure and its qualification 
become easy of explanation. The pres- 
ent name of the city is ak-Hissar 
(“white castle”). It has a reputation 
for the manufacture of scarlet cloth. 
Its present population is 12,000. 

Thyine wood occurs in Rev. 18 : 12, 
where the margin has “sweet” (wood). 
There can be little doubt that the wood 
here spoken of is that of the Thuya ar- 
ticulata, Desfont., the Callitris quadri- 
valvis of present botanists. It is a cone- 
bearing tree and allied to the cypress. 
This tree was much prized by the an- 
cient Greeks and Romans on account of 
the beauty of its wood for various or- 
namental purposes. It is dark brt>wn, 
very hard and durable. 


TIB 


691 


TIB 


Tibe'rias (ti-be'ri-as), a city in the 
time of Christ, on the Sea of Galilee ; 
first mentioned in the New Testament, 
John 6:1, 23 ; 21 : 1 , and then by Jo- 
sephus, who states that it was built by 
Herod Antipas, and was named by him 
in honor of the emperor Tiberius. 
Tiberias was the capital of Galilee from 
the time of its origin until the reign of 
Herod Agrippa II., who changed the 
seat of power back again to Sepphoris, 
where it had been before the founding 
of the new city. Many of the inhabit- 
ants were Greeks and Romans, and for- 
eign customs prevailed there to such an 
extent as to give offence to the stricter 
Jews. It is remarkable that the Gos- 
pels give us no intimation that the 
Saviour, who spent so much of his 
public life in Galilee, ever visited Tibe- 
rias. The place is only mentioned in 
the New Testament in John 6:23. His- 
tory . — Tiberias has an interesting history 
apart from its strictly biblical asso- 
ciations. It bore a conspicuous part in 
the wars between the Jews and the 
Romans. The Sanhedrin, subsequent to 
the fall of Jerusalem, after a temporary 
sojourn at Jamnia and Sepphoris, be- 
came fixed there about the middle of 
the second century. Celebrated schools 
of Jewish learning flourished there 
through a succession of several cen- 
turies. The Mishna was compiled at 
this place by the great Rabbi Judah 
Hakkodesh, a.d. 190 or 220 ; and the 
Palestinian Talmud about 420 a.d. The 
city has been possessed successively by 
Romans, Persians, Arabs and Turks. 
Present City . — The ancient name has sur- 
vived in that of the modern Tubary eh, 
which occupies the original site. Near 
Tubary eh, about a mile farther south 
along the shore, are the celebrated 
warm baths, which the Roman natural- 
ists reckoned among the greatest known 
curiosities of the world. It was nearly 
destroyed in 1837 by an earthquake, by 
which 600 persons lost their lives. The 
population is now about 3000. 

Tibe'rias (ti-be'ri-as), The Sea of. 
John 21: 1 . [Galilee, Sea of.] 

Tibe'rius (ti-be'ri-us) (in full, Tibe- 
rius Claudius Nero), the second Roman 
emperor, successor of Augustus, who 
began to reign a.d. 14 and reigned until 
a.d. 37. He was the son of Tiberius 
Claudius Nero and Livia, and hence a 
stepson of Augustus. He was born at 


Rome on the 16th of November, b.c. 
42. He became emperor in his fifty- 
fifth year, after having distinguished 
himself as a commander in various 



HEAD OF EMPEROR TIBERIUS. 


wars, and having evinced talents of a 
high order as an orator and an ad- 
ministrator of civil affairs. He even 
gained the reputation of possessing the 
sterner virtues of the Roman character, 
and was regarded as entirely worthy 
of the imperial honors to which his 



SILVER DENARIUS OF TIBERIUS. 

(Penny, Matt. 18: 28, etc., equals 16 cts.) 


birth and supposed personal merits at 
length opened the way. Yet, on being 
raised to the supreme power, he sud- 
denly became, or showed himself to be, 
a very different man. His subsequent 
life was one of inactivity, sloth and 
self-indulgence. He was despotic in his 
government, cruel and vindictive in his 
disposition. He died a.d. 37, at the age 


TIB 


692 


TIK 


of 78, after a reign of twenty-three 
^years. Our Saviour was put to death 
in the reign of Tiberius. 

Tib'hath (tib'hath) ( extensive ), a 
city of Hadarezer, king of Zobah, 1 
Chron. 18 : 8, which in 2 Sam. 8:8 is 
called Betah. Its exact position is un- 
known, but it was possibly on the east- 
ern slopes of anti-Lebanon. 

Tib'ni (tib'ni). After Zimri had 
burnt himself in his palace, there was 
a division in the northern kingdom, 
half of the people following Tibni the 
son of Ginath, and half following 
Omri. 1 Kings 16 : 21, 22. Omri was 
the choice of the army. Tibni was 
probably put forward by the people of 
Tirzah, which was then besieged by 
Omri and his host. The struggle be- 
tween the contending factions lasted 
four years (comp. 1 Kings 16:15, 23), 
b.c. 889-885, when Tibni died. 

Ti'dal (ti'dal), is mentioned only in 
Gen. 14:1, 9. (b.c. about 1913). In 

the A. V. he is called “ king of na- 
tions.” R. V. “king of Goiim.” His 
name has recently been found by Mr. 
Pinches in a cuneiform tablet under 
the form of Tudghula. He is named 
as king of a people living in the moun- 
tains northeast of Babylonia, whose 
name is the Babylonian equivalent of 
the Heb. Goiim. 

Tig'Iath=pile'ser (tig-lath-pi-le'ser) . 
(In 1 Chron. 5 ! 26, and again in 2 
Chron. 28 : 20, the name of this king 
is given as Tilgath-pilneser, a cor- 
rupt form.) The Tiglath-pileser of 
the Old Testament is Tiglath-pileser 
III, whose original name, apparently, 
was Pulu. He first became known to 
the Israelites under the name of Pul. 
2 Kings 15 : 19. He usurped the throne 
of Assyria about b.c. 745. Shortly 
after his accession he made a campaign 
against northern Syria, and Menehem 
of Israel among other neighboring 
kings, paid him tribute, b.c. 738. When 
Pekah of Israel and Rezin of Damas- 
cus made a league and attacked Ahaz 
of Judah the latter asked aid of the 
powerful Assyrian king. Tiglath-pile- 
ser then attacked Philistia, Phoenicia, 
Syria, and northern Israel, “took Ijon, 
and Abel-betfi-maachah, and Janoah, 
and Kedesh, and Hazor, and Gilead, 
and Galilee, and all the land of Naph- 
tali, and carried them captive to As- 
syria.” 2 Kings 15 : 29. After the cap- 


ture of Damascus and the death of 
Rezin, Tiglath-pileser held court at 
Damascus, and Ahaz was there, among 
other subject princes. 2 Kings 16:10. 
The revolt of Hoshea against Pekah in 
729 b.c. was doubtless at Tiglath-pile- 
ser’s instigation, or at least his con- 
nivance. After the fall of Damascus 
he returned to Nineveh. In 728 b.c. 
he occupied Babylon, and made himself 
king of that country, receiving the 
crown from the hands of Bel and be- 
coming legitimate ruler of all western 
Asia. He built two palaces, one at 
Nineveh, and one at Calah, now Nim- 
rud. He died b.c. 727, after a reign of 
18 years, during which he raised the 
Assyrian empire to the highest point 
of power and glory. The records of 
his reign credit him with great execu- 
tive and administrative ability, as well 
as military, and assign to him the first 
experiment in political centralization. 

Ti'gris (ti'gris), is used by the LXX. 
as the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew 
Hiddekel, and occurs also in several 
of the apocryphal books, as in Tobit, 
ch. 6 : 1, Judith, ch. 1 : 6, and Ecclesias- 
ticus, ch. 24:25. The Tigris, like the 
Euphrates, rises from two principal 
sources in the Armenian mountains, and 
flows into the Euphrates. Its length, 
is reckoned at 1146 miles. It receives, 
along its middle and lower course, no 
fewer than five important tributaries. 
These are the river of Zakko or eastern 
Tigris, the Great Zab ( Zab Ala), the 
Lesser Zab ( Zab Asfal), the Adhem, 
and the Diyaleh. We find but little 
mention of the Tigris in Scripture. It 
appears, indeed, under the name of Hid- 
dekel, among the rivers of Eden, Gen. 
2 : 14, and is there correctly described 
as “ running eastward to Assyria but 
after this we hear no more of it, if 
we except one doubtful allusion in Na- 
hum, ch. 2 : 6, until the captivity, when 
it becomes well known to the prophet 
Daniel. With him it is “ the Great 
River.” The Tigris, in its upper course, 
anciently ran through Armenia and As- 
syria. 

Tik'vah (tik'vah) (expectation ) . 1. 

The father of -Shallum the husband of 
the prophetess Huldah. 2 Kings 22 : 

14. 

2. The father of Jahaziah. Ezra 10: 

15. 

Tik'vath ( expectation ), (in Revised 


TIL 


693 


TIM 


Version Tokhath ), Tikvah the father 
of Shallum. - 2 Chron. 34 : 22. 

Til'gath=pilne'ser, a variation, and 
probably a corruption, of the name Tig- 
lath-pileser. 1 Chron. 5 : 6, 26 ; 2 Chron. 
28 : 20. 

Ti'lon (ti'lon) ( gift ), one of the 
four sons . of Shimon, whose family is 
reckoned in the genealogies of Judah. 
1 Chron. 4 : 20. 

Timas'us (ti-me'us), the father of 
the blind man, Bartimaeus. Mark 10 : 
46. 

Timbrel, tabret (Heb. toph). In 
old English tabor was used for any 



TIMBREL. 


drum. Tabouret and tabourine are di- 
minutives of tabor, and denote the in- 
strument now known as the tambourine. 
Tabret is a contraction of tabouret. 
The Hebrew toph is undoubtedly the 
instrument described by travelers as 
the duff or diff of the Arabs. It was 
played principally by women, Ex. 15 : 
20; Judges 11:34; 1 Sam. 18:6; Ps. 
68 : 25, as an accompaniment to the 
song and dance. The diff of the Arabs 
is described by Russell as “a hoop 
(sometimes with pieces of brass fixed 
in it to make a jingling) over which a 
piece of parchment is stretched. It is 
beaten with the fingers, and is the true 
tympanum of the ancients.” In Bar- 
bary it is called tar. 

Tim'na (tim'na), or Tim'nah ( re- 
straint ). 1 . A concubine of Eliphaz 

son of Esau, and mother of Amalek, 
Gen. 36 : 12 ; it may be presumed that 
she was the same as Timna sister of 
Lotan. Ibid., ver. 22, and 1 Chron. 1: 
39. 

2. A duke or phylarch of Edom in 
the last list in Gen. 36 : 40-43 ; 1 Chron. 
1 : 51-54. Timnah was probably the 
name of a place or a district. [See 
the following article.] 


Tim'nah {portion), l. A place which 
formed one of the landmarks on the 
north boundary of the allotment of Ju- 
dah. Josh. 15 : 10. It is in the A. V. 
called Thimnathah in Josh. 19 ; 43, and 
Timnath in Judges 14:1, 2, 5/ and 
lhamnatha in 1 Maccabees. The R V 
has Timnah in all places. The old name 
is retained almost unchanged and is 
now Tibneh, a village about 3 miles 
west of Ain Shems (Bethshemesh). 
The site is deserted, but there are ruins, 
vineyards and olive groves. 

2. A town in the mountain district of ' 
Judah. Josh. 15:57. A distinct place 
from that just examined. It is now 
thought by most scholars to be Tibna, 
near Gibeah, and 8 miles west of Beth- 
lehem. This is probably the same place 
which is inaccurately written Timnah 
in the Authorized Version, the scene 
of the adventure of Judah with his 
daughter-in-law. Tamar. Gen. 38 : 12, 
13, 14. There is nothing here to indi- 
cate its position. 

Tim'nath (tim-nath). [Timnah.] 
Tim'nath=he'res (tim'nath-he'rez) 
{portion of the sun), the name under 
which the city and burial-place of 
Joshua is mentioned in Judges 2 : 9. 
[Timnath-serah.] 

Tim'nath=se'rah (tim'nath-se'rah) 
{extra portion), the name of the city 
which was presented to Joshua after 
the partition of the country, Josh. 19: 
50, and in “ the border ” of which he 
was buried. Josh. 24:30. It is speci- 
fied as “ in Mount Ephraim on the 
north side of Mount Gaash.” In Judges 
2:9 the name is Timnath-heres, per- 
haps a copyist’s error. Two sites are 
proposed for this place: (1) Kefr 
Chares, about 9 miles south of Shechem 
{Nablus), which is according to exist- 
ing Samaritan tradition the burial-place 
of both Joshua and Caleb. (2) Tibneh, 
the site approved by most moderns, by 
Josephus who calls it Thamna, and by 
Eusebius and Jerome. This is about 
8J4 miles south of the first site. 

Tim'nite (tim'nlte), The, Samson’s 
father-in-law, a native of Timnah. 
Judges 15 : 6. 

Ti'mon (tl'mon), one of the seven, 
commonly called “ deacons.” Acts 6 : 
1-6. He was probably a Hellenist. 

Timo'theus (ti-mo'the-us). 1. A 
“ captain of the Ammonites,” 1 Macc. 

5 : 6, who was defeated on several occa- 


TIM 


694 


TIM 


sions by Judas Maccabaeus, b.c. 164. 1 

Macc. 5 : 6, 11, 34-44. He was probably 
a Greek adventurer. 

2. In 2 Macc. a leader named Timo- 

theus is mentioned as having taken part 
in the invasion of Nicanor, b.c. 166. 2 

Macc. 8 : 30. Probably the same as 1. 

3. The Greek name of Timothy. Acts 
16 : 1 ; 17 : 14, etc. 

Tim'othy; Timotheus ( worshiper of 
God). The disciple thus named was 
the son of one of those mixed mar- 
riages which, though condemned by 
stricter Jewish opinion, were yet not 
uncommon in the later periods of Jew- 
ish history. The father’s, name is un- 
known; he was a Greek, i. e. a Gentile, 
by descent. Acts 16 : 1, 3. The absence 
of any personal allusion to the father in 
the Acts or Epistles suggests the infer- 
ence that he must have died or disap- 
peared during his son’s infancy. The 
care of the boy thus devolved upon his 
mother Eunice, a Jewess, and her 
mother Lois. 2 Tim. 1:5. Under their 
training his education was emphatically 
Jewish. “ From a child” he learned to 
•“ know the Holy Scriptures ” daily. 
The language of the Acts leaves it un- 
certain whether Lystra or Derbe was 
the residence of the devout family. 
The arrival of Paul and Barnabas in 
Lycaonia, a.d. 49, Acts 14 : 6, brought 
the message of glad tidings to Timothy 
and his mother, and they received it 
with “ unfeigned faith.” 2 Tim. 1 : 5. 
During the interval of seven years be- 
tween the apostle’s first and second 
journeys the boy grew up to manhood. 
Those who had the deepest insight into 
character, and spoke with a prophetic 
utterance, pointed to him, 1 Tim. 1:18; 
4 : 14, as others had pointed before to 
Paul and Barnabas, Acts 13 : 2, as spe- 
cially fit for the missionary work in 
which the apostle was engaged. Per- 
sonal feeling led St. Paul to the same 
conclusion, Acts 16 : 3, and he was sol- 
emnly set apart to do the work and 
possibly to bear the title of evangelist. 
1 Tim. 4 : 14 ; 2 Tim. 1 : 6 ; 4 : 5. A great 
obstacle, however, presented itself. Tim- 
othy, though reckoned as one of the 
seed of Abraham, had been allowed to 
grow up to the age of manhood with- 
out the sign of circumcision. With a 
special view to the feelings of the Jews, 
making no sacrifice of principle, the 
apostle, who had refused to permit 


the circumcision of Titus, “took and 
circumcised” Timothy. Acts 16:3. 
Henceforth Timothy was one of his 
most constant companions. They and 
Silvanus, and probably Luke also, jour- 
neyed to Philippi, Acts 16 : 12, and there 
the young evangelist was conspicuous 
at once for his filial devotion and his 
zeal. Philip. 2 : 22. His name does not 
appear in the account of St. Paul’s work 
at Thessalonica, and it is possible that 
he remained some time at Philippi. He 
appears, however, at Berea, and remains 
there when Paul and Silas are obliged 
to leave, Acts 17 : 14, going afterward 
to join his master at Athens. .1 Thess. 
3 : 2. From Athens he is sent back to 
Thessalonica, ibid., as having special 
gifts for comforting and teaching. He 
returns from Thessalonica, not to 
Athens, but to Corinth, and his name 
appears united with St. Paul’s in the 
opening words of both the letters writ- 
ten from that city to the Thessalonians. 
1 Thess. 1:1; 2 Thess. 1:1. Of the 
next five years of his life we have no 
record. When we next meet with him, 
it is as being sent on in advance when 
the apostle was contemplating the long 
journey which was to include Mace- 
donia, Achaia, Jerusalem and Rome. 
Acts 19 : 22. It is probable that he re- 
turned by the same route and met St. 
Paul according to a previous arrange- 
ment, 1 Cor. 16:11, and was thus with 
him when the Second Epistle was writ- 
ten to the church of Corinth. 2 Cor. 

1 : 1. He returns with the apostle to 
that city, and joins in messages of greet- 
ing to the disciples whom he had known 
personally at Corinth, and who had since 
found their way to Rome. Rom. 16 : 21. 
He forms one of the company of friends 
who go with St. Paul to Philippi, and 
then sail by themselves, waiting for his 
arrival by a different ship. Acts 20 : 3- 
6. The absence of his name from 
Acts 27 leads to the conclusion that he 
did not share in the perilous voyage to 
Italy. He must have joined the apos- 
tle, however, apparently soon after his 
arrival at Rome, and was with him when 
the Epistles to the Philippians, to the 
Colossians and to Philemon were writ- 
ten. Philip. 1:1; 2 : 19 ; Col. 1:1; Phil, 
ver. 1. All the indications of this pe- 
riod point to incessant missionary ac- 
tivity. 

From the two Epistles addressed to 


TIM 


695 


TIM 


Timothy we are able to put together a 
few notices as to his later life. It fol- 
lows from 1 Tim. 1 : 3 that he and his 
master, after the release of the latter 
from his imprisonment, a.d. 63, revisited 
proconsular Asia ; that the apostle then 
continued his journey to Macedonia, 
while the disciple remained, half re- 
luctantly, even weeping at the separa- 
tion, 2 Tim. 1:4, at Ephesus, to check, 
if possible, the outgrowth of heresy 
and licentiousness which had sprung up 
there. The position in which he found 
himself might well make him anxious. 
He had to rule presbyters most of whom 
were older than himself. 1 Tim. 4:12. 
Leaders of rival sects were there. The 
name of his beloved teacher was no 
longer honored as it had been. We 
cannot wonder that the apostle, know- 
ing these trials, should be full of anx- 
iety and fear for his disciple’s stead- 
fastness. In the Second Epistle to him, 
a.d. 66 or 67, this deep personal feeling 
utters itself yet more fully. The last 
recorded words of the apostle express 
the earnest hope, repeated yet more 
earnestly, that he might see him once 
again. 2 Tim. 4 : 9, 21. We may hazard 
the conjecture that he reached him in 
time, and that the last hours of the 
teacher were soothed by the presence 
of the disciple whom he loved so truly. 
Lock in Hastings’ Bible Dictionary sug- 
gests that it may have been on this 
visit to Rome that Timothy was himself 
arrested on the occasion on which the 
writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews 
mentions his release (Heb. 13 : 23.) Be- 
yond this all is apocryphal and uncer- 
tain. He continued, according to the 
old traditions, to act as bishop of Ephe- 
sus, and died a martyr’s death under 
Domitian or Nerva. A somewhat start- 
ling theory as to the intervening period 
of his life has found favor with some. 
If he continued, according to the re- 
ceived tradition, to be bishop of Ephe- 
sus, then he, and no other, must have 
been the “angel” of the church of 
Ephesus to whom the message of Rev. 
2 : 1-7 was addressed. 

Timothy, First Epistle of Paul to. 
The Epistles to Timothy and Titus are 
called the Pastoral Epistles, because 
they are principally devoted to direc- 
tions about the work of the pastor of a 
church. 

Date, sometime in the interval be- 


tween Paul’s first and second imprison- 
ments, a.d. 63-66. 

Place of Writing. The absence of 
any local reference but that in 1 Tirp. 
1 : 3 suggests Macedonia or some neigh- 
boring district. 

Historical Situation. Paul had re- 
cently been with Timothy, either at 
Ephesus, or in Macedonia, whither Tim- 
othy had come to see Paul. Comp. 1 
Tim. 1:3 with Acts 20:17. Paul was 
so much impressed with the dangerous 
tendencies of certain false teachers at 
Ephesus that he urged Timothy to re- 
main in that city, and some time after 
this, hearing that all was not prospering 
there, he wrote this letter to Timothy. 

Character. The letter is a personal 
and not a theological one. The sub- 
jects are miscellaneous. Morality, Sal- 
vation and Truth are its keynotes. It 
contains many memorable sayings. The 
keynote is 3 : 16. 

Timothy, second Epistle of Paul to. 

Date very late in Paul’s life, during 
his last imprisonment, a.d. 66 or 67. 

Place of Writing, a prison in Rome, 
probably its lower dungeon. 

While some rationalistic critics argue 
that this Epistle was not written by 
Paul, the evidence in favor of its be- 
ing authentic writing of Paul is very 
strong and convincing. 

Like 1 Timothy this Epistle is a per- 
sonal letter, full of affection for his 
beloved son in the Lord. According to 
Professor Walter Lock in Hastings’ 
Bible Dictionary, its main interest is 
one of character, and two portraits 
emerge from it. 

(1) The portrait of the Ideal Chris- 
tian Minister. He is like Christ him- 
self, and Isaiah’s “ Servant of the Lord,” 
patient, gentle, hopeful, interceding; 
God’s man, loyal, like a soldier, like an 
athlete, like a shepherd, -a husbandman, 
a fisherman. 

(2) The portrait of a Christian Min- 
ister with his work done, facing death. 
His eyes are turned mainly to the past 
or to the future. He has the assurance 
of hope, for while men may imprison 
the preacher, the word of God is un- 
fettered. He provides for a succession 
of teachers. He sees the heavenly king- 
dom, eternal glory, the coming of the 
Lord, the triumph of his kingdom, the 
crown of righteousness. 

| “ The Epistle is the letter of a good 


TIN 


696 


TIS 


shepherd who is laying down his life 
for the sheep.” 

Tin. Among the various metals 
found in the spoils of the Midianites, 
tin is enumerated. Num. 31:22. It 
was known to the Hebrew metal-work- 
ers as an alloy of other metals. Isa. 
1 : 25 ; Ezek. 22 : 18, 20. The markets of 
Tyre were supplied with it by the ships 
of Tarshish. Ezek. 27 : 12. It was used 
for plummets/ Zech. 4 : 10, and was so 
plentiful as to furnish the writer of 
Ecclesiasticus, Ecclus. 47:18, with, a 
figure by which to express the wealth 
of Solomon. Tin is not found in Pales- 
tine. Whence, then, did the ancient He- 
brews obtain their supply? “Only 
three countries are known to contain 
any considerable quantity of it : Spain 
and Portugal, Cornwall and the adja- 
cent parts of Devonshire, and the is- 
lands of Junk, Ceylon and Banca, in 
the Straits of Malacca.” (Kenrick, 
“ Phoenicia,” p. 212.) There can be lit- 
tle doubt that the mines of Britain 
were the chief source of supply to the 
ancient world. [See Tarshish.] 

Tiph'sah (tif'sah) (ford). 1 . A 
town mentioned in 1 Kings 4:24 as the 
limit of Solomon’s empire toward the 
Euphrates. It was known to the 
Greeks and Romans under the name of 
Thapsacus, and was the point where it 
was usual to cross the Euphrates. Cy- 
rus the younger, Darius and Alexander 
are all mentioned as crossing here at 
different times. 

2. A place not far from Tirzah which 
was taken by Menahem after he had 
taken the throne from Shallum. 2 
Kings 15 : 16. The site is uncertain. 

Ti'ras (ti'ras) (desire), the youngest 
son of Japheth, Gen. 10 : 2, usually 
identified in ancient times with the 
Thracians, as presenting the closest 
verbal approximation to the name. It is 
now considered by most scholars that 
the conditions are best met by the 
Tursenoi or Turusha, a sea- faring peo- 
ple of Pelasgic origin mentioned in the 
Egyptian inscriptions and in Herodotus 
as living around the ZEgean Sea. 

Ti'rathites (ti'rath-Ites), The, one of 
the three families of scribes residing at 
Jabez, 1 Chron. 2:55, the others being 
the Shimeathites and Sucathites. The 
passage is hopelessly obscure. 

Tire, an old English word for head- 
dress. It was an ornamental headdress 


worn on festive occasions, Ezek. 24 : 
17, 23, and perhaps, as some suppose, 
also an ornament for the neck worn 
by both women, Isa. 3 : 18, and men. 

Tirhakah (tir'ha-kah), or Tirhakah, 
a king of Egypt, called king of Ethiopia 
(Cush), the opponent of Sennacherib. 
2 Kings 19:9; Isa. 37:9. He may be 
identified with Tarkos or Tarakos, who 
was the third and last king of the 
twenty-fifth dynasty, which was of 
Ethiopians. His accession was probably 
about b.c. 691. Possibly Tirhakah ruled 
over Ethiopia before becoming king of 
Egypt. 

Tir'hanah, son of Caleb ben-Hezron 
by his concubine Maachah. 1 Chron. 2 : 
48. 

Tir'ia (tir'i-a) (fear), son of Jehale- 
leel, of the tribe of Judah. 1 Chron. 
4: 16. 

Tirshatha (tir'sha-tha) (always writ- 
ten with the article), the title of the 
governor of Judea under the Persians, 
perhaps derived from a Persian root 
signifying his reverence, taken in its 
literal sense not in its ecclesiastical 
usage. It is added as a title af-ter the 
name of Nehemiah, Neh. 8:9; 10:1, 
and occurs also in three other places. 
In the margin of the Authorized Ver- 
sion, Ezra 2:63; Neh. 7:65; 10:1, it is 
rendered “ governor.” 

Tir'zah (tir'zah) (delight), youngest 
of the five daughters of Zelophehad. 
Num. 26 : 33 ; 27 : 1 ; 36 : 11 ; Josh. 17 : 
3. (b.C. 1450.) 

Tir'zah, an ancient Canaanite city, 
whose king is enumerated among those 
overthrown in the conquest of the coun- 
try. Josh. 12:24. It reappears as a 
royal city, the residence of Jeroboam I, 
and of his successors, 1 Kings 14 : 17, 
18 ; and as the seat of the conspiracy 
of Menahem ben-Gaddi against the 
wretched Shallum. 2 Kings 15 : 16. Its 
reputation for beauty throughout the 
country must have been widespread. It 
is in this sense that it is spoken of in 
the Song of Solomon. Eusebius men- 
tions it in connection with Menahem, 
and identifies it with a “village of Sa- 
maritans in Batanea.” Its site has not 
yet been certainly identified. 

Tish'bite (tish'bite), The, the well- 
known designation of Elijah. 1 Kings 
17:1; 21:17, 28; 2 Kings 1:3, 8; 9: 
36. The name naturally points to a 
place called Tishbeh, or Tishbi as the 


TIS 


697 


TIT 


residence of the prophet. No such 
place is mentioned elsewhere, and iden- 
tification is almost impossible. Some 
identify it with Thisbe of Naphtali, but 
the Septuagint and Josephus both place 
it in Gilead. 

Tis'ro or Tish'ri. [Months.] 

Tithe or tenth, the proportion of 
property devoted to religious uses from 
very early times. Instances of the use 
of tithes are found prior to the ap- 
pointment of the Levitical tithes under 
the law. In biblical history the two 
prominent instances are — 1. Abram pre- 
senting the tenth of all his property, or 
rather of the spoils of his victory, to 
Melchizedek. Gen. 14 : 20 ; Heb. 7 : 2, 6. 
2. Jacob, after his vision at Luz, devot- 
ing a tenth of all his property to God 
in case he should return home in safety. 
Gen. 28 : 22. The first enactment of the 
law in respect of tithe is the declaration 
that the tenth of all produce, as well as 
of flocks and cattle, belongs to Jehovah, 
and must be offered to him; that the 
tithe was to be paid ' in kind, or, if 
redeemed, with an addition of one-fifth 
to its value. Lev. 27 : 30-33. This 
tenth is ordered to be assigned to the 
Levites as the reward of their service, 
and it is ordered further that they are 
themselves to dedicate to the Lord a 
tenth of these receipts, which is to be 
devoted to the maintenance of the priest. 
Num. 18:21-28. This legislation is 
modified or extended in the book of 
Deuteronomy. Commands are given to 
the people — 1. To bring their tithes, to- 
gether with their votive and other offer- 
ings and first-fruits, to the chosen cen- 
tre of worship, there to be eaten in 
festive celebration in company with 
their children, their servants and the 
Levites. Deut. 12 : 5-18. 2. All the 
produce of the soil was to be tithed 
every year, and these tithes, with the 
firstlings of the flock and herd, were to 
be eaten at the central sanctuary. 3. 
But in case of distance, permission is 
given to convert the produce into money, 
which is to be taken to the appointed' 
place, and there laid out in the pur- 
chase of food for a festal celebration, 
in which the Levite is, by special com- 
mand, to be included. Deut. 14:22-27. 
4. Then follows the direction that at 
the end of three years all the tithe of 
that year is to be gathered and laid up 
“ within the gates/’ and that a festival 


is to be held, of which the stranger, 
the fatherless and the widow, together 
with the Levite, are to partake. Deut. 
5 : 28, 29. 5. Lastly, it is ordered that 

after taking the tithe in each third year, 
“ which is the year of tithing,” an ex- 
culpatory declaration is to be made by 
every Israelite that he has done his best 
to fulfill the divine command. Deut. 
26 : 12-14. These tithes in early times 
took the place of our modern taxes, as 
well as of gifts for the support of re- 
ligious institutions. 

Titus (tl'tus). Our materials for 
the biography of this companion of St. 
Paul must be drawn entirely from the 
notices of him in the Second Epistle 
to the Corinthians, the Galatians, and 
to Titus himself, combined with the 
Second Epistle to Timothy. He is not 
mentioned in the Acts, at all, but is 
frequently referred to in Paul’s Epis- 
tles. He was born of Gentile parents, 
and was doubtless a much younger man 
than Paul whose companion he was, 
and through whom Titus was converted. 
We conceive the journey mentioned 
here to be identical with that (recorded 
in Acts 15) in which Paul and Barna- 
bas went from Antioch to Jerusalem 
to the conference which was to decide 
the question of the necessity of cir- 
cumcision to the Gentiles. Here we see 
Titus in close association with Paul 
and Barnabas at Antioch. He goes 
with them to Jerusalem. From Gal. 2: 
1-3, compared with Acts 15 : 2 we learn 
that he was one of the delegation from 
Antioch who accompanied Paul and 
Barnabas to the Council, where the re- 
lation of the Gentile Christians to the 
Jewish, was settled. He is very em- 
phatically spoken of as a Gentile, by 
which is most probably meant that both 
his parents were Gentiles. Later Titus 
was sent on a mission to Corinth. This 
mission had reference to the immorali- 
ties rebuked in the First Epistle, and 
to the collection, at that time in prog- 
ress, for the poor Christians of Judea. 
2 Cor. 8: 6. Titus joined Paul in Mace- 
donia (2 Cor. 7:6, 7). Paul sent him 
back from Macedonia tq Corinth, in 
company with two other trustworthy 
Christians, bearing the Second Epistle, 
and with an earnest request, ibid. 8 : 6, 
17, that he would see to the completion 
of the collection, ch. 8 : 6. 

In the interval between Paul’s first 


TIT 


698 


TOB 


and second imprisonment at Rome, he 
and Titus were together in Crete. Titus 
1:5. We see Titus remaining in the 
island when St. Paul left it, and re- 
ceiving there a letter written to him by 
the apostle. He is to complete what 
St. Paul had been obliged to leave un- 
finished, ch. 1 : 5, and he is to organize 
the church throughout the island by ap- 
pointing presbyters in every city. It 
seems probable that this disciple had 
been with St. Paul in Rome during his 
final imprisonment; but this cannot be 
asserted confidently. The traditional 
connection of Titus with Crete is much 
more specific and constant, though here 
again we cannot be certain of the facts. 
He is said to have been .permanent 
bishop in the island, and to have died 
there at an advanced age. The modern 
capital, Candia, appears to claim the 
honor of being his burial-place. In the 
fragment by the lawyer Zenas, Titus is 
called bishop of Gortyna. Lastly, the 
name of Titus was the watchword of 
the Cretans when they were invaded by 
the Venetians. 

Titus, Epistle to. There are no 
specialties in this Epistle which require 
any very elaborate treatment distinct 
from the other Pastoral Letters of St. 
Paul. It was written about the same 
time and under similar circumstances 
with 1 Timothy, in the autumn of 64, 
in the interval between Paul’s two 
Roman imprisonments. Paul and Titus 
had worked together in Crete, and Paul 
had left Titus there to organize and 
train the church, which false teachers 
had entered. It is thought that Paul 
took advantage of the fact that Zenas 
and Apollos (3: 13), were starting on a 
journey which would take them past 
Crete, to send a letter to Titus. Like 
the Epistles to Timothy, this was es- 
sentially a private letter from a man of 
large experience and of great authority 
and influence to a young pastor who, 
though able and consecrated, needed 
and would highly value the advice of 
a man like Paul. 

Ti'tus Jus'tus. The form given in 
the Revised Version, of the proselyte 
Justus, at whose house in Corinth Paul 
preached when driven from the syna- 
gogue. 

Ti'zite (ti'zlte), The, the designa- 
tion of Joha, one of the heroes of 
David’s army. 1 Chron.' 11 : 45. It oc- 


curs nowhere else, and nothing is 
known of the place or family which it 
denotes. 

To'ah (to'ah) {lowly), a Kohathite 
Levite, ancestor of Samuel and Heman. 
1 Chron. 6:34. Also called Nahath. 

Tob (tob) {good), The land of, a 
place in which Jephthah took refuge 
when expelled from home by his breth- 
ren, Judges 11 : 3, and where he re- 
mained, at the head of a band of free- 
booters, till he was brought back by 
the sheikhs of Gilead, ver. 5. The nar- 
rative implies that the land of Tob was 
not far distant from Gilead; at the 
same time, from the nature of the 
case, it must have lain out toward the 
eastern deserts. It is undoubtedly men- 
tioned again in 2 Sam. 10 : 6, 8, as 
Ishtob, i. e. man of Tob, meaning, ac- 
cording to a common Hebrew idiom, 
the men of Tob. After a long interval 
it probably appears again, in the Mac- 
cabsean history, 1 Macc. 5 : 13, in the 
names Tobie and Tubieni. 2 Macc. 12: 
17 No identification of the ancient dis- 
trict with any modern one has yet been 
adopted. 

Tob=adoni'jah (tob-ad-o-ni'jah) 

{Good is the Lord Jehovah), one of 
the Levites sent by Jehoshaphat through 
the cities of Judah to teach the law 
to the people. 2 Chron. 17 : 8. (b.c. 

868 .) 

Tobi'ah (to-bi'ah) {Jehovah is good ) . 
1. “The children of Tobiah” were a 
family who returned with Zerubbabel, 
but were unable to prove their connec- 
tion with Israel. Ezra 2:60; Neh. 7: 
62 . 

2. “ Tobiah the slave, the Ammonite,” 
played a conspicuous part in the rancor- 
ous opposition made by Sanballat the 
Moabite and his adherents to the re- 
building of Jerusalem, (b.c. 446.) To- 
biah, though a slave, Neh. 2 : 10, 19 — 
unless this is a title of opprobrium — and 
an Ammonite, found means to ally him- 
self with a priestly family, and his son 
Johanan married the daughter of Me- 
shullam the son of Berechiah. Neh. 6: 
18. He himself was the son-in-law of 
Shechaniah the son of Arah, Neh. 6:18, 
and these family' relations created for 
him a strong faction among the Jews. 

Tobi'jah (to-bl'jah) {Jehovah is 
good). 1. One of the Levites sent by 
Jehoshaphat to teach the law in the 
cities of Judah. 2 Chron. 17 : 8. (b.c. 868.) 


TOB 


699 


TOM 


2. One of the captivity in the time of 
Zechariah, in whose presence the proph- 
et was commanded to take crowns of 
silver and gold and put them on the 
head of Joshua the high priest. Zech. 
6 : 10, 14. 

To'bit, Book of, a book of the Apoc- 
rypha, which^ still exists at present in 
Greek, Latin, Syriac and Hebrew texts, 
but probably written originally in Greek. 
The scene of the book is placed in As- 
syria, whither Tobit, a Jew, had been 
carried as a captive by Shalmaneser. 
It is represented as completed shortly 
after the fall of Nineveh (b.c. 606), Tob. 
14 : 15, and written, in the main, some 
time before. Tob. 12 : 20. But the 
whole tone of the narrative bespeaks a 
later age; and above all, the doctrine 
of good and evil spirits is elaborated 
in a form which belongs to a period 
considerably posterior to the Babylonian 
captivity. Asmodeus iii. 8; vi. 14; viii. 
3 ; Raphael xii. 15. It cannot be re- 
garded as a true history. It is a didac- 
tic narrative ; and its point lies in the 
moral lessons which it conveys, and not 
in the incidents. In modern times the 
moral excellence of the book has been 
rated highly, except in the heat of con- 
troversy. Nowhere else is there pre- 
served so complete and beautiful a 
picture of the domestic life of the Jews 
after the return. Almost every family 
relation is touched upon with natural 
grace and affection. A doctrinal feat- 
ure of the book is the firm belief in a 
glorious restoration of the Jewish peo- 
ple. Tob. 14 : 5 ; 13 : 9-18. But the res- 
toration contemplated is national, and 
not the work of a universal' Saviour. 
In all there is not the slightest trace of 
the belief in a personal Messiah. 

To'chen (to'ken) (task), a place 
mentioned in 1 Chron. 4 : 32 only, among 
the towns of Simeon. 

Togar'mah (to-gar'mah), a son of 
Gomer, of the family of Japheth, and 
brother of Ashkenaz and Riphath. Gen. 
10 : 3. His descendants became a people 
engaged in agriculture, breeding horses 
and mules to be sold in Tyre. Ezek. 
27 : 14. They were also a military peo- 
ple, well skilled in the use of arms. 
Togarmah was probably the ancient 
name of Armenia. 

To'hu (to'hu), an ancestor of Samuel 
the prophet, perhaps the same ds Toah. 
1 Sam. 1:1; comp. 1 Chron. 6 : 34. 


To'i (to'i) (erring), king of Ha- 
math on the Orontes, who, after the 
defeat of his powerful enemy the Syrian 
king Hadadezer by the army of David, 
sent his son Joram or Hadoram to con- 
gratulate the victor and do him hom- 
age with presents of gold and silver 
and brass. 2 Sam. 8 : 9, 10. 

To'la (to'la). 1. The first-born of 
Issachar, and ancestor of the Tolaites. 
Gen. 46:13; Num. 26:23; 1 Chron. 7: 
1 , 2 . 

2. Judge of Israel after Abimelech. 
Judges 10 : 1, 2. He is described as 
“ the son of Puah the son of Dodo, a 
man of Issachar.” Tola judged Israel 
for twenty-three years at Shamir in 
Mount Ephraim, where he died and 
was buried, (b.c. 1179-1156.) 

To'lad (to'lad), one of the towns of 
Simeon, 1 Chron. 4 : 29, elsewhere called 
El-tolad. 

To'laites (to'la-Ites), The, descend- 
ants of Tola the son of Issachar. Num. 
26 : 23. 

Tomb. Burial in eastern countries 
follows speedily upon death ; within 
twenty-four hours if possible. This 
was therefore the case with the Jews 
when resident in Palestine, in Bible 
times. It was due (1) to the rapid 
decomposition of the dead body in hot 
countries, and (2) to prevent the de- 
filement coming from contact with a 
corpse (Num. 19:11-14). The prepa- 
rations were not very elaborate. The 
body was swathed with linen cloths in 
which were spices. In the case of 
Ananias (Acts 5 : 6) his outer gar- 
ments fotmed the winding sheet. The 
burning of the dead, practiced by some 
peoples, was a rare exception among the 
Jews, and only used in cases of emer- 
gency, such as the burning of the bodies 
of Saul and his sons by the men of 
Jabesh-Gilead (1 Sam. 31 : 11,' 12) and 
even here the bones received honorable 
burial (2 Sam. 21: 12-14). . Neither 
was the body embalmed as in Egypt. 
It was a great indignity for the body 
to remain unburied, and the Jews had 
something of the idea of other nations, 
that the spirit in such a case was 
doomed to wander, homeless, and might 
bring misfortune to his family. Coffins 
were unknown among the early Israel- 
ites, and are unused by the Jews of the 
East to-day. The only coffin named in 
the Bible is that in which Joseph’s em- 


TOM 


700 


TOM 


balmed remains were taken from Egypt 
for burial in Canaan. 

The graves of the dead were variously 
made. Sometimes they were merely 
dug in the earth as is usual with us, 
and as the eastern Jews do to-day. 
Sometimes natural caves or grottoes 
were utilized as burial-places. Often 
tombs or sepulchres were provided be- 
fore death, for one’s self or one’s fam- 


served as places of refuge on many oc- 
casions. (Judges 6:2; 1 Sam. 13:6; 
Mark 5 : 2, 3). 

The simplest form of a rock-hewn 
tomb is that where a single grave is 
sunk into the surface of the rock, or 
into the face of a cliff, and covered 
by a slab of stone, fitted and fastened 
into place. These stones *are in some 
cases ornamented, but the majority are 



THE GARDEN TOMB. 

“Now in the place . . . there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre”— 
John 19:41 — ** which was hewn out of a rock.” — Mark 15:46. This tomb is on the west 
side of Calvary, near the Damascus Gate. It is the property of the English and is enclosed 
by a wall. 


ily — and either hewed out in the solid 
rock, or built up of masonry, — the 
former being by far the most common. 
Into this family grave no stranger’s 
body was admitted ; it became holy 
ground, and a permanent possession. 
Of this sort was the tomb of Joseph 
of Arimathea, in which the body of 
Jesus was laid; a tomb hollowed in 
the rock and unused as yet, “ his own 
new tomb.” The cliffs near Jerusalem 
are full of these sepulchres, which 


plain, and whitewashed, in order to dis- 
tinguish them from the surrounding 
rock. 

The most common form, however, is 
that in which a number of graves are 
grouped together in or round a com- 
mon chamber. These are of several 
degrees of elaboration. (1) A natural 
cavern in the softer limestone has been 
enlarged, by having the graves dug 
around it, each fitted with its individual 
slab of stone to cover it. (2) A sin- 


TOM 


701 


TOM 


gle artificially formed cave with graves 
around three of its sides — either lead- 
ing out from it, or as shelves in the 
chamber itself. _ (3) A more elaborate 
form, where a single entrance leads into 
a number of chambers, each in form 
like (2). There is usually a vestibule 
also, from which one passes to an ante- 
chamber which may be with or without 
tombs, out of which open the cham- 
bers of the sepulchre proper. The door 



to the outside chamber when the cav- 
ern. was an artificial one, was quite 
small and was closed by a great stone 
which was sometimes circular, and ran 
in grooves in the rock. This arrange- 
ment explains several references in the 
New Testament. Thus in John 11 : 39, 
Jesus says “Take away the stone,” and 
(ver. 41) “they took away the stone,” 
without difficulty, apparently, probably 
rolling it aside. And in ch. 20 : 1 the 
same expression is used, “ the stone is 
taken away.” In this case the stone is 
considered too heavy for the women to 
roll away, but they apparently expect 
to find some man there to aid them. 
There is still in existence a good ex- 
ample, — that known as the “tomb of 
the kings ” — which is closed by a stone 
rolled across its entrance. The earlier 
the tomb the simpler its construction, 
and the smaller the amount of orna- 
mentation. Nearly all the famous 
tombs bearing traditional names assign- 
ing them to ancient dates are of recent 
origin, probably the greater part of 
them of the Byzantine period. 

Tombs of the patriarchs . — One of the 
most striking events in the life of Abra- 
ham is the purchase of the field of 
Ephron the Hittite at Hebron, in which 


was the cave of Machpelah, in order 
that he might therein bury Sarah his 
wife, and that it might be a sepulchre 
for himself and his children. There he 
and his immediate descendants were 
laid 3700 years ago, and there they are 
believed to rest now, under the great 
mosque of Hebron ; but no one in mod- 
ern times has seen their remains, or 
been allowed to enter into the cave 
where they rest. 

Tomb of the kings. — Of the twenty- 
two kings of Judah who reigned at 
Jerusalem from 1048 to 590 b.c., eleven, 
or exactly one-half, were buried in the 
“city of David.” Of all these it is 
merely said that they were buried in 
“ the sepulchres of their fathers ” or 
“of the kings” in the city of David, 
except of two — Asa and Hezekiah. 
Two more of these kings — Jehoram and 
Joash — were buried also in the city of 
David, “ but not in the sepulchres of 
the kings.” From Neh. 3 : 16, it would 
seem that some kings had their tombs 
close under the temple walls, so near 
that they might be said to be within 
the temple. This is possible, since some 
were certainly buried in their own gar- 
dens (2 Kings 21:18, 26), and the pal- 
aces . of the kings stood practically 
within the same enclosure as the orig- 
inal temple. Burial places in general 
were outside of the walls of the city, 
the kings alone being accorded burial 
within them. The burial places of the 
kings of Judah cannot now be identified. 
The fine monument to the north of 
Jerusalem, commonly known as the 
Tombs of the Kings, and now known 
to the natives as Kubur es-Salatin 
(Tombs of the Sultans) has been 
identified as the tomb of Helena, queen 
of Adiabene. Its construction proves 
it to have been built near the Chris- 
tian era. For a long time it was 
thought that not a vestige of the tomb 
existed, the real tomb having been 
otherwise identified. It was said that 
“ she with her brother was buried in 
the pyramids which she had ordered 
to be constructed at a distance of three 
stadia from Jerusalem.” Joseph. Ant. 
xx. 4, § 3. This is confirmed by Pau- 
sanias, viii. 16. The tomb was situated 
outside the third wall, near a gate be- 
tween the tower Psephinus and the 
Royal Caverns. B. J. v. 22 and v. 4, 
§ 2 . 



TOM 


702 


TOM 


Monuments over graves . — In the Gre- 
cian period monuments erected over 
graves became common, and probably 
the larger portion of those now recog- 


plateau to the north, a number of re- 
markable rock-cut sepulchres, with 
more or less architectural decoration, 
sufficient to enable us to ascertain that 



ROCK-HEWN TOMBS AT PETRA, IN EDOM. 


nized on the east side of the Kidron 
valley belong to this period, or to the 
still later period after the subjugation 
of the country to Rome. There are 
around Jerusalem, in 'the valleys of 
Hinnom and Jehoshaphat and on the 


they are all of nearly the same age, 
and to assert with very tolerable con- 
fidence that the epoch to which they 
belong must be between the introduc- 
tion of Roman influence and the de- 
struction of the city by Titus, a.d. 70. 


TON 


703 


TON 


In the village of Siloam there is a 
monolithic cell of singularly Egyptian 
aspect, which De Saulcy assumes to be 
a chapel of Solomon’s Egyptian wife. 
It is now usually assigned to the He- 
rodian age, as are also “ Absalom’s 
Pillar,” perhaps the tomb of Alexander 
Jannaeus, and the tomb of Zechariah, 
and the tomb of St. James. The last 
named is probably the earliest, and may 
date to the first century, b.c. The peo- 
ple still cling to their ancient cemeteries 
in the valley of Jehoshaphat with a 
tenacity singularly characteristic of the 
East. [Burial.] 

Tongues, Gift of. One of the sym- 
bolic signs which followed the descent 
of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples on 
the day of Pentecost was the gift of 
speaking with tongues. As in the case 
of the other signs, like the wind and 
the flame, so the power of speaking 
with tongues made real to the people 
the invisible power of the Holy Spirit, 
and expressed one of the effects of the 
gift upon the world, the ability and the 
impulse to bear the good news of the 
Gospel to all the world. 

The Nature of the Gift of Tongues. 
In order to understand this it is nec- 
essary (1) to compare the various ref- 
erences to this phenomenon, especially 
the record here with the chapter in 
which Paul gives directions concerning 
it (1 Cor. 14) ; (2) to imagine or have 
experience of what would take place 
under such circumstances ; (3) to study 
psychologically and historically similar 
phenomena. 

Of all the many books referring to 
this event, Dr. Walker’s The Gift of 
Tongues seems to me to come nearest 
the truth. The following summary 
agrees with his book. 

1. The phenomena described by Paul 
and by Luke are essentially the same, 
and differ much less than appears on 
the surface. Dr. Arthur Wright in his 
New Testament Problems says, “I have 
read through the section in question (1 
Cor. 12:1-14:33) with all the care 
that I could command, and have been 
forced to the conclusion that though 
some of Paul’s illustrations undoubtedly 
favor the theory of incoherent noises, 
yet his application of them does not do 
so, and, on the whole, foreign lan- 
guages are undoubtedly implied.” (See 
under “ 9 ” below.) 


2. The miracle, if we call it so, that 
is, the direct action of God upon the 
disciples, in sending upon them his Holy 
Spirit, produced a new, high, ecstatic, 
overpowering religious experience, 
hitherto unknown to them, something 
akin to Paul’s experience recorded in 
2 Cor. 12 : 1-4. 

3. That this was a good, sane expe- 
rience is shown by its results — the ut- 
terance of praises to God, and a new 
character. The experience inspired and 
developed all that was best in their 
natures, love, joy, peace, and all the 
fruits of the Spirit. 

4. This experience was a part of the 
process which was transforming Gali- 
lean fishermen into world-wide apostles. 

5. It was natural, and well within 
modern psychological facts, that this 
experience should so affect body and 
mind as to produce unusual manifesta- 
tions. 

6. In the words of Dean Alford : “ I 

believe the event to have been a sudden 
and powerful inspiration of the Holy 
Spirit, by which the disciples uttered 
not of their minds, but as mouthpieces 
of the Spirit, the praises of God in 
various languages, hitherto, and possi- 
bly at the time itself, unknown to them.” 

7. It was not a permanent endow- 
ment with the power to speak foreign 
languages ; for there are no signs of 
the use of such a power in the whole 
story of Paul’s missionary labors, but 
the contrary, and there was really lit- 
tle need of such an endowment since 
Greek was understood in nearly all 
lands. 

8. It is not implied that each one 
spoke in several languages, but that 
one or another spoke in them all. 

9. This would account for the inco- 
herent sounds of which Paul speaks ; 
for to all those who did not under- 
stand the particular language spoken, 
the sounds would be unintelligible, 
“barbarian” voices “ without significa- 
tion.” 

Confirmatory Facts. It is probable 
that the languages spoken were those 
lying in the sub-conscious memory, 
awakened by the powerful influence 
upon the disciples. The development 
of the study of the mind and its sub- 
conscious activity, within the last few 
years, favors this explanation. 

Coleridge tells a story of a young 


TOP 


704 


TOW 


woman in Germany who could neither 
read nor write, but who, during a 
fever, was heard talking Greek, Latin, 
and Hebrew. Whole sheets were writ- 
ten down, and found to consist of in- 
telligible sentences, but disconnected. 
The mystery was unveiled by the dis- 
covery that in her childhood she lived 
with a Protestant pastor, a great He- 
brew scholar, who was accustomed to 
read aloud books in these languages ; 
many of the passages she uttered were 
identified as those in his books. 

The late religious revival in Wales 
has brought out similar instances. The 
Yorkshire Post of Dec. 27, 1904, says : 

“ Young Welshmen and Welshwomen 
who know little or no Welsh, and who 
certainly cannot carry on a sustained 
conversation in their parents’ tongue, 
and who are supposed to have derived 
little or no benefit from the Welsh serv- 
ices, now, under the influence of the 
revival, voluntarily take part in public 
prayer — but the language employed is 
almost invariably not the familiar Eng- 
lish, but the unknown, or supposed to 
be unknown, Welsh Biblical phrases, 
and the peculiar idiomatic expressions 
connected with a Welsh prayer, which 
they never used before.” 

Mr. William T. Ellis, a newspaper 
man from Philadelphia, writes (1907) 
from Kedgaon, India, where Pandita 
Ramabai has a well-known school for 
girls : “ I have stumbled upon an ex- 

traordinary religious manifestation. 

. . . I shall simply narrate, soberly 

and consecutively, what I have seen 
and heard concerning this ‘ baptism 
with fire,’ and pouring out of ‘ the gift 
of tongues,’ whereby ignorant Hindu 
girls speak in Sanskrit, Hebrew, Greek, 
English, and other languages as yet 
unidentified. 

“ In other parts of India, dramatic 
in the extreme have been the confes- 
sions of sin, and restitution therefor, 
and the reconciliations between ene- 
mies. 

“ Everywhere there is an agreement 
that the lives of the people have been 
markedly altered for the better.” 

Topaz, one of the gems used in the 
high priest’s breastplate, Ex. 28 : 17 ; 39 : 
10 ; Ezek. 28 : 13 ; one of the founda- 
tions also of the New Jerusalem, in 
St. John’s description of the city. Rev. 
21 : 20. The topaz of the ancient Greeks 


and Romans is usually considered to 
be our chrysolite, while their chrysolite 
is our topaz. Chrysolite is a silicate 
of magnesia and iron; it is so soft as 
to lose its polish unless carefully used. 
It varies in color from a pale-green to 
a bottle-green. 

To'phel (to'fel) {mortar), Deut. 1: 
1, has been identified with Tufileh on a 
wady of the same name running north 
of Bozra toward the southeast corner 
of the Dead Sea, but several reasons 
make it a very doubtful identification. 

To'phet (to'fet), (once To'pheth), 
was in the “valley of the son of Hin- 
nom,” Jer. 7 : 31, which is “ by the entry 
of the east gate.” Jer. 19:2. The dis- 
cussion of the position of Hinnom is 
given elsewhere. [Hinnom.] The name 
Tophet occurs only in the Old Testa- 
ment. 2 Kings 23:10; Isa. 30:33; Jer. 
7 : 31, 32 ; 19 : 6, 11, 12, 13, 14. The New 
does not refer to it, nor the Apoc- 
rypha. Tophet has been variously 
translated. The derivation is quite un- 
certain. The two principal opinions are, 
— “ place of abhorrence ” and “ place of 
burning.” Other “ fanciful explana- 
tions are given, but they have no true 
foundation.” Probably it was defiled by 
idols and polluted by the sacrifices of 
Baal and the fires of Molech. Then it 
became the place of abomination, the 
very gate or pit of hell. The pious 
kings defiled it and threw down its al- 
tars and high places, pouring into it 
all the filth of the city, till it became 
the “abhorrence” of Jerusalem. 

Tor'mah (tor'mah) occurs only in 
the margin of Judges 9 : 31. By a few 
commentators it has been conjectured 
that the word was originally the same 
with Arumah in ver. 41, but the R. V. 
translates it “ craftily.” 

Tortoise (Heb. tsdb). The tsdb oc- 
curs only in the Authorized Version in 
Lev. 11 : 29, as the name of some un- 
clean animal. The Hebrew word may 
be identified with the kindred Arabic 
dhab, “ a large kind of lizard,” and is 
translated in the R. V. “ great lizard.” 

To'u (to'u), or To'i, king of Hamath. 

1 Chron. 18 : 9, 10. 

Tower. Watch-towers or fortified 
posts in frontier or exposed situations 
are mentioned in Scripture, as the 
tower of Edar, etc., Gen. 35:21; Isa. 
21 : 5, 8, 11 ; Micah 4 : 8, etc. ; the tower 
of Lebanon. 2 Sam. 8 : 6. Besides these 


TOW 


705 


TRA 


military structures, we read in Scrip- 
ture of towers built in vineyards as an 
almost necessary appendage to them. 
Isa. 5:2; Matt. 21 : 33 ; Mark 12 : 1. 
Such towers are still in use in Pales- 



WATCH-TOWER. 


tine in vineyards, especially near He- 
bron, and are used as lodges for the 
keepers of the vineyards. 

Town clerk, the title ascribed in our 
version to the magistrate at Ephesus 
who appeased the mob in the theatre at 
the time of the tumult excited by Deme- 
trius and his fellow craftsmen. Act's 
19 : 35. The original service of this 
class of men was to record the laws 
and decrees of the state, and to read 
them in public. 

Trachonitis (trak-o-ni'tis) ( a rug- 
ged region), Luke 3:1, is in all prob- 
ability the Greek equivalent for the 
Aramaic Argob, the modern el-Lejah. It 
was in the time of Christ, with Iturea, 
the tetrarchy of Philip the brother of 
Herod the tetrarch of Galilee. It lay 
behind Damascus. [Argob.] 

Trance. (1) In the only passage — 
Num. 24 : 4, 16 — in which this word oc- 
curs in the English of the Old Testa- 
ment there is, as the italics show, no 
corresponding word in Hebrew. It is 
omitted entirely in the R. V. In the 
New Testament we meet the word 
three times — Acts 10 : 10 ; 11 : 5 ; 22 : 17. 
The eKa-raais (i. e. trance) is the state 
in which a man has passed out of the 
usual order of his life, beyond the usual 
limits of consciousness and volition, be- 
ing rapt in visions of distant or future 
things. The causes of this state are to 
be traced commonly to strong religious 
impressions. Whatever explanation may 
be given of it, it is true of many, if 


not of most, of those who have left 
the stamp of their own character on 
the religious history of mankind, that 
they have been liable to pass at times 
into this abnormal state. The union of 
intense feeling, strong volition, long- 
continued thought (the conditions of all 
wide and lasting influence), aided in 
many cases by the withdrawal from the 
lower life of the support which is 
needed to maintain a healthy equili- 
brium, appears to have been more than 
the “ earthen vessel ” will bear. The 
words which speak of “an ecstasy of 
adoration” are often literally true. As 
in other things, so also here, the phe- 
nomena are common to higher and 
lower, to true and false, systems. We 
may not point to trances and ecstasies 
as proofs of a true revelation, but still 
less may we think of them as at all 
inconsistent with it. Thus, though we 
have not the word, we have the thing 
in the “ deep sleep,” the “ horror of 
great darkness,” that fell on Abraham. 
Gen. 15:12. Balaam, as if overcome by 
the constraining power of a Spirit 
mightier than his own, “ sees the vision 
of God, falling, but with opened eyes.” 
Num. 24 : 4. Saul, in like manner, when 
the wild chant of the prophets stirred 
the old depths of feeling, himself also 
“ prophesied ” and “ fell down ” — most, 
if not all, of his kingly clothing being 
thrown off in the ecstasy of the. mo- 
ment — “ all that day and all that night.” 
1 Sam. 19 : 24. Something there was 
in Jeremiah that made men say of him 
that he was as one that “ is mad and 
maketh himself a prophet.” Jer. 29: 26. 
In Ezekiel the phenomena appear in 
more wonderful and awful forms. 
Ezek. 3 : 15. As other elements and 
forms of the prophetic work were re- 
vived in “ the apostles and prophets ” of 
the New Testament, so also was this. 
Though different in form, it belongs to 
the same class of phenomena as the 
gift of tongues, and is connected with 
“ visions and revelations of the Lord.” 
In some cases, indeed, it is the chosen 
channel for such revelations. Acts 10 : 
11 ; 22 : 17-21. Wisely for the most 

part did the apostle draw a veil over 
these more mysterious experiences. 2 
Cor. 12:1-4. 

Transfiguration, The. The event in 
the earthly life of Christ in which he 
was visibly glorified in the presence of 


TRA 


706 


TRI 


the three disciples who at all times 
stood nearest to him. Matt. 17 : 1-13 ; 

.Mark 9 : 2-13 ; Luke 9:28-36. Place.— 
Though tradition locates the transfig- 
uration on Mount Tabor, there is little 
to confirm this view, and modern critics 
favor Mount Hermon, the highest moun- 
tain-top in Gaulanitis, or one of the 
spurs of the Anti-Lebanus. Time . — 
The transfiguration probably took place 
at night, because it could then be seen 
to better advantage than in daylight, 
and Jesus usually went to mountains 
to spend there the night in prayer. 
Matt. 14:23, 24; Luke 6:12; 21: 37. 
The apostles are described as having 
kept themselves awake through the act 
of transfiguration. Luke 9 : 32 (R. V. 
Marg.). The Narratives . — The three 
Synoptic Gospels are singularly alike in 
the details of the story; it was six days 
after the events just narrated; on a 
high mountain apart ; in the presence 
of the chosen three, — Peter, James and 
John; the supernatural light, the two 
heavenly visitants, — Moses the law- 
giver, and Elijah the chief of the 
prophets; their conference with Jesus; 
the suggestion of Peter; the overshad- 
owing cloud and the Divine voice; the 
joyful awe of the disciples; the return 
to ordinary conditions; and the charge 
of silence. St. Luke, Luke 9 : 31, adds 
the subject of their communing: “They 
spake of his decease which he should 
accomplish at Jerusalem.” The silence 
of John is easily explained by the pur- 
pose of its writing. The transfiguration 
itself or, as the Germans call it, the 
glorification , consisted in a visible man- 
ifestation of the inner glory of Christ’s 
person, accompanied by an audible voice 
from heaven. It was the revelation and 
anticipation of his future state of glory, 
which was concealed under the veil, of 
his humanity in the state of humiliation. 
The cloud which overshadowed the wit- 
nesses was bright or light-like, lumi- 
nous, of the same kind as the cloud at 
the ascension. Significance of the 
Transfiguration. — This event marked a 
distinct crisis in the ministry of Christ. 
1. Those who see in his life a gradual 
realization of the depth and the details 
of his mission regard this as the su- 
preme moment of “ self-discovery,” and 
of “ self-dedication.” “ In that high 
hour Christ knew himself.” 2. It con- 
firmed the faith of the three favorite 


disciples, and prepared them for the 
great trial which was approaching, by 
showing them the real nature and glory 
and power of Jesus. They were, 
through their daily communication 
with him, growing to realize that he 
was something more than human; they 
had reached the stage where they could 
acknowledge him as the Messiah ; this 
event precipitated the crisis. 3. It cer- 
tainly transformed his ministry. He 
spent more time in private converse or 
in the semi-privacy of the Temple 
courts; he calls attention more strong- 
ly to the spirit which animates him, 
and to the Father ; he seeks more 
strongly to convince his disciples both 
of his Messiahship, and of the necessity 
for his suffering and death. 4. Much 
has been made, especially in former 
times, of the especial significance of 
the appearance of the two heavenly 
visitants, representatives of the Law and 
the Prophets, as Christ himself was of 
the Gospel ; and also of the fact that 
these two are the only ones, since the 
formation of the chosen nation, who 
were accorded a supernatural passing 
out of life. This is important and cer- 
tainly should be well considered. There 
has, however, according to some schol- 
ars, been an undue stress, leading to 
the inmost heart of Spiritualism. We 
must not lose sight of the earthly Jesus 
in seeking for the Divine Christ. 

Treasure=cities. The kings of Ju- 
dah had keepers of their treasures both 
in city and country, 1 Chron. 27 : 25, 
and the places where these magazines 
were laid up were called treasure- 
cities, and the buildings treasure-houses. 
Pharaoh compelled the Hebrews to 
build him treasure-cities. Ex. 1 : 11. 
[Pithom.] 

Treasury, Mark 12:41; Luke 21:1, 
a name given by the rabbins to thir- 
teen chests in the temple, called trum- 
pets from their shape. They stood in 
the court of the women. It would 
seem probable that this court was some- 
times itself called “ the treasury ” be- 
cause it contained these repositories. 

Trespass offering. [Sin offering.] 

Tribute. The chief biblical facts 
connected with the payment of tribute 
have been already given under Taxes. 
The tribute (money) mentioned in 
Matt. 17:24, 25 was the half shekel 
(worth about 32 cents) applied to de- 


TRI 


707 


TRY 


fray the general expenses of the tem- 
ple. After the destruction of the tem- 
ple this was sequestrated by Vespasian 
and his successors and transferred to 
the temple of the Capitoline Jupiter. 
This “ tribute ” of Matt. 17 : 24 must 
not be confounded with the tribute paid 
to the Roman emperor. Matt. 22 : 17. 
The temple rate, though resting on an 
ancient precedent — Ex. 30 : 13 — was, 
as above, a fixed annual tribute of 
comparatively late origin. 

Tribute money. [Taxes; Tribute.] 

Tro'as (tro'as), the city from which 
St. Paul first sailed, in consequence of 
a divine intimation, to carry the gospel 
from Asia to Europe. Acts 16:8, 11. 
It is mentioned on other occasions. 
Acts 20 : 5, 6 ; 2 Cor. 2:12, 13 ; 2 
Tim. 4:13. Its full name was Alex- 
andria Troas (Liv. xxxv. 42), and 
sometimes it was called simply Alex- 
andria, sometimes simply Troas. It 
was first built by Antigonus, under the 
name of Antigonia Troas, and peopled 
with the inhabitants of some neighbor- 
ing cities. Afterward it was embel- 
lished by Lysimachus, and named Alex- 
andria Troas. Its situation was on the 
coast of Mysia, opposite the southeast 
extremity of the island of Tenedos. 
Under the Romans it was one of the 
most important towns of the province 
of Asia. In the time of St. Paul it 
was a colonia with the Jus Italicum. 
The modern name is Eski-Stamboul, 
with considerable ruins. We can still 
trace the harbor in a basin about 400 
feet long and 200 broad. 

Trogyl'Iium (trd-jll'li-um) is the 
rocky extremity of the ridge of My- 
cale, exactly opposite Samos. Acts 20: 
15. A little to the east of the extreme 
point there is an anchorage, which is 
still called St. Paul’s port. [Samos.] 

Troph'imus (trof'i-mus) ( nutritious ). 
Both Trophimus and Tychicus accom- 
panied Paul from Macedonia as far as 
Asia, but Tychicus seems to have re- 
mained there, while Trophimus pro- 
ceeded with the apostle to Jerusalem. 
( a.d. 57.) There he was the innocent 
cause of the tumult in which St. Paul 
was apprehended. Acts 21 : 27-29. 
From this passage we learn two new 
facts, viz., that Trophimus was a Gen- 
tile, and that he was a native of Ephe- 
sus. Trophimus was probably one of 
the two brethren who, with Titus, con- 


veyed the second Epistle to the Corin- 
thians. 2 Cor. 8:16-24. [Tychicus.] 
Trumpet. [Cornet.] 

Trumpets, Feast of, Num. 29:1; 
Lev. 23:24, the feast of the new moon, 
which fell on the first of Tisri. It dif- 
fered from the ordinary festivals of 
the new moon in several important par- 
ticulars. It was a day of solemn rest 
from ordinary labor, and a holy con- 
vocation was held. Instead of the mere 



ANCIENT TRUMPETS. 


blowing of the trumpets of the temple 
at the time of the offering of the sac- 
rifices, it was “ a day of blowing of 
trumpets.” The sacrifices for the first 
day of the month (Num. 28:11-15) 
were doubled on the first day of the 
seventh month except for one young 
bullock (Num. 29:1-6). It has been 
conjectured that Ps. 81, one of the 
songs of Asaph, was composed expressly 
for the Feast of Trumpets.' The psalm 
is used in the service for the day by 
the modern Jews. Various meanings 
have been assigned to the Feast of 
Trumpets; but there seems to be no 
sufficient reason to call in question the 
common opinion of Jews and Chris- 
tians, that it was the festival of the 
New Year’s day of the civil year, the 
first of Tisri, the month which com- 
menced the sabbatical year and the year 
of jubilee. 

Tryphe'na (tri-fe'na) and Trypho'= 
sa (tri-fo'sa) ( delicate ), two Christian 
women at Rome, enumerated in the 
conclusion of St. Paul’s letter. Rom. 


TRY 


708 


TYR 


16 : 12. (a.d. 57.) They may have 

been sisters, but it is more likely that 
they were fellow deaconesses. We 
know nothing more of these two sister 
workers of the apostolic time, although 
the name Tryphena is found in the 
“ Acts of Paul and Thekla,” as that 
of a wealthy lady. There is historical 
authority for her existence. She was 
a descendant of Mark Antony, and rela- 
tive of the emperor Claudius. 

Trypho'sa. [Tryphena.] 

Tu'bal (tu'bal) is reckoned with 
Javan and Meshech among the sons of 
Japheth. Gen. 10:2; 1 Chron. 1:5. 

The three are again associated in the 
enumeration of the sources of the 
wealth of Tyre. Ezek. 27:13. Tubal 
and Javan, Isa. 66:19, Meshech and 
Tubal, Ezek. 32 : 26 ; 38 : 2, 3 ; 39 : 1, are 
nations of the north. Ezek. 38 : 15 ; 39 : 
2. They are the Tibareni of Herodotus 
and lived in the mountainous districts 
southeast of the Black Sea. In the As- 
syrian inscriptions the name appears as 
Tabal or Tubla. 

TiTbal=cain (tu'bal-kan), the son of 
Lamech the Cainite by his wife Zillah. 
Gen. 4 : 22. He was the forger of cut- 
ting instruments of copper and iron. 

Turtle, Turtle=dove (Heb. tor). 
The name is phonetic, evidently derived 
from the plaintive cooing of the bird. 
It is one of the smaller members of 
the group of birds which ornithologists 
usually call pigeons. The turtle-dove 
occurs first in Scripture in Gen. 15 : 9. 
In the Levitical law a pair of turtle- 
doves or of young pigeons is con- 
stantly prescribed as a substitute for 
those who were too poor to provide a 
lamb or a kid. The offering of two 
young pigeons must have been one 
easily within the reach of the poorest. 
The admission of a pair of turtle-doves 
was perhaps a yet further concession to 
extreme poverty, for they were ex- 
tremely numerous, and their young 
might easily be found and captured by 
those who did not possess pigeons. 
There are three species of turtle-dove 
common in Palestine; the turtur auri- 
tus, or true turtle-dove, about 12 inches 
long ; the turtur risorius, or collared 
turtle-dove, a larger species, 13 inches 
long; and the turtur senegalensis , the 
palm or Egyptian turtle-dove, the 
smallest, about 10 inches long. It is 
not improbable that the palm-dove may 


in some measure have supplied the 
sacrifice in the wilderness, for it is 
found in amazing numbers wherever 
the palm tree occurs, whether wild or 
cultivated. From its habit of pairing 
for life, and its fidelity to its mate, the 
turtle-dove was a symbol of purity and 
an appropriate offering. The regular 
migration of the turtle-dove and its re- 
turn in the spring are alluded to in Jer. 
8 : 7 and Cant. 2 : 11, 12. It is from its 
plaintive note doubtless that David in 
Ps. 74 : 19, pouring forth his lament to 
God, compares himself to a turtle-dove. 

Twin Brothers. This term is used 
in the Revised Version of Acts 28:11 
for Castor and Pollux, which see. 

Tych'icus (tik'i-kus) {fateful), a 
companion of St. Paul on some of his 
journeys, and a native of Asia. Acts 
20:4. (Compare 21 : 29.) (a.d. 57-66.) 

There is much probability in the con- 
jecture that Tychicus and Trophimus 
were the two brethren who were asso- 
ciated with Titus, 2 Cor. 8 : 16-24, in 
conducting the business of the collection 
for the poor Christians in Judea. 

Tyrannus (ti-ran'nus) {sovereign), 
the name of a man in whose school or 
place of audience Paul taught the gos- 
pel for two years, during his sojourn 
at Ephesus. See Acts 19 : 9. (a.d. 52, 

53.) The presumption is that Tyrannus 
himself was a Greek, and a public teach- 
er of philosophy or rhetoric, and his 
school was a seat of culture. Paul 
may have alternated sessions with 
Tyrannus, and thus gained a hearing 
among the more intellectual people of 
the city. “The school of Tyrannus 
alone had never been a great moral or 
perhaps even intellectual force in Ephe- 
sus. But the school of Tyrannus with 
Paul to teach in it exerted a tremen- 
dous influence in all that region.” 

Tyre {a rock), a celebrated commer- 
cial city of Phoenicia, on the coast of 
the Mediterranean Sea. Its Hebrew 
name, Tzor, signifies a rock; which 
well agrees with the site of Sur, the 
modern town, on a rocky peninsula, 
formerly an island. There is no doubt 
that, previous to the siege of the city 
by Alexander the Great, Tyre was sit- 
uated on an island ; but, according to 
the tradition of the inhabitants, there 
was a city on the mainland before there 
was a city on the island ; Herodotus 
states that he was informed by the 


TYR 


709 


TYR 


Tyrian priests that it had been founded 
2300 years before his visit, or 2750 b.c. 
The city on the mainland received the 
name of Palaetyrus, or Old Tyre. No- 
tices in the Bible. — In the Bible Tyre 
is named for the first time in the book 
of Joshua 19 : 29, where it is adverted 
to as a fortified city (in the Au- 
thorized Version “the strong city”), 
in reference to the boundaries of the 


cious metals and workmen, and gave 
him sailors for the voyage to Ophir 
and India, while on the other hand 
Solomon gave Hiram supplies of corn 
and oil, ceded to him some cities, and 
permitted him to make use of some 
havens on the Red Sea. 1 Kings 9 : 
11-14, 26-28;. 10:22. These friendly 

relations survived for a time the dis- 
astrous secession of the ten tribes, and 



VIEW OF TYRE. 


tribe of Asher. But the first passages 
in the Hebrew historical writings, or in 
ancient history generally, which afford 
glimpses of the actual condition of Tyre 
are in the book of Samuel, 2 Sam. 5 : 
11. Hiram king of Tyre sent cedar 
wood and workmen to David, for build- 
ing him a palace; and subsequently (in 
the book of Kings) aided in the same 
way the building of Solomon’s temple. 
It is evident that under Solomon there, 
was a close alliance between the He- 
brews and the Tyrians. Hiram sup- 
plied Solomon with cedar wood, pre- 


a century later Ahab married a daugh- 
ter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, 
1 Kings 16 : 31, who, according to 
Menander, was Ithobal king of Tyre. 
When mercantile cupidity induced the 
Tyrians and the neighboring Phoeni- 
cians to buy Hebrew captives from 
their enemies, and to sell them as 
slaves to the Greeks and Edomites, 
there commenced denunciations, and at 
first threats of retaliation. Joel 3 : 4- 
8 ; Amos 1 : 9* 10. When Shalmaneser, 
king of Assyria, had taken the city of 
Samaria, had conquered the kingdom 



TYR 


710 


TYR 


of Israel, and carried its inhabitants 
into captivity, he laid siege to Tyre, 
which, however, successfully resisted 
his arms. It is in reference to this 
siege that the prophecy against Tyre in 
Isaiah, ch. 23, was uttered. After the 
siege of Tyre by Shalmaneser, Tyre 
remained a powerful state, with its own 
kings, Jer. 25 : 22 ; 27 : 3 ; Ezek. 28 : 2- 
12; remarkable for its wealth, with ter- 
ritory on the mainland, and protected 
by strong fortifications. Ezek. 26 : 4, 6, 
8, 10, 12 ; 27 : 11 ; 28 : 5 ; Zech. 9 : 3. 
Our knowledge of its condition thence- 
forward until the siege by Nebuchad- 
nezzar depends entirely on various no- 
tices of it by the Hebrew prophets ; but 
some of these notices are singularly 
full, and especially the twenty-seventh 
chapter of Ezekiel furnishes us, on 
some points, with details such as have 
scarcely come down to us respecting 
any one city of antiquity excepting 
Rome and Athens. Siege by Nebuchad- 
nezzar. — In the midst of great pros- 
perity and wealth, which was the nat- 
ural result of extensive trade, Ezek. 28: 
4, Nebuchadnezzar, at the head of an 
army of the Chaldees, invaded Judea 
and captured Jerusalem. As Tyre was 
so near to Jerusalem, and as the con- 
querors were a fierce and formidable 
race, Hab. 1:6, it would naturally be 
supposed that this event would have 
excited alarm and terror amongst the 
Tyrians. Instead of this, we may in- 
fer from Ezekiel’s statement, Ezek. 26 : 
2, that their predominant feeling was 
one of exultation. It explained by the 
fact that the Tyrians had become grad- 
ually the sworn enemies of Israel. The 
reformations in Judah, and the denuncia- 
tions of the prophets may have had 
considerable to do with this change. 
After the famous battle of Carchemish 
in 605 b.c., Nebuchadnezzar laid siege 
to Tyre. That siege lasted thirteen 
years, and it is still a disputed point 
whether Tyre was actually taken by 
Nebuchadnezzar on this occasion. How- 
ever this may be, it is probable that, 
on some terms or other, Tyre submitted 
to the Chaldees. The rule of Nebuchad- 
nezzar over Tyre, though real, may 
have been light, and in the nature of 
an alliance. Attack by the Persians; 
Capture by . Alexander. — During the 
Persian domination the Tyrians were 
subject in name to the Persian king, 


and may have given him tribute. With 
the rest of Phoenicia they had submitted 
to the Persians without striking a blow. 
Toward the close of the following cen- 
tury, b.c. 332, Tyre was assailed for 
the third time by a great conqueror. 
At that time Tyre was situated on an 
island nearly half a mile from the main- 
land; it was completely surrounded by 
prodigious walls, the loftiest portion of 
which on the side fronting the main- 
land reached a height of not less than 
150 feet; and notwithstanding the per- 
severing efforts of Alexander, he could 
not have succeeded in his attempt if the 
harbor of Tyre to the north had not 
been blockaded by the Cyprians and that 
to the south by the Phoenicians, thus 
affording an opportunity to Alexander 
for uniting the island to the mainland 
by an enormous artificial mole. The 
materials for this he obtained from the 
remains of old Tyre, scraping the very 
dust from her rocks into the sea, as 
prophesied by Ezekiel (Ezek. 26:3, 4, 
12, 21) more than 250 years before. 
The immediate results of the capture 
by Alexander were most disastrous to 
Tyre, as its brave defenders were put 
to death; and in accordance with the 
barbarous policy of ancient times, 30,- 
000 of its inhabitants, including slaves, 
free females and free children, were 
sold as slaves. Within 18 years, how- 
ever, Tyre was rebuilt, and resettled, 
and strong enough to offer strong re- 
sistance to Antigonus. It gradually re- 
covered its prosperity through the im- 
migration of fresh settlers, though its 
trade is said to have suffered by the 
vicinity and rivalry of Alexandria. Un- 
der the Macedonian successors of Alex- 
ander _ it shared the fortunes of the 
Seleucidae. Under the Romans, at first 
it enjoyed a kind of freedom. Strabo 
gives an account of it in the time of 
Augustus, and speaks of the great 
wealth which it derived from the dyes 
of the celebrated Tyrian purple, which, 
as is well known, were extracted from 
shell-fish found on the coast, belonging 
to a species of the genus Murex. Tyre 
in the time of Christ and since. — When 
visited by Christ, Matt. 15 : 21 ; Mark 
7 : 24, Tyre was perhaps more populous 
than Jerusalem, and if so it was un- 
doubtedly the largest city which the 
Saviour is known to have visited. At 
the time of the crusades it was still a 
flourishing city, when it surrendered to 


TYR 


711 


TYR 


the Christians on the 27th of June, 1124. 
It continued more than a century and a 
half in the hands of Christians, but was 
deserted by its inhabitants in a.d. 1291, 
upon the conquest of Acre (Ptolemais) 
by the sultan of Egypt and Damascus. 
This was the turning-point in the his- 
tory of Tyre, which has never recovered 
from the blow. Its present condition is 
a fulfilment of Ezekiel’s prophecy, Ezek. 
26 : 5. It is considered too insignificant 
to be a port of call for the local 
steamers which call at Acre and Sidon. 


The ruins of its ancient grandeur can 
be seen through the clear water of the 
harbor, but the town of to-day is small 
and of no account. 

Ty'rus (ti'rus). This form is em- 
ployed in the Authorized Version of 
the books of Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Hosea 
(Joel has “Tyre”), Amos and Zecha- 
riah, as follows: Jer. 25:22; 27:3; 
47 : 4 ; Ezek. 26 : 2, 3, 4, 7, 15 ; 27 : 2, 
3, 8, 32; 28:2, 12; 29:18; Hos. 9:13; 
Amos 1:9, 10 ; Zech. 9:2, 3. 


U'cal (u'kal) (/ am strong). Ac- 
cording to the received text of Prov. 
30 : 1, Ithiel and Ucal must be regarded 
as proper names ; and if so, they must 
be the names of disciples or sons of 
Agur the son of Jakeh, an unknown 
sage among the Hebrews. But there is 
great obscurity about the passage. A 
slight change in the text would give the 
rendering of the R. V. margin : “ I 

have wearied myself and am consumed.” 

U'el (u'el) {will of God), one of the 
family of Bani, who during the cap- 
tivity had married a foreign wife. Ezra 
10:34. (b.c. 458.) 

Uk'naz (uk'naz). In the margin of 
1 Chron. 4 : 15 the words “ even Kenaz ” 
in the text are rendered “ Uknaz,” as 
the proper name. 

U'la=i (u'la-i), is mentioned by Dan- 
iel, Dan. 8 : 2, 16, as a river near to 
Susa, where he saw his vision of the 
ram and the he-goat. It has been gen- 
erally identified with the Eulaeus of the 
Greek and Roman geographers, a large 
stream in the immediate neighborhood 
of that city. The Eulaeus has been by 
many identified with the modern Kerk- 
ha, and by others with the modern 
Karun, both near Susa. The fact is 
probably that what are now the upper 
Kerkha and the lower Karun were 
formerly a single stream. 

U'lam (u'lam) {front). 1 . A de- 
scendant of Gilead, the grandson of 
Manasseh and father of Bedan. 1 
Chron. 7 . 17. 

2. The first-born of Eshek, a descend- 
ant of the house of Saul. 1 Chron. 8 : 
39, 40. 

Ul'Ia (ul'la) {yoke), an Asherite, 
head of a family in his tribe. 1 Chron. 
7:39. 

Um'mah (um'mah) {union), one of 
the cities of the allotment of Asher. 
Josh. 19 : 30 only. By some it is iden- 
tified with ’Alma, in the highlands on 
the coast, about five miles east-northeast 


of Ras en-Nakhura. Others think it a 
slip for Acco. 

Unclean meats. These were things 
strangled, or dead of themselves or 
through beasts or birds of prey; what- 
ever beast did not both part the hoof 
and chew the cud ; and certain other 
smaller animals rated as “ creeping 
things ; ” certain classes of birds men- 
tioned in Lev. 11 and Deut. 14, twenty 
or twenty-one in all; whatever in the 
waters had not both fins and scales ; 
whatever winged insect had not besides 
four legs the two hindlegs for leaping; 
besides things offered in sacrifice to 
idols; and all blood or whatever con- 
tained it (save perhaps the blood of 
fish, as would appear from that only 
of beast and bird being forbidden, Lev. 
7:26), and therefore flesh cut from the 
live animal; as also all fat, at any rate 
that disposed in masses among the in- 
testines, and probably wherever discerni- 
ble and separable among the flesh. Lev. 
3:14-17; 7:23. The eating of blood 
was prohibited even to “ the stranger 
that sojourneth among you.”- Lev. 17: 
10, 12-14. As regards blood, the prohi- 
bition indeed dates from the declaration 
to Noah against “ flesh with . the life 
thereof, which is the blood thereof,” in 
Gen. 9 : 4, which was perhaps regarded 
by Moses as still binding upon all 
Noah’s descendants. It is noteworthy 
that the practical effect of the rule laid 
down is to exclude all the carnivora 
among quadrupeds, and, so far as we 
can interpret the nomenclature, the 
raptores among birds. They were prob- 
ably excluded as being not averse to 
human carcasses, and in most eastern 
countries acting as the servitors of the 
battle-field and the gibbet. Among fish 
those which were allowed contain un- 
questionably the most wholesome varie- 
ties, save that they exclude the oyster. 
Practically the law left among the al- 
lowed meats an ample variety. All na- 


UNC 


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tions of antiquity made a difference be- 
tween animals which were suitable for 
food or sacrifice, and those which were 
not. The distinction was based on 
proved unsuitableness or unwholesome- 
ness for food, and at times upon a 
certain abhorrence for some animals, — 
in some cases the animals which were 
worshipped. This is true to-day with 
the Mohammedans, and with the people 
of India and countries with a similar 
worship. The distinction so common 
among ancient nations was adopted in 
the Mosaic code, some animals being 
added out of consideration to the special 
religion of the Israelites. There is also 
a sanitary aspect to the case. Swine 
are said to be peculiarly liable to dis- 
ease in their own bodies. This prob- 
ably means that they are more easily 
led than other creatures to the foul 
feeding which produces it. As regards 
the animals allowed for food, compar- 
ing them with those forbidden, there 
can be no doubt on which side the bal- 
ance of wholesomeness lies.. Yet there 
is some doubt whether this idea was in 
the minds of the people at any time. 

Uncleanness. The distinctive idea 
attached to ceremonial uncleanness 
among the Hebrews was that it cut a 
person off for the time from social 
privileges, and left his citizenship among 
God’s people for the while in abeyance. 
Not only were the Israelites to be 
“ separated from other people,” but they 
were to be “ holy unto God ” Lev. 20 : 
24, 26 ; “a kingdom of priests, and a 
holy nation.” The importance to phys- 
ical well-being of the injunctions which 
required frequent ablution, under what- 
ever special pretexts, can be but feebly 
appreciated in our cooler and damper 
climate. Uncleanness, as . referred to 
man, may be arranged in three de- 
grees : 1. That which defiled merely 

“ until even,” and was removed by bath- 
ing and washing the clothes at the end 
of it; such were all contacts with dead 
animals. 2. That graver sort which de- 
filed for seven days, and was removed 
by the use of the “ water of separa- 
tion ; ” such were all defilements con- 
nected with the human corpse. 3. Un- 
cleanness from the morbid puerperal or 
menstrual state, lasting as long as that 
morbid state lasted; and in. the case of 
leprosy lasting often for life. As the 
human person was itself the seat of a 
covenant token, so male and female had 


each their ceremonial obligations in 
proportion to their sexual differences. 
There is an emphatic reminder of hu- 
man weakness in the fact of birth and 
death — man’s passage alike into and out 
of his mortal state — being marked with 
a stated pollution. The corpse be- 
queathed a defilement of seven days to 
all who handled it, to the “tent”, or 
chamber of death, and to sundry things 
within it. Nay, contact with one slain 
in the field of battle, or with even a 
human bone or grave, was no less ef- 
fectual to pollute than that with a 
corpse dead by the course of nature. 
Num. 19:11-18. This shows that the 
source of pollution lay in the mere fact 
of death. The duration of defilement 
caused by the birth of a female infant 
being double that due to a male, ex- 
tending respectively to eighty and forty 
days in all, Lev. 12 : 2-5, may perhaps 
represent the woman’s heavier share in 
the first sin and first curse. Gen. 3 : 16 ; 
1 Tim. 2:14. Among causes of defile- 
ment should be noticed the fact that 
the ashes of the red heifer, burnt whole, 
which were mixed with water, and be- 
came the standing resource for purify- 
ing uncleanness in the second degree, 
themselves became a source of defile- 
ment to all who were clean, even as of 
purification to the unclean, and so the 
water. Somewhat similarly the scape- 
goat, who bore away the sins . of the 
people, defiled him who led him into the 
wilderness, and the bringing forth and 
burning the sacrifice on the Great Day 
of Atonement had a similar power. 
This lightest form of uncleanness was 
expiated by bathing the body and wash- 
ing the clothes. Besides the water of 
purification made as aforesaid, men and 
women, in their “ issues,” were, after 
seven days, reckoned from the cessation 
of the disorder, to bring two turtle- 
doves or young pigeons to be killed by 
the priests. All these kinds of unclean- 
ness disqualified for holy functions; as 
the layman so affected might not ap- 
proach the congregation and the sanctu- 
ary, so any priest who incurred defile- 
ment abstain from holy things. Lev. 
22 : 2-8. The religion of the Persians 
shows a singularly close correspondence 
with the Levitical code. 

Undergirding. Acts 27:17. [Ship.] 

Unicorn, the rendering of the Au- 
thorized Version of the Hebrew reem, 
a word which occurs seven times in the 


UNI 


714 


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Old Testament as the name of some 
large wild animal. The reem of the 
Hebrew Bible, however, has nothing at 
all to do with the one-horned animal 
of the Greek and Roman writers, as is 
evident from Deut. 33 : 17, where, in the 
blessing of Joseph, it is said, “ His glory 
is like the firstling of his bullock, and 
his horns are like the horns of a uni- 
corn; ” not, as the text of the Author- 
ized Version renders it, “ the horns of 
unicorns .” The two horns of the reem 
are “ the ten thousands of Ephraim and 
the thousands of Manasseh.” This text 
puts a one-horned animal entirely out 
of the question. Considering that the 



the wild ox (Unicorn). 


reem is spoken of as a two-horned ani- 
mal of great strength and ferocity, that 
it was evidently well known and often 
seen by the Jews, that it is mentioned 
as an animal fit for sacrificial purposes, 
and that it is frequently associated with 
bulls and oxen, we think there can be 
no doubt that some species of wild ox 
is intended. The allusion in Ps. 92 : 10, 
“ But thou shalt lift up, as a reeym, my 
horn/’ seems to 'point to . the mode in 
which the Bovidce use their horns, low- 
ering the head and then tossing it up. 
It is probable that it was the gigantic 
Bos primigenius, or aurochs, now ex- 
tinct, but of which Caesar says, “ These 
uri are scarcely less than elephants in 
size, but in their nature, color and form 
are bulls. Great is their strength and 
great their speed ; they spare neither 
man nor beast when once they have 
caught sight of them.” — Bell. Gall. vi. 28. 


Un'ni (un'ni) ( depressed ). 1. One 
of the Levite musicians in the time of 
David. 1 Chron. 15 : 18, 20. (b.C. 1042.) 

2. A second Levite (unless the family 
of the foregoing be intended) concerned 
in the sacred office after the return 
from Babylon. Neh. 12 : 9.* R. V. 
“ Unno.” (b.c. 535.) 

U'phaz (u'faz). Jer. 10:9; Dan. 10: 
5. [Ophir.] 

Ur ( ur) was the land of Haran’s 
nativity, Gen. 11 : 28, the place from 
which Terah and Abraham started “ to 
go into the land of Canaan.” Gen. 11 : 
31. It is called in Genesis “ Ur of the 
Chaldseans,” while in the Acts St. 
Stephen places it, by implication, in 
Mesopotamia, ch. 7:2, 4. These are all 
the indications which Scripture fur- 
nishes as to its locality. It has been 
identified by the most ancient traditions 
with the city of Orfah in the highlands 
of Mesopotamia. In later ages this was 
called Edessa, and was celebrated as the 
capital of Abgarus or Acbarus, who was 
said to have received the letter and por- 
trait of our Saviour. A second tradi- 
tion, which appears in the Talmud, finds 
Ur in Warka, 120 miles southeast from 
Babylon and four east of the Euphrates. 
This, however, was the Erech of Holy 
Scripture, and does not answer the 
conditions. This place bears the name 
of Huruk in the native inscriptions, and 
was in the countries known to the Jews 
as the land of the Chaldseans. A third 
tradition is the received opinion of 
modern scholars generally. This fixes 
Ur in the extreme south of Chaldsea, at 
Mugheir, not very far above — and prob- 
ably in the time of Abraham actually 
upon — the head of the Persian Gulf. 
Among the ruins which are now seen 
at the spot are the remains of one of 
the great temples, of a model similar 
to that of Babel, dedicated to the moon, 
to whom the city was sacred. 

Ur'bane (ur'bane), or Ur'ba=ne (of 
the city; polite ), the Greek form of the 
Latin Urbanus, as it is given in the Re- 
vised Version. He was a Christian dis- 
ciple who is in the long list of those 
whom St. Paul salutes in writing to 
Rome. Rom. 16:9. (a.d. 57.) 

Ur'banus, the form given in the Re- 
vised Version for Urbane. 

U'ri (u'ri) {fiery). 1. The father of 
Bezaleel, one of the architects of the 
tabernacle. Ex. 31:2; 35 : 30 ; 38 : 22 ; 
1 Chron. 2:20; 2 Chron. 1:5. He was 


URI 


715 


URI 


of the tribe of Judah, and grandson of 
Caleb ben-Hezron. 

2. The father of Geber, Solomon’s 
commissariat officer in Gilead. 1 Kings 
4 : 19. 

3. One of the gatekeepers of the tem- 
ple in the time of Ezra. Ezra 10 : 24. 
(b.c. 458.) 

Uriah (u-ri'ah) ( light of Jehovah ). 

1. A Hittite and one of David’s thirty 
“ mighty men.” 2 Sam. 11. 1 Chron. 
11 : 41 ; 2 Sam. 23 : 39. His name, how- 
ever, and his manner of speech, 2 Sam. 
11 : 11, indicate that he had adopted the 
Jewish religion. He was the husband 
of Bath-sheba [Bath-sheba]. He fol- 
lowed Joab to the war with Ammon, but 
was sent back to Jerusalem, at an order 
from the king on the pretext of asking 
news of the war — really in the hope that 
his return to his wife might cover the 
shame of his own crime. The king met 
with an unexpected obstacle in the aus- 
tere, soldier-like spirit which guided all 
Uriah’s conduct, and which gives us a 
high notion of the character and dis- 
cipline of David’s officers. On the 
morning of the third day David sent 
him back to the camp with a letter con- 
taining the command to Joab to cause 
his destruction in the battle. The de- 
vice of Joab was to observe the part of 
the wall of Rabbath-ammon where the 
greatest force of the besieged was con- 
gregated, and thither, as a kind of for- 
lorn hope, to send Uriah. A sally took 
place. Uriah and the officers with him 
advanced as far as the gate of the city, 
and were there shot down by the archers 
on the wall. Just as Joab had fore- 
warned the messenger, the king broke 
into a furious passion on hearing of the 
loss. The messenger, as instructed by 
Joab, calmly continued, and ended the 
story with the words, “ Thy servant 
also, Uriah the Hittite, is dead.” In a 
moment David’s anger is appeased. It 
is one of the touching parts of the story 
that Uriah falls unconscious of his 
wife’s dishonor. 

2. High priest in the reign of Ahaz. 

Isa. 8:2; 2 Kings 16 : 10-16. He is 
probably the same as Urijah the priest, 
who built the altar for Ahaz. 2 Kings 
16:10. (b.c. about 731.) 

3. A priest of the family of Hakkoz, 
the head of the seventh course of priests. 
Ezra 8 : 33 ; Neh. 3 : 4, 21. 

Uri'as (u-ri'as). 1. Uriah, the hus- 
band of Bath-sheba. Matt. 1 : 6. 


2. Urijah, 3. 1 Esdr. 9 : 43. 

U'ri=el (u'ri-el) ( the fire of God), 
an angel named only in 2 Esdr. 4 : 1, 
36 ; 5 : 20 ; 10 : 28. 

U'ri=el. 1. A Kohathite Levite, son 
of Tahath. 1 Chron. 6:24. Very 
likely the same as 

2. Chief of the Kohathites in the reign 

of David. 1 Chron. 15 : 5, 11. (b.c. 

1042.) 

3. Uriel of Gibeah was the father of 
Maachah or Michaiah, the favorite wife 
of Rehoboam and mother of Abijah. 2 k 
Chron. 13: 2. [Maachah 3 and Tamar 
3.] 

Uri'jah (u-ri'jah) (light of Jehovah). 

1. Urijah the priest in the reign of 
Ahaz, 2 Kings 16 : 10, probably the same 
as Uriah, 2. 

2. A priest of the family of Koz or 
Hakkoz, the same as Uriah, 3. 

3. One of the priests who stood at 

Ezra’s right hand when he read the law 
to the people. Neh. 8:4. (b.c. 458.) 

4. The son of Shemaiah of Kirjath- 
jearim. He prophesied in the days of 
Jehoiakim, b.c. 608, and the king sought 
to put him to death; but he escaped, 
and fled into Egypt. His retreat was 
soon discovered ; Elnathan and his men 
brought him out of Egypt, and Jehoia- 
kim slew him with the sword and cast 
his body forth among the graves of the 
common people. Jer. 26:20-23. 

U'rim and Thum'mim ( lights arid 
perfections) . When the Jewish exiles 
were met on their return from Babylon 
by a question which they had no data 
for answering, they agreed to postpone 
the settlement of the difficulty till there 
should rise up “ a priest with Urim and 
Thummim.” Ezra 2:63; Neh. 7:65. 
The inquiry what those Urim and 
Thummim themselves were seems likely 
to wait as long for a final and satisfy- 
ing answer. On every side we meet 
with confessions of ignorance. The 
mysterious words meet us for the first 
time, as if they needed no explanation, 
in the description of the high priest’s 
apparel. Over the ephod there is to be 
a “breastplate of judgment” of gold, 
scarlet, purple and fine linen, folded 
square and doubled, a “ span ” in length 
and width. In it are to be set four 
rows of precious stones, each stone 
with the name of a tribe of Israel en- 
graved on it, that Aaron “may bear 
them on his heart.” Then comes a fur- 
ther order. Inside the breastplate, are 


TJSU 


716 


UZZ 


to be placed “ the Urim and the Thum- 
mim,” and they too are to be on Aaron’s 
heart when he goes in before the Lord. 
Ex. 28 : 30. Not a word describes them. 
They are mentioned as things already 
familiar both to Moses and the people, 
connected naturally with the functions 
of the high priest as mediating between 
Jehovah and his people. The command 
is fulfilled. Lev. 8 : 8. They pass from 
Aaron to Eleazar with the sacred ephod 
and other pontificalia. Num. 20:28. 
When Joshua is solemnly appointed to 
succeed the great hero-lawgiver, he is 
bidden to stand before Eleazar, the 
priest, “ who shall ask counsel for him 
after the judgment of Urim,” and this 
counsel is to determine the movements 
of the host of Israel. Num. 27:21. In 
the blessings of Moses they appear as 
the crowning glory of the tribe of Levi : 
“ thy Thummim and thy Urim are with 
thy Holy One.” Deut. 33 : 8, 9. In 
what way the Urim and Thummim 
were consulted is quite uncertain. Jo- 
sephus and the rabbins supposed that 
the stones gave out the oracular answer 
by preternatural illumination ; others 
believe them to be small articles used 
as in casting lots; but it seems to be far 
simpler and more in agreement with the 
different accounts of inquiries made by 
Urim and Thummim, 1 Sam. 14:3, 18, 
19; 23:4, 9, 11, 12; 28:6; Judges 20: 
28 ; 2 Sam. 5 : 23, etc., to suppose that 
the answer was given simply by the 
word of the Lord to the high priest, 
comp. John 11 : 51, when clothed with 
the ephod and the breastplate, he had in- 
quired of the Lord. Such a view agrees 
with the true notion of the breastplate. 

Usury. The word usury has come in 
modern English to mean excessive in- 
terest upon money loaned, either form- 
ally illegal or at least oppressive. In 
the Scriptures, however, the word did 
not bear this sense, but meant simply 
interest of any kind upon money. The 
Jews were forbidden by the law of 
Moses to take interest from their 
brethren, but were permitted to take it 
from foreigners. The prohibition grew 
out of the agricultural status of the 
people, in which ordinary business loans 
were not needed, and such loans as 
were required should be made only as 
to friends and brothers in need. The 
practice of mortgaging land, sometimes 
at exorbitant interest, grew up among 
the Jews during the captivity, in direct 


violation of the law. Lev. 25 : 36, 37 ; 
Ezek. 18:8, 13, 17. 

U'tha=i (u'tha-i) {helpful). 1. The 
son of Ammihud, of the children of 
Pharez the son of Judah. 1 Chron. 9 : 4. 

2. One of the sons of Bigvai, who re- 
turned in the second caravan with Ezra. 
Ezra 8:14. (b.c. 459.) 

Uz (uz) {wooded). 1. A son of 
Aram, Gen. 10 : 23 ; 1 Chron. 1 : 17, and 
consequently a grandson of Shem. 

2. A son of Nahor by Milcah. Gen, 
22:21; Authorized Version, Huz. 

3. A son of Dishan, and grandson of 
Seir. Gen. 36 : 28. 

4. The country in which Job lived. 

Job 1:1. As far as we can gather, “ the 
land of Uz” lay either east or south- 
east of Palestine, Job 1:3; adjacent to 
the Sabseans and the Chaldseans, Job 1: 
15, 17, consequently north of the 

southern Arabians and west of the Eu- 
phrates; and, lastly, adjacent to the 
Edomites of Mount Seir, who at one 
period occupied Uz, probably as con- 
querors, Lam. 4 : 21. According to tra- 
dition the home of Job was in the 
Hauran. 

U'za=i (u'za-I), the father of Palal, 
who assisted Nehemiah in rebuilding 
the city wall. Neh. 3 : 25. 

U'zal (u'zal) {wandering) , a son of 
Joktan, Gen. 10 : 27 ; 1 Chron. 1 : 21, 
whose descendants formed the inhab- 
itants of San’d, the capital city of the 
Yemen (a district of Arabia), which 
was originally Azal. From its position 
in the centre of the best portion of that 
kingdom, it must always have been an 
important city. San’a is situated about 
150 miles from Aden and 100 miles 
from the coast of the Red Sea. It is 
one of the most imposing cities of Ara- 
bia. 

Uz'za (uz'za) {strength). 1. A Ben- 
jamite of the sons of Ehud. 1 Chron. 
8:7. 

2. Elsewhere called Uzzah. 1 Chron. 
13:7,9,10,11. [Uzzah.] 

3. The children of Uzza were a family 
of Nethinim who returned with Zerub- 
babel. Ezra 2 : 49 ; Neh. 7 : 51. 

4. Properly Uzzah. As the text now 
stands, Uzzah is a descendant of Merari, 
1 Chron. . 6 : 29 ; but there appears to 
be a gap in the verse. 

Uz'za, The garden of, the spot in 
which Manasseh king of Judah and his 
son Amon were buried. 2 Kings 21 : 


UZZ 


717 


UZZ 


18, 26. It was the garden attached to 
Manasseh’s palace, ver. 18. The fact of 
its mention shows that it was not where 
the usual sepulchres of the kings were. 
No clue, however, is afforded to its 
position. 

Uz'zah {strength), one of the sons 
of Abinadab, in whose house at Kirjath- 
jearim the ark rested for twenty years. 
Uzzah probably was the second and 
Ahio the third. They both accompanied 
its removal when David first undertook 
to carry it to Jerusalem, (b.c. 1042.) 
Ahio apparently went before the new 
cart, 1 Chron. 13 : 7, on which it was 
placed, and Uzzah walked by the side. 

“ At the threshing-floor of Nachon,” 2 
Sam. 6:6, or Chidon, 1 Chron. 13 : 9, 
the oxen stumbled, perhaps slipping over 
the smooth rock. Uzzah caught the ark 
to prevent its falling. The profanation 
was punished by his instant death, to 
the great grief of David, who named 
the place Perez-uzzah {the breaking - 
forth on Uzzah). But Uzzah’s fate was 
not merely the penalty of his own rash- 
ness. The improper mode of transport- 
ing the ark, which ought to have been 
borne on the shoulders of the Levites, 
was the primary cause of his unholy 
deed; and David distinctly recognized 
it as a punishment on the people in 
general, “because we sought him not 
after the due order.” 

Uz'zen=she'rah (uz'zen-she'rah) 

{portion of Sherah), a town founded 
or rebuilt by Sherah, an Ephraimite 
woman, the daughter either of Ephraim 
himself or of Beriah. It is named only 
in 1 Chron. 7:24, in connection with 
the two Beth-horons. 

Uz'zi (uz'zl) {my strength). 1. Son 
of Bukki, and father of Zerahiah, in 
the line of the high priests. 1 Chron. 
6:5, 51 ; Ezra 7 : 4. Though Uzzi was 
the lineal ancestor of Zadok, it does 
not appear that he was ever high priest. 

2. Son of Tola the son of Issachar. 1 
Chron. 7:2, 3. 

3. Son of Bela, of the tribe of Ben- 
jamin. 1 Chron. 7:7. 

4. Another, or the same, from whom 
descended some Benjamite houses, 
which were settled at Jerusalem after 
the captivity. 1 Chron. 9 : 8. 

5. A Levite, son of Bani, and over- 
seer of the Levites dwelling at Jeru- 
salem, in the time of Nehemiah. Neh. 
11 : 22 . 


6. A priest, chief of the father’s house 

of Jedaiah, in the time of Joiakim the 
high priest. Neh. 12:19. (b.c. about 

500.) 

7. One of the priests who assisted 
Ezra in the dedication of the wall of 
Jerusalem. Neh. 12:42. Perhaps the 
same as the preceding, (b.c. 446.) 

Uzzi'a (uz-zi'ah) {strength of Jeho- 
vah), one of David’s guard, and ap- 
parently a native of Ashtaroth beyond 
Jordan. 1 Chron. 11:44. 

Uzziah (uz-zl'ah) {strength of Jeho- 
vah). 1. King of .Judah b.c. 767-736. 
He was probably regent during his 
father’s lifetime (2 Kings 14:22), per- 
haps in 589 b.c. In some passages his 
name appears in the lengthened form 
Azariah. After the murder of Amaziah, 
he was chosen by the people to succeed 
him. His reign which is given as 52 
years, probably includes both his reign 
as regent, 21 years, and his independent 
reign, 31 years. The 16 years given as 
his age at his accession is very likely 
the age when he began his rule as 
regent. For the greater part of his 
reign he lived in the fear of God, and 
showed himself a wise, active and pious 
ruler. He never deserted the worship 
of the true God, and was much influ- 
enced by Zechariah, a prophet who is 
mentioned only in connection with him. 
2 Chron. 26 : 5. So the southern king- 
dom was raised to a condition of pros- 
perity which it had not known since 
the death of Solomon. The end of 
Uzziah was less prosperous than his 
beginning. Elated with his splendid 
career, he determined to burn incense 
on the altar of God, but was opposed 
by the high priest Azariah and eighty 
others. See Ex. 30:7, 8; Num. 16:40; 
18 : 7. The king was enraged at their 
resistance, and, as he pressed forward 
with his censer, was suddenly smitten 
with leprosy. This lawless attempt to 
burn incense was the only exception to 
the excellence of his administration. 2 
Chron. 27 : 2. Uzziah was buried “ with 
his fathers,” yet apparently not actually 
in the royal sepulchres. 2 Chron. 26 : 
23. During his reign a great earth- 
quake occurred. Amos 1:1; Zech. 14 . 
5. 

2. A Kohathite Levite, and ancestor 
of Samuel. 1 Chron. 6 : 24. 

3. A priest of the sons of Harim, who 


uzz 


718 


UZZ 


had taken a foreign wife in the days of 
Ezra. Ezra 10:21. (b.c. 458.) 

4. Father of Athaiah or Uthai. Neh. 
11:4. 

5. Father of Jehonathan, one of 
David’s overseers. 1 Chron. 27 : 25. 

Uz'ziel (uz'zi-el) (my strength is 
God). 1. Fourth son of Kohath, father 
of Mishael, Elzaphan or Elizaphan and 
Zithri, and uncle to Aaron. Ex. 6 : 18, 
22; Lev. 10:4. 

2. A Simeonite captain, son of Ishi, 
in the days of Hezekiah. 1 Chron. 4: 
42. 


3. Head of a Benjamite house, of the 
sons of Bela. 1 Chron. 7 : 7. 

4. A musician, of the sons of Heman, 
in David’s reign. 1 Chron. 25 : 4. 

5. A Levite, of the sons of Jeduthun, 

in the days of Hezekiah. 2 Chron. 29 : 
14, 18. (b.c. 726.) 

6. Son of Harhaiah, a goldsmith in 

the days of Nehemiah, who took part 
in repairing the wall. Neh. 3 : 8. (b.c. 

446.) 

Uzzi'elites, The, the descendants of 
Uzziel, and one of the four great fam- 
ilies of the Kohathites. Num.' 3 : 27 ; 1 
Chron. 26 : 23. 


) 






Vajez'atha (va-jez'a-tha) ( strong as 
the wind(? )), one of the ten sons of 
Haman whom the Jews slew in Shu- 
shan. Esther 9 : 9. (b.c. 473.) 

Vale, Valley. It is hardly necessary 
to state that these words signify a hol- 
low sweep of ground between two more 
or less parallel ridges of high land. 
The structure of the greater part of 
the Holy Land does not lend itself to 
the formation of valleys in our sense of 
the word. The abrupt transitions of its 
crowded rocky hills preclude the exist- 
ence of any extended sweep of valley. 
Vale or valley is employed in the Au- 
thorized Version to render five distinct 
Hebrew words. 1 . mek. This ap- 
pears to approach more nearly to the 
general sense of the English word than 
any other. It is connected with several 
places. 2. Gdi or ge. Of this there is 
fortunately one example which can be 
identified with certainty — the deep hol- 
low which compasses the southwest and 
south of Jerusalem. This identification 
establishes the ge as a deep and abrupt 
ravine, with steep sides and narrow 
bottom. 3. Nachal. This word an- 
swers to the Arabic wady, and expresses, 
as no single English word can, the bed 
of a stream often wide and shelving, 
and like a “ valley ” in character, which 
in the rainy season may be nearly filled 
by a foaming torrent, though for the 
greater part of the year dry. 4. Bik’ah. 
This term appears to mean rather a 
plain than a valley, though so far re- 
sembling it as to be enclosed by moun- 
tains. It is rendered by “ valley ” in 
Deut. 34:3; Josh. 11:8, 17; 12:7; 2 
Chron. 35:22; Zech. 12:11. 5 . Has- 
Shefelah. The district to which the 
name has-Shefeldh is applied in the Bible 
has no resemblance whatever to a val- 
ley, but is a broad, swelling tract of 
many hundred miles in area, which 
sweeps gently down from the moun- 


tains of Judah to the Mediterranean. 
It is rendered “ the vale ” in Deut. 1 : 
7; Josh. 10:40; 1 Kings 10:27; 2 

Chron. 1:15; Jer. 33:13; and “the val- 
ley” or “the valleys” in Josh. 9:1; 11: 
2, 16; 12:8; 15:33; Judges 1:9; Jer. 
32 : 44. 

Vani'ah (va-ni'ah) (perhaps dis- 
tress ), one of the sons of Bani. Ezra 
10 : 36. (b.c. 458,) 

Vash'ni (vash'ni) (strong), the first- 
born of Samuel as the text now stands, 
1 Chron. 6 : 28 ; but in 1 Sam. 8 : 2 the 
name of his first-born is Joel. Most 
probably in the Chronicles the name of 
Joel has dropped out, and Vashni is a 
corruption of “ and (the) second.” 

Vash'ti (vash'ti) (Pers. best), the 
“ queen ” of Ahasuerus, who, for re- 
fusing to show herself to the king’s 
guests at the royal banquet, when sent 
for by the king, was repudiated and 
deposed. Esther 1. (b.c. 483.) Many 

attempts have been made to identify 
her with historical personages; but it 
is far more probable' that she was only 
one of the inferior wives, dignified with 
the title of queen, whose name has ut- 
terly disappeared from history. 

Ve'adar. [Months.] 

Veil. With regard to the use of the 
veil, it is important to observe that it 
was by no means so general in ancient 
as in modern times. . Much of the scru- 
pulousness in respect of the use of the 
veil dates from the promulgation of the 
Koran, which forbade women appear- 
ing unveiled except in the presence of 
their nearest relatives. In ancient times 
the veil was adopted only in excep- 
tional cases, either as an article of or- 
namental dress, Cant. 4:1, 3 ; 6:7 (R. 
V.), or by betrothed maidens in the pres- 
ence of their future husbands, especially 
at the time of the wedding, Gen. 24: 65; 
or, lastly, by women of loose character 
for purposes of concealment. Gen. 38 : 


719 


VEI 


720 


VER 


14. Among the Jews of the New Tes- 
tament age it appears to have been cus- 
tomary for the women to cover their 
heads (not necessarily their faces) when 
engaged in public worship. 

Veil of the tabernacle and temple. 
[Tabernacle; Temple.] 

Versions, Ancient, of the Old and 
New Testaments. In treating of the 
ancient versions that have come down 
to us, in whole or in part, they will be 
described in the alphabetical order of 
the languages. 

.Ethiopic Version. — Christianity was 
introduced into Ethiopia ill the fourth 
century, through the labors of Frumen- 
tius and Edesius of Tyre, who had 
been made slaves and sent to the king. 
The Ethiopic version which we possess 
is in the ancient dialect of Axum ; 
hence some have ascribed it to the age 
of the earliest missionaries, but it is 
probably of a later date. In 1548-9 the 
Ethiopic New Testament was also 
printed at Rome, edited by three Abys- 
sinians. 

Arabic Versions. — 1 . Arabic versions 
of the Old Testament were made from 
the Hebrew (tenth century)^ from the 
Syriac and from the LXX. 2. Arabic 
versions of the New Testament. There 
are four versions. The first, the Ro- 
man, of the Gospels only, was printed 
in 1590-1. 

Armenian Version. — In the year 431, 
Joseph and Eznak returned from the 
Council of Ephesus, bringing with them 
a Greek copy of the Scriptures. From 
this a version in Armenian was made 
by Isaac, the Armenian patriarch, and 
Miesrob. The first printed edition of 
the Old and New Testaments in Ar- 
menian appeared at Amsterdam in 1666, 
under the care of a person commonly 
termed Oscan or Uscan, and described 
as being an Armenian bishop. 

Chaldee Versions. — Tar gum, a Chal- 
dee word o£ uncertain origin, is the 
general term for the Chaldee, or more 
accurately Aramaic, versions of the Old 
Testament. 1. The Targums were orig- 
inally oral, and the earliest Targum, 
which is that of Onkelos on the Penta- 
teuch, began to be committed to writing 
about the second century of the Chris- 
tian era; though it did not assume its 
present shape till the end of the third 
or the beginning of the fourth century. 


So far, however, from superseding the 
oral Targum at once, it was, on the 
contrary, strictly forbidden to read it 
in public. Its language is Chaldee, 
closely approaching in purity of idiom 
to that of Ezra and Daniel. It follows 
a sober and clear though not a slavish 
exegesis, and keeps as closely and mi- 
nutely to the text as is at all consistent 
with its purpose, viz. to be chiefly and 
above all a version for the people. Its 
explanations of difficult and obscure 
passages bear ample witness to the com- 
petence of those who gave it its final 
shape. It avoids, as far as circum- 
stances would allow, the legendary 
character with which all the later Tar- 
gums entwine the biblical word. 2. 
Targum on the prophets, — viz. Joshua, 
Judges, Samuel, Kings, Isaiah, Jer- 
emiah, Ezekiel and the twelve minor 
prophets, — called Targum of Jonathan 
ben-Uzziel. We shall probably not be 
far wrong in placing this Targum some 
time, although not long, after Onkelos, 
or about the middle of the fourth cen- 
tury. 3 and 4. Targum of Jonathan 
ben-Uzziel and Jerushalmi-Targum on 
the Pentateuch. — Onkelos and Jonathan 
on the Pentateuch and prophets, what- 
ever be their exact date, place, author- 
ship and editorship, are the oldest of 
existing Targums, and belong, in their 
present shape, to Babylon and the Bab- 
ylonian academies flourishing between 
the third and fourth centuries a.d. 

Egyptian Versions. — Of these there 
are three, — the Memphitic, of lower 
Egypt, the Coptic, of upper Egypt, and 
the Thebaic, with some fragments of 
another. The Thebaic was the earliest, 
and belongs to the third century. 

Gothic Version.— In the year 318 
the Gothic bishop and translator of 
Scripture, Ulphilas, was born. He suc- 
ceeded Theophilus- as bishop of the 
Goths in 348; through him it is said 
that the Goths in general adopted Arian- 
ism. The great work of Ulphilas was 
his version of the Scriptures. As an 
ancient monument of the Gothic lan- 
guage the version of Ulphilas possesses 
great interest; as a version the use of 
which was once extended widely through 
Europe, it is a monument of the Chris- 
tianization of the Goths ; and as a ver- 
sion known to have been made in the 
fourth century, and transmitted to us in 


VER 


721 


VER 


anc j e nt MSS., it has its value in textual 
criticism. 

Greek Versions of the Old Tes- 
tament. — 1 . Septuagint. — [See Septu- 
agint.] 2. Aquila. — It is a remarkable 
fact that in the second century there 
were three versions executed of the Old 
Testament Scriptures into Greek. The 
first of these was made by Aquila, a 
native of Sinope in Pontus, who had 
become a proselyte to Judaism. It was 
made during the reign of Hadrian, a.d. 
117-138. 3. Theodotion. — The second 

version of which we have information 
as executed in the second century is 
that of Theodotion. He is stated to 
have been an Ephesian, and he seems 
to be most generally described as an 
Ebionite. 4. Symmachus is stated by 
Eusebius and Jerome to have been an 
Ebionite; Epiphanius and others, how- 
ever, style him a Samaritan. It may be 
that as a Samaritan he made this ver- 
sion for some of that people who em- 
ployed Greek, and who had learned to 
receive more than the Pentateuch. 

Latin Versions. — [Vulgate.] 

Samaritan Versions. — [Samaritan 

Pentateuch.] 

Slavonic Version. — In a.d. 862 there 
was a desire expressed or an inquiry 
made for Christian teachers in Moravia, 
and in the following year the labors 
of missionaries began among the Mo- 
ravians. These missionaries were Cy- 
rillus and Methodius, two brothers 
from Thessalonica. To Cyrillus is as- 
cribed the invention of the Slavonian 
alphabet and the commencement of the 
translation of the Scriptures. He ap- 
pears to have died at Rome in 868, while 
Methodius continued for many years to 
be the bishop of the Slavonians. He 
is stated to have continued his brother's 
translation. 

Syriac Versions. — 1 . Of the Old 
Testament, (a) From the Hebrew. In 
the early times of Syrian Christianity 
there was executed a version of the 
Old Testament from the original He- 
brew, the use of which must have been 
as widely extended as was the Christian 
profession among that people. It is 
highly improbable that any part of the 
Syriac version is older than the advent 
of our Lord. The Old Syriac has the 
peculiar value of being the first version 
from the Hebrew original made for 
46 1 


Christian use. The first printed edi- 
tion of this version was that which 
appeared in the Paris Polyglot of Le 
Jay in 1645. ( b ) The Syriac version 

from the Hexaplar Greek text. The 
only Syriac version of the Old Testa- 
ment up to the sixth century was ap- 
parently the Peshito. The version by 
Paul of Tela, a Monophysite, was macfe 
in the beginning of the seventh cen- 
tury; for its basis he used the Hex- 
aplar Greek text — that is, the LXX., 
with the corrections of Origen, the as- 
terisks, obeli, etc., and with the refer- 
ences to the other Greek versions. In 
fact, it is from this Syriac version that 
we obtain our most accurate acquaint- 
ance with the results of the critical 
labors of Origen. It is from a MS. in 
the Ambrosian Library at Milan that 
we possess accurate means of knowing 
this Syriac version. 2. The Syriac New 
Testament Versions. ( a ) The Peshito 
Syriac New Testament. It may stand 
as an admitted fact that a version of 
the New Testament in Syriac existed in 
the second century. ( b ) The Cure- 
tonian Syriac Gospels. Among the 
MSS. brought from the Nitrian monas- 
teries in 1842, Dr. Cureton noticed a 
copy of the Gospels, differing greatly 
from the common text ; and this is the 
form of text to which the name of 
Curetonian Syriac has been rightly ap- 
plied. Every . criterion which proves 
the common Peshito not to exhibit a 
text of extreme antiquity equally proves 
the early origin of this. 

Versions, English. 1 . Wyclif. 

With Wyclif began a new era of Bible 
translation. Before his time the trans- 
lations were fragmentary, and for the 
most part paraphrases. The New Tes- 
tament was translated by Wyclif him- 
self, the whole being completed by 1380. 
The Old Testament was undertaken by 
Nicholas de Hereford, but was inter- 
rupted, and ends abruptly (following so 
far the order of the Vulgate) in the 
middle of Baruch. The version was 
based entirely upon the Vulgate. Wy- 
clif himself seems to have supplied the 
last books, so that by the middle of 
1382 the . whole Bible was in the hands 
of the people. The following character- 
istics may be noticed as distinguishing 
this version: (1) The general home- 
liness of its style. (2) The substitution, 


VER 


722 


VER 


in many cases, of English equivalents 
for quasi-technical words. (3) The ex- 
treme literalness with which in some 
instances, even at the cost of being un- 
intelligible, the Vulgate text is followed, 
as in 2 Cor. 1 : 17-19. 

2. Tyndal. — The work of Wyclif 

stands by itself. Whatever power it ex- 
ercised in preparing the way for the 
Reformation of the sixteenth century, 
it had no perceptible influence on later 
translations. With Tyndal we enter on 
a continuous succession. He is the pa- 
triarch, in no remote ancestry, of the 
Authorized Version. More than Cran- 
mer or Ridley he is the true hero of the 
English Reformation. His work began 
soon after the invention of printing. 
“Ere many years,” he said at the age 
of thirty-six (a.d. 1520), he would 

cause “ a boy that driveth the plough ” 
to know more of Scripture than the 
great body of the clergy then knew. 
He prepared himself for the work by 
long years of labor in Greek and He- 
brew. First the Gospels of St. Mat- 
thew and St. Mark were published ten- 
tatively. In 1525 the whole of the New 
Testament was printed in quarto at 
Cologne, and in small octavo at Worms. 
In England it was received with denun- 
ciations. Tunsfall, bishop of London, 
preaching at Paul’s Cross, asserted that 
there were at least two thousand errors 
in it, and ordered all copies of it to be 
bought up and burnt. An act of Par- 
liament (35 Hen. VIII. cap. 1) forbade 
the use of all copies of Tyndal’s “ false 
translation.” The treatment which it 
received from professed friends was 
hardly, less annoying. In the meantime 
the work went on. Editions were 
printed one after another. The last 
appeared in 1535, just before his death. 
To Tyndal belongs the honor of having 
given the first example of a translation 
based on true principles, and the excel- 
lence of later versions has been almost 
in exact proportion as they followed his. 
While some of his renderings are un- 
couth and others incorrect, yet the ex- 
quisite grace and simplicity which have 
endeared the Authorized Version to 
men of the most opposite tempers and 
contrasted opinions is due mainly to his 
clear-sighted truthfulness. 

3. Coverdale. — A complete transla- 
tion of the Bible, different from Tyn- 
dal’s, bearing the name of Miles Cover- 


dale, printed probably at Zurich, ap- 
peared in 1535. The undertaking itself, 
c^nd the choice of . Coverdale as the 
translator, were probably due to Crom- 
well. He . was content to make the 
translation at second hand “ out of the 
Douche (Luther’s German Version) 
and the Latine.” Fresh editions of his 
Bible were published, keeping their 
ground in spite of rivals, in 1537, 1539, 
1550, 1553. He was called in at a still 
later period to assist in the Geneva Ver- 
sion. 

4. Matthew. — In the year 1537, a 
large folio Bible appeared as edited and 
dedicated to the king by Thomas Mat- 
thew. No one of that name appears at 
all prominently in the religious history 
of Henry VIII., and this suggests the 
inference that the name was adopted to 
conceal the real translator. The tradi- 
tion which connects this Matthew with 
John Rogers, the proto-martyr of the 
Marian persecution, is all but undis- 
puted. Matthew’s Bible reproduces 
Tyndal’s work, in the New Testament 
entirely, in the Old Testament as far as 
2 Chron., the rest being taken with oc- 
casional modifications from Coverdale. 
A copy was ordered, by royal procla- 
mation, to be set up in every church, 
the cost being divided between the 
clergy and the parishioners. This was, 
therefore, the first Authorized Version. 

5. Taverner (1539). — The boldness 
of the pseudo-Matthew had frightened 
the ecclesiastical world from its pro- 
priety. Coverdale’s version was, how- 
ever, too inaccurate to keep its ground. 
It was necessary to find another editor, 
and the printers applied to Richard 
Taverner. But little is known of his 
life. The fact that, though a layman, 
he had been chosen as one of the canons 
of the Cardinal’s College at Oxford in- 
dicates a reputation for scholarship, and 
this is confirmed by the character of his 
translation. In most respects this may 
be described as an expurgated edition 
of Matthew’s. So far as we know Tav- 
erner’s Bible was only once reprinted. 

6. Cranmer.— In the same year as 
Taverner’s, and coming from the same 
press, appeared an English Bible, in a 
more stately folio, with a preface con- 
taining the initials T. C., which implied 
the archbishop’s sanction. Its first edi- 
tion was called The Great Bible, from 
its size. In a new edition (1540) Cran- 
mer added a long preface, from which 


VER 


723 


VER 


it was henceforth called Cranmer’s 
Bible. Cranmer’s version presented, as 
might be expected, many points of in- 
terest. The prologue gave a more com- 
plete ideal of what a translation ought 
to be than had as yet been seen. Words 
not in the original were to be printed 
in a different type. It was reprinted 
again and again, and was the Author- 
ized Version of the English Church till 
1568 — the interval of Mary’s reign ex- 
cepted. From it, accordingly, were 
taken most, if not all, the portions of 
Scripture in the Prayer-books of 1549 
and 1552. The Psalms as a whole, the 
quotations from Scripture in the Homi- 
lies, the sentences in the Communion 
Services, and some phrases elsewhere, 
still preserve the remembrance of it. 

7. Geneva. — The exiles who fled to 
Geneva in the reign of Mary entered 
on the work of translation with more 
vigor than ever. The Genevan refu- 
gees — among them Whittingham, Good- 
man, Pullain, Sampson and Coverdale 
himself — labored “ for two years or 
more, day and night.” Their transla- 
tion of the New Testament was “ dili- 
gently revised by the most approved 
Greek examples.” The New Testament, 
translated by Whittingham, was printed 
in 1557, and the whole Bible in 1560. 
Whatever may have been its faults, the 
Geneva Bible, commonly called the 
Breeches Bible from its rendering of 
Gen. 3 : 7, was unquestionably, for sixty 
years, the most popular of all versions. 
Not less than eighty editions, some of 
the whole Bible, were printed between 
1558 and 1611. It kept its ground for 
some time even against the Authorized 
Version, and gave way, as it were, 
slowly and under protest. It was the 
version specially adopted by the great 
Puritan party through the whole reign 
of Elizabeth and far into that of James. 
As might be expected, it was based on 
Tyndal’s version. It presents, in a cal- 
endar prefixed to the Bible, something 
like a declaration of war against the 
established order of the Church’s lessons 
commemorating Scripture facts and the 
deaths of the great reformers, but ignor- 
ing saints’ days altogether. It was the 
first English Bible which entirely 
omitted the Apocrypha. The notes were 
characteristically Swiss, not only in 
their theology, but in their politics. 

8. The Bishops’ Bible. — The facts 
just stated will account for the wish of 


Archbishop Parker to bring out another 
version, which might establish its claims 
against that of Geneva. Great , prepara- 
tions were made. Eight bishops, to- 
gether with some deans and professors, 
brought out the fruit of their labors in a 
magnificent folio (1568 and 1572). It 
was avowedly based on Cranmer’s; but 
of all the English versions it had prob- 
ably the least success. It did not com- 
mand the respect of scholars, and its 
size and cost were far from meeting the 
wants of the people. 

9. Rheims and Douay. — The succes- 
sive changes in the Protestant versions 
of the Scriptures were, as might be ex- 
pected, matter of triumph to the contro- 
versialists of the Latin Church. Some 
saw in it an argument against any trans- 
lation of Scripture into the spoken lan- 
guage of the people. Others pointed de- 
risively to the want of unity which these 
changes displayed. There were some, 
however, who took the line which Sir 
T. More and Gardiner had taken under 
Henry VIII. They did not object to 
the principle of an English translation. 
They only charged all the versions 
hitherto made with being false, corrupt, 
heretical. To this there -was the ready 
retort that they had done nothing; that 
their bishops in the reign of Henry had 
promised, but had not performed. It 
was felt to be necessary that they should 
take some steps which might enable 
them to turn the edge of this reproach. 
The English Catholic refugees who 
were settled at Rheims undertook a 
new English version. The New Testa- 
ment was published at Rheims in 1582, 
and professed to be based on “ the au- 
thentic text of the Vulgate.” Notes 
were added, as strongly dogmatic as 
those of the Geneva Bible, and often 
•keenly controversial. The work of 
translation was completed somewhat 
later by the publication of the Old Tes- 
tament at Douay in 1609. 

10. Authorized Version. — The po- 
sition of the English Church in relation 
to the versions in use at the commence- 
ment of the reign of James was hardly 
satisfactory. The Bishops’ Bible was 
sanctioned by authority. That of Ge- 
neva had the strongest hold on the affec- 
tions of the people. Scholars, Hebrew 
scholars in particular, found grave fault 
with both. Among the demands of the 
Puritan representatives at the Hampton 
Court Conference in 1604 was one for a 


VER 


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new, or at least a revised, translation. 
The work of organizing and superintend- 
ing the arrangements for a new transla- 
tion was one specially congenial to 
James, and accordingly in 1606 the task 
was commenced. It was intrusted to 
47 scholars. The Bishops’ Bible was to 
be followed, and as little altered as the 
original would permit. The old eccle- 
siastical words to be kept. The division 
of the chapters to be altered either not 
at all or as little as possible. No mar- 
ginal notes to be affixed but only for the 
explanation of Hebrew and Greek 
words. For three years the work went 
on, the separate companies comparing 
notes as directed. When the work drew 
toward its completion, it was necessary 
to place it under the care of a select 
few. Two from each of the three 
groups were accordingly selected, and 
the six met in London to superintend 
the publication. The final correction, 
and the task of writing the arguments 
of the several books, was given to Bil- 
son, bishop of Winchester, and Dr. 
Miles Smith, the latter of whom also 
wrote the dedication and preface. The 
version thus published did not at once 
supersede the versions already in pos- 
session. The fact that five editions were 
published in three years shows that 
there was a good demand. But the 
Bishops’ Bible probably remained in 
many churches, and the popularity of 
the Geneva Version is shown by not 
less than thirteen reprints, in whole or 
in part, between 1611 and 1617. It is 
not easy to ascertain the impression 
which the Authorized Version made at 
the time of its appearance. 

No marginal notes were permitted, 
except certain explanations of Hebrew 
and Greek words. A new set of head- 
ings of chapters and columns was pre- 
pared, and the dates (mostly from Us- 
sher) with which we are familiar, were 
first inserted in 1701. The Revisers of 
the Revision of 1881 say in their preface : 
“We have had to study this great Ver- 
sion carefully and minutely, line by line ; 
and the longer we have been engaged 
upon it the more we have learned to 
admire its simplicity, its dignity, its 
power, its happy turns of expression, 
its general accuracy, and, we must not 
fail to add, the music of its cadences, 
and the felicities of its rhythm.” 

The Revised Version. — Various re- 
visions of the A. V. have been attempted, 


for the knowledge of the Greek text 
has been greatly enlarged, words have 
changed their meaning, translations 
were imperfect, and inaccurate. So that 
after 300 years, it was time for an au- 
thoritative revision by the best scholar- 
ship of England and America. “ Re- 
vision had its origin in action taken by 
the Convocation of the Province of Can- 
terbury in February, 1870, and it has 
been conducted throughout on the plan 
laid down in Resolutions of both Houses 
of the Province, and, more particularly, 
in accordance with Principles and Rules 
drawn up by a special Committee of 
Convocation in the following May. 
Two Companies, the one for the revision 
of the Authorized Version of the Old 
Testament, and the other for the re- 
vision of the same Version of the New 
Testament, were formed in the manner 
specified in the Resolutions, and the 
work was commenced on the twenty- 
second day of June, 1870. Shortly af- 
terwards, steps were taken, under a 
resolution passed by both Houses of 
Convocation, for inviting the co-opera- 
tion of American scholars; and eventu- 
ally two Committees were formed in 
America, for the purpose of acting with 
the two English Companies, on the 
basis of the Principles and Rules drawn 
up by the Committee of Convocation.” 
A set of eight rules was prepared for 
these committees. They were to make 
as few changes as possible consistent 
with faithfulness. They aimed to ren- 
der a work that had reached this high 
standard of excellence still more ex- 
cellent, to increase its fidelity without 
destroying its character. The Re- 
vision of the New Testament occupied 
ten and a half years. The First Re- 
vision took about six years. This was 
submitted to the American company, 
and then two and a half years more 
were occupied with the Second Ver- 
sion; the rest of the time was occupied 
in consultations and emendations. The 
New Testament was issued in 1881, the 
Old Testament in 1885. One of the 
chief difficulties in the way of its gen- 
eral acceptance is the method of para- 
graphing simply by subjects, putting 
even dialogues in solid form; thus mak- 
ing the book far more difficult to read, 
either alone or with others, and less 
attractive to the common people. 

The American Revision. — The Amer- 
ican committee in making the Revision 


VIL 


725 


VIN 


gave their English brethren the decisive 
vote in disputed questions. But they 
preserved a list of their preferences, 
which they hoped might be approved by 
scholars and finally adopted. They kept 
at work on the revising, and especially 
during the last four years before their 
Revision was published in 1901. For 
the most part this Revision is the same 
as the English Revision; but they had 
the advantage of all the criticisms of 
the Revision by scholars on both sides 
of the water, for making many minor 
improvements, besides those they had 
originally preferred. For example, they 
substitute “Jehovah” for “LORD” in 
caps ; “ Sheol ” for “ hell ” and “ the 
grave” in the Old Testament; “jus- 
tice” for “judgment,” etc. In a num- 
ber of cases, intelligible English 
idioms have been substituted for ob- 
scure and archaic phraseology. The 
paragraphing has been improved, but 
is still far from the ideal, and far 
less helpful to ordinary readers than 
even the old yerse forms. On the 
whole it is probably the most per- 
fect Revision yet made. The num- ~ 
ber of readings wherein the text 
used for the Revised New Testa- 
ment differed from that used in the 
King James’ edition is about 6,000, ' 

and it is this more accurate Greek 
text that gives the chief basis for its 
superior claims. The American dif- 
fers from the English in only about 
twenty-five instances. 

Village. This word, in addition to 
its ordinary sense, is often used, espe- 
cially in the enumeration of towns in 
Josh. 13 : 15, 19, to imply unwalled sub- 
urbs outside the walled towns. Arab 
villages, as found in Arabia, are often 
mere collections of stone huts, “ long, 
low, rude hovels, roofed only with the 
stalks of palm leaves,” or covered for 
a time with tent-cloths, which are re- 
moved when the tribe change their 
quarters. Others are more solidly built, 
as are most of the modern villages of 
Palestine, though in some the dwellings 
are mere mud-huts. 

Vine, the well-known valuable plant 
( Vitis vinifera) very frequently referred 
to in the Old and New Testaments, and 
cultivated from the earliest times. The 
first mention of this plant occurs in Gen. 
9 : 20, 21. That it was abundantly cul- 
tivated in Egypt is evident from the fre- 
quent representations on the monuments. 


as well as from the scriptural allusions. 
Gen. 40 : 9-11 ; Ps. 78 : 47. The vines of 
Palestine were celebrated both for luxu- 
riant growth and for the immense clus- 
ters of grapes which they produced, 
which were sometimes carried on a staff 
between two men, as in the case of the 
spies, Num. 13: 23, and as has been done 
in some instances in modern times. 
Special mention is made in the Bible 
of the vines of Eshcol, Num. 13:24; 
32 : 9, of Sibmah, Heshbon and Elealeh, 
Isa. 16:8, 9, 10; Jer. 48:32, and of En- 
gedi. Cant. 1 : 14. From the abun- 
dance and excellence of the vines, it 
may readily be understood how fre- 
quently this plant is the subject of meta- 
phor in the Holy Scriptures. To dwell 
under the vine and fig tree is an emblem 



VINE. 


of domestic happiness and peace, 1 
Kings 4 : 25 ; Ps. 128 : 3 ; Micah 4:4; 
the rebellious people of Israel are com- 
pared to “ wild grapes,” “ an empty 
vine,” “ the degenerate plant of a strange 
vine,” etc. Isa. 5:2, 4; Jer. 2:21; Hos. 
10 : 1. It is a vine which our Lord se- 
lects to show the spiritual union which 
subsists between himself and his mem- 
bers. John 15 : 1-6. The ancient He- 
brews probably allowed the vine to go 
trailing on the ground or upon sup- 
ports. This latter mode of cultivation 
appears to be alluded to by Ezekiel. 
Ezek. 19 : 11, 12. The vintage, which 
formerly was a season of general festiv- 
ity, began in September. The towns 
were deserted; the people lived among 
the vineyards in the lodges and tents. 
Comp. Judges 9:27; Isa. 16:10; Jer. 
25 : 30. The grapes were gathered with 
shouts of joy by the “grape gatherers,” 
Jer. 25 : 30, and put into baskets. See 


VIN 


726 


VOW 


Jer. 6:9. They were then carried on 
the head and shoulders, or slung upon 
a yoke, to the “ wine-press.” Those in- 
tended for eating were perhaps put into 
flat open baskets of wickerwork, as was 
the custom in Egypt. In Palestine, at 
present, the finest grapes, says Dr. Rob- 
inson, are dried as raisins, and the juice 
of the remainder, after having been 
trodden and pressed, “is boiled down to 
a sirup, which, under the name of dibs, 
is much used by all classes, wherever 
vineyards are found, as a condiment 
with their food.” The vineyard, which 



was generally on a hill, Isa. 5:1; Jer. 
31: 5; Amos 9: 13, was surrounded by a 
wall or hedge in order to keep out the 
wild boars, Ps. 80: 13, jackals and foxes. 
Num. 22 : 24 ; Neh. 4:3; Cant. 2 : 15 ; 
Ezek. 13 : 4, 5 ; Matt. 21 : 33. Within 
the vineyard was one or more towers 
of stone in which the vine-dressers lived. 
Isa. 1:8; 5:2; Matt. 21 : 33. The vat, 
which was dug, Matt. 21 : 33, or hewn 
out of the rocky soil, and the press, 
were part of the vineyard furniture. 
Isa. 5 : 2. 

Vine of Sodom occurs only in Deut. 
32 : 32. It is generally supposed that 
this passage alludes to the celebrated 
apples of Sodom, of which Josephus 
speaks, “which indeed resemble edible 
fruit in color, but, on being plucked by 
the hand, are dissolved into smoke and 
ashes.” Some consider it the ’ushar 
fruit, the Asclepias ( Calotropis ) pro- 
cera of botanists, which “ resembles ex- 
ternally a large smooth apple or orange, 
hanging in clusters of three or four to- 
gether, and when ripe is of a yellow 
color. It is now fair and delicious to 
the eye and soft to the touch; but, on 
being pressed or struck, it explodes 
with a puff, like a bladder or puff-ball, 
leaving in the hand only the shreds of 


the thin rind and a few fibres. It is 
indeed filled chiefly with air, which 
gives it the round form.” But this 
grows on a shrub, not a vine. _ Others 
think it the Colocynth, which is bitter 
and powdery inside, and grows on a 
vine. But most commentators now 
consider the expression figurative, no 
real fruit being intended. 

Vinegar. The Hebrew word trans- 
lated “vinegar” was applied to a bev- 
erage consisting generally of wine or 
strong drink turned sour, but some- 
times artificially made by an admixture 
of barley and wine, and thus liable to 
fermentation. It was acid even to a 
proverb, Prov. 10 : 26, and by itself 
formed an unpleasant draught, Ps. 69 : 
21, but was used by laborers. Ruth 2 : 
14. Similar was the acetum of the 
Romans — a thin, sour wine, consumed 
by soldiers. It was often diluted with 
water and then called posca. This was 
probably the beverage of which the 
Saviour partook in his dying moments. 
Matt. 27:48; Mark 15:36; John 19:29, 
30. 

Vineyards, Plain of the. R. V. 

Abel-Cheramim. This place, mentioned 
only in Judges 11 : 33, lay east of the 
Jordan, on the Moab plateau. 

Viol. [Psaltery.] 

Viper. [Serpent.] 

Voph'si (vof'sl), father of Nahbi, the 
Naphtalite spy. Num. 13 : 14. 

Vows. A vow is a solemn promise 
made to God to perform or to abstain 
from performing a certain thing. The 
earliest mention of a vow is that of 
Jacob. Gen. 28 : 18-22 ; 31 : 13. The 

law therefore did not introduce, but 
regulated the practice of, vows. Three 
sorts are mentioned: 1, vows of devo- 
tion ; 2, vows of abstinence ; 3, vows 
of destruction. 1. By vows of devotion, 
any person or possession might be de- 
voted or set aside for the sanctuary, 
save such as were already set apart for 
sacred uses, such as the first-born of 
either man or beast. Lev. 27 : 26. Any- 
thing thus set apart might be redeemed 
at one-fifth above its assessed value ex- 
cepting animals fit for sacrifice, which 
were not to be redeemed or changed. 
Lev. 27 : 9, 10, 33. Persons devoted to 
God might be redeemed at a valuation 
according to age and sex, on the scale 
given in Lev. 27 : 1-7 ; 2 Kings 12 : 4. 
If not redeemed he became a servant of 
the sanctuary. 1 Sam. 1 : 11, 24, 28. 


VUL 


727 


VUL 


Usually, however, he was redeemed, as 
the number of the Levites made the 
service of others unnecessary. Among 
general regulations affecting vows, the 
following may be mentioned: (1) 
Vows were entirely voluntary, but once 
made were regarded as compulsory. 

Num. 30:2; Deut. 23:21; Eccles. 5:4. 

(2) If persons in a dependent condition 
made vows, as an unmarried daughter 
living in her father’s house, or a wife, 
the vow, if her father, or her hus- 
band, heard and disallowed it, was void; 
but if they heard without disallowance, 
it was to remain good. Num. 30:3-16. 

(3) Votive offerings arising from the 

produce of any impure traffic were 

wholly forbidden. Deut. 23 : 18. 2. For 
vows of abstinence, see Corban. 3. 

For vows of extermination, see Anath- 
ema, and Ezra 10 : 8 ; Micah 4 : 13. 

Vul'gate, The, the Latin version of 
the Bible. The influence which it exer- 
cised upon western Christianity is 

scarcely less than that of the LXX. upon 
the Greek churches. Both the Greek 
and the Latin Vulgate have been long 
neglected; yet the Vulgate should have 
a very deep interest for all the western 
churches. For many centuries it was 
the only Bible generally used; and, di- 
rectly or indirectly, it .is the real parent 
of all the vernacular versions of western 
Europe. The Gothic version of Ulphi- 
las alone is independent of it. The 
name is equivalent to Vulgata editio 
(the current text of Holy Scripture). 
This translation was made by Je- 
rome — Eusebius Hieronymus — w h o 
was born about 340 a.d. at Stridon 
in Dalmatia, and died at Bethlehem 
in 420 a.d. This great scholar prob- 
ably alone for 1500 years possessed 
the qualifications necessary for pro- 
ducing an original version of the 
Scriptures for the use of the Latin 
churches. Going to Rome, h e w a s 
requested by Pope Damasus, a.d. 383, 
to make a revision of the old Latin 
version of the New Testament, 
whose history is lost in obscurity. 

In middle life Jerome began the 
study of the Hebrew, and made a 
new version of the Old Testament 
from the original Hebrew, which 
was completed a.d. 404. The critical 
labors of Jerome were received with 
a loud outcry of reproach. He was 
accused of disturbing the repose of 
the Church and shaking the founda- 


tions of faith. But clamor based upon 
ignorance soon dies away; and the New 
translation gradually came into use\ 
equally with the Old, and at length sup- 
planted it. The vast power which the 
Vulgate has had in determining the 
theological terms of western Christen- 
dom can hardly be overrated. By far 
the greater part of the current doctrinal 
terminology is based on the Vulgate. 
Predestination, justification, supereroga- 
tion (supererogo), sanctification, salva- 
tion, mediation, regeneration, revelation, 
visitation (met.), propitiation, first ap- 
pear in the Old Vulgate. Grace, re- 
demption, election, reconciliation, satis- 
faction, inspiration, scripture, were de- 
voted there to a new and holy use. 
Sacrament and communion are from 
the same source; and though baptism 
is Greek, it comes to us from the Latin. 
It would be - easy to extend the list by 
the addition of orders, penance, congre- 
gation, priest; but it can be seen from 
the forms already brought forward that 
the Vulgate has left its mark both upon 
our language and upon, our thoughts. 
It was the version which alone they 
knew who handed down to the reform- 
ers the rich stores of mediaeval wisdom ; 
the version with which the greatest of 
the reformers were most familiar, and 
from which they had drawn their earli- 
est knowledge of divine truth. 

Vulture. The rendering in the Au- 



THE VULTURE. 


thorized Version of the Hebrew dadh, 
dayyah, and also in Job 28:7 of ayydh. 
There seems no doubt that the Author- 
ized Version translation is incorrect, and 
that the original words refer to some 


VU!L 


728 


VUL 


of the smaller species of raptorial birds. 
In the R. V. the first two are trans- 
lated “ kite,” and the third “ falcon.” 
[Kite.] But the Hebrew words nesherj 


invariably rendered “ eagle ” in the Au- 
thorized Version and racham, rendered 
“ gier eagle ” are doubtless two varie- 
ties of the true vulture. [Eagle.] 


w 


Wages. The earliest mention of 
wages is of a recompense, not in money, 
but in kind, to Jacob from Laban. Gen. 
29 : 15, 20 ; 30 : 28 ; 31 : 7, 8, 41. In Egypt 
money payments by way of wages were 
in use, but the terms cannot now be as- 
certained. Ex. 2 : 9. The only mention 
of the rate of wages in Scripture is 
found in the parable of th^ householder 
and the vineyard, Matt. 20 : 2, where the 
laborer’s wages are set at one denarius 
per day, 16 cents. The usual pay of 
a soldier in the later days of the Roman 
republic was ten asses, or about 10 cents 
a day. Tac. Ann. i. 17; Polyb. vi. 39. 
In earlier times it is probable that the 
rate was lower; but it is likely that 
laborers, and also soldiers, were sup- 
plied with provisions. The law was 
very strict in requiring daily payment 
of wages. Lev. 19:13; Deut. 24:14, 15. 
The employer who refused to give his 
laborers sufficient victuals is censured, 
Job 24 : 11, and the iniquity of . with- 
holding wages is denounced. Jer. 22: 
13 ; Mai. 3:5; James 5 : 4. 

Wagon. The Oriental wagon is a 
vehicle composed of two or three planks 
with two solid circular blocks of wood, 
from two to five feet in diam- 
eter for wheels. For the con- 
veyance o f passengers, mat- 
tresses or clothes are laid in 
the bottom, and the vehicle is 
drawn by buffaloes or oxen. 

[Cart and Chariot.] 

Walls. Only a few points 
need be noticed. 1. The prac- 
tice common in Palestine o f 
carrying foundations down to 
the solid rock, as in the case 
of the temple, with structures 
intended to be permanent. 

Luke 6 : 48. 2. A feature o f 
some parts of Solomon’s build- 
ings, as described by Josephus, 
corresponds remarkably to the 
method adopted a t Nineveh 
of incrusting o r veneering a 


wall of brick or stone with slabs of a 
more costly material, as marble or ala- 
baster. 3. Another use of walls in 
Palestine is to support mountain roads 
or terraces formed on the sides of hills 



FORTRESS. 

Representation of a Syrian fortress on a 
monument of Sennacherib. 

for purposes of cultivation. 4. The 
“path of the vineyards,” Num. 22: 24, is 
a pathway through vineyards, with walls 
on each side. 

Wandering in the Wilderness. 

[Wilderness of the Wandering.] 
War. The most important topic in 
connection with war is the formation of 



the catapult, 

A machine for throwing heavy darts. 
729 


WAR 


730 


WAS 


the army which is destined to carry it 
on. [Army.] Formal proclamations of 
war were not necessarily interchanged 
between the belligerents. Before enter- 
ing the enemy’s district spies were sent 
to ascertain the character of the coun- 
try and the preparations of its inhabit- 



THE CROW. 

V 

ants for resistance. Num. 13:17; Josh. 
2:1; Judges 7:10; 1 Sam. 26:4. The 
combat assumed the form of a number 
of hand-to-hand contests ; hence the high 
value attached to fleetness of foot and 
strength of arm. 2 Sam. 1 : 23 ; 2 : 18 ; 
1 Chron. 12 : 8. At the same time vari- 
ous strategic devices were practiced, 



BATTERING-RAM AND TOWER. 


such as the ambuscade, Josh. 8:2, 12; 
Judges 20:36, surprise, Judges 7:16, or 
circumvention. 2 Sam. 5 : 23. Another 
mode of settling the dispute was by the 
selection of champions, 1 Sam. 17 ; 2 


Sam. 2 : 14, who were spurred on to 
exertion by the offer of high reward. 1 
Sam. 17 : 25 ; 18 : 25 ; 2 Sam. 18 : 11 ; 1 
Chron. 11 : 6. The contest having been 
decided, the conquerors were recalled 
from the pursuit by the sound of a 
trumpet. 2 Sam. 2 : 28 ; 18:16; 20 : 22. 
The siege of a town or fortress was 
conducted in the following manner : A 
line of circumvallation was drawn round 
the place, Ezek. 4:2; Micah 5 : 1, con- 
structed out of the trees found in the 
neighborhood, Deut. 20 : 20, together 
with earth and any other materials at 
hand. This line not only cut off the be- 
sieged from the surrounding country, 
but also served as a base of operations 
for the besiegers. The next step was 
to throw out from this line one or more 
mounds or “ banks ” in the direction of 
the city, 2 Sam. 20 : 15 ; 2 Kings 19 : 32 ; 
Isa. 37 : 33, which were gradually in- 
creased in height until they were about 
half as high as the city wall. On this 
mound or bank , towers were erected, 
2 Kings 25 : 1 ; Jer. 52 : 4 ; Ezek. 4:2; 
17 : 17 ; 21 : 22; 26 : 8, whence the slingers 
and archers might attack with effect. 
Catapults were prepared for hurling 
large darts and stones ; and the crow, a 
long spar, with iron claws at one end 
and ropes at the other, to pull down 
stones or men from the top of the wall. 
Battering-rams, Ezek. 4:2; 21 : 22, were 
brought up to the walls by means of 
the bank, and scaling-ladders might also 
be placed on it. The treatment of the 
conquered was extremely severe in an- 
cient times. The bodies of the soldiers 
killed in action were plundered, 1 Sam. 
31:8; 2 Macc. 8:27; the survivors were 
either killed in some savage manner, 
Judges 9:45; 2 Sam. 12:31; 2 Chron. 
25:12, mutilated, Judges 1:6; 1 Sam. 
11:2, or carried into captivity. Num. 
31 : 26. 

Washing the hands and feet. As 

knives and forks were not used in the 
East, in Scripture times, in eating, it 
was necessary that the hand, which was 
thrust into the common dish, should be 
scrupulously clean; and again, as san- 
dals were ineffectual against the dust 
and heat of the climate, washing the 
feet on entering a house was an act 
both of respect to the company and of 
refreshment to the traveler. The for- 
mer of these usages was transformed 
by the Pharisees of the New Testa- 
ment age into a matter of ritual ob- 


WAT 


731 


WAT 


servance, Mark 7:3, and special rules 
were laid down as to the time and man- 
ner of its performance. Washing the 
feet did not rise to the dignity of a 



EASTERN WASHING-VESSELS. 


ritual observance except in connection 
with the services of the sanctuary. Ex. 
30 : 19, 21. It held a high place, how- 
ever, among the rites of hospitality. As 
soon as a guest presented himself at 
the tent door, it was usual to offer the 
necessary materials for washing the 
feet. Gen. 18 : 4 ; 19 : 2 ; 24:32; 43 : 24 ; 
Judges 19:21. It was a yet more com- 



WASHING THE HANDS. 


plimentary act, betokening equally hu- 
mility and affection, if the host himself 
performed the office for his guest 1 
Sam. 25:41; Luke 7:38, 44; John 13: 
5-14; 1 Tim. 5:10. Such a token of 
hospitality is still occasionally exhibited 
in the East. 

Watches of night. The Jews, like 
the Greeks and Romans, divided the 
night into military watches instead of 
hours, each watch representing the pe- 
riod for which sentinels or pickets re- 
mained on duty. The proper Jewish 


reckoning recognized only three such 
watches, entitled the first or “ beginning 
of the watches,” Lam. 2 : 19, the middle 
watch, Judges 7:19, and the morning 
watch. Ex. 14:24; 1 Sam. 11:11. 
These would last respectively from 
sunset to midnight; from midnight 
to cock crow, perhaps 2 a.m. ; and 
from cock crow to sunrise. After 
the establishment of the Roman su- 
premacy, the number of watches was 
increased to four, which were de- 
scribed either according to their nu- 
merical order, as in the case of the 
“ fourth watch,” Matt. 14 : 25, or by 
the terms “ even,” “ midnight,” 
“ cock-crowing ” and “ morning.” 
Mark 13 : 35. These terminated re- 
spectively at 9 p.m., midnight, 3 a.m. 
and 6 a.m. 

Water of jealousy. Num. 5 : 11- 
31. The ritual prescribed consisted 
in the husband’s bringing before the 
priest the woman suspected of infi- 
delity, and the essential part of it is un- 
questionably the oath, to which the 
“ water ” was subsidiary, symbolical and 
ministerial. With her he was to bring 
an offering of barley meal. As she 
stood holding the offering, so the priest 
stood holding an earthen vessel of holy 
water mixed with the dust from the 
floor of the sanctuary, and, declaring 
her free from all evil consequences if 
innocent, solemnly devoted her in the 
name of Jehovah to be “ a curse and an 
oath among her people ” if guilty. He 
then “ wrote these curses in a book, and 
blotted them out with the bitter water,” 
and having thrown the handful of meal 
on the altar, “ caused the woman to 
drink” the potion thus drugged, she 
moreover answering to the words of 
his imprecation, “ Amen, amen.” Jo- 
sephus adds, if the suspicion was un- 
founded, she obtained conception ; if 
true, she died infamously. This was 
the origin of the ordeals of the Middle 
Ages. But the ancient rite was entirely 
different from most trials of this kind, 
for the bitter water the woman must 
drink was harmless in itself, and only 
by a direct act of God could it injure 
her if guilty; while in most heathen 
trials the suspected party must take 
poison, or suffer that which only a mir- 
acle would save them from if they were 
innocent. 

Water of separation. [Purifica- 
tion.] 


WAV 


732 


WEI 


Wave offering. This rite, together 
with that of “heaving” or “raising” 
the offering, was an inseparable accom- 
paniment of peace offerings. In such 
the right thigh or shoulder, considered 
the choicest part of the victim, was to 
be “ heaved,” and became the share of 
the officiating priest: the breast was to 
be “ waved,” and belonged originally to 
Aaron and his sons. Hence later to 
the priests also. The remainder of the 
peace offering was eaten by the wor- 
shiper. The same rite was observed in 
the case of the offering of the sheaf of 
first ripe grain on the second day of the 
Passover ; of the two lambs and two 
loaves of new grain at Pentecost ; of 
the guilt offering of the leper ; and of 
the meal offering of jealousy. The 
scriptural notices of these rites are to be 
found in Ex. 29 : 24-28 ; Lev. 7 : 30, 34 ; 
8 : 27 ; 9 : 21 ; 10 : 14, 15 ; 14 : 12, 21 ; 23 : 
10, 15, 20; Num. 5:25; 6:20; 18:11, 
18, 26-29, etc. By Jewish tradition the 
first part of the motion signified the 
presentation of the offering to God, 
while the movement back again signified 
his acceptance and gift of the offering 
to the priest. 

Weapons. [Arms.] 

Weasel ( choled ) occurs only in Lev. 
11 : 29, in the list of unclean animals ; 
it is either a weasel or a mole, authori- 
ties not being sure which. The corre- 
sponding word in Arabic and Syriac 
means a mole; but that fact is not at 
all conclusive. It may mean several ani- 
mals of the weasel family. Both the 
weasels and moles are common in Pales- 
tine. 

Weaving. The art of weaving ap- 
pears to be coeval with the first dawn- 
ing of civilization. We find it practiced 
with great skill by the Egyptians at a 
very early period. The “ vestures of 
fine linen ” such 
as Joseph wore, 
Gen. 41 : 42, were 1 
the product o f 
Egyptian looms. 
The Israelites 
were probably 
acquainted with 
the process be- 
f ore their s o- 
journ in Egypt; 
but it was un- 
doubtedly there 
that they at- 
ancient roman loom. tained the profi- 


ciency which enabled them to execute 
the hangings of the tabernacle, Ex. 35 : 
35 ; 1 Chron. 4 : 21, and other artistic 
textures. The Egyptian loom was either 
horizontal or upright, and the weaver 
stood or squatted at his work. The 
common loom of the country to-day is 
upright, and very simple. The textures 
produced by the Jewish weavers were 
very various. The coarser kinds, such 
as tent-cloth, sack-cloth and the “ hairy 
garments ” of the poor, were made of 
goat’s or camel’s hair. Ex. 26 : 7. Matt. 
3 : 4. Wool was extensively used for 
ordinary clothing, Lev. 13 : 47 ; Prov. 
27:26; 31:13; Ezek. 27:18; while for 
finer work flax was used, varying in 
quality, and producing the different tex- 
tures described in the Bible as “ linen ” 
and “ fine linen.” The mixture of wool 
and flax in cloth intended for a garment 
was interdicted. Lev. 19 : 19 ; Deut. 22 : 
11 . 

Wedding. [Marriage.] 

Week. There can be no doubt about 
the great antiquity of measuring time by 
a period of seven days. Gen. 8 : 10 ; 29 : 
27. The Babylonians and Assyrians 
knew the seven-day week, and accord- 
ing to both the Hebrew and the Baby- 
lonian account it was in vogue before 
the time of the flood. The Jews named 
no day but the seventh, calling that the 
Sabbath. [Sabbath.] The week and 
the naming of the individual days was 
of late introduction into Roman usage. 
The Greeks used the ten day division 
of the month, as did the Egyptians in 
early times. There is no certainty as 
to when the seven day period was estab- 
lished in Egypt, but it was, according 
to Dio Cassius, borrowed by Rome from 
Egypt not long before the second cen- 
tury A.D. 

Weeks, Feast of. [Pentecost.] 

Weights and Measures. There is a 
considerable variety of statements in re- 
gard to the values of the various weights 
and measures as expressed in modern 
terms. In this article they are in accord 
with the tables in the Appendix, which 
were prepared after careful comparison 
of all the eminent authorities on the 
subj ect. 

The tables of the weights and meas- 
ures, with their equivalents in modern 
values will be found in the Appendix. 

A. Weights. The unit of weight was 
the Shekel ( i . e. weight ) called some- 
times the holy shekel or the shekel of 



WEI 


733 


WEI 


the sanctuary. This weight was about 
224 grains heavy standard, or 112 grains 
light standard. It was subdivided into 
the beka ( i . e. half), or half shekel, 
weighing 112 grains or 56 grains; the 
rebah ( i . e. quarter ), of 56 grains or 
28 grains; and the gerah ( i . e. grain) 
of 11.2 grains or 5.6 grains. The higher 
weights were the libra, Greek litra, the 
“pound” of John 12:3, equivalent to 
20 shekels or about 11% ounces Avoir- 
dupois ; the Maneh, Greek Mina, the 
“ pound ” of Matthew, equivalent to 50 
shekels or 2 pounds Troy, or 1 pound 8 
oz. Avoir., by the heavy standard, and 
half that by the light standard ; and 
the silver Talent (i. e. circle), 3000 
shekels, by heavy standard, 117 lbs. 
Troy, or 96% Avoir. 

The Gold Talent was a different 
weight, estimated from the gold shekel. 
It weighed 131 lbs. Troy, or 108 Avoir, 
by heavy standard, and half that by the 
light standard. 

B. Measures. — I. Measures of 
Length. In the Hebrew, as in every 
other system, measures of length are of 
two classes; the smaller measures of 
length; and measures for land and dis- 
tance. The two are connected by hav- 
ing one unit, the cubit. 1. The smaller 
measures of length were all originally 
derived from the measurements, of cer- 
tain parts of the human body, in every 
case however parts of the hand and 
forearm, while in Roman measurements 
the foot was in use. 

The unit was the cubit, originally the 
length of the human arm from the tip 
of the middle finger to the elbow. The 
ordinary equivalent for this is 18 inches, 
though in early times it was more, at 
one time even about 25 inches. The 
legal cubit of the Talmudists was about 
22 inches. There are a great variety of 
these standards, as might naturally be 
expected. 

. The smaller measures were : the digit, 
or finger-breadth, of a cubit or about 
y A inch ; Jer. 52 : 21 ; the palm or hand- 
breadth, of four digits, or about 3 
inches, Ex. 25 : 25 ; 1 Kings 7 : 26 ; 2 
Chron. 4:5; and the span, the full reach 
between the tips of the thumb and little 
finger, equal to % cubit, or nearly 9 
inches, Ex. 28 : 16 ; 1 Sam. 17 : 4 ; Ezek. 
43 : 13. A larger measure was the reed 
of 6 cubits or about 8% feet. (These 
equivalents are given on the basis of 
the common estimate of the cubit of 18 


inches.) Ezekiel’s reed, was a longer 
measure, of about 10 feet in length, Eze. 
40:5-8; 42:16-19. 2. Of measures of 

distance the smallest was the cubit, of 
about 18 inches, the same as before. 
The Roman foot was practically the 
same as ours, but does not come into 
the Hebrew measures. The pace, of 
nearly 5 feet, 2 Sam. 6 : 13 ; the furlong, 
about xV of an English mile, Luke 24: 
13 ; John 6 : 19 ; 11 : 18 ; Rev. 14 : 20 ; 21 : 
16; the mile (the Roman mile), 1000 
paces, about T 9 ir of an English mile, 
Matt. 5 : 41 ; and the Sabbath Day’s Jour- 
ney, which was the same distance; were 
the longer measures of distance. [See 
Sabbath Day’s Journey.] The furlong 
and mile are not mentioned in the Old 
Testament. The fathom used in sound- 
ing by the Alexandrian mariners in St. 
Paul’s voyage, is the Greek opyvia , i. e. 
the full stretch of the two arms from 
tip to tip of the middle finger, which is 
about equal to the height, and in a man 
of full stature is six feet. For esti- 
mating area, and especially land, there 
is no evidence that the Jews used any 
special system of square measures, but 
they were content to express by the 
cubit the length and breadth of the sur- 
face to be measured, Num. 35:4, 5; 
Ezek. 40 : 27, or by the reed. Ezek. 41 : 
8 ; 42 : 16-19 ; Rev. 21 : 16. 

II. Measures of Capacity. — 1. The 
measures of capacity for liquids were : 
The log, Lev. 14 : 10, etc., the. name 
originally signifying basin. This was 
about one pint. The cab, about 2 
quarts ; the hin, frequently noticed in 
the Bible. Ex. 29:40; 30:24; Num. 
15 : 4, 7, 9 ; Ezek. 4 : 11, etc., about 6 
quarts; and the bath, the name meaning 
“ measured,” about 9 gallons, the unit 
of liquid measure, 1 Kings 7 : 26, 38 ; 
2 Chron. 2 : 10 ; Ezra 7 : 22 ; Isa. 5 : 10 ; 
and the largest of the. liquid measures, 
the homer, or cor, equivalent to 86 gal- 
lons. 2. In dry measure the log and 
cab were also used, as are our pints 
and quarts for both liquid and dry meas- 
ure. The omer, mentioned only in Ex. 
16 : 16-36, was nearly 7 pints. The word 
implies a heap, and secondarily a sheaf. 
The sedh, or “measure,” this being the 
etymological meaning of. the term, and 
appropriately applied to it, inasmuch as 
it was the ordinary measure for house- 
hold purposes, was nearly 1%. pecks. 
Gen. 18 : 6 ; 1 Sam. 25 : 18 ; 2 Kings 7 : 
1, 16. The Greek equivalent occurs in 


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WHA 



Matt. 13 : 33 ; Luke 13 : 21. 
ephah, the unit of dry measure, 
equivalent to 1 bushel, 2 % quarts, 
is of frequent recurrence in the 
Bible. Ex. 16 : 36 ; Lev. 5:11; 6 : 

20; Num. 5:15; 28:5; Judges 6: 

19 ; Ruth 2 : 17 ; 1 Sam. 1 : 24 ; 17 : 

17; Ezek. 45:11, 13; 46:5, 7, 11, 

14. The homer, meaning heap. 

Lev. 27 : 16 ; Num. 11 : 32 ; Isa. 5 : 

10 ; Ezek. 45 : 13. It is elsewhere 
termed cor, from the circular ves- 
sel in which it was measured. 1 
Kings 4 : 22 ; 5 : 11 ; 2 Chron. 2 : 10 ; 

27 : 5 ; Ezra 7 : 22 ; Ezek. 45 : 14. 

The Greek equivalent occurs i n 
Luke 16 : 7. It held about 10% 
bushels. In the New Testament 
we have notices of the following 
foreign measures; the metretes, John 
2 : 6, Authorized Version “ firkin,” for 
liquids. This was the same as the 
bath, about 9 gallons ; the choinix, 
Rev. 6 : 6, Authorized Version “ meas- 
ure,” for dry goods, about one quart; 
the modius, applied to describe any ves- 
sel of moderate dimensions, Matt. 5:15; 
Mark 4 : 21 ; Luke 11 : 33, Authorized 
Version “bushel,” though properly 
meaning a Roman measure, amounting 
to about a peck 

Well. Wells in Palestine are usually 
excavated from the solid limestone rock, 
sometimes with steps to descend into 
them. Gen. 24 : 16. The brims are fur- 
nished with a curb or low wall of stone, 


bearing marks of high antiquity in the 
furrows worn by the ropes used in 
drawing water. It was on a curb of 
this sort that our Lord sat when he 
conversed with the woman of Samaria, 
John 4:6. It had a stone cover, such 
as the woman placed on the mouth of 
the well at Bahurim, 2 Sam. 17 : 19, 
where the Authorized Version weakens 
the sense by omitting the article. The 
usual methods for raising water are 
the following: 1. The rope and bucket, 
or water-skin. Gen. 24:14-20; John 4: 
11. 2. The sakiyeh, or Persian wheel. 

This consists of a vertical wheel fur- 
nished with a set of buckets or earthen 
jars attached to a cord passing over 
the wheel, which descend 
empty and return full a s 
the wheel revolves. 3. A 
method very common in 
both ancient and modern 
Egypt i s the shadoof, a 
simple contrivance consist- 
ing of a lever moving on 
a pivot, which is loaded at 
one end with a lump o f 
clay or some other weight, 
and has at the other a bowl 
or bucket. Wells are usu- 
ally furnished with troughs 
of wood or stone, into 
which the water is emptied 
for the use of persons o r 
animals coming to the 
wells. Unless machinery is 
used, which i s commonly 
worked by men, women are 
usually the water-carriers. 

Whale. As to the sig- 
nification of the Hebrew 




WHE 


WID 




terms tan and tannin, variously ren- 
dered in the Authorized Version by 
“ dragon,” “ whale,” “ serpent,” “ sea- 
monster,” see Dragon. It remains for 
us in this article to consider the trans- 
action recorded in the book of Jonah, 
of that prophet having been swallowed 
up by some “ great fish ” which in Matt. 
12:40 is called cetos ( /077-os ), rendered 
in our version by “whale.” In the first 
place, it is necessary to observe that the 
Greek ward cetos, used by St. Matthew, 
is not restricted in its meaning to “ a 
whale,” or any Cetacean; like the Latin 
cete or cetus, it may denote any sea- 
monster, either “ a whale,” or “ a shark,” 
or “a seal,” or “a tunny of enormous 
size.” Two or three species of whale 
are found in the Mediterranean Sea, 
among them the sperm whale, which 
has a gullet sufficiently large to admit 
the body of a man. But it is more 
probable that it was one of the other 
marine monsters, perhaps a shark, which 
have been known indubitably to have 
swallowed men and even larger animals 
whole. 

Wheat, the well-known valuable 
cereal, cultivated . from the earliest 
times, is first mentioned in Gen. 30 : 14, 
in the account of Jacob’s sojourn with 



EGYPTIAN WHEAT. 


Laban in Mesopotamia. Egypt in an- 
cient times was celebrated for the 
growth of its wheat; the best quality 
was all bearded; and the same varieties 
existed in ancient as in modern times. 
Babylonia was also noted for the excel- 


lence of its wheat and other cereals. 
Syria and Palestine produced wheat of 
fine quality and in large quantities. Ps. 
81 : 16 ; 147 : 14, etc. There appear to 
be two or three kinds of wheat at pres- 
ent grown in Palestine. In the parable 
of the sower our Lord alludes to grains 
of wheat which in good ground pro- 
duce a hundred-fold. Matt. 13 : 8. The 
common T riticum vulgar e will some- 
times produce one hundred grains in 
the ear. Wheat is reaped toward the 
end of April, in May, and in June, ac- 
cording to the differences of soil and 
position; it was sown either broadcast 
and then ploughed in or trampled in by 
cattle, Isa. 32 : 20, or in rows, Isa. 28 : 
25, which was considered the best 
method. The wheat was put into the 
ground in the winter, and some time 
after the barley ; in the Egyptian plague 
of hail, consequently, the barley suffered, 
but the wheat had not appeared, and so 
escaped injury. 

Widow. Under the Mosaic dispensa- 
tion no legal provision was made for the 
maintenance of widows. They were left 
dependent partly on the affection of rela- 
tions, more especially of the eldest son, 
whose birthright, or extra share of the 
property, imposed such a duty upon him, 
and partly on the privileges accorded to 
other distressed classes, such as a par- 
ticipation in the triennial third tithe, 
Deut. 14 : 29 ; 26 : 12, in leasing, Deut. 
24 : 19-21, and in religious feasts. Deut. 
16 : 11, 14. With regard to the remar- 
riage of widows, the only restriction 
imposed by the Mosaic law had refer- 
ence to the contingency of one being 
left childless, in which case the brother 
of the deceased husband had a right to 
marry the widow. Deut. 25 : 5, 6 ; Matt. 
22 : 23-30. In the apostolic Church the 
widows were sustained at the public ex- 
pense, the relief being daily administered 
in kind, under the superintendence of 
officers appointed for this special pur- 
pose. Acts 6:1-6. Particular direc- 
tions are given by St. Paul as to the 
class of persons entitled to such public 
maintenance. 1 Tim. 5 : 3-16. Out of 
the body of such widows a certain num- 
ber were to be enrolled, the qualifica- 
tions for such enrolment being that 
they were not under sixty years of age ; 
that they had been “ the wife of one 
man,” probably meaning but once mar- 
ried; and that they had led useful and 
charitable lives, vs. 9, 10. We are not 


WIF 


736 


WIL 


disposed to identify the widows of the 
Bible either with the deaconesses or with 
the TrpeapvTLdes of the early Church. 
The order of widows existed as a sepa- 
rate institution, contemporaneously with 
these offices, apparently for the same 
eleemosynary purpose for which it was 
originally instituted. It was abolished 
by the Synod of Laodicea a.d. 364. 

Wife. [Marriage.] 

Wilderness of the Wandering. The 
region in which the Israelites spent 
nearly 38 years of their existence after 
they had left Egypt, and spent a year 
before Mount Sinai. They went as far 
as Kadesh, on the southernmost border 
of Palestine, from which place spies 
were sent up into the promised land. 
These returned with such a report of 
the inhabitants and their walled cities 
that the people were discouraged, and 
began to murmur and rebel. For their 
sin they were compelled to remain 38 
years longer in the wilderness, because 
it showed that they were not yet pre- 
pared and trained to conquer and to 
hold their promised possessions. The 
wilderness of the wandering was the 
great central limestone plateau of the 
Sinaitic peninsula. It was bordered on 
the east by the valley of the Arabah, 
which runs from the Dead Sea to the 
head of the eastern branch of the Red 
Sea. On the south and southwest were 
the granite mountains of Sinai, and on 
the north the Mediterranean Sea and 
the mountainous region south of Judea. 
It is called the Desert of Paran, and 
Badiet et-Tih, which means “ Desert 
of the Wandering.” The children of 
Israel were not probably marching as a 
nation from place to place in this wilder- 
ness during these 38 years, but they prob- 
ably had headquarters at Kadesh-bar- 
nea ; and from that centre spread them- 
selves over the surrounding region “ as 
do the Bedouin Arabs of the present day, 
in a half-savage, homeless state, moving 
about from place to place, and pitching 
their tents wherever they could find pas- 
ture for their flocks and herds.” Tes- 
timony of travelers assures us that 
there would be no difficulty in finding 
forage for their cattle. “ Mr. Fronton 
and Mr. Sicard took the same route 
from Egypt toward Canaan that the 
Israelites took, and they give this as 
their testimony : ‘ With respect to for- 

age, they would be at no loss. The 
ground is covered with tamarisk, broom, 


clover, and saint foin, of which latter 
especially camels are passionately fond, 
besides almost every variety of odorif- 
erous plant and herb proper for pas- 
turage. 

“ ‘ The whole sides of the valley 
through which the children of Israel 
marched are still tufted with brushwood, 
which doubtless afforded food for their 
beasts. Lastly, the herbage underneath 
these trees and shrubs is completely 
covered with snails of a prodigious size 
and of the best sort, and, however un- 
inviting such a repast might appear to 
us, they are here esteemed a great deli- 
cacy/ These mollusks of the land 
would aid in sustaining the people.” 

Mrs. Lewis, who made the notable 
discoveries of ancient manuscripts in 
the convent on Mount Sinai, says on her 
return from her fourth visit there: “ No 
doubt there was more vegetation in the 
peninsula in ancient times than there is 
now ; but even at the present day there 
are more flocks of sheep and goats about 
than the sandy, stony character of the 
country would lead one to suppose.” 
Toward the close of the forty years 
from Egypt they again assembled at 
Kadesh, and, once more under the 
leadership of the Shechinah, . they 
marched down the Arabah on their way 
to the promised land. 

Willows are mentioned in Lev. 23 : 
40; Job 40:22; Ps. 137:2; Isa. 44:4. 
With respect to the tree upon which the 
captive Israelites hung their harps, there 
can be no doubt that the weeping wil- 
low, Salix babylonica, is intended. This 
tree grows abundantly on the banks of 
the Euphrates, in other parts of Asia as 
in Palestine. The Hebrew word trans- 
lated willows is generic, and includes 
several species of the large family of 
Salices, which is well represented in 
Palestine and the Bible lands. 

Willows, The brook of the, a wady 
mentioned by Isaiah, Isa. 15 : 7, in his 
dirge over Moab. It is situated on the 
southern boundary of Moab, and is 
probably what is now called Wady-el - 
Aksa. 

Wills. Under a system of close in- 
heritance like that of the Jews, the scope 
for bequest in respect of land was lim- 
ited by the right of redemption and 
general re-entry in the jubilee year; but 
the law does not forbid bequests by will 
of such limited interest in land as was 
consistent with those rights. The case 


WIM 


737 


WIN 


of houses in walled towns was different, 
and there can be no doubt that they 
must, in fact, have frequently been be- 
queathed by will. Lev. 25 : 30. Two 
instances are recorded in the Old Tes- 
tament under the law of testamentary 
disposition, (1) effected in the case of 
Ahithophel, 2 Sam. 17:23, (2) recom- 
mended in the case of Hezekiah. 2 
Kings 20:1; Isa. 38:1. [Heir.] 

Wimple, an old English word for 
hood or veil, used in the Authorized Ver- 
sion of Isa. 3 : 22. The same Hebrew 
word is translated . “ veil ” in the A. V. 
Ruth 3 : 15, but it signifies rather a 
mantle, as translated in R. V. 

Window. The window of an Orien- 
tal house consists generally of an aper- 
ture closed in with lattice-work. Judges 
5:28; Prov. 7:6, Authorized Version 
“ casement ; ” Eccles. 12 : 3, Authorized 
Version “window;” Cant. 2:9; Hos. 
13:3, Authorized Version “chimney.” 
Glass has been introduced into Egypt 
in modern times as a protection against 
the cold of winter, but lattice-work is 
still the usual, and with the poor the 
only, contrivance for closing the win- 
dow.. The windows generally look into 
the inner court of the house, but in 
every house one or more look into the 
street. In Egypt these outer windows 
generally project over the doorway. 
[House.] 

Wine. The manufacture of wine is 
carried back in the Bible to the age of 
Noah, Gen. 9 : 20, 21, who is said to 
have planted a vineyard, and manufac- 
tured and drunk the wine. The nat- 
ural history and culture of the vine are 
described under a separate head. 
[Vine.] Other words translated usually 
“ strong drink ” mean wine made from 
grain, dates and other fruits. Bever- 
ages from these were very common in 
the East, and in Egypt. But the use of' 
the word “ wine ” is confined to that 
made of the grape, which is sometimes 
spoken of as “ the vine,” or “ the fruit 
of the vine.” One exception in the A. 
V. seems tq be Cant. 8 : 2, where men- 
tion is made of the “spiced wine of the 
fruit of the pomegranate.” The R. V. 
however, places a comma after “spiced 
wine,” which alters the sense. In Pales- 
tine the main vintage takes place in 
September, and is celebrated with great 
rejoicings. The ripe fruit was gathered 
in baskets, Jer. 6:9, as represented in 
Egyptian paintings, and was carried to 
47 


the wine-press. It was then placed in 
the upper one of the two vats or recep- 
tacles of which the wine-press was 
formed, and was subjected to the process 
of “ treading,” which has prevailed in 
all ages in Oriental and south-European 
countries. Neh. 13:15; Job 24:11; Isa. 
16 : 10 ; Jer. 25:30; 48 : 33 ; Amos 9 : 13 ; 
Rev. 19: 15. A certain amount of juice 
exuded from the ripe fruit from its own 
pressure before the treading commenced. 
This appears to have been kept separate 
from the rest of the juice, and to have 



formed the “ sweet wine ” noticed in 
Acts 2:13. [See below.] The “tread- 
ing” was effected by one or more men, 
according to the size of the vat. They 
encouraged one another by shouts. Isa. 
16:9, 10; Jer. 25:30; 48:33. Their 

legs and garments were dyed red with 
the juice. Gen. 49:11; Isa. 63:2, 3. 
The expressed juice escaped by an aper- 
ture into the lower vat, or was at once 
collected in vessels. A hand-press was 
occasionally used in Egypt, but we have 
no notice of such an instrument in the 
Bible. As to the subsequent treatment of 
the wine we have but little information. 
Sometimes it was preserved in its un- 
fermented state and drunk as “ must,” 
but more generally it was bottled off 
after fermentation. It was first stored in 
large ox-skins, some being known to-day 
large enough to hold 60 gallons. When 
the deposit of dregs or lees had taken 
place the clear wine was poured into 
new vessels (Jer. 48:11). This is the 
“ well-refined wine ”• of Isa. 25 : 6. 
Drinking the lees was used allegorically 


WIN 


m 


WIN 


in the sense of the bitter punishment 
consequent upon sin. (Ps. 75:8.) To 
wine is attributed the “darkly-flashing 
eye,” Gen. 49:12, Authorized Version 
“ red ; ” the unbridled tongue, Prov. 20 : 
1 ; Isa. 28 : 7 ; the excitement of the 
spirit, Prov. 31:6; Isa. 5:11; Zech. 9 : 
15 ; 10 : 7 ; the enchained affections of its 
votaries, Hos. 4: 11; the perverted judg- 
ment, Prov. 31 : 5 ; Isa. 28 : 7 ; the in- 


decent exposure, Hab. 2 : 15, 16 ; and 
the sickness resulting from the heat 
( chemah , Authorized Version “bot- 
tles ”) of wine, Hos. 7 : 5. The allu- 
sions to the effects of tirosh are con- 
fined to a single passage, but this a 
most decisive one, viz. Hos. 4 : 11, 
“ Whoredom and wine ( yayin ) and new 
wine ( tirosh ) take away the heart,” 
where tirosh appears as the climax of 
engrossing influences, in immediate con- 
nection with yayin. It has been dis- 
puted whether the Hebrew wine was 
fermented; but the impression produced 
on the mind by a general review of 
the above notices is that the Hebrew 
words indicating wine refer to fer- 
mented, intoxicating wine. The notices 
of fermentation are not very decisive. 
A certain amount of fermentation is 
implied in the distension of the leather 
bottles when new wine was placed in 
them, and which was liable to burst old 
bottles. The mingling that we read of 
in conjunction with wine may have been 
designed either to increase or to di- 
minish the strength of the wine, accord- 
ing as spices or water formed the in- 
gredient that was added. The notices 
chiefly favor the former view ; for min- 
gled liquor was prepared for high fes- 
tivals, Prov. 9 : 2, 5, and occasions of ex- 
cess. Prov. 23 : 30 ; Isa. 5 : 22. At the 
same time strength was not the sole ob- 
ject sought; the wine “mingled with 
myrrh,” given to Jesus, was designed to 


deaden pain, Mark 15 : 23. In the New 
Testament the character of the “ sweet 
wine,” noticed in Acts 2 : 13, calls for 
some little remark. It could not be 
new wine in the proper sense of the 
term, inasmuch as about eight months 
must have elapsed between the vin- 
tage and the feast of Pentecost. This 
would effectually prevent its being any 
form of unfermented drink. Besides, 
the word used certainly 
signifies a n intoxicating 
drink, — a s the apostles 
are accused o f being 
under its power by those 
who must have known 
of its character. It was 
probably the must, or 
drip from the untrodden 
grapes, which after fer- 
menting was certainly 
intoxicating. There can 
be little doubt that the 
wines of Palestine varied 
in quality, and were named after the lo- 
calities in which they were made. The 
only wines of which we have special no- 
tice belonged to Syria; these were the 
wine of Helbon, Ezek. 27 : 18, and the 
wine of Lebanon, famed for its aroma. 
Hos. 14 : 7. With regard to the uses of 
wine in private life there is little to re- 
mark. It was produced on occasions of 
ordinary hospitality, Gen. 14 : 18, and at 
festivals, such as marriages. John 2:3. 
Under the Mosaic law wine formed the 
usual drink offering that accompanied 
the daily sacrifice, Ex. 29 : 40, the pres- 
entation of the first-fruits, Lev. 23 : 13, 
and other offerings. Num. 15:5. Tithe 
was to be paid of wine, as of other 
products. The priest was also to receive 
first-fruits of wine, as of other articles. 
Deut. 18 : 4 ; comp. Ex. 22 : 29. The use 
of wine at the paschal feast was not 
enjoined by the law, but had become an 
established custom, at all events in the 
post-Babylonian period. The wine was 
mixed with warm water on these occa- 
sions. Hence in the early Christian 
Church it was usual to mix the sacra- 
mental wine with water. No unfer- 
mented wine is now known in Pales- 
tine, and there is no evidence of its use 
at any time. The fermentation of wine 
was not at all considered a similar sub- 
stance to the leaven of bread, and was 
not at any time prohibited to the Jews. 
Most probably the simple wines of an- 
tiquity were incomparably less deadly 



WIN 


739 


WIT 


than the stupefying and ardent bever- 
ages of our western nations. It is cer- 
tain that to-day the light grape-wines 
of Palestine and southern Europe pro- 
duce no such effects as the grain-made 
beverages of northern Europe and 
America, nor even of wines in those 
climates. 

A great attempt has been made to 
prove the wine drunk at the Lord’s 
Supper unfermented, by and for the 
sake of the temperance workers of our 
day and nation. Such attempts are apt 
to do more harm than good, among 
those familiar with eastern customs to- 
day, or the history of those nations. 
But “ the apostle Paul has stated the 
case for total abstinence in Rom. 14 in 
a way that does not need the treacher- 
ous aid of doubtful exegesis for its 
support.” (Hastings’ Bible Dictionary .) 

Wine=press. From the scanty no- 
tices contained in the Bible we gather 
that the wine-presses of the Jews con- 
sisted of two receptacles or vats placed 
at different elevations, in the upper one 
of which the grapes were trodden, while 
the lower one received the expressed 
juice. The two vats are mentioned to- 
gether only in Joel 3:13: “The press 
is full: the vats overflow” — the upper 
vat being full of fruit, the lower one 
overflowing with the must. [Wine.] 
The two vats were usually hewn out 
of the solid rock. Isa. 5 : 2, margin ; 
Matt. 21 : 33. Ancient wine-presses, so 
constructed, are still to be seen in Pales- 
tine. 

Winnowing. [Agriculture.] 

Wisdom of Jesus, Son of Sirach. 

[Ecclesiasticus.] 

Wisdom, The, of Solomon, a book 
of the Apocrypha, may be divided into 
three parts, the first, chs. 1-5, describ- 
ing the conflict which the Divine Wis- 
dom has constantly to carry on with the 
godless wisdom of this world, and the 
victory to which she leads those who 
surrender themselves to her. The sec- 
ond part, chs. 6-9, sets forth the great 
advantages of Wisdom, and describes 
Solomon’s experience in his search for 
it. The third part, chs. 10-19, gives the 
wonders wrought by wisdom in the his- 
tory of Israel. Doctrinal character . — 
The theological teaching of the book 
offers, in many respects, the nearest 
approach to the language and doctrines 
of Greek philosophy that is found in 
any Jewish writing up to the time of 


Philo. There is much in the views 
which it gives of the world, of man 
and of the divine nature which springs 
rather from the combination or conflict 
of Hebrew and Greek thought than 
from the independent development of 
Hebrew thought alone. Yet the au- 
thor’s zeal for the Jewish religion is 
undoubted. He is not hampered by it, 
nor does he seek, like Philo, to make 
it acceptable by “ allegorizing explana- 
tions.” His aim is, apparently, to pro- 
vide a sure hold for the professors of 
the Jewish faith, surrounded on all 
sides by Greek philosophy, and disturbed 
by internal dissensions and by apostasy. 
In connection with the Old Testament 
Scriptures, the book, as a whole, may 
be regarded as carrying on one step 
farther the great problem, of life con- 
tained in Ecclesiastes and Job. Date . — 
From internal evidence it seems most 
reasonable to believe that the work was 
composed in Greek at Alexandria some 
time before the time of Philo, or per- 
haps between b.c. 100 and 50, possibly 
between b.c. 120 and 80. The author 
was without doubt an Egyptian Jew, 
with a Greek education, but a true ob- 
server of the Law. There are Heb- 
raisms, but not such as would prove a 
Hebrew original. It seems impossible 
to study this book dispassionately and 
not feel that it forms one of the last 
links in the chain of providential con- 
nection between the Old and New Cove- 
nants. It would not be easy to find 
elsewhere any pre-Christian view of re- 
ligion equally wide, sustained and defi- 
nite. 

Wise men. [Magi.] 

Witch, Witchcrafts. [Divination ; 

Magic.] 

Witness. Among people with whom 
writing is not common, the evidence of 
a transaction is given by some tangible 
memorial or significant ceremony. Abra- 
ham gave seven ewe-lambs to Abimelech 
as an evidence of his property in the 
well of Beersheba. Jacob raised a heap 
of stones, “the heap of witness,” as a 
boundary-mark between himself and La- 
ban. Gen. 21:30; 31:47, ,52. The 

tribes of Reuben and Gad raised an 
“ altar ” as a witness to the covenant 
between themselves and the rest of the 
nation. Joshua set up a stone as an 
evidence of the allegiance promised by 
Israel to God. Josh. 22:10, 26, 34; 24: 
26, 27. But written evidence was by 


WIZ 


740 


WOM 


no means unknown to the Jews. Di- 
vorce was to be proved by a written 
document. Deut. 24 : 1, 3. In civil con- 
tracts, at least in later times, documen- 
tary evidence was required and care- 
fully preserved. Isa. 8:16; Jer. 32:10- 
16. On the whole the law was very 
careful to provide and enforce evidence 
for all its infractions and all transactions 
bearing on them. Among special pro- 
visions with respect to evidence are the 
following: 1. Two witnesses at least 
are required to establish any capital 
charge. Num. 35:30; Deut. 17:6; John 
8:17; 2 Cor. 13 : 1 ; comp. 1 Tim. 5 : 19. 
2. In the case of the suspected wife, evi- 
dence besides the husband’s was desired. 
Num. 5:13. 3. The witness who with- 

held the truth was censured. Lev. 5 : 1. 

4. False witness was punished with the 
penalty due to the offence which it 
sought to establish. Deut. 19 : 16, 19. 

5. Slanderous reports and officious wit- 

ness are discouraged. Ex. 20 : 16 ; 23 : 
1 ; Lev. 19 : 16, 18, etc. 6. The witnesses 
were the first executioners. Deut. 13 : 
9 ; 17 : 7 ; Acts 7 : 58. 7. In case of an 

animal left in charge and torn by wild 
beasts, the keeper was to bring the car- 
cass in proof of the fact and disproof of 
his own criminality. Ex. 22 : 13. 8. Ac- 

cording to Josephus, women and slaves 
were not admitted to bear testimony. 
While there is no evidence of this in 
the Bible, it seems reasonable from the 
fact that in capital cases the witnesses 
were required to take part in the execu- 
tion. In the New Testament the orig- 
inal notion of a witness is exhibited in 
the special form of one who attests his 
belief in the gospel by personal suffer- 
ing. Hence it is that the use of the 
ecclesiastical term “ martyr,” the Greek 
word for “ witness,” has arisen. 

Wizard. [Divination ; Magic.] 

Wolf. There can be little doubt that 
the wolf of Palestine is the common 
Canis lupus, and that this is the animal 
so frequently mentioned in the Bible. 
The wolf is a fierce animal of the same 
species as the dog, which it resembles. 
The common color is gray with a tint- 
ing of fawn, and the hair is long and 
black. The Syrian wolf is of lighter 
color than the wolf of Europe. It is 
the dread of the shepherds of Pales- 
tine. Wolves were doubtless far more 
common in biblical times than they are 
now, though they are occasionally seen 
by modern travelers. The following 


are the scriptural allusions to the wolf : 
Its ferocity is mentioned in Gen. .49:27; 
Ezek. 22 : 27 ; Hab. 1:8; Matt. 7:15; 
its nocturnal habits, in Jer. 5:6; Zeph. 
3:3; Hab. 1:8; its attacking sheep and 
lambs, Matt. 10:16; Luke 10:3; John 
10:12. Isaiah, Isa. 11:6; 65:25, fore- 
tells the peaceful reign of the Messiah 
under the metaphor of a wolf dwelling 
with a lamb; cruel persecutors are com- 
pared with wolves. Matt. 10 : 16 ; Acts 
20 : 29. 

Women. The position of women in 
the Hebrew commonwealth contrasts fa- 
vorably with that which in the present 
day is assigned to them generally in east- 
ern countries. The most salient point 
of contrast in the usages of ancient as 
compared with modern Oriental society 
was the large amount of liberty en- 
joyed by women. Instead of being im- 
mured in a harem, or appearing in 
public with the face covered, the wives 



OUTER GARMENTS OF WOMEN 

As used by Mohammedans of the present day. 

and maidens of ancient times mingled 
freely and openly with the other sex 
in the duties and amenities of ordinary 
life. Rebekah travelled on a camel with 
her face unveiled, until she came into 
the presence of her affianced. Gen. 24: 
64, 65. Jacob saluted Rachel with a 
kiss in the presence of the shepherds. 
Gen. 29 : 11. Women played no incon- 
siderable part in public celebrations. 
Ex. 15 : 20, 21 ; Judges 11 : 34. The odes 
of Deborah, Judges 5, and of Hannah, 
1 Sam. 2 : 1, etc., exhibit a degree of 


woo 


741 


WRI 


intellectual cultivation which is in itself 
a proof of the position of the sex in that 
period. Women also occasionally held 
public office, particularly that of proph- 
etess or inspired teacher. Ex. 15 : 20 ; 
Judges 4 : 4 ; 2 Kings 22 : 14 ; Neh. 6 : 14 ; 
Luke 2 : 36. The management of house- 
hold affairs devolved mainly on the 
women. The value of a virtuous and 
active housewife forms a frequent topic 
in the book of Proverbs, ch. 11 : 16 ; 12 : 
4 ; 14 : 1 ; 31 : 10 ; etc. Her influence was 
of course proportionably great. 

Wood. [Forest.] 

Wool was an article of the highest 
value among the Jews, as the staple ma- 
terial for the manufacture of clothing. 
Lev. 13:47; Deut. 22:11; Job 31:20; 
Prov. 31 : 13 ; Ezek. 34:3; Hosea 2 : 5. 
The importance of wool is incidentally 
shown by the notice that Mesha’s tribute 
was paid in a certain number of rams 
“ with the wool.” 2 Kings 3 : 4. The 
wool of Damascus was highly prized in 
the mart of Tyre. Ezek. 27 : 18. 

Worm, the representative in the Au- 
thorized Version of several Hebrew 
words. Sds, which occurs in Isa. 51 : 8, 
probably denotes some particular species 
of moth, whose larva is injurious to 
wool. Rimmah, Ex. 16 : 24, points evi- 
dently to various kinds of maggots and 
the larvae of insects which feed on putre- 
fying animal or vegetable matter, rather 
than to earthworms. T ole ah is applied 
in Deut. 28 : 39 to some kinds of larvae 
destructive to the vines, and in Ex. 16 : 
20 ; Isa. 66 : 24 of a maggot similar to 
the rimmah. Man is figuratively spoken 
of as this sort of maggot, in Job. 25: 6; 
Isa. 41 : 14 ; and as that denoted by rim- 
mdh in Job 25:6 also. (The two He- 
brew words in this verse are different.) 
In Job 19 : 26 ; 21 : 26 ; 24 : 20, there is an 
allusion to worms (insect larvae) feeding 
on the dead bodies of the buried. There 
is the same allusion in Isa. 66 : 24, 
which words are applied by our Lord, 
Mark 9 : 44, 46, 48, metaphorically to 
the torments of the guilty in the world 
of departed spirits. The valley of Hin- 
nom, near Jerusalem, where the filth of 
the city was cast, was alive with worms. 
The death of Herod Agrippa I. was 
caused by worms. Acts 12 : 23. 

Wormwood. A generic term for the 
species Artemisia, of which five species 
are found in Palestine. The word oc- 
curs frequently in the Bible, and gen- 
erally in a metaphorical sense. In Jer. 


9 : 15 ; 23 : 15 ; Lam. 3 : 15, 19, wormwood 
is symbolical of bitter calamity and 
sorrow; unrighteous judges are said to 
“turn judgment to wormwood.” Amos 



5 : 7. The Orientals typified sorrows, 
cruelties and calamities of any kind by 
plants of a poisonous or bitter nature. 

Worshiper, a translation of the 
Greek word neocoros, used once only, 
Acts 19: 35; in the margin and Revised 
Version, “temple-keeper.” The neoco- 
ros was originally an attendant in a 
temple, probably intrusted with its 
charge. The term neocoros became 
thus applied to cities or communities 
which undertook the worship of par- 
ticular emperors even during their lives. 
The first occurrence of the term in con- 
nection with Ephesus is on coins of the 
age of Nero, a.d. 54-68. 

Wrestling. [Games.] 

Writing. There is no account in the 
Bible of the origin of writing. That 
the Egyptians in the time of Joseph 
were acquainted with writing of a cer- 
tain kind there is evidence to prove, but 
there is nothing to show that up to this 
period the knowledge extended to the 
Hebrew family. At the same time there 
is no evidence against it, and this cou- 
pled with the fact that nearly all na- 
tions, Egyptians and Babylonians as 
early as the 40th century before Christ, 
were familiar with it, may well be con- 
sidered a proof of its existence. Writ- 
ing is first distinctly mentioned in Ex. 
17 : 14, and the connection clearly im- 


WRI 


742 


WRI 


plies that it was not then employed for 
the first time, but was so familiar as 
to be used for historic records. It is 
not absolutely necessary to infer from 
this that the art of writing was an 
accomplishment possessed by every He- 
brew citizen. If we examine the in- 
stances in which writing is mentioned 
in connection with individuals, we shall 
find that in all cases the writers were 
men of superior position. In Isa. 29 : 
11, 12 there is clearly a distinction 
drawn between the man who was able 
to read and the man who was not, 
and it seems a natural inference that 




PAPYRUS. 

A packet of papyrus documents, written by 
a Jewish colony at Assouan, fifth century b.c. 

the accomplishments of reading and 
writing were not widely spread among 
the people, when we find that they are 
universally attributed to those of high 
rank or education — kings, priests, 
prophets and professional scribes. 
Still, later in the history of Israel, when 
schools were common, it is reasonable 
to suppose that all, or at least the large 
proportion of the people could write. 
(See Luke 1:63; 16:6, 7.) The Tel- 
el-Amarna tablets discovered in 1887 
contain correspondence between the 
Egyptian governors of Palestine, and 
the king or his ministers. Moses must 
have been instructed in writing as well 
as in other learning. 

Alphabet. — The invention of the al- 
phabet is generally credited to the 
Phoenicians, who as the daring seamen 


and adventurous colonizers of the an- 
cient world, certainly brought their al- 
phabet to the use of other nations. It 
was the universal belief, or perhaps bet- 
ter, tradition, among ancient writers 
that the Phoenicians originally brought 
it from Egypt. This seemed so reason- 
able, from the known influence of Egyp- 
tian civilization upon other nations, that 
when once the hieroglyphic writings had 
been deciphered, repeated attempts were 
made to trace the growth of the alpha- 
bet therefrom. It proved even more 
difficult than was expected, but was at 
last effected by Emanuel de Rouge, a 
French Egyptologist, who traced it to 
the Hieratic script of the early Empire, 
much older than the writing of the 
monuments; a form so ancient as. to 
have become almost unused at the time 
of the Exodus. From this came what 
is known as the “ Semitic Alphabets,” 
among which is the Phoenician. 
Through them, as has been stated, a 
form of the alphabet extended to the 
western nations. 

The early history of the Hebrew al- 
phabet must be reconstructed from the 
more modern discoveries of inscriptions. 
The Moabite Stone, erected about 850 
b.c., is written in a dialect scarcely 
differing from the ancient Hebrew, and 
in the ancient Hebrew characters. The 
Siloam inscription assigned to b.c. 700 
or 650 is written in characters consid- 
erably modified. These seem to have 
been in use through the times of the 
Maccabees, as the inscriptions on their 
coins are in these characters. They are 
still to be found in the sacred script of 
the few surviving Samaritans. In this 
one example is to be found the only 
remnant of the ancient Phoenician al- 
phabet. 

These and other recent discoveries 
show that the square Hebrew char- 
acter is of comparatively modern date, 
though doubtless used for' literary pur- 
poses long before the time of Christ. 
The book from which he read at the 
Synagogue service (Luke 4:17) was no 
doubt in this square character. Still 
this is not the character of the earliest 
extant Hebrew writing, though its di- 
rect ancestor. It was probably about 
the first or second century after Christ 
that the square character assumed its 
present form ; though in a question in- 
volved in so much uncertainty it is im- 
possible to pronounce with great posi- 




WRI 


743 


WRI 


tiveness. The names of the several let- 
ters of the Hebrew language have long 
been familiar to English readers from 
their having been used to mark the di- 
visions of the 119th Psalm. The R. V. 
gives in addition the modern form of 
the Hebrew letter. It will be seen that 
they are 22 in number. The vowels are 
mere points, dots, and the fact that 
they were not commonly used in more 


with little authority. In Ancient He- 
brew, also, as in Ancient Latin and An- 
cient Greek, no divisions were made 
between the words. The same is the 
case with the Phoenician inscriptions. 
The various readings in the LXX. show 
that, at the time this version was made, 
in the Hebrew MSS. which the trans- 
lators used the words were written in 
a continuous series. The modern syn- 




AN ANCIENT BOUND BOOK. 


ancient times is the reason for the un- 
certainty as to the reading in some 
places in the Hebrew Scriptures. It is 
as it would be in English were the 
vowels omitted — GRT might mean 
GiRT, GRiT, GReaT, GRaTe, eGReT, 
etc. The points were inserted in the 
7th century, a.d., and merely represent 
the traditional pronunciation, and hence 


agogue rolls and the MSS. of the Sa- 
maritan Pentateuch have no vowel- 
points, but the words are divided, and 
the Samaritan in this respect differs but 
little from the Hebrew. Writing ma- 
terials, etc. — The oldest documents 
which contain the writing of a Semitic 
race are probably the bricks of clay in 
Nineveh and Babylon, on which are 


WRI 


744 


WRI 


impressed the cuneiform Syrian in- 
scriptions. There is, however, no evi- 
dence that they were ever used by the 
Hebrews, although the Tel-el-Amarna 
tablets, written by Egyptian governors 
in Palestine were of this sort. Stone 
was in use in all parts of the world for 
inscriptions intended to be permanent. 
(Ex. 31 : 18 ; Josh. 8: 30-32 ;cf. Job 19:24.) 
Wood was largely used in some coun- 
tries, and is doubtless spoken of in Isa. 
30 : 8 and Hab. 2 : 2. Other substances 
as wax, bark, linen, and lead were used 
in ancient times, but there is no evi- 
dence of their being used by the He- 
brews. Very probably the most com- 
mon material which the Hebrews used 
for writing was dressed skin in some 
form or other. We know that the 
dressing of skins was practiced by the 
Hebrews, Ex. 25:5; Lev. 13 : 48, and 
they may have acquired the knowledge 
of the art from the Egyptians, among 
whom it had attained great, perfection, 
the leather-cutters constituting one of 
the principal subdivisions of the third 
caste. Perhaps the Hebrews may have 
borrowed, among their other acquire- 
ments, the use of papyrus from the 
Egyptians, but of this we have no posi- 
tive evidence. In the Bible the only al- 
lusions to the use of papyrus are in 2 
John 12, where chart es (Authorized 
Version “paper”) occurs, which refers 
especially to papyrus paper, and 3 Macc. 
4 : 20, where charteria is found in the 
same sense. Herodotus, after telling us 
that the Ionians learned the art of writ- 
ing from the Phoenicians, adds that they 
called their books skins, because they 
made use of sheep-skins and goat-skins 
when short of paper. Parchment was 
used for the MSS. of the Pentateuch 
in the time of Josephus, and the mem- 
brane p of 2 Tim. 4:13 were skins of 
parchment. It was one of the provisions 
in the Talmud that the law should be 
written on the skins of clean animals, 
tame or wild, or even of clean birds. 
The skins when written upon were 
formed into rolls ( megilloth ). Ps. 40: 
7; comp. Isa. 34:4; Jer. 36:14; Ezek. 
2:9; Zech. 5 : 1. They were rolled upon 


one or two sticks and fastened with a 
thread, the ends of which were sealed. 
Isa. 29 : 11 ; Dan. 12 : 4 ; Rev. 5 : 1, etc. 
The rolls were generally written on one 
side only, except in Ezek. 2 : 10 ; Rev. 5 : 
1. They were divided into columns 
(Authorized Version “leaves,” Jer. 36: 
23) ; the upper margin was to be not 
less than three fingers broad, the lower 
not less than four; and a space of two 
fingers breadth was to be left between 



WRITING TABLETS. 


every two columns. But besides skins, 
which were used for the more permanent 
kinds of writing, tablets of wood cov- 
ered with wax, Luke 1 : 63, served for 
the ordinary purposes of life. Several 
of these were fastened together and 
formed volumes. They were written 
upon with a pointed style, sometimes 
of 'iron. Ps. 45:1; Jer. 8:8; 17:1. 
For harder materials a graver, Ex. 
32 : 4 ; Isa. 8 : 1, was employed. For 
parchment or skins a reed was used. 
3 John 13; 3 Macc. 5:20. The ink, 
Jer. 36:18, literally “black,” like the 
Greek ne\av, 2 Cor. 3:3; 2 John 12; 
3 John 13, was of lampblack dissolved 
in gall-juice. It was carried in an 'ink- 
stand, which was suspended at the gir- 
dle, Ezek. 9:2, 3, as is done at the pres- 
ent day in the East. The modern “ ink- 
horn ” is of metal, and consists of a 
small receptacle for the very thick ink 
used, joined to a long, tube-like holder 
for the reed pens. This long portion is 
thrust into the girdle. To professional 
scribes there are allusions in Ezra 7:6; 
Ps. 45:1; 2 Esdr. 14:24. 


Y 


Yarn. The word translated ‘‘fine 
linen ” in the A. V. of Prov. 7 : 16 is in 
the R. V. rendered “yarn.” The fine 
thread or yarn of Egypt was most prob- 
ably linen. The words “ linen yarn ” 
also occur in the A. V. in an extremely 
obscure passage in 1 Kings 10 : 28 ; 2 
Chron. 1 : 16. The Hebrew Received 
Text is questionable. The R. V. trans- 
lates the words “ drove.” 

Year, the highest ordinary division 
of time. Two years were known to, 
and apparently used by, the Hebrews. 
1. A year of 360 days appears to have 
been in use in Noah’s time. 2. The 
year commonly in use among the He- 
brews was essentially solar, for the 
offering of productions of the earth, 
first-fruits, harvest produce and in- 
gathered fruits, was fixed to certain 
days of the year, two of which were in 
the periods of great feasts, the third 
itself a feast reckoned from one of the 
former days. But it is certain that the 
months were lunar, each commencing 
with a new moon. The year would nat- 
urally then have only 354.37 days. There 
must therefore have been some method 
of adjustment. Although no mention 
of it is made in the Bible, and its ex- 
istence cannot be proved, it is most 
probable that it was in the same way 
which the Babylonians used to adjust 
the year in use there, — the addition of 
a thirteenth month whenever the twelfth 
ended too long before the equinox for 
the offering of the first-fruits to be 
made at the time fixed. This seems 
pretty certainly the case after the Baby- 
lonian Exile. The Jews had two com- 
mencements of the year, whence it is 
commonly but inaccurately said that 
they had two years, the sacred year and 
the civil. We prefer to speak of the 


sacred and civil reckonings. The sacred 
reckoning was that instituted at the Ex- 
odus, according to which the first month 
was Abib; by the civil reckoning the 
first month was the seventh. The in- 
terval between the two commencements 
was thus exactly half a year. The year 
was divided into' — 1. Seasons. Two 
seasons are mentioned in the Bible, 
“ summer ” and “ winter.” The former 
properly means the time of cutting 
fruits, the latter that of gathering fruits ; 
they are therefore originally rather 
summer and autumn than summer and 
winter. But that they signify ordinarily 
the two grand divisions of the year, the 
warm and cold seasons, is evident from 
their use for the whole year in the ex- 
pression “ summer and winter.” Ps. 74 : 
17; Zech. 14:8. 2. Months. [Month.] 

3. Weeks. [Week.] 

Year, Sabbatical. [Sabbatical 
Year.] 

Year of Jubilee. [Jubilee, Year 
of.] 

Yoke. 1. A well-known implement 
of husbandry, frequently used metaphor- 
ically for subjection, e. g. 1 Kings 12 : 

4, 9-11; Isa. 9:4; Jer. 5:5; hence an 

“ iron yoke ” represents an unusually 
galling bondage. Deut. 28:48; Jer. 28: 
13. 2. A pair of oxen, so termed as be- 
ing yoked together. 1 Sam. 11 : 7 ; 1 
Kings 19 : 19, 21. 3. The term is also 

applied to a certain amount of land, 
1 Sam. 14 : 14, equivalent to that which 
a couple of oxen could plough in a 
day, Isa. 5 : 10 (Authorized Version 
“acre”), corresponding to the Latin 
jugum. In the N. T. the word is usu- 
ally used in the figurative sense of sub- 
jection, or the burden imposed as the 
mark of subjection. Matt. 11 : 29 ; 23 : 24. 


745 


Za=ana'im (za-a-na'im) (removings), 
probably a sacred tree — mentioned as 
marking the spot near which Heber the 
Kenite was encamped when Sisera took 
refuge in his tent. Judges 4:11. Its 
situation is quite uncertain. By Josh. 
19 : 33 it was a frontier town of Naph- 
tali, and it is said to have been “ near 
Kadesh.” Several sites are proposed. 

Za'anan (za'a-nan). [Zenan.] 

Za'avan (za'a-van), or Za'van ( un- 
quiet ), a Horite chief, son of Ezer the 
son of Seir. Gen. 36 : 27 ; 1 Chron. 1 : 
42. 

Za'bad (za'bad) (gift). 1. Son of 
Nathan, son of Attai, son of Ahlai 
Sheshan’s daughter, 1 Chron. 2 : 31-37. 
He is thought by some to be identical 
with the “ Zabad son of Ahlai ” of 1 
Chron. 11:41, one of David’s mighty 
men. None of his deeds have been re- 
corded. 

2. An Ephraimite, if the text of 1 
Chron. 7:21 is correct. 

3. Son of Shimeath, an Ammonitess; 
an assassin who, with Jehozabad, slew 
King Joash, according to 2 Chron. 24 : 
26 (b.c. 796) ; but in 2 Kings 12: 21 his 
name is written, probably more cor- 
rectly, Jozachar. 

4. A layman of Israel, of the sons of 

Zattu, who put away his foreign wife at 
Ezra’s command. Ezra 10 : 27. (b.c. 

458.) 

5. One of the descendants of Hashum, 

who had married a foreign wife after 
the captivity. Ezra 10:33. (b.c. 458.) 

6. One of the sons of Nebo, whose 
name is mentioned under the same cir- 
cumstances as the two preceding. Ezra 
10 : 43. 

Zabade'ans (za-bad-e'ans), an Arab 
tribe who were attacked and spoiled by 
Jonathan, on his way back to Damascus 
from his fruitless pursuit of the army 
of Demetrius. 1 Macc. 12 : 31. Their 
name probably survives in the village of 
Zebdany, about 26 miles from Damas- 
cus. 


Zab'bai (zab'ba) (humming). 1. 
One of the descendants of Bebai, who 
had married a foreign wife in the days 
of Ezra. Ezra 10 : 28. (b.c. 458.) 

2. Father of Baruch, who assisted Ne- 
hemiah in rebuilding the city wall. Neh. 
3 : 20. Perhaps the same as 1. 

Zab'bud (zab'bud) (given), one of 
the sons, of Bigvai, who returned in the 
second caravan with Ezra. Ezra 8 : 14. 
(b.c. 458.) 

Zab'di (zab'di) (gift of [Jehovah]). 
1. Son of Zerah the son of Judah, and 
ancestor of Achan. Josh. 7 : 1, 17, 18. 
Elsewhere called Zimri. 

2. A Benjamite, of the sons of Shim- 
hi. 1 Chron. 8 : 19. 

3. David’s officer over the produce of 
the vineyards for the wine-cellars. 1 
Chron. 27 : 27. 

4. Son of Asaph the minstrel, Neh. 11 : 
17; called Zaccur in Neh. 12:35 and 
Zichri in 1 Chron. 9 : 15. 

Zab'di=el (zab' di-el) (gift of God). 
1. Father of Jashobeam, the chief of 
David’s guard. 1 Chron. 27 : 2. 

2. A priest, son of the great men, or, 
as the margin gives it, “ Haggedolim.” 
Neh. 11 : 14. 

Za'bud (za'bud) (given), son of 
Nathan, 1 Kings 4:5, is described as a 
priest (Authorized Version “principal 
officer”), and as holding at the court of 
Solomon the confidential post of “ king’s 
friend,” which had been occupied by 
Hushai the Archite during the reign of 
David. 2 Sam. 15:37; 16 : 16 ; 1 Chron. 
27 : 33. 

Zab'ulon (zab'u-lon), the Greek form 
of the name Zebulun. Matt. 4 : 13, 15 ; 
Rev. 7 : 8. 

Zac'ca=i (zak'ka-I) (pure). The sons 
of Zaccai, to the number of 760, re- 
turned with Zerubbabel. Ezra 2:9; 
Neh. 7 : 14. 

Zacchae'us (zak-ke'us) (pure), a tax- 
collector near Jericho, who, being short 
in stature, climbed -up into a sycomore 
tree in order to obtain a sight of Jesus 


746 


ZAC 


747 


ZAD 


as he passed through that place. Luke 
19:1-10. Zacchaeus was a Jew, as may 
be inferred from his name and from 
the fact that the Saviour speaks of him 
expressly as “ a son of Abraham.” The 
term which designates his office — “ the 
chief among the publicans ” — is unusual, 
but describes him, no doubt, as the 
superintendent of customs or tribute in 
the district of Jericho, where he lived. 
The office must have been a lucrative 
one in such a region, and it is not 
strange that Zacchaeus is mentioned by 
the evangelists as a rich man. The 
Saviour spent the night probably in the 
house of Zacchaeus, and the next day 
pursued his journey. He was in the 
caravan from Galilee which was going 
to Jerusalem to keep the Passover. 

Zac'chur (zak'kur), a Simeonite, of 
the family of Mishma. 1 Chron. 4 : 26. 
R. V. “ Zaccur.” 

Zac'cur (mindful). 1. Father of 
Shammua, the Reubenite spy. Num. 13 : 

4. 

2. A Merarite Levite, son of Jaaziah. 
1 Chron. 24:27. 

3. Son of Asaph the singer. 1 Chron. 
25 : 2, 10 ; Neh. 12 : 35. [Zabdi, 4.] 

4. The son of Imri, who assisted Ne- 

hemiah in rebuilding the city wall. Neh. 
3:2. (b.c. 446.) 

5. A Levite, or family of Levites, who 
signed the covenant with Nehemiah. 
Neh. 10:12. 

6. A Levite whose son or descendant 
Hanan was one of the treasurers over 
the treasuries appointed by Nehemiah. 
Neh. 13 : 13. 

Zachari'ah (zak-a-rl'ah) ( remembered 
by Jehovah), or properly Zechariah. 1. 
Son of Jeroboam II., fourteenth king of 
Israel, and the last of the house of Jehu. 
There is a difficulty about the date of 
his reign. Most chronologers assume an 
interregnum of eleven years between 
Jeroboam’s death and Zachariah’s ac- 
cession. The latter event took place 
b.c. 741. His reign lasted only, six 
months. He was killed in a conspiracy 
of which Shallum was the head, and by 
which the prophecy in 2 Kings 10 : 30 
was accomplished. 

2. The father of Abi or Abijah, Heze- 
kiah’s mother. 2 Kings 18 : 2. 

Zachari'as (zak-a-ri'as) (Greek form 
of Zachariah). 1. Father of John the 
Baptist. Luke 1 : 5, etc. He was a 
priest of the course of Abia, the eighth 
of the twenty-four courses who minis- 


tered at the temple in turn. He lived 
in the hill country of Judea. His wife’s 
name was Elisabeth. John was born to 
them in their old age, and the promise 
of this son was communicated to Zacha- 
rias by an angel while he was offering 
incense and praying in the temple. 

2. Son of Barachias, who, our Lord 
says, was slain by the Jews between the 
altar and the temple. Matt. 23:35; 
Luke 11 : 51. There has been much dis- 
pute who this Zacharias was. Many of 
the Greek fathers have maintained that 
the father of John the Baptist is the 
person to whom our Lord alludes ; but 
there can be little or no doubt that the 
allusion is to Zechariah, the son of Je- 
hoiada, who lived during the reign of 
Joash king of Israel. 2 Chron. 24 : 20, 
21. He may have been called “ the son ” 
of Barachias from his grandfather; or 
the words may have slipped from a note 
in the margin to the text. He is men- 
tioned as being the martyr last recorded 
in the Hebrew Scriptures (as Abel was 
the first), — 2d Chronicles being the last 
book in their canon. 

Za'cher (za'ker) (memorial), one of 
the sons of Jehiel, the father or founder 
of Gibeon, by his wife Maachah. 1 
Chron. 8:31. [Zechariah, 3.] 

Za'dok (za'dok) (just). 1. Son of 
Ahitub, and one of the two chief priests 
in the time of David, Abiathar being the 
other. There is some confusion in the 
different accounts of his descent, causing 
a considerable difference of opinion 
among commentators. It is generally 
supposed, however that Zadok was of 
the house of Eleazar the son of Aaron, 
1 Chron. 24:3. He was, according to 
Josephus the “young man mighty of 
valor” who joined David at Hebron 
after Saul’s death, 1 Chron. 12:28. 
When Absalom revolted, and David fled 
from Jerusalem, Zadok and all the 
Levites bearing the ark accompanied 
him. When Absalom was dead, Zadok 
and Abiathar were the persons who per- 
suaded the elders of Judah to invite 
David to return. 2 Sam. 19 : 11. When 
Adonijah, in David’s old age, set up 
for king, and had persuaded Joab, and 
Abiathar the priest, to join his party, 
Zadok was unmoved, and was employed 
by David to anoint Solomon to be king 
in his room. 1 Kings 1 : 34. For this 
fidelity he was rewarded by Solomon, 
who “thrust out Abiathar from being 
priest unto the Lord,” and put in 


ZAH 


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ZAR 


Zadok the priest ” in his room. 1 Kings 
2:27, 35. From this time, however, we 
hear little of him. Zadok and Abiathar 
were of nearly equal dignity. 2 Sam. 
15 : 35, 36 ; 19 : 11. The duties of the 
office were divided. 

2. According to the genealogy of the 
high priests in 1 Chron. 6 : 12, there was 
a second Zadok, son of a second Ahitub, 
son of Amariah, about the time of King 
Ahaziah. It is probable that no such 
person as this second Zadok ever ex- 
isted, but that the insertion of the two 
names is a copyist’s error. 

3. Father of Jerushah, the wife of 
King Uzziah and mother of King Jo- 
tham. 2 Kings 15 : 33 ; 2 Chron. 27 : 1. 

4. Son of Baana, and 

5. Son of Immer, persons who re- 
paired portions of the wall in Nehe- 
miah’s time. Neh. 3:4, 29. 

6. In 1 Chron. 9:11 and Neh. 11:11 
mention is made, in a genealogy, of Za- 
dok, the son of Meraioth, the son of Ahi- 
tub; but it can hardly be doubtful that 
Meraioth is inserted by the error of a 
copyist, and that Zadok the son of Ahi- 
tub is meant. 

Za'ham (za'ham) ( loathing ), son of 
Rehoboam by Abihail the daughter of 
Eliab. 2 Chron. 11 : 19. 

Za'ir (za'ir) {small), a place named, 
in 2 Kings 8 : 21 only, in the account of 
Joram’s expedition against the Edom- 
ites. It has been conjectured that Zair 
is identical with Zoar. 

Za'laph (za'laf) ( fracture ), father of 
Hanun, who assisted in rebuilding the 
city wall. Neh. 3:30. 

Zal'mon (zal'mon) (shady), an Aho- 
hite, one of David’s guard. 2 Sam. 23 : 
28. Also called Ilai. 

Zal'mon, Mount, a wooded eminence 
in the immediate neighborhood of 
Shechem. Judges 9:48. 

Zalmo'nah (zal-mo'nah) (shady), a 
desert-station of the Israelites, Num. 
33 : 41. Its site is not known. 

Zalmun'na (zal-mun'na). [Zebah.] 

Zamzum'mim (zam-zum'mim), Deut. 
2 : 20 only, the Ammonite name for the 
people who by others were called Reph- 
aim. They are described as having orig- 
inally been a powerful and numerous 
nation of giants. From a slight simi- 
larity between the two names, and from 
the mention of the Emim in connection 
with each, it is conjectured that the 
Zamzummim are identical with the Zu- 
zim. 


Zano'ah (za-no'ah) ( foul water). 1. 
A town of Judah in the Shefelah or 
plain, Josh. 15:34; Neh. 3:13; 11:30; 
generally identified with Zdnu’a. 

2. A town of Judah in the highland 
district, Josh. 15 : 56, possibly identical 
with Zanuta , about 12 miles south of 
Hebron. 

3. In the genealogical lists of the tribe 
of Judah in 1 Chron., Jekuthiel is said 
to have been the father of Zanoah, ch. 4: 
18. As Zanoah is the name of a town of 
Judah, this mention of Bithiah probably 
points to some colonization of the place 
by Egyptians or by Israelites directly 
from Egypt. It is variously identified 
with 1 and 2. 

Zaph'nath=pa=ane'ah (zaf'nath-pa'a- 
ne'ah), a name given by Pharaoh to 
Joseph. Gen. 41 : 45. The rabbins in- 
terpreted Zaphnath-paaneah as Hebrew, 
in the sense revealer of a secret. But 
the name was distinctly Egyptian. In 
1886 it was explained by comparison 
with other Egyptian . names as meaning 
“ Said God, he liveth,” and later investi- 
gations seem to have established it. 

Za'phon (za'fon) (north), a place 
mentioned in the enumeration of the 
allotment of the tribe of Gad. Josh. 13 : 
27. It was in the Jordan valley east of 
the river, and most probably is the 
Amatho of the Talmud, or the modern 
Amateh, a little north of the Jabbok. 

Za'ra (za'rah), the son of Judah. 
Matt. 1 : 3. [Zerah, 2.] 

Za'rah (za'rah), the son of Judah. 
Gen. 38:30; 46 : 12. [Zerah, 2.] 

Za'reah (za're-ah), the same as Zorah 
and Zoreah. Neh. 11 : 29. [Zorah.] 

Za'reathites, The, the inhabitants of 
Zareah or Zorah. 1 Chron. 2 : 53. 

Za'red (za'red), The valley of. [Ze- 
red.] 

Zar'ephath (zar'e-fath) (smelting 
place), the residence of the prophet 
Elijah during the latter part of the 
drought. 1 Kings 17 : 9, 10. It was 
about 8 miles south of Zidon. It is 
represented by the modern village of 
Surafend. Of the old town considerable 
indications remain. One group of foun- 
dations is on a headland called Ain el- 
Kanatarah; but the chief remains ar£ 
south of this, and extend for a mile or 
more, with many fragments of columns, 
slabs and other architectural features. 
In the Authorized Version in the New 
Testament Zarephath appears under the 
Greek form of Sarepta, but in the R. 


ZAR 


749 


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V. the ancient name is restored. Luke 
% : 26. 

Zar'etan (zar'e-tan). Josh. 3:16, 
also given Zar'tanah, 1 Kings 4 : 12, 
and Zar'than, 1 Kings 7 : 46. R. V. 
“ Zar'ethan ” in all places. A village 
“beneath Jezreel,” near the towns of 
Bethshean and Adam. The bronze 
castings for the temple were made be- 
tween Succoth and Zarethan. In the 
parallel passage, 2 Chron. 4 : 17, it is 
called Zeredatha. R. V. Zeredah. The 
place cannot be precisely located. All 
that is known being in the Jordan valley 
not far from el-Damieh, the city of 
Adam, named in Josjj. 3:16. Appar- 
ently also Zererath, R. V. Zererah, of 
Judges 7 : 22 is the same place. 

Za'reth=sha'har (za'reth-sha'har) 
( splendor of the dawn), a place men- 
tioned only in Josh. 13 : 19, in the cata- 
logue of the towns allotted to Reuben. 

Zar'hites (zar'hites), The, a branch 
of the tribe of Judah, descended from 
Zerah the son of Judah. Num. 26:13, 
20 ; Josh. 7 : 17 ; 1 Chron. 27 : 11, 13. R. 
V. “ Zerahites.” 

Zar'tanah. 1 Kings 4 : 12. [Zare- 

TAN.] 

Zar'than. 1 Kings 7 : 46. [Zare- 
tan.] 

Zat'tu (zat'tu). The sons of Zattu 
were a family of laymen (?f Israel who 
returned with Zerubbabel. Ezra 2:8; 
Neh. 7 : 13. 

Za'van (za'van). 1 Chron. 1:42. 
[Zaavan.] 

Za'za (za'za), one of the sons of 
Jonathan, a descendant of Jerahmeel. 1 
Chron. 2 : 33. 

Zebadi'ah (zeb-a-di'ah). 1. A Ben- 
jamite of the sons of Beriah. 1 Chron. 
8 : 15. 

2. A Benjamite of the sons of Elpaal. 
1 Chron. 8 : 17. 

3. One of the sons of Jeroham of 
Gedor, who joined David at Ziklag. 1 
Chron. 12 : 7. 

4. Son of Asahel, the brother of Joab. 
1 Chron. 27 : 7. 

5. Son of Michael, of the sons of She- 
phatiah. Ezra 8 : 8. 

6. A priest of the sons of Immer, who 
had married a foreign wife after the re- 
turn from Babylon. Ezra 10 : 20. 

7. Third son of Meshelemiah the Kor- 
hite. 1 Chron. 26 : 2. 

8. A Levite in the reign of Jehosha- 
phat. 2 Chron. 17 : 8. 

9. The son of Ishmael and prince of 


the house of Judah in the reign of Je- 
hoshaphat. 2 Chron. 19 : 11. 

Ze'bah (ze'bah) ( victim ) and Zal= 
mun'na ( deprived of protection) , the 
two “ kings ” of Midian who commanded 
the great invasion of Palestine and who 
finally fell by the hand of Gideon himself. 
Judges 8:5-21; Ps. 83:11. While Oreb 
and Zeeb, two of the inferior leaders of 
the incursion, had been slain, with a vast 
number of their people, by the Ephraim- 
ites, at the central fords of the Jordan, 
the two kings had succeeded in making 
their escape by a passage farther to the 
north (probably the ford near Beth- 
shean), and thence by the Wady Yabis, 
through Gilead, to Karkor, high up on 
the Hauran. Here they were reposing 
with 15,000 men, a mere remnant of 
their huge horde, when Gideon overtook 
them. The people fled in dismay, and 
Gideon captured the two kings and 
brought them to his native village, Oph- 
rah, where he slew them because they 
had killed his brothers. 

Zeba'im (ze-ba'im), mentioned in the 
catalogue of the families of “ Solomon’s 
slaves ” who returned from the captivity 
with Zerubbabel. Ezra 2:57; Neh. 7: 
59. The R. V. connects it with the pre- 
vious name “ Pochereth,” making the 
true name “ Pochereth-hazzebaim.” 
[Pochereth.] 

Zeb'edee (zeb'e-de) (Greek form of 
“Zebadiah,” gift of Jehovah ), a fisher- 
man of Galilee, the father of the apos- 
tles James the Great and John, Matt. 
4 : 21, and the husband of Salome. 
Matt. 27 : 56 ; Mark 15 : 40. He probably 
lived either at Bethsaida or in its im- 
mediate neighborhood. It has been in- 
ferred from the mention of his “ hired 
servants,” Mark 1 : 20, and from the ac- 
quaintance between the apostle John and 
Annas the high priest, John .18 : 15, that 
the family of Zebedee were in easy cir- 
cumstances, comp. John 19:27, although 
not above manual labor. Matt. 4 : 21. 
He appears only twice in the Gospel 
narrative, namely, in Matt. 4 : 21, 22 ; 
Mark 1 : 19, 20, where he is seen in his 
boat with his two sons mending their 
nets. 

Zebi'na (ze-bl'na) (acquired), one of 
the sons of Nebo who had taken foreign 
wives after the return from Babylon. 
Ezra 10 : 43. 

Zebo'im (ze-bo'im). 1. One of the 
cities of the “plain” or circle of Jor- 
dan destroyed with Sodom. It is men- 


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tioned in Gen. 10 : 19 ; 14 : 2, 8 ; Deut. 
29 : 23 ; Hos. 11 : 8. For the general site 
of these cities see Sodom. In Gen. 14: 
2, 8, the name is given more correctly 
in the Authorized Version Zeboiim. 

2. The valley of Zeboim, a ravine or 
gorge, apparently east of Michmash, 
mentioned only in 1 Sam. 13 : 18, in de- 
scribing the route taken by a band of 
Philistines. The wilderness is no doubt 
the district of uncultivated mountain 
tops and sides which lies between the 
central district of Benjamin and the 
Jordan valley. In that very district 
there is a wild gorge bearing the name 
of Shuk ed-Dubba’, “ ravine of the hy- 
ena,” the exact equivalent of Ge hat- 
tsebo’im. 

Zebu'dah (ze-bu'dah) {bestowed ) , 
wife of Josiah and mother of King 
Jehoiakim. 2 Kings 23 : 36. R. V. 
“ Zebidah.” 

Ze'bul (ze'bul) ( habitation ), chief 
man (Authorized Version “ruler”) of 
the city of Shechem at the time of the 
contest between Abimelech and the na- 
tive Canaanites. Judges 9 : 28, 30, 36, 
38, 41. (b.c. 1179.) 

Zeb'ulonite, a member of the tribe 
of Zebulun. Judges 12:11, 12. Applied 
only to Elon, the one judge produced by 
the tribe. Judges 12:11, 12. R. V. 
“ Zebulunite.” 

Zeb'ulun (zeb'u-lun) (a habitation), 
the tenth of the sons of Jacob, accord- 
ing to the order in which their births 
are enumerated; the sixth and last of 
Leah. Gen. 30:20; 35:23; 46:14; 1 
Chron. 2 : 1. His birth is mentioned in 
Gen. 30 : 19, 20. Of the individual Zeb- 
ulun nothing is recorded. The list of 
Gen. 46 ascribes to him three sons, 
founders of the chief families of the 
tribe (comp. Num. 26:26) at the time 
of the migration to Egypt. The tribe 
is not recorded to have taken part, for 
evil or good, in any of the events of the 
wandering or the conquest. In the 
Blessing of Jacob, Gen. 49:13, Zebulun 
is spoken of as being a haven of ships, 
and having its border on Zidon. Jo- 
sephus supports this by stating that it 
extended from the Sea of Gennesaret 
to the Mediterranean. But by its de- 
scription of the boundaries in Josh. 19, 
*we learn that it was bounded on the 
east by Naphtali along the entire shore 
of the Sea of Galilee, and on the west 
was separated from the Mediterranean 
by Asher, and somewhat by Manasseh. 


The boundaries are uncertain, and a 
small portion may once have touched 
the sea. Another explanation is that 
being near the sea it had easy access to 
its ports. Remote from the centre of 
government, Zebulun remains through- 
out the history, with one exception, in 
the obscurity which envelops the whole 
of the northern tribes. That exception, 
however, is a remarkable one. The con- 
duct of the tribe during the struggle 
with Sisera, when they fought with des- 
perate valor side by side with their 
brethren of Naphtali, was such as to 
draw down the special praise of De- 
borah, who singles them out from all 
the other tribes. Judges 5:18. 

Zeb'ulunites (zeb'u-lun-ites), The, 
the members of the tribe of Zebulun. 
Num. 26 : 27 only, in A. V. 

Zechari'ah (zek-a-ri'ah). 1. The 
eleventh in order of the twelve minor 
prophets. He is called in his prophecy 
the son of Berechiah and the grandson 
of Iddo, whereas in the book of Ezra, 
ch. 5:1; 6:14, he is said to have been 
the son of Iddo. It is natural to sup- 
pose, as the prophet himself mentions 
his father’s name, whereas the book of 
Ezra mentions only Iddo, that Berechiah 
had died early, and that there was now 
no intervening link between the grand- 
father and the grandson. Zechariah, 
like Jeremiah and Ezekiel before him, 
was priest as well as prophet. He 
seems to have entered upon his office 
while yet young, Zech. 2 : 4, and must 
have been born in Babylon, whence he 
returned with the first caravan of exiles 
under Zerubbabel and Jeshua in b.c. 536. 
The younger prophet acted in concert 
with the more aged Haggai. Both 
prophets had the same great object be- 
fore them ; both directed all their ener- 
gies to the building of the second tem- 
ple. To their influence we find the 
rebuilding of the temple in a great 
measure ascribed. If the later Jewish 
accounts may be trusted, Zechariah, as 
well as Haggai, was a member of the 
Great Synagogue. His mature life ex- 
tended from B.c. 520 to 479. In. what 
may be called the peculiarities of his 
prophecy, he approaches more nearly to 
Ezekiel and Daniel, than to the other 
prophets. Like them he delights in 
visions ; like them he uses symbols and 
allegories rather than the boJ,d figures 
and metaphors which lend so much 
force and beauty to the writings of the 


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earlier prophets. Generally speaking, 
Zechariah’ s style is pure, and remark- 
ably free from Chaldaisms. 

2. Son of Meshelemiah or Shelemiah, 
a Korhite, and keeper of the north gate 
of the tabernacle of the congregation. 1 
Chron. 9 : 21 ; 26 : 2. 

3. One of the sons of Jehiel. 1 
Chron. 9 : 37. [Zacher.] 

4. A Levite of the second order in the 

temple band as arranged by David, ap- 
pointed to play with psalteries. 1 Chron. 
15:18, 20. (b.c. 1042.) 

5. One of the princes of Judah in the 
reign of Jehoshaphat. 2 Chron. 17:7, 
(b.c. 868.) 

6. Son of the high priest Jehoiada, in 
the reign of Joash king of Judah, 2 
Chron. 24 : 20, and therefore the king’s 
cousin. After the death of Jehoiada, 
Zechariah probably succeeded to his 
office, and in attempting to check the 
reaction in favor of idolatry which im- 
mediately followed, he fell a victim to a 
conspiracy formed against him by the 
king, and was stoned in the court of 
the temple. He is probably the same as 
the “ Zacharias son of Barachias ” who 
was slain between the temple and the 
altar. Matt. 23 : 35. [Zacharias, 2.] 

7. A Kohathite Levite in the reign of 

Josiah. 2 Chron. 34 : 12. (b.c. 628.) 

8. The leader of the sons of Pharosh 
who returned with Ezra. Ezra 8 : 3. 
(b.c. 458.) 

9. Son of Bebai. Ezra 8 : 11. 

10. One of the chiefs of the people 

whom Ezra summoned in council at the 
river Ahava. Ezra 8 : 16. He or an- 
other of the same name stood at Ezra’s 
left hand when he expounded the law 
to the people. Neh. 8:4. (b.c. 450.) 

11. One of the family of Elam who 

had married a foreign wife after the 
captivity. Ezra 10:26. (b.c. 458.) 

12. Ancestor of Athaiah or Uthai. 
Neh. 11 : 4. 

13. A Shilonite, descendant of Shelah. 
Neh. 11:5. 

14. A priest, son of Pashur. Neh. 11 : 
12 . 

15. The representative of the priestly 

family of Iddo in the days of Joiakim 
the son of Jeshua. Neh. 12:16. (b.c. 

about 500.) Probably the same as Zech- 
ariah the prophet, the son of Iddo. 

16. An Asaphite, son of Jonathan, 

who blew with the trumpets at the ded- 
ication of the city wall by Ezra and Ne- 
hemiah. Neh. 12:35. (b.c. 446.) 


17. A priest who also took part in 
the dedication of the wall. Neh 12:41. 

18. A chief of the Reubenites at the 

time of the captivity by Tiglath-pileser. 
1 Chron. 5:7. (b.c. 740.) 

19. One of the priests who accom- 

panied the ark from the house of Obed- 
edom. 1 Chron. 15:24. (b.c. 1042.) 

20. Son of Isshiah or Jesiah, a Ko- 
hathite Levite descended from Uzziel. 

1 Chron. 24:25. (b.c. 1042.) 

21. Fourth son of Hosah, of the chil- 
dren of Merari. 1 Chron. 26 : 11. 

22. A Manassite, father of Iddo. 1 
Chron. 27:21. 

23. The father of Jahaziel. 2 Chron. 
20 : 14. 

24. One of the sons of Jehoshaphat. 

2 Chron. 21 : 2. 

25. A prophet in the reign of Uzziah, 

who had “ understanding in the vision 
of God,” and exercised a powerful in- 
fluence for good upon the king. Noth- 
ing more is known of him. 2 Chron. 26 : 
5. (b.c. 760.) 

26. The father gf Abijah or Abi, Hez- 
ekiah’s. mother. 2 Chron. 29 : 1. [Zech- 
ariah, 2.] 

27. One of the family of Asaph in the 
reign of Hezekiah. 2 Chron. 29 : 13. 
(b.c. 725.) 

28. One of the rulers of the temple in 
the reign of Josiah. 2 Chron. 35:8. 
(b.c. 628.) 

29. The son of Jeberechiah, who was 
taken by the prophet Isaiah as one of the 
“ faithful witnesses to record,” when he 
wrote concerning Maher-shalal-hash- 
baz. Isa. 8 : 2. He may have been the 
Levite of the same name who in the 
reign of Hezekiah assisted in the purifi- 
cation of the temple. 2 Chron. 29 : 13. 
Another conjecture is that he is the same 
as Zechariah the father of Abijah, the 
queen of Ahaz. 

Zechariah, The book of. The book 
of Zechariah, in its existing form, con- 
sists of two principal parts, viz. chs. 
1-8 and chs. 9-14. The first of these 
divisions is allowed by all critics to be 
the genuine work gf Zechariah the son 
of Iddo. The remainder of the book is 
regarded by many critics as prophecies 
of one or more prophets, whose writings 
have been joined to those of Zechariah. 
The first suggestion of this came from 
Joseph Mede in 1653, who argues that 
chs. 9 to 11 were written by Jeremiah, 
because Matthew in quoting Zech. 11: 
13, refers it to Jeremiah. (Matt. 27 : 9.) 


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The argument for different authors is 
not unanswerable, but the question is 
too abstruse to be discussed in a popular 
dictionary like this, and the decision is 
unimportant 

The genuine prophecies of Zechariah, 
chs. 1-8, are remarkable instances of 
the prophetic method. 

Historical Circumstances . — Sixteen 
years before this a large company of 
Jews had returned from their captivity 
in Babylon (536 b.c.), and began to re- 
build the temple. But opposition, pov- 
erty, enemies, delayed the work for 
years. But now (b.c. 520), the people 
had just been awakened from their 
lethargy, and had begun anew to build 
the temple, amid the ruins of the old. 
They were few. Most of them were 
poor. They were discouraged. Their 
enemies were persistent and cruel. 
They were trying to bring the whole 
power of the empire against these few 
people and their feeble enterprise. 
Drought and mildew had ruined their 
crops. Even God seerped to be against 
them. 

The aged Haggai had aroused enthu- 
siasm and the work on the temple had 
begun. It had been going on but a few 
weeks when the younger prophet Zech- 
ariah came to his aid. His first brief 
address was spoken in November, 520, 
after the second prophecy of Haggai, 
who followed with two more messages 
from God. Then Zechariah came again 
upon the scene, three months after his 
first prophecy, in January or February, 
519, when one memorable night God 
sent to Zechariah a series of eight 
visions — living pictures — obj ect-lessons 
— which the prophet rehearsed to the 
people the next morning. Two years 
later as the work was progressing he 
brought another message from the Lord. 
The Jews, we are told, “prospered 
through the prophesying” (Ezra 6: 14) ; 
and in about four years the temple was 
finished. 

Each vision was an answer to a doubt 
or a discouragement. 

I. The Doubt was lest God had for- 
gotten the world and left it to wild dis- 
order. 

The First Vision showed God’s mes- 
sengers coming to him from all parts of 
the world. 

II. The Doubt that the poor, weak 
Jews could build their temple and re- 
main the people of God against the 


mighty armies and organizations which 
were opposed to them. 

The Second Vision was of 4 great 
horns symbolizing their enemies, while 
4 spectral forms representing the moral 
forces of God were silently filing these 
horns toward their destruction. 

III. The Third Vision — by a measur- 
ing line such as was used for laying out 
the streets and walls of a city, and by 
an angel bidding the measurer to stop 
because no line was long enough to ex- 
press the extent of the city of God, — 
removed the Discouragement arising 

from the smallness of the city and the 
weakness of the people. And in like 

manner the remaining five visions 

brought courage and hope, Jo a dis- 
couraged people, so that within four 

years the Temple was completed. 

Four phrases in Zechariah should be 
engraved in letters of gold upon the 
memory : 

“ Not by might, nor by power, but by 
my spirit saith the Lord.” 

“ A brand plucked out of the fire.” 

“ Who hath despised the day of small 
things? ” 

“ And the streets of the city [the new 
Jerusalem] shall be full of boys and 
girls playing in the streets thereof.” 

Ze'dad (ze'dad) ( mountain side), one 
of the landmarks on the north border 
of the land of Israel, as promised by 
Moses, Num. 3.4:8, and as restored by 
Ezekiel. Ezek. 47 : 15. A place named 
Sudud or Sadad exists to the east of 
the northern extremity of the chain of 
Anti-Libanus, abdut fifty miles east- 
northeast of Baalbec. This is believed 
by many to be identical with Zedad. 

Zedeki'ah (zed-e-ki'ah) ( justice of 
Jehovah). 1. The last king of Judah 
and Jerusalem. He was the son of 
Josiah by his wife Hamutal, and there- 
fore own brother to Jehoahaz. 2 Kings 
24 : 18 ; comp. 23 : 31. His original name 
was Mattaniah, which was changed to 
Zedekiah by Nebuchadnezzar when he 
carried off his nephew Jehoiachin to 
Babylon, and left him on the throne of 
Jerusalem. Zedekiah was but twenty- 
one years old when he was thus placed 
in charge of an impoverished kingdom, 
b.c. 597. His history is contained in a 
short sketch of the events of his reign 
given in 2 Kings 24 : 17-25 : 7, and, with 
some trifling variations, in Jer. 39:1- 
7 ; 52 : 1-11, together with the still 

shorter summary in 2 Chron. 36 : 10, etc. ; 


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753 


ZEL 


and also in Jer. 21, 24, 27, 28, 29, 32, 
34, 37, 38, and Ezek. 17 : 11-21. From 
these it is evident that Zedekiah was a 
man not so much bad at heart as weak 
in will. It is evident from Jer. 27 and 
28 that the earlier portion of Zedeki- 
ah’s reign was marked by an agitation 
throughout the whole of Syria against 
the Babylonian yoke. Jerusalem seems 
to have taken the lead, since in the 
fourth year of Zedekiah’s reign we find 
ambassadors from all the neighboring 
kingdoms — Tyre, Sidon, Edom and 
Moab — at his court to consult as to the 
steps to be taken. Jer. 27:2. Before 
the end of this year he made a personal 
visit to Babylon. He was at this time 
distinctly loyal. Jer. 51 : 59. The first 
act of rebellion of which any record 
survives was the formation of an alli- 
ance with Egypt, of itself equivalent to 
a declaration of enmity with Babylon, 
in the 8th year of his reign. As a nat- 
ural consequence it brought on Jerusalem 
an immediate invasion of the Chaldseans. 
The fullest account of the siege of Jeru- 
salem in the Bible is given by Jeremiah. 
Josephus (x. 7, § 3) relates it more 
fully. Judea was ravaged, and the 
whole country reduced, except Jerusa- 
lem and two strong places in the west- 
ern plain, Lachish and Azekah, which 
still held out. Jer. 34:7. Called away 
for a time by an attack from Pharaoh 
and the Egyptians, on the tenth day of 
the tenth month of Zedekiah’s ninth 
year (b.c. 589), the actual siege of Je- 
rusalem began. Jer. 52:4. From this 
time forward the siege progressed slowly 
but surely to its consummation. The 
city was indeed reduced to the last ex- 
tremity. The bread had for long been 
consumed, Jer. 38: 9, and all the terrible 
expedients had been tried to which the 
wretched inhabitants of a besieged town 
are forced to resort in such cases. At 
last, after sixteen dreadful months, the 
catastrophe arrived. It was on the ninth 
day of the fourth month, about the mid- 
dle of July, at midnight, as Josephus 
with careful minuteness informs us, that 
the breach in those strong and venerable 
walls was effected. The moon, nine 
days old, had gone down. The wretched 
remnants of the army quitted the city 
in the dead of night ; and as the Chal- 
dsean army entered the city at one end, 
the king and his wives fled from it by 
the opposite gate. They took the road 
48 


toward the Jordan. As soon as the 
dawn of day permitted it, swift pursuit 
was made. The king’s party were over- 
taken near Jericho and carried to Nebu- 
chadnezzar, who was then at Riblah, at 
the upper end of the valley of Lebanon. 
Nebuchadnezzar, with a refinement of 
barbarity characteristic of those cruel 
times, ordered the sons of Zedekiah to 
be killed before him, and lastly his own 
eyes to be thrust out. He was then 
loaded with brazen fetters, and at a 
later period taken to Babylon, where he 
died. 

2. Son of Chenaanah, a false prophet 
at the court of Ahab, head, or, if not 
head, virtual leader, of the college, (b.c. 
855.) He appears but once, viz. as 
spokesman when the prophets are con- 
sulted by Ahab on the result of his 
proposed expedition to Ramoth-gilead. 
1 Kings 22; 2 Chron. 18. Zedekiah had 
prepared himself for the interview with 
a pair of iron horns, with which he 
illustrated the manner in which Ahab 
should drive the Syrians before him. 
When Micaiah the prophet of the Lord 
appeared and had delivered his prophecy, 
Zedekiah sprang forward and struck 
him a blow on the face, accompanying 
it by a taunting sneer. 

3. The son of Maaseiah, a false 
prophet in Babylon. Jer. 29 : 21, 22. 
He was denounced in the letter of Jere- 
miah for having, with Ahab the son of 
Kolaiah, buoyed up the people with false 
hopes of restoration from Babylon, and 
for profane and flagitious conduct. 
Their names were to become a by-word, 
and their terrible fate a warning. 

4. The son of Hananiah, one of the 

princes of Judah in the time of Jere- 
miah. Jer. 36:12. (b.c. 605.) 

Zeeb (ze'eb) {wolf), one of the two 
“ princes ” of Midian in the great in- 
vasion of Israel, (b.c. about 1180.) He 
is always named with Oreb. Judges 7 : 
25 ; 8:3; Ps. 83 : 11. Zeeb and Oreb 
were not slain at the first rout of the 
Arabs, but at a later stage of the strug- 
gle, probably in crossing the Jordan at a 
ford farther down the river. Zeeb, the 
wolf, was brought to bay in a wine- 
press which in later times bore his name 
— the “ wine-press of Zeeb.” [Oreb.] 

Ze'lah (ze'lah) (a rib), a city in the 
allotment of Benjamin, Josh. 18: 28, con- 
tained the family tomb of Kish, the 
father of Saul. 2 Sam. 21 : 14. 


ZEL 


754 


ZER 


Ze'lek (ze'lek) ( assure ), an Ammon- 
ite, one of David’s guard. 2 Sam. 23: 
37 ; 1 Chron. 11 : 39. 

Zelo'phehad (ze-lo'fe-had), son of 
Hepher, son of Gilead, son of Machir, 
son of Manasseh. Josh. 17:3. He was 
apparently the second son of Hepher. 
1 Chron. 7 : 15. Zelophehad came out of 
Egypt with Moses, but died in the wil- 
derness, as did the whole of that gener- 
ation. Num. 14:35; 27:3. On his 

death without male heirs, his five daugh- 
ters, just after the second numbering in 
the wilderness, came before Moses and 
Eleazar to claim the inheritance of their 
father in the tribe of Manasseh. The 
claim was admitted by divine direction. 
Num. 26: 33; 27 : 1-11. 

Zelo'tes (ze-lo'tez), the epithet given 
to the apostle Simon to distinguish him 
from Simon Peter. Luke 6 : 15. R. V. 
“ Simon which was called the Zealot.” 
[Canaanite; Simon, 5.] 

Zel'zah (zel'zah) ( shadow ), a place 
named once only, 1 Sam. 10 : 2, as on 
the boundary of Benjamin, close to 
Rachel’s sepulchre, five miles southwest 
of Jerusalem. 

Zemara'im (zem-a-ra'im) {two cut- 
tings), a town in the allotment of Ben- 
jamin, Josh. 18: 22. It is generally iden- 
tified with es-Sumra about 5% miles 
northwest of Jericho. 

Zemara'im, Mount. A mountain 
mentioned in 2 Chron. 13:4 only, as 
“ in Mount Ephraim,” that is to say, 
within the general district of the high- 
lands of that great tribe. It was prob- 
ably near the city of the same name. 

Zem'arite (zem'a-rite), The, one of 
the Hamite tribes who are represented 
in the genealogical tables as “ sons of 
Canaan.” Gen. 10 : 18 ; 1 Chron. 1 : 16. 
Nothing is certainly known of this an- 
cient tribe. The old interpreters place 
them at Emessa, the modern Hums. 
Modern scholars think it connected with 
the Tsumur of the Tel el-Amarna tablets, 
if not identical with it. 

ZemiTa (ze-mi'ra) {a song), one of 
the sons of Becher the son of Benjamin. 
1 Chron. 7 : 8. 

Ze'nan (ze'nan) {pointed), a town 
in the allotment of Judah, situated in 
the district of the Shefelah. Josh. 15 : 
37. It is probably identical with 
Zaanan. Micah 1 : 11. 

Ze'nas (ze'nas), a believer who is 
mentioned in Titus 3:13 in connection 
with Apollos. He is further described 


as “ the lawyer.” It is impossible to 
determine whether Zenas was a Roman 
jurisconsult or a Jewish doctor, but the 
latter seems more probable. 

Zephani'ah (zef-a-ni'ah) {Jehovah 
has hidden). 1. The ninth in order of 
the twelve minor prophets. His pedi- 
gree is traced to his fourth ancestor, 
Hezekiah, Zeph. 1 : 1, supposed to be 
the celebrated king of that name. The 
chief characteristics of this book are 
the unity and harmony of the composi- 
tion, the grace, energy and dignity of 
its style, and the rapid and effective 
alternations of threats and promises. 
The general tone of the last portion is 
Messianic, but without any specific ref- 
erence to the person of our Lord. The 
date of the book is given in the in- 
scription — viz. the reign of Josiah, from 
639 to 608 b.c. It is most probable, 
moreover, that the prophecy was deliv- 
ered before the 18th year of Josiah. 

2. The son of Maaseiah, Jer. 21 : 1, and 
sagan or second priest in the reign of 
Zedekiah. (b.c. 588.) He was probably 
a ruler of the temple, whose office it 
was, among others, to punish pretenders 
to the gift of prophecy. Jer. 29:29. 
On the capture of Jerusalem he was 
taken and slain at Riblah. Jer. -52:24, 
27 ; 2 Kings 25 : 18, 21. 

3. Father of Josiah, Zech. 6:10, who 
lived in the time of Zechariah. [Josiah 
2 .] 

4. A Levite of the family of Kohath 
and house of Izhar. 1 Chron. 6 : 36-38. 

Ze'phath (ze'fath) {watch-toiver ) , 
the earlier name, Judges 1:17, of a 
Canaanite town, which after its capture 
and. destruction was called by the Israel- 
ites Hormah. [Hormah.] 

Zeph'athah (zef'a-thah) {watch- 
tower), The valley of, the spot in 
which Asa joined battle with Zerah the 
Ethiopian. 2 Chron. 14 : 10 only. 

Ze'phi (ze'fi). 1 Chron. 1:36. [Ze- 
ph o.] 

Ze'pho (ze'fo) {watch), son of Eli- 
phaz, son of Esau, Gen. 36 : 11, and one 
of the “ dukes ” or phylarchs of the 
Edomites, ver. 15. In 1 Chron. 1 : 36 he 
is called Zephi. 

Ze'phon (ze'fon) {watching), the 
son of Gad, Num. 26 : 15, and ancestor 
of the family of the Zephonites. Called 
Ziphion in Gen. 46:16. (b.c. 1706.) 

Zer (zer) {Hint), a fortified town in 
the allotment of Naphtali, Josh. 19:35 
only. Its site is quite uncertain. 


ZER 


755 


ZER 


Ze'rah (ze'rah) (rising (oi the sun)). 

1. A son of Reuel, son of Esau, Gen. 36 : 
13 ; 1 Chron. 1 : 37, and one of the 
“ dukes ” of the Edomites. Gen. 36 : 17. 

2. Less properly, Zarah, twin son, with 
his elder brother Pharez, of Judah and 
Tamar. Gen. 38:30; 1 Chron. 2:4; 
Matt. 1 : 3. His descendants were called 
Zarhites, Ezrahites and Izrahites. Num. 
26 ; 20 ; 1 Kings 4 : 31 ; 1 Chron. 27 : 8, 11. 

3. Son of Simeon, 1 Chron. 4 : 24, 
called Zohar in Gen. 46 : 10. 

4. A Gershonite Levite, son of Iddo 
or Adaiah. 1 Chron. 6 : 21, 41. 

5. The Ethiopian or Cushite, an in- 
vader of Judah, defeated by Asa about 
b.c. 902. [Asa.] Zerah is probably the 
Hebrew name of Usorken I., second king 
of the Egyptian twenty-second dynasty; 
or Usorken II., his second successor. 
In the fourteenth year of Asa, Zerah 
the Ethiopian, with a mighty army (a 
million according to the account), in- 
vaded his kingdom, and advanced unop- 
posed in the field as far as the valley 
of Zephathah at Mareshah. The Egyp- 
tian monuments enable us to picture the 
general disposition of Zerah’s army. 
The chariots formed the first corps in 
a single or double line; behind them, 
massed in phalanxes, were heavy-armed 
troops ; probably on the flanks stood 
archers and horsemen in lighter forma- 
tions. After a prayer by Asa, his army 
attacked the Egyptians and defeated 
them. The chariots, broken by the 
charge and with horses made unman- 
ageable by flights of arrows, must have 
been forced back upon the cumbrous 
host behind. So complete was the over- 
throw that the Hebrews could capture 
and spoil the cities around Gerah, which 
must have been in alliance with Zerah. 
The defeat of the Egyptian army is 
without parallel in the history of the 
Jews. On no other occasion did an 
Israelite army meet an army of one of 
the great powers and defeat it. 

Zerahi'ah (zer-a-hi'a) (Jehovah has 
risen). 1. A priest, son of Uzzi and 
ancestor of Ezra the scribe. 1 Chron. 
6 : 6, 51 ; Ezra 7 : 4. 

2: Father of Elihoenai of the sons of 
Pahath-moab, whose descendants re- 
turned from the captivity with Ezra. 
Ezra 8 : 4. 

Ze'red (ze'red) (exuberant growth ), 
Deut. 2:13, 14, or Za'red (za'red), 
Num. 21:12, a brook or torrent-valley 
(nachal) crossed by the Israelites at 


the farthest limit of their wilderness 
wandering. It was probably either the 
Sail Saideh which enters the Arnon 
from the southeast, or the upper course 
of the Wady Kerak. Dr. Robinson sug- 
gests its identity with the Wady el-Ahsy; 
but this is the southern boundary of 
Moab, while the station just preceding 
was east of Moab. 

Zer'eda (zer'e-da) (coolness), the 
native place of Jeroboam. 1 Kings 11: 
26. Zereda or Zeredah is probably iden- 
tical with Zeredathah and Zarthan or 
Zartanah or Zaretan in the valley of 
the Jordan. [Zaretan.] 

Zeredathah. [Zaretan.] 

Zer'erath (zer'e-rath). [Zaretan.] 

Ze'resh (ze'resh) (gold), the wife of 
Haman the Agagite. Esther 5 : 10, 14 ; 
6:13. (b.c. 474.) 

Ze'reth (ze'reth) (splendor), son of 
Ashur, the founder of Tekoa, by his 
wife Helah. 1 Chron. 4 : 7. 

Ze'ri (ze'ri), one of the sons of Jed- 
uthun in the reign of David. 1 Chron. 
25 : 3. [Izri.] 

Ze'ror (ze'ror) (a bundle), a Benja- 
mite, ancestor of Kish the father of 
Saul. 1 Sam. 9 : 1. 

Zeru'ah (ze-ru'ah) (smitten, leprous), 
the mother of Jeroboam the son of Ne- 
bat. 1 Kings 11 : 26. 

Zerub'babel (ze-rub'ba-bel) (born at 
Babel, i. e. Babylon). One who played 
an important part at the time of the re- 
turn from the Babylonish captivity in 
the first year of Cyrus ; usually consid- 
ered the head of the tribe of Judah at 
the period. When Cyrus, after the con- 
quest of Babylon, adopted the wise 
policy of allowing the Jews to return to 
Jerusalem, he appointed him as Persian 
governor. “ Sheshbazzar, the prince of 
Judah” (Ezra 1:8), that is the legal 
heir to the throne of David. The gen- 
eral opinion has been that Sheshbazzar 
was the Babylonian name of Zerubbabel, 
and therefore that he was appointed by 
Cyrus governor of Judah. Late au- 
thorities are regarding the two as differ- 
ent, Sheshbazzar being the uncle, per- 
haps, of Zerubbabel. It seems gener- 
ally acknowledged by these scholars, 
however, that Zerubbabel went from 
Babylon to Jerusalem with the body of 
exiles under “ Sheshbazzar ; ” that he 
was the prime mover, in connection with 
the high priest Jeshua, in the rebuilding 
of the temple; and that at some time 
previous to the accession of Darius Hy- 


ZER 


756 


ZIC 


staspis he was actual governor of the 
land (Hag. 1:14). It does not seem 
fully proved that the two names cannot 
refer to the same man, as in the similar 
cases of Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego 
and Belteshazzar (Daniel). However 
this point is decided, it seems agreed by 
all that on arriving at Jerusalem, Zerub- 
babel’s great work, which he set about 
immediately, was the rebuilding of the 
temple. In the second month of the 
second year of the return, the founda- 
tion was laid with all the pomp which 
could be commanded. The efforts of 
the Samaritans were successful in put- 
ting a stop to the work during the seven 
remaining years of the reign of Cyrus 
and through the eight years of Cam- 
byses and Smerdis. Nor does Zerub- 
babel appear quite blameless for this 
long delay. The difficulties in the way 
of building the temple were not such as 
need have stopped the work for such a 
long time; and during this long suspen- 
sion of sixteen years Zerubbabe] and 
the rest of the people had been busy in 
building costly houses for themselves. 
But in the second year of Darius (b.c. 
520), largely owing to the stimulus sup- 
plied by the prophets Haggai and Zech- 
ariah, the work was begun in earnest. 
After much opposition [see Nehemiah] 
and many hindrances and delays, the 
temple was at length finished, in the 
sixth year of Darius, and was dedicated 
with much pomp and rejoicing. [Tem- 
ple.] No mention is made of Zerub- 
babel at the dedication of the temple, 
and the rest of his life is lost in obscu- 
rity. A Jewish tradition relates that he 
returned to Babylon, and died there. 
His apocryphal history is told in 1 Esdr. 
3-7. The exact parentage of Zerubbabel 
is a little obscure, from his being always 
called the son of Shealtiel, Ezra 3:2, 8 ; 
5 : 2, etc. ; Hag. 1 : 1, 12, 14, etc., and 
appearing as such in the genealogies of 
Christ, Matt. 1 : 12 ; Luke 3 : 27 ; whereas 
in 1 Chron. 3 : 19 he is represented as 
the son of Pedaiah, Shealtiel or Sala- 
thiel’s brother, and consequently as Sala- 
thiel’s nephew. Either there is an error 
in transcription in 1 Chron. 3 : 19, or 
else he was the true son of Pedaiah but 
the legal heir of Shealtiel, who had died 
childless. In either case he was the 
grandson of Jehoiachin the captive king 
of Judah (Jeconiah, 1 Chron. 3: 17), the 
legal successor and heir of his royal es- 
tate, and the lineal descendant of David. 


In the New Testament the name appears 
in the Greek form of Zorobabel. 

Zerui'ah (zer-u-i'ah) {divided), the 
mother of the three leading heroes of 
David’s army — Abishai, Joab and Asa- 
hel — known as the “ sons of Zeruiah.” 
Of Zeruiah’s husband there is no men- 
tion in the Bible. 1 Sam. 26 : 6. 

Ze'tham (ze'tham) {olive), the son 
of Laadan, a Gershonite Levite. 1 
Chron. 23 : 8. 

Ze'than (ze'than) {olive), a Benja- 
mite of the sons of Bilhan. 1 Chron. 
7: 10. 

Ze'thar (ze'thar) {conqueror), one 
of the seven eunuchs of Ahasuerus. 
Esther 1:10. (b.c. 483.) 

Zi'a (zi'a) {motion), one of the 
Gadites who dwelt in Bashan. 1 Chron. 
5: 13. 

Zi ba (zi'ba), a servant of Saul whom 
David made steward of Saul’s son Me- 
phibosheth. 2 Sam. 9 : 2-12 ; 16 : 1-4 ; 
19 : 17, 29. [Mephibosheth.] 

Zib'eon (zib'e-on) {dyed), father of 
Anah, whose daughter Aholibamah was 
Esau’s wife. Gen. 36 : 2. Although 
called a Hivite, he is probably the same 
as Zibeon the son of Seir the Horite. 
vs. 20, 24, 29 ; 1 Chron. 1 : 38, 40. 

Zib'ia (zib'ia) {gazelle), a Benjamite, 
apparently the son of Shaharaim by his 
wife Hodesh. 1 Chron. 8 : 9. 

Zib'iah (zib'i-a) {gazelle), a native 
of Beersheba, and mother of King Joash. 
2 Kings 12 : 1 ; 2 Chron. 24 : 1. 

Zich'ri (zik'ri) {memorable). 1. 
Son of Izhar of the family of Kohath. 
Ex. 6:21. (b.c. 1491.) 

2. A Benjamite of the sons of Shimhi. 
1 Chron. 8 : 19. 

3. A Benjamite of the sons of Shas- 
hak. 1 Chron. 8 : 23. 

4. A Benjamite of the sons of Jero- 
ham. 1 Chron. 8 : 27. 

5. Son of Asaph, elsewhere called 
Zabdi and Zaccur. 1 Chron. 9 : 15. 

6. A descendant of Eliezer the son of 
Moses. 1 Chron. 26 : 25. 

7. The father of Eliezer, the chief of 
the Reubenites in the reign of David. 1 
Chron. 27 : 16. 

8. One of the tribe of Judah, father 
of Amasiah, a captain in the army of 
Jehoshaphat. 2 Chron. 17 : 16. Possibly 
the same as 

9. Father of Elishaphat, one of the 

conspirators with Jehoiada. 2 Chron. 
23:1. (b.c. before 842.) 

10. An Ephraimite hero in the invad- 


ZID 


757 


ZID 


ing army of Pekah the son of Remaliah, 
2 Chron. 28:7. (b.c. 734.) 

11. Father or ancestor of Joel, 13, 
Neh. 11:9. 

12. A priest of the family of Abijah, 

in the days of Joiakim the son of Jeshua. 
Neh. 12 : 17. (b.c. about 500.) 

Zid'dim (zid'dim) (sides), a forti- 
fied town in the allotment of Naphtali. 
Josh. 19 : 35. It is perhaps Hattin, 
about 5% miles northwest of Tiberias, 
and less than a mile from the celebrated 
Horns of Hattin. 

Zidki'jah (zid-ki'jah) ( righteousness 
of Jehovah), a priest or family of priests 
who signed the covenant with Nehemiah. 
Neh. 10 : 1. R. V. “ Zedekiah.” 

Zi'don (zi'don), or Si'don, Gen. 10: 
15, 19 ; Josh. 11 : 8 ; 19 : 28 ; Judges 1:31; 
18 : 28 ; Isa. 23 : 2, 4, 12 ; Jer. 25 : 22 ; 27 : 
3 ; Ezek. 28 : 21, 22 ; Joel 3:4; Zech. 
9:2; Matt. 11:21, 22; 15:21; Mark 
3:8; 7:24, 31; Luke 6:17; 10:13, 14, 
an ancient and wealthy city of Phoe- 
nicia, on the eastern coast of the Medi- 
terranean Sea, about twenty English 
miles to the north of Tyre. Its Hebrew 
name, Tsidon, signifies fishing or fishery. 
Its modern name is Saida. It is situated 
in the narrow plain between the Leb- 
anon and the sea. - From a biblical point 
of view this city is inferior in interest 
to its neighbor Tyre; though in early 
times Sidon was the more influential of 
the two cities. Homer uses Zidon and 
Zidonian as synonymous with Phoenicia 
and Phoenician, but never mentions Tyre. 
In the Bible also the name sfcems often 
to have been used for the Phoenicians 
as a whole. Except for short spaces 
of time during the building and restora- 
tion of the temple (1 Chron. 22:4; Ezra 
3:7), the Zidonians and Israelites seem 
to have been enemies. Their border 
was assigned to Asher (Josh. 19:28), 
but they were always unconquered, and 
were among the Canaanite nations left 
“to prove Israel.” Judges 3:3. They 
were always a source of temptation and 
danger to the Israelites, Josh. 13:6; 
Judges 1:31; 3:3 ; 10:6, and became 
at some times their active oppressors, 
Judges 10:12. From the time of Sol- 
omon to the invasion of Nebuchadnezzar 
Zidon is not often directly mentioned 
in the Bible, and it appears to have been 
subordinate to Tyre. Ahab married the 
daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Zidon- 
ians (1 Kings 16:31); a marriage de- 
nounced as a sin surpassing that of Jero- 


boam. The political history of Zidon 
is closely connected with that of Tyre 
and other Phoenician cities, although the 
rivalry among them was so strong that 
only occasionally were they allies. It 
was tributary to Assyria from the time 
of Asshurbanipal ; revolted in the reign 
of Shalmanezer IV. ; and was entirely 
subjugated by Sennacherib. When Bab- 
ylon became supreme, Zidon united in 
an alliance with a large number of the 
surrounding peoples for better protec- 
tion against both Babylon and Egypt. 
It was however not successful, for they 
were in 605 b.c. overrun and laid waste 
by the Babylonians. Revolting in 598 
b.c., Nebuchadnezzar invaded and con- 
quered Phoenicia, humbling Tyre. Upon 
this Zidon became the chief of the Phoe- 
nician cities. Jeremiah and Ezekiel pre- 
dict the same judgment upon Zidon be- 
cause of its attitude towards the people 
of God (Jer. 25:22; 27:3, 6; Ezek. 28: 
21, 22) ; and Joel holds them up to 
abhorrence as having made merchandise 
of captured Israelites, and of the sacred 
vessels of the temple. Joel 3 : 4-6. 
During the Persian domination Zidon 
seems to have attained its highest point 
of prosperity; and it is recorded that, 
toward the close of that period, it far 
excelled all other Phoenician cities in 
wealth and importance. Its prosperity 
was suddenly cut short by an unsuccess- 
ful revolt against Persia, which ended 
in the destruction of the town, b.c. 351. 
Forty thousand persons are said to have 
perished in the flames. Zidon, however, 
gradually recovered from the blow, and 
became again a flourishing town. Zi- 
donians came to hear Christ (Mark 3: 
8) and Tyre and Zidon are favorably 
compared with the unbelieving cities of 
Galilee (Matt. 11:21, 22). It is the 
most northern city mentioned in Christ’s 
journeys, and one miracle, that of the 
Syrophcenician woman, is recorded as 
being performed in its vicinity. The 
town Saida still shows signs of its 
former wealth, and its houses are better 
constructed and more solid than those 
of Tyre, many of them being built of 
stone; but it is a poor, miserable place, 
without trade or manufactures worthy 
of the name. The city that once di- 
vided with Tyre the empire of the seas 
is now almost without a vessel. Silk 
and fruit are its staple products. Its 
population is estimated at 10,000, 7000 
of whom are Moslems, and the rest 


758 





* <: 






VIEW OF SIDON 



ZIF 


759 


ZIP 


Catholics, Maronites and Protestants. 
There is a flourishing Protestant mis- 
sion here. 

Zif (zif) . 1 Kings 6:1. [Month.] 
Zi'ha (zi'ha) {parched). 1. The chil- 
dren of Ziha were a family of Nethinim 
who returned with Zerubbabel. Ezra 2 : 
43; Neh. 7:46. 

- 2. Overseer of the Nethinim in Ophel. 
Neh. 11 : 21. Probably identical with 
the preceding. 

Zik'lag (zik'lag), a place which pos- 
sesses a special interest from its having 
been the residence and the private prop- 
erty of David. It is first mentioned in 
the catalogue of the towns of Judah in 
Josh. 15 : 31, and was allotted to Simeon. 
Josh. 19:5. We next encounter it in 
the possession of the Philistines, 1 Sam. 
27 : 6, when it was, at David’s request, 
bestowed upon him by Achish king of 
Gath. He resided there for a year and 
four months. 1 Sam. 27 : 6, 7 ; 30 : 14, 
26 ; 1 Chron. 12 : 1, 20. It was there he 
received the news of Saul’s death. 2 
Sam. 1:1; 4 : 10. Jle then relinquished 
it for Hebron. 2 Sam. 2 : 1. Ziklag is 
finally mentioned as being reinhabited 
by the people of Judah after their re- 
turn from the captivity. Neh. 11:28. 
The situation of the town is difficult to 
determine, the most probable identifica- 
tion yet made being Zuheilika, about 11 
miles southeast of Gaza. 

Zil'lah (zil'lah) ( a shadow). [La- 
mech.] 

Zil'pah (zirpah) {dropping), a Sy- 
rian given by Laban to his daughter 
Leah as an attendant, Gen. 29 : 24, and 
by Leah to Jacob as a concubine. She 
was the mother of Gad and Asher. 
Gen. 30:9-13; 35:26; 37:2; 46:18. 

(b.c. 1753.) 

Zil'tha=i (zil'tha-i) {shady). 1. A 
Benjamite, of the sons of Shimhi. 1 
Chron. 8 : 20. 

2. One of the captains of thousands 
of Manasseh who deserted to David at 
Ziklag. 1 Chron. 12 : 20. (b.c. 1055.) 

Zim'mah (zim'mah) {counsel). A 
Gershonite Levite, son of Shimei, and 
descendant of Jahath. 1 Chron. 6:20, 
42. Most probably the father or an- 
cestor of Joah, a Gershonite in the 
reign of Hezekiah. 2 Chron. 29 : 12. 

Zim'ran (zim'ran), the eldest son of 
Keturah. Gen. 25 : 2 ; 1 Chron. 1 : 32. 
His descendants are not mentioned, nor 
is any hint given that he was the 
founder of a tribe. Some have seen 


the name in Zabram, a town west of 
Mecca, on the Red Sea. 

Zim'ri (zim'ri). 1. The son of Salu, 
a Simeonite chieftain, slain by Phinehas 
with the Midianitish princess Cozbi. 
Num. 25:14, 15. (b.c. 1450.) 

2 . Fifth sovereign of the separate 
kingdom of Israel, of which he occupied 
the throne for the brief period of seven 
days, b.c. 889. Originally in command 
of half the chariots in the royal army, 
he gained the crown by the murder of 
King Elah, son of Baasha. But the 
army made their general, Omri, king, 
who . marched against Tirzah, where 
Zimri was. Zimri retreated into the in- 
nermost part of the late king’s palace, 
set it on fire, and perished in the ruins. 
1 Kings 16 : 9-20. 

3. One of the five sons of Zerah the 
son of Judah. 1 Chron. 2:6. Called 
Zabdi in Josh. 7* 1. 

4. A Benjamite, descendant of Saul. 
1 Chron. 8:36; 9:42. 

5. An obscure name, mentioned Jer. 
25 : 25 in probable connection with De- 
dan, Tema, Buz, Arabia, the “mingled 
people.” Nothing further is known re- 
specting Zimri, but the name may pos- 
sibly be the same as, or derived from, 
Zimran. 

Zin (zin), the name given to a por- 
tion of the desert tract between the 
Dead Sea, Ghor, and Arabah on the 
east, and the general plateau of the 
Tih which stretches westward. It was 
directly adjacent to the wilderness of 
Paran, since Kadesh is named in each. 
The country in question consists of two 
or three successive terraces of mountain 
converging to an acute angle at the 
Dead Sea’s southern verge, toward 
which also they slope. Idumea was 
conterminous with Judah; since Kadesh 
was also a city in the border of Edom. 
[See Kadesh. Num. 13:21; 20:1; 27: 
14; 33:36; 34:3; Josh. 15: 1.] 

Zi'na (zi'na) {abundance) ; Zizah, 
the second son of Shimei the Gershonite. 
1 Chron. 23 : 10, comp. 11. 

Zi'on (zi'on). [Jerusalem.] 

Zi'or (zi'or) {smallness), a town in 
the mountain district of Judah. Josh. 
15 : 54. It belongs to the same group 
with Hebron, and is probably to be 
identified with Sair , about 6 miles north- 
east of that town. 

Ziph (zif), the name of two towns 
in Judah. 1. In the south, named be- 
tween Ithnan and Telem. Josh. 15:24. 


ZIP 


760 


ZOA 


It does not appear again in the history, 
nor has any trace of it been met with. 

2. In the hill-country of Judah. Josh. 
15 : 55. The place is immortalized by its 
connection with David. 1 Sam. 23 : 14, 

15, 24 ; 26 : 2. These passages show that 
at that time it had near it a wilderness 
(i. e . a waste pasture-ground) and a 
wood. The latter has disappeared, but 
the former remains. The name of Zif 
is found about 4 miles south of Hebron, 
attached to a rounded hill of some 100 
feet in height, which is called Tell Zif. 

3. Son of Jehaleleel. 1 Chron. 4:16. 

Zi'phah (zi'fah) ( feminine of Ziph), 

another son of Jehaleleel. 1 Chron. 4: 

16. 

Ziph'im (zif'im), The, the inhabit- 
ants of Ziph, 2. In this form the name 
is found in the Authorized Version only 
in the title of Ps. 54. In the R. V. here, 
and in both versions in the narrative 
it occurs in the more usual form of 
Ziphites. 1 Sam. 23 : 19 ; 26 : 1. 

Ziph'ion (zif'i-on), son of Gad, Gen. 
46:16; elsewhere called Zephon. 

Ziph'ron (zif'ron) ( fragrance ), a 
point in the north boundary of the 
promised land as specified by Moses. 
Num. 34 : 9. 

Zip'por (zip'por) (sparrow) , father 
of Balak king of Moab. Num. 22:2, 
4, 10, 16; 23:18; Josh. 24:9; Judges 
11 : 25. Whether he was the “ former 
king of Moab ” alluded to in Num. 21 : 
26 we are not told. 

Zip'porah or Zippo'rah (zip-po'rah), 
daughter of Reuel or Jethro, the priest 
of Midian, wife of Moses and mother 
of his two sons Gershom and Eliezer. 
Ex. 2:21; 4:25; 18: 2, comp. 6. (b.c. 

1530.) The only incident recorded in 
her life is that of the circumcision of 
Gershom. Ex. 4 : 24-26. 

Zith'ri (zith'ri), properly Sithri ; one 
of the sons of Uzziel the son of Kohath. 
Ex. 6 : 22. In Ex. 6 : 21 some modern 
editions have Zithri. It should be 
Zichri, as in original edition of 1611. 

Ziz ( brightness ), The cliff of, the 
pass by which the horde of Moabites, 
Ammonites and Mehunim made their 
way up from the shores of the Dead 
Sea to the wilderness of Judah near 
Tekoa. 2 Chron. 20: 16 only; comp. 20. 
It was very probably the pass of Ain 
Jidy — the very same route which is 
taken by the Arabs in their marauding 
expeditions at the present day. 

Zi'za (zi'za) (plenty). 1. Son of 


Shiphi, a chief of the Simeonites in the 
reign of Hezekiah. 1 Chron. 4 : 37. 
(b.c. about 725.) 

2. Son of Rehoboam by Maachah the 
daughter or granddaughter of Absalom. 
2 Chron. 11 : 20. 

Zi'zah, a Gershonite Levite, second 
son of Shimei, 1 Chron. 23 : 11 ; mis- 
copied Zina in ver. 10. 

Zo'an (zo'an) (place of departure), 
an ancient city of lower Egypt, called 
Tanis by the Greeks. It stood on the 
eastern bank of the Tanitic branch of 
the Nile. Its name indicates a place of 
departure from a country, and hence it 
has been identified with Avaris (Tanis, 
the modern San), the capital of the 
earliest kings of the 12th dynasty. It 
is said in Num. 13:22 to have been 
built seven years after Hebron, and ex- 
isted before the time of Abraham. Ac- 
cording to Manetho, it was taken by the 
Shepherd kings in their invasion of 
Egypt, and by them rebuilt, and gar- 
risoned with 240,000 men. This city is 
mentioned in connection with the plagues 
in Ps. 78 : 12, 43. Egyptologists differ 
very much in the interpretation of the 
monumental evidence. Many think that 
Rameses II. raised Zoan again to im- 
portance, refortified and enlarged it, also 
founding a new temple city. This new 
town was named Pi Ramessu, the city 
of Rameses. If these statements are 
true, it was the place of meeting be- 
tween Moses and Pharaoh and Moses 
wrought his wonders on the field of 
Zoan, a rich plain extending thirty miles 
toward the east. It was still an im- 
portant city in the time of Isaiah. Isa. 
19 : 11, 13 ; 30 : 4 ; Ezek. 30 : 14. It is 
now an insignificant collection of fisher- 
men’s huts and still retains the name 
of San. But there are wide ruins which 
have been explored by the Palestine Ex- 
ploration Fund which prove it a once 
flourishing city, a colossal statue of 
Rameses II. has been found, and there 
are remains of temples and other costly 
buildings and obelisks. 

Zo'ar (zo'ar) (smallness), one of the 
most ancient cities of the land of Ca- 
naan. Its original name was Bela. 
Gen. 14 : 2, 8. It was in intimate con- 
nection with the cities of the “ plain of 
Jordan” — Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah 
and Zeboiim. See also Gen. 13 : 10, but 
not 10 : 19. In the general destruction 
of the cities of the plain, Zoar was 
spared to afford shelter to Lot. Gen. 


ZOB 


761 


ZOR 


19 : 22, 23, 30. It is mentioned in the 
account of the death of Moses as one 
of the landmarks which bounded his 
view from Pisgah, Deut. 34 : 3, and it 
appears to have been known in the time 
both of Isaiah, Isa. 15 : 5, and Jeremiah. 
Jer. 48 : 34. These are all the notices of 
Zoar contained in the Bible. It was 
situated in the same district with the 
four cities already mentioned, viz. in the 
“plain” or “circle” of the Jordan, and 
the narrative of Gen. 19 evidently im- 
plies that it was very near to Sodom, 
vs. 15, 23, 27. The definite position of 
Sodom is, and probably will always be, 
a mystery; but indications seem to point 
to, the southern end of the Dead Sea. 
[Sodom.] All the post-biblical references 
to Zoar place it indubitably at the south- 
ern end of the Dead Sea, and it seems 
unlikely that the Zoar of Josephus was 
on a different site from the biblical Zoar. 
There are also biblical data which ajso 
seem to support this view. It is closely 
connected with Moab. 

Zo'ba, or Zo'bah (zo'bah), the name 
of a portion of Syria which formed a 
separate kingdom in the time of the 
Jewish monarchs Saul, David and Sol- 
omon. It probably was eastward of 
Ccele-Syria, and extended thence north- 
east and east toward, if not even to, the 
Euphrates. We first hear of Zobah in 
the time of Saul, when we find it men- 
tioned as a separate country, governed 
apparently by a number of kings who 
owned no common head or chief. 1 
Sam. 14 : 47. Some forty years later 
than this we find Zobah under a single 
ruler, Hadadezer son of Rehob. He 
had wars with Toi king of Hamath, 
2 Sam. 8 : 10, and held various petty 
Syrian princes as vassals under his yoke. 
2 Sam. 10 : 19. David, 2 Sam. 8 : 3, at- 
tacked Hadadezer in the early part of 
his reign, defeated his army, and took 
from him a thousand chariots, seven 
hundred (seven thousand, 1 Chron. 18: 
4) horsemen and 20,000 footmen. Ha- 
dadezer's allies, the Syrians of Damas- 
cus, were defeated in a great battle. 
The wealth of Zobah is very apparent 
in the narrative of this campaign. A 
man of Zobah, Rezon son of Eliadah, 
made himself master of Damascus, 
where he proved a fierce adversary to 
Israel all through the reign of Solomon. 
1 Kings 11 : 23-25. Solomon also was, 
it would seem, engaged in a war with 
Zobah itself. 2 Chron. 8 : 3. This is 


the last that we hear of Zobah in Scrip- 
ture. The name, however, is found at 
a later date in the inscriptions of As- 
syria, where the kingdom of Zobah 
seems to intervene between Hamath and 
Damascus. 

Zobe'bah (zo-be'bah) ( gentle move- 
ment ), son of Coz, of the tribe of 
Judah. 1 Chron. 4:8. 

Zo'har (zo'har) (light). 1. Father 
of Ephron the Hittite. Gen. 23 : 8 ; 25 : 
9. 

2. One of the sons of Simeon, Gen. 
46 : 10 ; Ex. 6:15; called Zerah in 1 
Chron. 4 : 24. 

3. The name of a Judahite family 
called Jezoar in the A. V. and “ Izhar ” 
in the R. V. 1 Chron. 4 : 7. 

Zo'heleth ( zo'he-leth) (serpent). 
The stone. This was “by En-rogel,” 
1 Kings 1:9; and therefore, if En-rogel 
be the modern Um-ed-Deraj, this stone, 
“ where Adonijah slew sheep and oxen,” 
was in all likelihood not far from the 
well of the Virgin. 

Zo'heth (zo'heth), son of Ishi of the 
tribe of Judah. 1 Chron. 4:20. 

Zo'phah (zo'fah) (a cruse), son of 
Helem or Hotham the son of Heber, an 
Asherite. 1 Chron. 7 : 35, 36. 

Zo'phai (zo'fa), a Kohathite Levite, 
son of Elkanah and ancestor of Samuel. 
1 Chron. 6 : 26. In ver. 35 he is called 
ZUPH. 

Zo'phar (zo'far) (chirper), one of 
the three friends of Job. Job 2:11; 
11: 1; 20: 1; 42 : 9. 

Zo'phim (zo'fim) (watchers), The 
field of, a spot on or near the top of 
Pisgah, from which Balaam had his 
second view of the encampment of Is- 
rael. Num. 23 : 14. The position of the 
field of Zophim is not defined. Possibly 
it is not a proper name. 

Zo'rah (zo'rah) (hornet), a town in 
the allotment of the tribe of Dan. Josh. 
19 : 41. It is previously mentioned, ch. 
15:33, in the catalogue of Judah, among 
the places in the district of the Shefelah 
(Authorized Version “Zoreah”). It 
was the residence of Manoah and the 
native place of Samson, Judges 13:2, 
and he was buried near the town. 
Judges 16:31. It is mentioned among 
the places fortified by Rehoboam. 2 
Chron. 11 : 10. It is identical with the 
modern village of Sur’ah, on the north 
side of the Valley of Sorek, about 2 
miles southwest of Eshtaol. 

Zo'rathites (zo'ra-thites), The, i. e. 


ZOR 


762 


zuz 


the people of Zorah, mentioned in 1 
Chron. 4 : 2 as descended from Shobal. 

Zo'reah (zo're-ah). Josh. 15:33. 
[Zorah.] 

Zo'rites (zo'rites), The, are named 
in the genealogies of Judah, 1 Chron. 
2 : 54, apparently among the descendants 
of Salma and near connections of Joab. 
Some explain them as the same as the 
Zorathites. 

Zorob'abel (zo-rob'a-bel). Matt. 1: 
12, 13 ; Luke 3 : 27. [Zerubbabel.] 

Zu'ar (zu'ar) ( littleness ), father of 
Nethaneel, the chief of the tribe of Is- 
sachar at the time of the Exodus. Num. 
1:8; 2:5; 7 : 18, 23 ; 10 : 15. 

Zuph (zuf) ( honeycomb ), The land 
of, a district at which Saul and his serv- 
ant arrived after passing through the 
possessions of Shalisha, of Shalim and 
of the Benjamites. It apparently lay to 
the south of the land of Benjamin. 1 
Sam. 9 : 4-6. It evidently contained the 
city in which they encountered Samuel, 
ver. 6, and that again was certainly not 
far from the “tomb of Rachel.” 

Zuph (zuf), a Kohathite Levite, an- 
cestor of Elkanah and Samuel. 1 Sam. 


1:1; 1 Chron. 6 : 35. In 1 Chron. 6 : 
26 he is called Zophai. 

Zur (zur) ( a rock). 1. Father of 
Cozbi, Num. 25 : 15, and one of the five 
princes of Midian who were slain by 
the Israelites when Balaam fell. Num. 
31:8. (b.c. 1451.) 

2. Son of Jehiel, the founder of Gib- 
eon. 1 Chron. 8 : 30 ; 9 : 36. 

Zu'ri=el (zu'ri-el) ( my rock is God), 
son of Abihail, and chief of the Merarite 
Levites at the time of- the Exodus. 
Num. 3 : 35. 

Zurishad'da=i (zu-ri-shad'da-I) (my 
rock is the Almighty), father of Shelu- 
miel, the chief of the tribe of Simeon 
at the time of the Exodus. Num. 1:6; 
2: 12; 7:36, 41; 10: 19. 

Zu'zim (zu'zim), The, an ancient 
people who, lying in the path of Chedor- 
laomer and his allies, were attacked and 
overthrown by them. Gen. 14 : 5. The 
Zuzim perhaps inhabited the country of 
the Ammonites, originally settled by the 
Zamzummim, who are known to have 
been exterminated and succeeded in 
their land by the Ammonites. [Zam- 
zummim.] 


APPENDIX. 






























» 





























APPENDIX. 

TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

Page. 

Chronology of the Bible 767-775 

I. Creation of Man to the Flood 767 

II. From the Flood to the Exodus 768 

III. From the Exodus to the Conquest of Canaan 769 

IV. The Period of the Judges 769 

V. The United Kingdom 770 

VI. The Divided Kingdoms of Judah and Israel * 771-773 

VII. The Captivity and Return 774 

VIII. The Period between the Testaments 774 

IX. The New Testament Period (General) 775 

Date of the Birth of Christ 775 

Harmony of the Life of Christ 776-781 

Chart of the Life of Christ 782 

The Apostles and Their History 783 

Chronology of the Acts 784-786 

Measures 787-789 

I. Measures of Capacity (Liquid) 787 

II. Measures of Capacity (Dry) 787 

III. Measures of Length (the Smaller) 788 

IV. Measures of Length (Land and Distance) 788 

V. Measures of Surface (Roman) 789 

Weights 789 

Money Tables 790-792 

I. Money of the Old Testament 790 

II. Money of the New Testament 791 

A. Copper or Brass Coins 791 

B. Silver Coins and Values 791 

III. Comparative Table of Values 792 

Months: Jewish Calendar 792-793 

Animals of the Bible 794-795 

I. Mammalia 794 

II. Birds 794 

III. Fish and Water Animals 794 

IV. Reptiles and Amphibia 795 

V. Insects and Smaller Animals * 795 

Botany of the Bible 795 

Minerals of the Bible 795 

Metals of the Bible 795 

Precious Stones of the Bible 796 

Lakes and Seas of Scripture 796 

Mountains of Scripture * 796 

Rivers and Brooks of Scripture 796 

Breastplate of the High Priest 796 

Jewish Sects and Parties 796 

Reckoning of Day and Night. Watches 796 

Statistics of the Bible 797 

Miracles in the Old Testament 797 

Miracles of Our Lord 798 

Miracles in the Early Church 798 

Parables in the Old Testament 799 

Parables of Our Lord 799 


765 















































f 
















\ 






















* 



















































































■ 






















APPENDIX. 


THE CHRONOLOGY OF THE BIBLE. 

There is the greatest possible uncertainty with regard to all of the early dates of 
the world’s history, and it is impossible to determine the truth. The extremes are, in 
fact, from a reckoning by the Jews of the date of the Creation as 3760 B. C. to the gener- 
alization of some scientific schools that it may be millions of years in the past. 

The dates found in the margins of our Bibles are at most points admirably accurate. 
They were reduced to system by Archbishop Ussher in 1650 A. D. and first added to the 
English Bible by Bishop Lloyd, in the great edition of 1701. “Its greatest fault is its 
attempt to reduce the history to millennial periods. Ussher believed that the earth 
was created just 4000 years before the birth of Jesus, and that Solomon’s Temple was 
dedicated just 1000 years before the birth of Jesus, and he pulls some parts of the Chro- 
nology awry, to make it fit this theory. He regards the Biblical numbers for the times 
before Abraham as chronological, which, I think, is a mistake. * * * There are some 
matters of detail in which he lacked information that is now accessible.” — Prof. Willis 
K. Beecher , in “Dated Events of the Old Testament.” 

The dates of Archbishop Ussher for this period are convenient for keeping the suc- 
cession of events, but are not authoritative, as is agreed even by the most conservative 
scholars. They are only one of several possible arrangements. Opinions of chronol- 
ogers as to the “era of Creation” vary indeed by many centuries. 

The probabilities from geological facts, and the inferences from Egyptian and Baby- 
lonian civilization, place the date of the beginning of the human race hundreds, perhaps 
thousands, of years earlier. In fact, the question of date is very uncertain, and is insol- 
uble at present. 

See Article on “Chronology,” page 118. 

We have taken for the three principal authorities for our tables, Ussher, Beecher, 
and Hastings’ Bible Dictionary, adding others from time to time. 

Prof. John D. Davis, in his Dictionary of the Bible (Presbyterian), suggests that the 
names in the fist of patriarchs in Genesis 5 may be understood as individuals, and their 
families spoken of collectively, and the longevity is the period during which the family 
had leadership, as Israel denotes the patriarch and his descendants. Thus the fist 
would run thus: (1) Adam. Year 1. The family of Seth originated when Adam was 
130 years old. Adam and his direct line were at the head of affairs 930 years when they 
were superseded by (2) Seth and his family, A. M. 930, who were at the head of affairs 
for 912 years; and so on through the list. Thus “the years from the Creation of Adam 
to the Flood would be 8225.” But this may be greatly modified at different points. 

Beecher has a similar idea of the reckoning of this period 


I. CREATION OF MAN TO THE FLOOD. 


Events in Scripture History. 

Places. 

Dates. 

Other Historical Events. 

Ussher. 



The Creation. ‘‘In the Beginning.” 


4004 

Various da 

tes varying 

First king of Egypt before 




from 46.58 to 5872 in 

4500 B. C. 




regular chronology, 

1 




besides those esti- 

First king of Babylon before 

Adam and Eve created 


4004 

mating much more. 

4500 B. C. 

The Fall 

Eden 

4004 


5411 


Birth nf Cain 

Armenia (?) . 




First fixed date in history 4241. 

Birth of Abel 




Murder of Abel 

If 

3875 



Sargon I, Babylon, 8800(?) [or 

Rirt.h nf Seth 

a 

3874 


5181 

3400 (?) or 2800(?)1. 

Dpat.h of A dam 

u 

3074 


4481 

Menes, beginning of dynasties. 

Translation nf Enoch 

a 

3017 


3914 

Egypt, 3400 or 3000. 

Rirt.h of Noah 

a 

2948 


3755 

Chinese empire before 2270. 

Tttp. Er,nnn 

** 

2348 


3155 

Tyre built 2267. > 







767 


APPENDIX. 


II. FROM THE FLOOD TO THE EXODUS. 


Events in Scripture History. 

Places. 

Dates. 

Ussher. 

Beecher. 


The Flood 


2348 



The confusion of tongues 

Babylonia. . . . 

2247 



Death of Noah 

Arabia 

1998 



Birth of Abram at Ur 

Chaldea 

1996 

(2003) 


First emigration, to Haran in . . 

Mesopotamia . 

1926 


The Call of Abram. Second 




migration to 

Canaan 

1921 

1928 

2250 

Abram in Egypt 

Errypt 

1920 

1927(?) 


Abram and Lot separate 

Canaan 

1918 

1924' ' 


Lot’s capture and escape 

Sodom 

1913 

1921 


The Covenant with Abraham . . 

Hebron 

1912 

1920 


Birth of Jshmael 

it 

1910 

1917 


Renewal of Covenant. Change 





of Abram’s name to Abraham 

It 

1897 

1904 


Destruction of Sodom 

Sodom 

1897 

1904 


Birth of Isaac 

Moab 

1896 

1903 


Ishmael sent away 


1892 

1901 (?) 


Covenant with Abimelech 


1891 

1900(?) 


Moab and Ammon born 


1897 

1899(?) 


Ishmael marries an Egyptian . . 



1895 (?) 


Sacrifice of Isaac 

Moriah 

1871 

1879' ’ 


Death of Sarah 

Hebron # . 

1860 

1866 


Abraham marries Keturah 



1865(?) 


Marriage of Isaac and Rebekah . 

Lahai-roi 

1857 

1864 


Birth of Jacob and Esau 

Beersheba. . . . 

1837 

1844 


Death of Abraham 

U 

1822 

1828(?) 


Esau sells his birthright 

Lahai-roi 

1804 

1827(?j 


Isaac forbidden to enter Egypt 




goes to 

Gerar 

1804 

1826(?) 


Esau marries Hittite wives. . . . 


1796 

• 1805 


Jacob obtains birthright blessing 

Beersheba .... 

1760 

17S4(?) 


Jacob goes to Padan-aram .... 


1760 

1784(?) 


Esau’s Ishmaeiite marriages. . . 


1760 

1783(?) 


Death of Ishmael 


1773 

1781 (?) 


Jacob marries Leah and Rachel . 

Padan-aram . . 

1753 

1776(?) 


Birth of Jacob’s children (except 





Beniamin' 

it 

1752-1739 

1775-1752 


Jacob returns to Canaan 


1739 

1747 


Jacob’s name changed to Israel 

Peniel 

1739 

1747 


Birth of Benjamin and death of 





Rachel 

Bethlehem. . . . 

1729 

1747 


Joseph sold into Egypt from . . . 

Dothan 

1718 

1736 


Joseph put in prison 

Egypt 

1718 

1725 


Death of Isaac 

Hebron 

1716 

1724 


Joseph exalted 

Egypt 

1716 

1723 


Jacob and his family move to 





Goshen 

it 

1706 

1715 


Death of Jacob 

it 

1689 

1698 


Death of Joseph. . . 

it 

1635 

1643 


Beginning of oppression of Israel 

it 

1573 

1599(?) 


Birth of Moses 

li 

1571 

1578 


Exile of Moses begins 

Arabia 

1531 

- 1539 


Call of Moses. Burning bush . . 

H 

1492 

1499 


Plagues of Egypt 

Egypt 

1492-1 

1499-8 


The Exodus. In April 


1491 

1498 





1200 B. C 


Other Historical Events. 


Seventh ruler of China died 
2257. 

Hammurabi (Amraphel) and 
his code, contemporary 
with Abraham. 

Nineveh built 2218(7). 

Zoroaster 2115(7). 

Celts in Europe about 2000. 

Hyksos in Egypt in time of 
Abraham, probably. 

Dates vary from 2100-1675. 


Sesostris I, 
1935(7). 


Egypt, 1980- 


Expulsion of Hyksos from 
Egypt about 1860(?). 

Others say 1820, 

Others say their rule began 
1675. 

They were expelled before 
the time of Joseph. 

Thutmose III, Egypt, 1753 
or 1501(7). 

Rameses II, 1567-1500 or 
1292-1225. 

[The date of the Exodus 
depends both on which of 
these kings is considered 
the “Pharaoh of the Op- 
pression," and their dates. 
Rameses II is usually con- 
sidered that Pharaoh, uith 
the later date. Beecher 
reconciles the history, 
giving Rameses the earlier 
date, but still making him 
the “Pharaoh of the Op- 
Dression. ’ ’] 

Cecroos founds Athens, 
1556(7). 

Corinth founded 1520(7). 

Sparta founded 1516. 

Amenhotep II of Egypt, per- 
haps the Pharaoh of the 
Exodus(?). 

Merneptab, perhaps the 
Pharaoh of Exodus. 

Tel -el- Amarana letters, 
1500-1450 (?). 


768 


APPENDIX. 


III. FROM THE EXODUS TO THE CONQUEST. 

(For a discussion of the date of the Exodus, see article “ Exodus.”) 


Events in Scripture History. 

Places. 

Dates. 

Ussher. 

Beecher. 


The Exodus in April 


1491 

1498 

Varying dates. 

The giving of the manna 

The giving of the law 

Arabia 

Mt. Sinai 

1491 

1491 

1498 

1498 

The golden calf 

ii 

1491 

1498 


The Tabernacle set up [March or April(? ) ] 

ii 

1490 

1497 


The ceremonial law given 

ii 

1490 

1497 


Wandering for 40 years in Desert of 

Paran 

1491-1451 

1498-1459 


New start for Canaan from 

Kadesh 

1452 

1459 


Death of Aaron on 

Mt. Hor 

1452 

1459 


Brazen serpent 

The Arabah 

1452 

1459 


Balaam’s blessing 

Moab 

1452 

1459 


Death of Moses 

Nebo-Pisgah .... 
Jericho 

1451 

1459 


Passing over Jordan opposite 

1451 

1458 


The Fall of Jericho 

a 

1451 

1458 


Defeat at Ai 

Near Jericho. . . . 

1451 

1458 


Law read from Ebal and Gerizim 

Shechem 

1451 

1458 


Conquest of Canaan 


1451-1443 

1458-1449 


Cities of Refuge appointed 


1444 

1453 

Josephus puts 
death of Joshua 

Joshua renews the covenant 

Shechem 

1427 

1451(?) 

1450(?) 

Death of Joshua 

Timnath-serah . . 

1427 

in 1434. 



IV. THE PERIOD OF THE JUDGES. 

(For an explanation of varying dates, see article “Judges.” This table follows Beecher.) 


Events in Scripture History. 


Death of Joshua 

Oppression of Cushan-rishathaim, 8 years 

Othniel, deliverer and judge 

Capture of Leshem — renamed Dan 

Oppression by Eglon of Moab, 18 years . . 

Ehud, of Benjamin deliverer 

Oppression by Jabin of Canaan, 20 years .. 

Oppression by Philistines (3 years) 

Deborah of Ephraim delivers from Jabin 
Barak of Naphtali delivers from Jabin. . 
Shamgar of Judah delivers from Philis- 
tines 

Oppression by Midianites, 7 years 

Gideon, deliverer and judge 

Ruth during this period(?) 

Abimelech, “Captain of Israel,” 3 years 

Tola, judge 23 years 

Oppression by Philistines begins 

Jair, judge 22 years 

Samson, judge 

Oppression by Ammonites, 18 years 

Jephthah, judge 6 years 

Ibzan, judge 7 years 

Elon, judge 10 years 

Abdon, judge 8 years ._ 

Oppression by Philistines again 

Ruth in this period(?) 

Eli, high priest, acts as judge 

Boaz marries Ruth at this time(?) 

Birth of Samuel 

Bad conduct of Eli’s sons 

Call of Samuel 

Ark captured by Philistines 

Death ol Eli . 

Samuel, “influential citizen,” not judge. . 

Samuel, judge of Israel 

He was “judge,” but not “chief magis- 
trate” for the rest of his life, till 


Places. 

Dates. 

Ussher. 

Beecher. 

Timnath-serah 

1427 

1450(?) 


1402-1394 

1441-1434 

Near Hebron 

1394-1354 

till 1419 

No. Palestine 

1406 

141 6(?) 

> 

1354-1336 

1397-1380 

Near Jericho 

1336 

1380 

Northern tribes 

1316-1296 

1370-1351 

Southern tribes 


1353-1351 

No. Palestine 

1296 

1351 

ii 

1296 

1351 

So. Palestine 

1296 

1351 


1256-1249 

1329-1323 

So. Galilee 

1249-1209 

1323-1299 

Moab and Bethlehem 

1322 


Shechem 

1209-1206 

1298-1296 

Mt. Ephraim 

1206-1183 

1295-1273 



1283 

Gilead 

1183-1161 

1272-1251 

So. West. Israel 

1116-1096 

1250-1231 

Eastern Israel 

1161-1143 

1230-1213 

Gilead, E. Israel 

1143-1137 

1212-1207 

Bethlehem, E. Israel . . 

1137-1130 

1206-1200 

Zebulun 

1130-1120 

1199-1190 

Ephraim 

1120-1112 

1189-1182 

1182 




Western Israel 

1154-1114 

1182-1142 

Bethlehem 

1312 

1173(?) 

Ramah 


1171 (?) 

Shiloh 


1168' ' 

ii 

1141 

1160H 

Aphek 

1141 

1142 

Shiloh 

1141 

1142 

Ramah 


1141-1122 

«( 

1120-1095 

1121-1103 

ii 

1060 

1065(?) 


Other Events. 


1406, Minos, Crete(?) 
1326, Isthmian games. 


Sidon’s greatest power, 1300 
1263, Argonauts(?) 

1263, Pythian games. 

1235, Theseus(?) 

Trojan war, 1193-1183. 


1152, Alba Longa. 


Dorian Migration, 1104(?) 
Tiglath-Pileser I. 

Assyria, 1115-1105. 

Tyre first rank, 1100. 

Standard Chinese Dictionary, 
1100 . 


49 


7G9 


APPENDIX, 


V. THE UNITED KINGDOM. 




Dates. 


Events in Scripture History. 

Places. 

Ussher. 

Beecher. 

Standard 
B. D. 

Jewish 

Cyclopedia 

Other Events. 

Israel asks for a king 


1095 

1103(7) 

1102 



Chow dynasty in 

Saul chosen and made king. . . 
Saul’s victory over Ammon . . . 

Gilgal 

1095 



China brings us to 
historic ground, 

1123-255. 


1095 

1102 



Birth of David 

Bethlehem 

1085 

1092 



Saul’s final rejection and break 
with Samuel 


1079 

1078(?) 

1077(?) 

1074(7) 

1073(7) 

1071(7) 

1068-1063 



Private anointing of David 

David becomes Saul’s minstrel 

Bethlehem 

1065 





1063 



, » 

David and Goliath 

Ephes-dammim. . 

1063 




David’s marriage to Michal .... 

1062 




David’s outlaw life, 7 years 


1062-1055 




David spares Saul’s life (skirt) 
Death of Samuel 

Engedi 

1060 

1066(7) 

1065(7) 

1065(7) 

1065(7) 

1064 




Ramah 

1060 




David and Nabal 

Carmel 

1059 




The spear and the cruse incident 
David among the Philistines . . . 
Death of Saul and Jonathan. . . . 


1058 

. 

' 


Ziklag 

1057 




Gilboa 

1056 

1063 








David becomes king in Judah . . 
War between David and Ish- 
bosheth 

Hebron 

1056 

1063 

1010 


Hiram, King of Tyre, 
contemporary of 

David and Solomon. 


1056-1048 

1063-1056 


David king over all Israel 


1048 

1055 

1003 

1047 

Jerusalem becomes capital. 
Period of war 


1048-1042 

1055-1043 


Ark brought to Jerusalem 


1042 

1042(7) 
1041(7) 
1041 (?) 




The great promise to David 

Birth of Solomon 

Jerusalem 

1042 



Homer thought by 
some to be con- 

44 

1033 



Preparation for building the 
' temple 

If 



temporary with 

David. 

'Absalom’s rebellion 


1023 

1023 



Solomon anointed and pro- 
claimed 

Jerusalem 

1015 

1022 




Death of David 

(4 

1015 

1022 









Solomon becomes real king 

Temple foundations laid 

Jerusalem 

1015 

1022 

971 

1017 

Homer, 1000(?) 
Zoroaster, 1000(?) 

44 

1012 

1019 

967 

Temple dedicated 

« 

1004 

1011 

960 


Visit of Queen of Sheba to Solo- 
mon 

44 

1 

995 

995(7) 

986(7) 

983 


Shishak in Egypt. 

Jeroboam flees to Shishak in 
Egypt 


980 



Death of Solomon 

Jerusalem 

975 

931 










770 


APPENDIX 


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APPENDIX 





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APPENDIX. 


VII. THE CAPTIVITY AND RETURN. 


Jewish Events. 

Dates. 

Contemporary History. 

Ussher. 

Beecher. 

Hastings 

First captivity 

606 

605 



Final captivity 

586 

586 

586 


The golden idol 

580 

Nebuchadnezzar besieges Tyre, 585. 

jEsop. 

Evil Merodach, Babylon, 562. 

Temple of Diana, Ephesus, 552. 

Public library at Athens, 544. 

Babylon taken by Cyrus, 539. 

First year of Cyrus, 538. 

Pythagoras, 540-510. 

Last of Ezekiel’s prophecies 

571 



Jehoiachin released 

561 


Belshazzar’s feast 

538 

539 


Daniel in den of lions 

538 

538 


The decree for the return 

536 

538 

538 

End of first reckoning of 70 years 

First return. 50,000 under Zerubbabel. . . . 


538 

538-7 

Pisistratus, Athens, 560-527. 

Nabonidus, Babylon, 556. 

Darius in Babylon, 521. 

Foundation of Temple laid 


537-6 

536 

Hagqai. Long delay 


Zechariah. Building of Temple resumed. . . . 


520 

520 

Temple dedicated 

516 

516 

516 

Beginning of Roman republic, 510. 

Marathon, 490. 

Xerxes (Ahasuerus), 489. 

Invasion of Greece, 480. 

Herodotus, Socrates. 

Xenophon, Plato. 

First decemvirate, Rome, 451. 

Pericles, Athens, 444. 

Parthenon, Athens, 443-438. 

First Peloponnesian war, 431. 

Xenophon’s retreat, 401. 

End of second reckoning of 70 years 

No knowledge of events until 




Feast of Ahasuerus (Xerxes 1 


483 


Esther becomes queen 


479 


Haman’s plot 


474 


Second return under Ezra 


458 

458 

Return under Nehemiah 


Wall of Jerusalem rebuilt 


444 

445 

Malachi. Reforms 


Death of Nehemiah. After 


391 






Note. — It will perhaps be easier to understand the double reckoning of the 70 years’ captivity by the following diagram 
showing how it is reckoned as beginning at different points, and closing at equi-different points. 

First captivity, 606-605. 70 years. First return, 636. 



Final captivity, 586. 70 years. Temple completed, 516. 

Destruction of Temple. 


VIII. PERIOD BETWEEN THE TESTAMENTS. 


B. C. 

Jewish History. 

Contemporary History. 

350 

Jaddua, High Priest 

Egypt a Persian Province. 

359 

Philip II of Macedon. 

336 


Darius Codomannus, king 
of Persia. 

Alexander the Great. 

332 

Alexander visits Jem- 

Alexandria in Egvpt 


salem . 

founded. 

331 

Jews settle in Alexan- 
dria. 

Battle of Arbela. 

330 

Onias I, High Priest. 

End of Persian Empire. 

320 

Ptolemy takes Jeru- 
salem . 

Seleucidae in Svria. 

Ptolemy I, Soter. 

312 

Seleucus I, Nicator. 

301 ' 

Palestine under Egypt 

Battle of Ipsus. 

284 

Septuagint. 

264 


First Punic War: Rome. 

261 


Manetho, in Egypt. 

219 

Beginning of War of 
Antiochus and Ptol- 
emy. 

Second Punic War: Rome. 

19S 

Antiochus the Great 
master of Palestine 


170 

Tyranny of Antiochus 
Epiphanes. 


167 

Revolt of Maccabees. 


166 

Judas Maccabeus. 


165 

Rededication of Tem- 
ple. 



B. C. 

Jewish History. 

Contemporary History. 

149 


Third Punic War: Rome. 

146 


Greece a Roman Province. 

141 

Deliverance of Judea 
complete. 

109 

Pharisees and Saddu- 
cees first mentioned. 


107 

Aristobulus “king.” 


63 

Pompey captures Je- 

Judea annexed to Rome. 

58 

rusalem. 

Conspiracy of Catiline. 

Herod in Palestine. 

Caesar in Gaul. 

54 

Crassus plunders 
Temple. 

48 

Antipater procurator 
Herod governor of 
Galilee. 

Battle of Pharsalia. 

47 

Caesar dictator at Rome. 

44 


Caesar assassinated. 

40 

Herod king of Judea. 


37 

Herod takes Jeru- 
salem. 


31 

Earthquake in Judea. 

Battle op Actiuw. 

30 


Egypt a Roman Province. 

29 


Temple of Janus closed. 

27 

Herod begins rebuild- 
ing the Temple. 

Augustus made Emperor. 

19 

4 

Herod dies at Jericho 



774 


APPENDIX. 


IX. THE NEW TESTAMENT PERIOD. 


(For fuller details see Harmony of the Life of Christ, and Chronology of Acts.) 



Christian History. 

Contemporary H story. 

Dec. B. C. 5 

Birth of Christ. 

Death of Herod the Great. 

D. 30 

Crucifixion. 

Augustus Caesar, 30 B. C. to 19th August A. D. 14. 

Tiberius emp. 14 A. D.-16th March A. D. 37. 

“ 30 

Pentecost. 

Pontius Pilate, 26 A. D.-early A. D. 36. 

“ 36 

Conversion of Pau . 

Caligula emp. 16th March 37-24th January 41. 

“ 44 

Death of Herod. 

Herod Agrippa 1 made king, A. D. 37. 

» 47 

1st Missionary Journey. 

Claudius emp. 24 January 41— 13th October 54. 

“ 49 

Council at Jerusalem. 

“ 49 

2d Missionary Journey. 


“ 52 

3d Missionary Journey. 

Nero emp. 13th October 54— 9th June 68 . 

“ 60 

Paul at Rome. 

“ 62 

Close of the Acts. 

Burninz of Rome 19th Julv 64. 

“ 66 

Martyrdom of Paul. 

Outbreak of Jewish War, 66 . 

Galba, Otho, and Vitellius, emps. 9th June, 68-20th December 69. 

“ 70 

Destruction of Jerusalem. 

Vespasian emp. 1st July 69. 


DATE OF THE BIRTH OF CHRIST. 

Many people are greatly perplexed by the statement that Jesus was born four years before the time from which we 
count his birth; or, as we generally express it, “four years before Christ, i. e., December 25, B.C. 5. The reason is simple. 
No one began to reckon dates generally from the birth of Christ till centuries had passed. The general method was from 
the founding of Rome (A.U.C.) and not till after Rome ceased to be the mistress of the world would people begin to 
think seriously of a change. Finally, in A.D. 526, a monk, Dionysius Exiguus, made the calculations, but made an error 
of four years. He placed the birth of Christ in the year of Rome 754. But Herod the Great, who slew the innocents of 
Bethlehem, died in April of the year of Rome 750; so that Jesus must have been born several months before. The date, 
December 25th, is generally accepted, but we cannot be sure of that. It is quite certain, however, that Jesus must have 
been born at the very end of B.C. 5, which is practically four years before our era (one week from December 25, B.C. 5, 
would be January 1 , B.C. 4). Since it is manifestly impossible to rectify the dates in all books and records throughout 
the world, we simply apply the true dates to the life of Christ, and say he was five years old at the close of A.D. 1. 

The following table may aid in making the matter clear. 


Year of Rome ( Anno UrbisConditce=\.v.c.) 

749 

750 

751 

752 

753 

754 

755 

756 

Year of Our Lord. (Anno Domini=K.v>.) . . 

B.C. 5 

B.C. 4 

B.C. 3 

B.C. 2 

B.C. 1 

A.D. 1 

A.D. 2 

A.D. 3 

Age of Jesus 

birth 

1 st year 

2 d year 

3d year 

4th year 

5th year 

6 th year 

7 th year 


HARMONY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST. 


APPENDIX 



776 


APPENDIX 




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APPENDIX 


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HARMONY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST — Continued. 


APPENDIX 


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APPENDIX, 


CHART OF THE LIFE OF JESUS CHRIST. 

Life of Jesus 


John 
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2 ,'®. Jesus 



ad 26 \ 
summery Itv'y 


Ancestry. On one side God himself. On the other every phase 
of character, every human tendency represented in his genealogy. 

Preparations for His Coming. 

1. Universal peace. 4. The Jews with the Scriptures 

2. One empire. in all lands. 

3. One language generally known. 5. A general awakening. 

Birth of Jesus about December, B.C.5. 

Childhood and Youth. 

1. Home training. 7. Village life. 

2. Bible study. 8. Work at a trade. 

3. Schooling. 9. Knowledge of his country’s 

4. Different languages. history and hopes. 

5. Travel to Jerusalem. 10. A perfect and beautiful 

6. Great religious meetings. character. 


Preparations for His Ministry. 

1. John the Baptist. 3. The Holy Spirit. 

2. Baptism. 4. The Voice from God. 


5. Temptation. 


CJ “5 

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First Y V 27\ Year 


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Second Year 


John’s Ministry of Preparation began six months before Jesus 
began to preach, continued through the first year and three months 
into the second year. 

First Year. — Year of Beginnings. 

1. First disciples. 5. First tour. 

2. First miracle. 6. First Samaritan disciple. 

3. First reform. 7. Healing of the nobleman’s 

4. First discourse. son. 


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Second Year. — Year of Principles. 

A. Imprisonment of John the Baptist, March. 


1. The pool of Bethesda. 

2. Organization. Choosing 

apostles. 

3. Sermon on the Mount. 

4. Miracles proving his authority 

and illustrating his work. 

The year in which Jesus laid down and worked out many of the 
fundamental principles and truths of his kingdom. 


5. Forgiveness of sins. 

6. Seeking the lost. 

7. Life from the dead. 

8. The light of the world. 

9. Warnings and invitations. 
10. Parables. 


Third | Year 


^ B 

A.D. §. 


Third Year. — Year of Development. 

B. The Death of John the Baptist in March. 


1. Feeding the five thousand. 

2. Miracles: The dropsical man, 
the ten lepers, blind Bartimeus. 

3. The transfiguration. 

4. At the Feast of Tabernacles. 

5. Discourses in the Temple. 

6. Healing of one born blind. 


7. The good shepherd. 

8. Parables: The great supper, 

the lost sheep, the lost coin, 
the prodigal son, the unjust 
steward, the rich man and 
Lazarus, the pounds. 


Last Three Months 

Jan.- Feh • March- 

AD 7)0 ' 


Last Three Months. 

Raising of Lazarus. Instructions. 

Miracles. Children. 

Parables. Zaccheus. 


Last Week 


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Last Week. 

Triumphal entry. 

Cleansing the Temple. 

Last great day of public teaching. 
Instructions of his disciples. 

The Lord’s Supper. 

The trial. The crucifixion. The burial. 


.ylpril 9. Resurrection Days Jfayis 


40 days JJ Appearances 

Ascension 


TheEver living Saviour 


Resurrection Days. 

Forty days. Eleven appearances, between April 
9 and May 18, a.d. 30. 

The Ascension, Thursday, May 18, from Mount 
of Olives. 


The Ever-Living Saviour. 

Return through the Holy Spirit. A Saviour in 
heaven. Ever abiding with his people. Coming 
again in his kingdom, a universal king; the world 
redeemed. 


782 


THE APOSTLES AND THEIR HISTORY, 


APPENDIX. 


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CHRONOLOGY OF THE ACTS. 

Dates According to Recent Schemes. 


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CHRONOLOGY OF THE ACTS.— Continued. 

Dates According to Recent Schemes. 


APPENDIX. 


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abundantly accurate for all practical purposes. 


APPENDIX. 


MEASURES. 


I. Measures of Capacity (Liquid). 



Earlier. 

Later. 

Approximate. 

Litres. 

Gallons. 

Quarts. 

Pints. 

Litres. 

Gallons. 

Quarts. 

Pints. 

Gallons. 

Quarts. 

Pints 

Log- 

= Roman sextarius 

.51 



.90 

.56 



.99 


A 

2 

1 

4 

Cab 

2.05 


1 

1.6 

2.24 


1 

1.96 


2 


12 

3 

Hin 

6.12 

1 

1 

.8 

6.75 

1 

1 

1.8 


6 


72 

18 

6 

Bath= Ephah 

36.92 

8 

0 

1 

40.5 

8 

3 

1.28 

9 

36 


720 

180 

60 

10 

Homer or Cor. 

369.2 

81 

4 

0 

405. 

89 

0 

.8 

90 




“Measure” (Ps. 80:5; Isa. 40:12) =§ Bath=l Seah of Dry Measure. 

“Measure” (Luke 16:6)=Bath= about 9 gals. 

“Firkin” (John 2:6)=Gk. Metritis' = Bath= about 9 gals. 

“Pot” (Mk. 7:4) = Rom. (Sextarius = about one pint. 

These tables are in accordance with the equivalents as given in Hastings’ Bible Dictionary. The standards varied so ai 
different times it is impossible to determine with absolute exactness. The numbers in the “approximate equivalents" 
.columns are near enough for all practical purposes to-day 

The relations of these measures to one another are correct, but there is a double uncertainty as to the exact modem 
equivalents; for the capacity of the Hebrew measures cannot be accurately determined, and there is no uniformity as to 
the exact capacity of the English and American measures. There are, for instance, four different quarts in use named in 
the Century Dictionary. 

The Bath was the Unit of Liquid Measurement, as was its equivalent, the Ephah of Dry Measure, Gk. Metrites'. Accord- 
ing to Josephus it contained 72 Attic Sextarii = .96 pintX72=8 gallons, 5.12 pints, or one bushel and five pints Dry Measure. 
According to Colonel Conder, LL.D., in the Quarterly Statement of the Palestine Exploration Fund for April, 1902, the Bath 
occupied a cube of the small cubit,' 13.33 inches; or the cube of 36 barleycorns =12 inches. 

A Litre, the Unit of Capacity in the Metric System, is the volume of one kilogram of water=one cubic decimetre = 
0.88 of an imperial quart, or 1.056 United States quarts. 


II. Measures of Capacity (Dry). 



Earlier. 

Later. 

Approximate. 

Litres. 

Bushels. 

Pecks. 

Quarts. 

Pints. 

Litres. 

Bushels. 

Pecks. 

Quarts. 

Pints. 

Bushels. 

Pecks. 

Quarts. 

| Pints. 

Log. Roman -Sextarius 

.51 




.90 

.56 




.99 




1 

4 

Cab 

2.05 



1 

1.6 

2.25 



1 

1.96 



2 


7.2 

1.8 

Omer 

3.7 



3 

.5 

4.05 



3 

1.13 




7 

24 

6 


Seah 

12.3 


1 

2 

1.6 

13.5 


1 

3 

1.76 


n 



72 

18 

10 

3 

Ephah 

36.92 

1 

0 

0 

1 

40.5 

1 

0 

3 

1.28 

1 




720 

180 

100 

30 

10 

Homer or Cor. 

369.2 

10 

0 

5 

0 

405. 

11 

0 

4 

.8 

11 





“Measure” (Rev. 6:6)=Gk. Choinix = nearly one quart (.96). 

“Measure” (1 Kin. 4:22; 2 Chr. 2:10)=homer. 

“Bushel” (Mat. 5:15)=Rom. Modius = nearly a peck (.96). 

The Ephah was the Unit of Dry Measure as the Bath was of Liquid. , • , , 

According to the careful calculations of Lieut.-Gen. Sir Charles Warren an Ephah or Bath contained 2333.3 

•ubic inches. A Log contained 32.4 cubic inches, or a cube each of whose sides— 3.185 inches. 

The foregoing tables will explain many texts in the Bible. Take for instance Isa. 5:10, For 10 
field one bath (nearly 9 gallons; or 3§ quarts to an acre), and a homer of seed (10 or 11 bushels) shall yield but an Ephah 
1 bush. 3 qts.) or about Vio as much as the seed sown. 

787 


APPENDIX. 


[III. Measures of Length (Smaller). 



Roman and Attic Standard. 

Talmudic Standard. 

Metres. 

Feet. 

OQ 

O 

M 

o 

a 

HH 

Metres. 

Feet. 

7 1 

Inches. 

Digit 

= Finger breadth 

0.0185 

0 

0.728 

.023 

0 

0.91 

4 

Palm= Hand breadth 

0.074 

0 

2.912 

.092 

0 

3.64 

12 

3 

Span 

0.222 

0 

8.737 

.277 

0 

10.93 

24 

6 

2 

CuBiT=The Unit of Measure 

0.444 

1 

5.48 

.555 

1 

9.85 

144 

36 

12 

6 

Reed 

2.664 

8 

8.87 

3.330 

10 

11.10 

168 

42 

14 

7 

Ezekiel's Reed 

3.108 

10 

2.3 

3.885 

12 

8.95 


' The tables of measures of length and surface are in accord with those in Harper’s Classical Dictionary and the Oxford 
Cyclopedic concordance. The unit of measurement was the Cubit which was originally the length of the human arm from 
the elbow to the tip of the middle finger. But standards vary, although the relations of the measures to one another are 
always as given. The cubit is given, approximately, as a foot and a half, and is now generally reckoned as 18 inches, except 
where especial exactness is required. The length of the foot varied in different periods and countries. See Harper’s Classical 
Dictionary, article “Cubitus,” and the tables in the Appendix. 

The cubit in very early times is said to have been 25.19 inches; and after the Exile the legal cubit of the Talmudists 
was 21.85 inches. Col. Conder makes the cubit of 6 palms to be 16 inches, but gives five different lengths for the cubit 
according to the number of barleycorns of which three = one inch (but this varies). 

According to Lieut.-Gen. Sir Charles Warren, K.C.B., F.R.S., the length of the cubit regulated everything connected 
with weights and measures, and even the weight of the gold, silver, and copper coinage. The building cubit of Egypt was 
20.6 British inches, or 7 palms, while the common cubit was 6 palms, or 7.75 inches. “With this length Goliath at 6 cubits 
one span would have measured 9 feet 7.3 inches. The bedstead of Og (9 by 4 cubits) would have measured 13 feet 3.75 
inches by 5 feet 11 inches.” 

The metre is 39.37 English inches. 

The Fathom of Acts 27:28 is a Greek and Roman measure, of approximately 6 feet. 


IY. Measures of Length (Land and Distance). 


English Standard. 



Metres. 

Miles. 

Feet. 

Inches. 

Font =Rom. Pes 

0.296 



11.65 










11 “ = 

A 2 

1 Cubit= 

nearly 18 inches 


0.444 


1 

5.48 

5 “ = 

3| “ = 

1 Pace, Passus 

1.48 


4 

10.27 

600 “ = 

400 

120 “ = 

Furlong, stadium 

177.6 

0.110 

582 

8.40 

5000 “ = 

3333? “ = 

1000 “ = 

8 

Mile, Mille Passuum 

1480 

0.92 

4856 


5000 “ = 

3333| “ = 

1000 “ = 

8 

A Sabbath day’s journey 

1480 

0.92 

4856 



Encyclopedia Biblica names a “pace” of 2 cubits, or about 3 feet. 

A modern pace is either military =2^ ft. or geometric =5 ft. 

A furlong is often spoken of roughly as 600 ft. 

The relations of the measures to one another are correct, but the standards vary slightly. The Roman Stadium, or 
furlong, being 185 metres, the Attic 177, the Olympic 192. 

The Roman mile was a little more than nine-tenths of an English mile. 

A metre, 39.37 English inches. The English foot is .3048 of a metre. 

788 


APPENDIX. 


V. Measure op Surface (Roman). 
(Probably about the same as the Hebrew.) 


English Standard. 



Sq. ft. 

Acres. 

Sq. rods 

Pes Quadratus. 

Roman square foot 

0.9425 






14,400 

Actus Quadratus. “Furrow,” 120 ft. long, squared 

Heb. Maanah, 1 Sam. 14:14. 

13,571 

5 /l6 

49 

28,800 

2 

Jugerum = Roman acre 

Heb. Semed, “yoke,” Isa. 5: 10. 

27,143 

5 /s 

99 


The Actus was the basis of the whole system of Roman land measurement. It was 120 Roman feet long and 4 wide. 
The Actus Quadratus, or actus squared, was a square 120 feet each way. 

The Jugerum, “yoke” was the common measure of land. It was the area which a yoke of oxen could plow in one day, 
and measured 120 x 240 feet. 


WEIGHTS. 



Ordinary Heavy 
Weight. 

Light Weight. 

Grains. 

Pounds. 

Oz. 

Grains. 

Pounds. 

Oz. 

Gerah, “grain”= l /:» shekel 

11.2 



5 . 6 



5 

Rebah, “quarter”=j shekel 

56 



28 



10 

2 

Bekah, “half ”=2 shekel 

112 



56 



20 

4 

2 

Shekel 

224.5 


1 

2 

112 


1 

4 

400 

80 

40 

20 

Libra, Gk. Litra, the Pound of 
John 12:3 

5,050 


Avoir. 

11.356 




1000 

200 

100 

50 

9! 

Mina, Pound of Mat. (sil- 
ver); Maneh 

11,225 

Troy 2 
Avoir. 1 

0 

8 

5,612 

Troy 1 
Avoir. 0 

0 

12 

60,000 

12,000 

6,000 

3,000 


60 

Talent (silver); Kikkar, 
“circle” 

673,500 

Troy 

117 

Avoir. 

96i 


336,750 

Troy 

58 

Avoir. 

48 

5+ 

0 







Talent (gold) 

758,000 

Troy 

131 

Avoir. 

108 


379,000 

Troy 

65 

Avoir. 

54 

5+ 

0 


The above table is in accord with the article by A. R. S. Kennedy, D.D., in Hastings’ Bible Dictionary, and with the 
weights given in the Tables of Money. 

But there was a great variation in those times as there is now in different countries and at different times in the same 


uuuuti.y. 

Dr. Kennedy makes the shekel = 224.5. Harper’s Classical Dictionary makes it 240, and the Mina and Talent are 
increased accordingly. 

The Encyclopedia Biblica gives a large Babylonian shekel =336.6. 

The Mina (pound) Heavy Weight Troy =2 lbs. 

“ “ “ “ Avoir. = 1^ lbs. 

“ “ Light Weight Troy =1 lb. 

“ “ “ “ Avoir. =} lb. 

“ Silver Roman “ “ =1 5 /; lbs. 

“ “ Babylonian “ “ # =2§ lbs. 

The Shekel is the unit of weight. 

The Pound Avoir. = 7,000 grains. 

The Pound Troy=5,760 grains. . . 

Pound in John 12.3; 19.39=the Litra=Roman Libra =5,050 grains=ll ounces, 237§ grains. Pound :n Luke 19: 
13, etc. = the Mina. 


789 


APPENDIX. 


MONEY TABLES. 

I. Money op the Old Testament. 


Gold and Silver Values. 

Heavy or Common Standard 

Light Standard 

Weight 

in 

Grains 

Troy 

£ 

s. 

2 

1 

d. 

% 

cts. 

Weight 

in 

Grains 

Troy 

£ 

s. 

d. 

6 

4 

0 

0 

0 

$ 

cts. 

Shekel (silver) = 4 drachmas or 
denarii 

224* 


9 

nearly 


64.6 

112* 

1 

4* 

nearly 



32* 

15 

Shekel (gold) 

252* 

2 

0 

9 

69 

126* 

1 

0 

4 

85 

50 


Mina (silver) 

11,225 

6 

16 

10 

8 

32 

30 

5,612* 

3 

8 

16 

15 


50 


Mina (gold) ... . 

12,630 

102 

0 

484 

75 

6,315 

51 

5 

242 

38 

3,000 


60 

•• 

Talent (sil- 
ver) 

673,500 
= 96* 
lbs. 
Avoir. 

410 

0 

0 

1 

0 

1,940 

nearly 

00 

336,750 

205 

0 

970 

nearly 

00 


3,000 


60 

•• 

Talent 
(gold). . 

758,000 
= 108 
lbs. 
Avoir. 

6,150 

0 

29,085 

0 

379,000 

3,075 

0 

14,542 

50 

Dram, A. V. “Daric,” R. V. 
(Ezra 8:27; Neh. 7:22) a gold 
Persian coin 

130 

1 

1 

5 

60 







The shekel was the unit of value in common use. 

The value of the silver shekel varied at different times. The best specimens now extant weigh from 218 to 220 grains. 
Hastings reckons it as weighing 224* grains, as above. Harper’s Classical Dictionary makes it 240 grains. 

The reason for the different weights of the silver and gold shekels and their multiples lay in the fact that the ratio of 
silver to gold was 13.3 to 1, a very inconvenient ratio. Therefore the weight of the gold shekel was increased so that its 
value equalled 15 silver shekels. 

There are no coins mentioned in the Bible before the Exile, and only one, the gold daric, in the 0. T. There were, 
however, ingots or bars of gold and silver of definite weight for convenience of trade. 

These tables are taken from the Oxford Cyclopedic Concordance, for which the present editor computed them from a 
careful comparison of Hastings’ Bible Dictionary and Harper’s Classical Dictionary. 

One pound avoirdupois contains 7,000 grains. One pound troy contains 5,760 grains. 






790 


APPENDIX. 


II. Money of the New Testament. 
(From Augustus to Nero.) 


[ A. Copper or Brass Coins. 

Weight 
in grains, 
Harper’s 
Classical 
Dictionary 

Weight 
in grains, 
Hastings’ 
Bible 

Dictionary 

£ 

s. 

d'. 

$ 

cts. 

Mite (Greek Lepton). Matt. 12:2; Lu. 21:2; 12:59 


(Hastings 
calls it I 
farthing.) 


1 

farth. 


• 

1 

8 

2 

Farthing (Greek Kodiantes) the Roman Quadrans. Mt. 
5:16; Mk. 12:42 


(Hastings 
calls it f 
farthing) 


1 

farth. 


i 

8 

4 

Farthing, Assarion=As. Matt. 10:29; Lu. 12:6 .. 

4 



Id. 


1 

32 

16 

4 

Sestertius (Roman) 




2 


4 

128 

64 

16 

4 Denarius (Roman) see “silver coins”. . 







B. Silver Coins and Values. 




1 

2 

8 

0 

0 


* 


Denarius (Roman), the silver penny = ordinary day’s wage. 

Drachma (Greek). Matt. 29:19; Lu. 15:8; 20:24; Acts 19:19. 

60 

56 


81 


16 

2 

Didrachma, “ Tribute money.” Matt. 22:19 \ 

Half Shekel. Matt. 17:24 / 

120 

112j 


41 


32i 

4 

2 

Shekel (Jewish) = 

Stater (Roman). Matt. 17:27 1 

Tetradrachm (Greek) | 

Argurion, “piece of silver.” Matt. 26:15 . J 

240 

224* 


9 


64.6 

100 

50 

25 

Mina (=Maneh) “Pound.” Lu. 19:13-25. . 

6,000 

5,612 

3 

4 

16 

15 

6,000 

3,000 

1,500 

60 Talent. Matt. 25 

360,000 

333,750 

205 

0 

970 

00 

25 

Aureus, the gold coin in Palestine in the time of Augus- 
tus— nearly | mina. Matt. 10:9 

126 

120.3 

1 

0 

5 

nearly 

00 


The Denarius was the standard coin of Roman, as the Shekel was of Jewish, currency. The coin was about the size 
of an English half crown, and a little larger than a half dollar. 

Since in all our coins there is an appreciable amount of alloy, the calculations of the equivalents in English money are 
based upon the price at which the Royal Mint buys pure gold (in 1902) viz.: £3, 17s. 10Jd., per oz. of 480 grains. 

The equivalents in dollars and cents are based upon the amount of puresilver in the standard dollar of 416 grs. = 371§ grs. 
Silver and gold are estimated at the proportion of 16 to 1. 

The variations in the values are very perplexing. No one standard was maintained in any country during different 
periods; and standards varied greatly at the same period in different countries. The tables therefore are approximate, or 
average. But with all due allowances for variations of value of both the ancient and modern coins, it is exact enough for all 
practical purposes. 

These tables of money values will explain many parables and incidents in the Bible where money is mentioned. For 
example we can understand why Naaman (2 Kings 5:23) considered two servants necessary for carrying two talents of silver 
and a few garments, — the talents weighed 50-100 pounds each, according to the standard used. The “30 pieces of silver” 
received by Judas as the reward of his treachery amounted to $24, or, according to the value of money at that time, the 
wage of a common laborer for about six months. The poor widow commended by Christ gave only I of a cent — but it was 
all she had. The man who was given but one talent, in the parable, received at the lowest calculation nearly $1,000, 
or an amount it would have taken a laboring man twenty years to earn. 




791 


COMPARATIVE TABLE OF VALUES. 

(Silver to Gold=16 to 1.) 


APPENDIX. 


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APPENDIX. 


ANIMALS OF THE BIBLE. 

I. — Mammalia. 

For descriptions and references see under each name. Palestine has always had a large variety of animals, owing 
to the great diversity in its climate, from Alpine cold to almost torrid heat. Only the more interesting of those named 
in the Bible are here given. Those starred are not named in the Canonical books, but we know the animal existed in Bible 
lands. •_ 


Antelope (Pygarg). 

♦Dolphin (Badger). 

Jackal (Dragon and Fox). 

Antelope (Wild ox). 

Dragon (R. V. “Jackal”). 

Leopard (now rare). 

Ape. 

Dromedary (More correctly the word 

Lion (now extinct). 

Ass, Domestic. 

means" young camel”). 

Mole-rat (Chameleon). 

Ass, Wild. 

♦Elephant (?). 

Mouse. 

Badger (Dolphin?). (R. V. “Seal.”) 

Fallow deer (R. V. “Roe-buck”). 

Mule. 

Bat. 

Ferret (R. V. “Gecko,” a lizard). 

Ox. 

Bear (now rare). 

Fox (Jackal, though the true fox is 

Ox. Wild (now extinct). 

Behemoth (Hippopotamus?). 

found). 

♦Porcupine (Bittern in A. V.). 

Boar. 

Gazelle. 

Pygarg (Antelope) (now rare). 

Bull, Domestic. 

Goat. 

Ram. 

Bull, Wild. 

Goat, Wild. 

♦Rhinoceros. 

Camel. 

Greyhound (war horse?). 

Roe-buck (Gazelle). 

♦Cat. 

Hare. 

Sheep. 

Cattle. 

Hart, hind (now rare). 

Swine. 

[Chamois (Wild goat or Wild sheep). 

♦Hippopotamus (Behemoth). 

Unicorn (Wild bull) (now extinct). 

Coney. 

Horse. 

Weasel (or Pole-cat). 

Deer — various kinds. 

Dog. 

♦Hyena (probably referred to where 
translation is “doleful creatures”) . 

Wolf. 


II. — Birds. 

There are about 350 kinds of birds found in Palestine. The following are among the most interesting. For descrip- 
tions see under each name. Those marked with a star are not named in Scripture. The most of these listed in Leviticus 
and Deuteronomy are of classes rather than individuals, — “the hawk after its kind.” 


♦Bee-eater. 

Hens and Cock. 

Pelican. 

Bittern (R. V. “Porcupine”). 

Heron (R.V.“Ibis”). 

Pigeon (Turtledove). 

♦Blackbird. 

Hoopoe. 

♦Plover. 

♦Blackcap. 

Horned Owl (R. V.). 

Quail. 

♦Bulbul. 

♦Ibis (A. V. “Heron”). 

Raven. 

♦Chat. 

♦Jay. 

♦Redstart. 

Cormorant. 

Kestrel (Hawk). 

♦Robin. 

♦Corn-bunting. 

♦Kingfisher. 

♦Sand-grouse. 

Crane. 

Kite (A. V.“ Glede;” R. V. “Falcon”) 

♦Sandpiper. 

♦Crow (Raven). 

Lapwing (Hoopoe). 

Screech Owl (R.V.“ Night-monster”) 

Cuckoo (R.V.“ Sea-mew”). 

♦Lark. 

♦Shrike. 

Dove. 

Little Owl. 

Sparrow. 

♦Ducks. 

♦Magpie. 

♦Starling. 

♦Dunlin. 

Night-hawk. 

Stork. 

Eagle. 

♦Nightingale. 

♦Sunbird. 

Falcon. 

♦Nightjar (Night-hawk). 

Swallow 

Gier Eagle (R.V. “Vulture”). 

♦Nuthatch. 

Swift (Swallow). 

Glede. 

Osprey. 

♦Thrush. 

♦Goldfinch. 

Ossifrage (R. V. “Gier Eagle”). 

♦Tit, great. 

♦Grakle 

Ostrich. 

Turtledove. 

Great Owl (R.V. “ Arrowsnake”). 

Owl. 

Vulture. 

♦Grouse (Sand-grouse). 

Partridge. 

♦Wagtail. 

♦Harrier. 

Hawk. 

Peacock. 

♦Water-rail. 


III. — Fish and Water Animals. 

(a) Fish. 

No fish are named specifically in the Bible. A few of the more common found in the inland waters are given below. 
Tristram mentions 43 species. 


Bream. 

Carp. 

Perch. 

Dogfish. 

Barbel. 

Minnow. 

Sheath-fish (unedible). 

Skates (unedible). 

Lampreys (unedible). 

Sharks (unedible). 

Eels (unedible). 

Those marked “ unedible” were pro- 
hibited by the laws of Israel, and 
are not now eaten by the Arabs. 

For descriptions of those named 

(6) Water Animals. 
in the Bible see under each name. 


Jonah’s “Great fish” (Shark?). 

Pearls (the producer not named). 

Sponge. 

Tobit’s fish=Sheath-fish(?). 

Pur pie = tb e mur ex. 

Whale (crocodile?). (R. V “Sea- 

Onycha 

Corals. 

monster.”) 


794 


APPENDIX 


IV. — Reptiles and Amphibia. 


Names starred not found in Authorized 
Adder (sometimes generic). 

Asp. 


Chameleon (A. V. “Mole”). 
Chameleon = monitor lizard(?). 
Cockatrice. 

’Crocodile (A. V. “tortoise”). 
’Crocodile (A. V. “Leviathan”). 


Version, but the beast is 
Dragon = any monster. 

Frog. 

’Gecko (A. V. “Ferret”). 
Leviathan = Crocodile. 
Lizard. 

Serpent (generic term). 


probably meant. 

’Toad. 

Tortoise. 

V iper. 

Arrowsnake (R. V.) (A. V. “Great 
owl”). 

Basilisk. 


V. — Insects and Other Smaller Animals. 


Ant. 

Fly (many varieties). 

Moth. 

Bee. 

Gnat. 

Palmer- worm = locust. 

Beetle (R. V. Cricket) = locust (?). 

G rasshopper = locust. 

Scorpion. 

Canker-worm = locust. 

Hornet. 

Snail. 

Caterpillar = locust. 

Horse-leech. 

Spider. 

’Cochineal — from which comes “crim- 

Lice. 

Wasp. 

8on”or “scarlet.” 

Locust — several varieties. 

Worm. 

Flea. 

’Mosquito. 


BOTANY OF THE BIBLE. 


Owing to the great variety of climate— from Alpine cold to torrid heat— we find the plants of al! zones in Palestine. 
Those mentioned in the Bible are noted below. Those names prefixed by an asterisk (’) are not found in the A. V., but 
the plants are supposed to be indicated by the original text. For descriptions see under each name. 


Algum or Almug tree. 

Fir. 

Oak (generic). 

Almond tree. 

Fitches. 

Oil tree (generic). 

Aloes or Lign-Aloes. 

Flag (generic term). 

Olive. 

Anise (Dill). 

Flax. 

Onions. 

Apple. 

Frankincense. 

Palm tree. 

Ash. 

Galbanum. 

Pannag. 

Balm or Balsam. 

Gall. 

Pine tree. 

Balsam. 

Garlic. 

Pomegranate. 

Barley. 

Gopherwood. 

Poplar. 

Bay tree. 

Gourd. 

Pulse (generic). 

Bdellium (?). 

Gourd, Wild. 

Reed (generic). 

Bean. 

Grass (generic). 

Rose of Sharon (Narcissus). 

Box tree. 

Hay (generic term). 

Rue. 

Bramble, brier (generic term). 

Hazel (Almond). 

Rush. 

Bulrush (generic term). 

Heath. 

Rye. 

Bush (Burning). 

Hemlock. 

Saffron. 

Calamus. 

Herbs, Bitter (generic). 

Shittah tree. 

Camphire (Henna). 

Husks (Carob). 

Shittim wood. 

Cane. 

Hyssop. 

Sodom, Vine of. 

’Caper-berry (R. V. of Eccl. 12 : 5; 

Juniper. 

Spelt. 

A. V. “desire”). 

’Ladanum (A. V. “Myrrh”). 

Spicery. 

Cassia. 

Leeks. 

Spikenard. 

Cedar. 

Lentils. 

Stacte. 

Chestnut tree. 

Lily (generic). 

’Styrax. 

Cinnamon. 

Mallow (Salt wort). 

Sycamine. 

’Citron (see Apple). 

Mandrake. 

Sycomore. 

Cockle. 

Manna-tree. 

Tares. 

Coriander. 

Melons (generic). 

Teil tree. 

Corn (= grain). 

Millet. 

Terebinth. 

’Cotton. 

Mint. 

Thistle. 

Cucumber. 

Mulberry. 

Thistle, Thorn (generic). 

Cummin. 

Mustard. 

Thyine wood. 

Cypress. 

Myrrh. 

Vine. 

’Dill (Anise). 

Dove’s dung. 

Myrtle. 

Weeds (Seaweed). 

Nard (Spikenard). 

Wheat. 

Ebony. 

Nettles (generic). 

Willow (generic). 

Elm. 

Fig tree. 

Nuts. 

Wormwood. 


MINERAL SUBSTANCES OF THE BIBLE. 


For description see under each name. 


Bitumen, A. V. “slime.” 

Clay, for house - building; “mud 
houses.” 

Clay, for brick-making. 

Nitre, carbonate of soda. 

“Red earth.” 

Salt. 

Sand. 

Sulphur. 


METALS OF THE BIBLE. 


Copper, brass (better bronze). 

Iron and steel. 

Silver. 

Gold. 

Lead. 

Tin. 


795 


APPENDIX. 


Adamant (= corundum?). 

Agate. 

Amber (probably the yellow amber). 
Amethyst. 

Beryl (A. V. onyx). 

Carbuncle = garnet (?). 

Chalcedony. 

Chrysolite = topaz (?). 

Chrysoprase. 

Diamond. 


PRECIOUS STONES OF THE BIBLE. 

Emerald. 

Jacinth or Hyacinth. 
Jasper. 

Ligure. 

Onyx. 

Sapphire. 

Sardine or Sardius. 
Sardonyx. 

Topaz = Chrysolite(?). 


LAKES AND SEAS OF SCRIPTURE. 


Sea of Galilee; also known as 

“Salt Sea ”= Dead Sea. Also known as 

Sea of Chinnereth. 

Sea of the Arabah. 

Sea of Chinneroth. 

Sea of the Plain. 

Lake of Gennesaret. 

“East Sea.” 

Lake of Tiberias. 

“The Sea.” 

“Great Sea ” = the Mediterranean. 



MOUNTAINS OF SCRIPTURE. 


Abarim. 

Gerizim. 

Hor (another). 

Nebo. 

Ararat. 

Gilboa. 

Horeb. 

Olivet. 

Bashan. 

Gilead. 

Lebanon. 

Seir. 

Carmel. 

Hermon. 

Moab, Mts. of. 

Sinai. 

Ebal. 

Hor. 

Moriah. 

Tabor. 

Zion or Sion. 


RIVERS AND BROOKS OF SCRIPTURE. 


Abana, River. 

Arnon, River. 

Chebar, River (canal). 

Cherith, Brook. 

Egypt, River of (R. V. Brook of). 

Egypt, Stream of (Nile). 

Euphrates, River. 

Gihon, River. 

Hiddekel, River. 

Jabbok, River. 

Jordan, River. 

Kanah, River (R. V. Brook). 

Kidron, Brook. 

Kishon, River. 

Pharpar, River. 

Pison, River. 

Zared, Brook. 

BREASTPLATE OF THE HIGH PRIEST. 

(Set in gold) R. V. Ex. 28: 17-20. The names are taken 
from the text and margin of the R. V. of Exodus. The 
figures show the order of the stones as given in Exodus. 

RECKONING OF DAY AND NIGHT. WATCHES. 

The Natural Day was from sunrise to sunset. 

The Natural Night was from sunset to sunrise. 

The Civil Day was from sunset one evening to sunset 
the next; for “the Evening and the Morning were 
the first day.” 

3 

Emerald. 

2 

Topaz. 

1 

Ruby, or Sardius. 

6 

Sardonyx. 
(Diamond, A. V.) 

5 

Sapphire. 

4 

Carbuncle. 

Night (Ancient). 

First Watch (Lam. 2: 19) till midnight. 

Middle Watch (Jud. 7: 19) till 3 a. m. 

Morning Watch (Ex. 14: 24) till 6 A. m. 

9 

Amethyst. 

8 

Agate. 

7 

Amber, or Jacinth. 

12 

Jasper. 

11 

Beryl. 

10 

Chalcedony, or 
Chrysolite. 

Day (Ancient). 

Morning till about 10 a. m. 

Heat of day till about 2 p. m. 

Cool of day till about 6 p. m. 

Night (New Testament). 

First Watch, evening = 6 to 9 p.m. 

Second Watch, midnight— 9 to 12 p. m. 

Third Watch, cock-crow =12 to 3 a. m. 

Fourth Watch, morning = 3 to 6 a.m. 

Day (New Testament). 

Third hour = 9 a.m. 

Sixth hour = 12 midday. 

Ninth hour = 3 p.m. 

Twelfth hour= 6 p. m. 

JEWISH SECTS AND PARTIES. 

The following is a list of the main distinctions in Biblical 
times: — 

1. Pharisees ] 

2. Sadducees | Distinctions chiefly religious. 

3. Essenes ) 

4. Herodians | 

* Gahteans 1 Distinctions chiefly political. 

7. Assassins J 

Subordinate terms connected with the above. 

8. Scribes. 12. Publicans. 

9. Lawyers. 13. Samaritans. 

10. Nazirites. 14. Sanhedrin. 

11. Proselytes. 15. Synagogue. 

See under each title. 


796 


APPENDIX. 


STATISTICS OF THE BIBLE. 



Old Testament. 

New Testament. 

Whole Bible. 

Number of books 

39 

27 

66 

Number of chapters 

929 

260 

1,189 

Number of verses 

23,214 

7,959 

31,173 

Number of words 

592,439 

181,253 

773,692 

Number of letters 

2,728,100 • 

838.380 

3,566,480 

Middle book 

Proverbs. 

2 Thessalonians. 

Micah and Nahum. 

Middle chapter 

Job 29. 

Romans 13 and 14. 

Psalm 117. 

Middle verse 

2 Chronicles 20: 17. 

Acts 17: 17. 

Psalm 118: 8. 

Least book 

Obadiah. 

3 John. 

3 John. 

Least verse 

1 Chronicles 1: 1. 

John 11: 35. 

John 11: 35. 


These facts were ascertained by a gentleman in 1718; also by an English gentleman, at Amsterdam, in 1772; and the 
investigation is said to have taken each gentleman three years. 


MIRACLES IN THE OLD TESTAMENT. 


There is much difference of opinion as to what constitutes a miracle, in the sense of making it suitable for classification 
in such a list as this. Numbers of these events are not necessarily miracles; e. g. the plagues of Egypt; but the concurrence 
of so many, with the fact of their coming at the exact moment when most needed, shows it must have been by the hand of 
God, even though he used his own laws in carrying out his designs. 


Miracles. 


Aaron’s rod turned into a serpent 

The ten plagues of Egypt: 

1. Water turned into blood 

2. Frogs 

3. Lice 

4. Flies. 

5. Murrain 

6. Boils and blains 

7. Thunder and hail 

8. Locusts 

9. Darkness 

10. Death of the first born 

Parting of the waters of the Red Sea 

The curing of the waters of Marah 

Feeding with manna 

Water from the rock at Rephidim 

Death of Nadab and Abihu 

Burning of the Congregation at Taberah 

Death of Korah, Dathan and Abiram 

Budding of Aaron’s rod at Kadesh r 

Water from the rock at Meribah 

The brazen serpent 

The stoppage of the Jordan stream 

Staying of sun and moon under Joshua(?) 

Smiting of Philistines and fall of Dagon 

Death of Uzzah when he touched the ark 

Withering of Jeroboam’s hand, and destruction of altar at Bethel 
The staying of the cruse of oil and meal at Zarephath (Elijah) 

The raising of the widow’s son at Zarephath (Elijah) 

The burning of the sacrifice at Mt. Carmel (Elijah) 

Burning of the captains and their companies (Elijah) 

Dividing the waters of Jordan (Elijah) 

Dividing of the waters of Jordan (Elisha) 

Cure of the waters of Jericho (Elisha) 

“Tearing” of the mocking lads at Bethel (Elisha^ 

Supply of water to the allied armies in Moab (Elisha) 

Increase of the widow’s oil (Elisha) 

Raising of the Shunammite’s son (Elisha) 

Healing the deadly pottage (E isha) •• •.•••• 

Feeding one hundred men with twenty loaves (Eiisha) 

Cure of Naaman's -eprosy and its transfer to Gehazi (Elisha) 

Making an iron axe swim (Elisha) 

Smiting the Syrian army (Elisha) ■••••• 

Resurrection of a dead man by touching bones of Elisha 

Destruction of Sennacherib’s army • • 

Return of the sun by the dial of Ahaz 

Smiting of Uzziah with leprosy 

Deliverance of the three children from the fiery iurnace 

Deliverance of Daniel from the lions 

Deliverance of Jonah from the sea monster 


References. 


Exod. 7 : 10-12. 

Exod. 7 : 20-25. 

“ 8 : 5-14. 

“ 8 : 16-18. 

“ 8 : 20-24. 

“ 9 : 3-6. 

“ 9 : 8-11. 

“ 9 : 22-26. 

“ 10 : 12-19. 

“ 10 : 21-23. 

“ 12 : 29-30. 

“ 14 ; 21-31. 

“ 15 : 23-25. 

“ 16 : 14-35 

“ 17 : 5-7. 

Lev. 10 : 1-2. 

Num. 11 : 1-3. 

“ 16 : 31-35. 

“ 17|: 8. 

“ 20 : 7-11. 

“ 21 : 8-9. 

Josh. 3 : 14-17. 

“ 10 : 12-14. 

1 Sam. 5 : 3-12. 

2 Sam. 6 : 7. 

1 Kings 13 : 4-6. 

1 Kings 17 : 14-16. 

“ 17 : 17-24. 

“ 18 : 30-38. 

2 Kings 1 : 10-12. 

“ 2 : 7-8. 

“ 2 :14. 

“ 2 : 21 - 22 . 

“ 2 : 24. 

“ 3 : 16-20. 

“ 4 : 2-7. 

“ 4 : 32-37. 

“ 4 : 38-41. 

“ 4 : 42-44. 

“ 5 : 10-14,27. 

“ 6 : 5-7. 

“ 6 : 18-20. 

“ 13 : 21. 

“ 19 : 35. 

“ 20 : 9-11. 

2 Chr 26 : 16-21. 

Dan. 3 : 19-27. 

“ 6 : 16-23. 

Jon. 2 : 1-10. 


797 


APPENDIX. 


MIRACLES OF OUR LORD. 


Miracles. 

Mat. 

Mark. 

Luke. 

John. 

I. Narrated in one Gospel only. 

9:27 





9:32 

17:24 




When Christ passed unseen through the multitude 

7:31 

8:22 

4:30 

5:1 





7:11 

13:11 

14:1 

17:11 





22:50 






2:1 





4:46 





5:1 





9:1 





11:43 





21:1 

II. Narrated in two Gospels. 


1:23 

4:33 


Healing centurions ppryant (of palsy) 

8:5 


7:1 


The blind and dumb demnniae 

12:22 


11:14 


Heal'ng the daoghtpr nf the Syrnphenieian 

15:21 

7:24 



JTppfJjjUpr |hp four thousand 

15:32 

8:1 



Cursing the fig tree 

21:18 

11:12 



III. Narrated in three Gospds. 

Healing the leper* ttt 

8:2 

1:40 

5:12 


Healing Peter’s mnt.her-in-law 

8:14 

1:30 

4:38 


PtilhnP t-hft storm . 

8:26 

4:37 

8:22 


'Php Ipyinn .nf devils entering swine 

8:28 

5:1 

8:27 


Healing the man sick of the palsy 

9:2 

2:3 

5:18 


TTenlina woman with issue nf hlnod 

9:20 

5:25 

8:43 


Raising of Jainis* daughter 

9:23 

5:38 

8:49 


Healing the man with a withered hand 

12:10 

3:1 

6:6 


Walking the sea 

14:25 

6:48 


6:19 

during demnniae. ehild 

17:14 

9:17 

9:38 


Curing hlind Rartimsens (two blind men, Mat. 20.) 

20:30 

10:46 

18:35 


IV. Narrated in four Gospels. 

Reeding the five thousand 

14:19 

6:35 

9:12 

6:5 





MIRACLES IN THE EARLY CHURCH. 


M [RACLES. 

References. 

Gift of tongues at Pentecost 

Acts 2 : 1-14 

Healing of the lame man at the Temple gate by Peter and John 

“ 3 : 1-11 

Death of Ananias and Sapphira at word of Peter 

“ 5 : 1-11 

Numerous acts of healing at Jerusalem by all the Apostles 

“ 5 : 12-16 

Opening of the prison doors to the Apostles 

“ 5 : 17-25 

Case3 of healing in Samaria by Philip the Deacon 

“ 8:6, 7, 13 
“ 9 : 32-35 

Cure of iEneas at Lydda by Peter 

Raising of Dorcas at Joppa by Peter 

“ 9 : 36-41 

Deliverance of Peter from prison at Jerusalem 

“ 12 : 5-17 

Blindness of Elymas. at Cyprus, at word of Paul 

“ 13 : 9-11 

Healing of impotent man at Lystra by Paul 

“ 14 : 8-12 

Cure of possessed girl at Philippi by Paul 

“ 16 : 16-18 

Numerous miracles of healing by Paul 

“ 19 : 11, 12 

Raising of Eutychus at Troas by Paul 

“ 20 : 7-12 

Cure of Publius and others at Malta by Paul 

“ 28 : 7-10 



798 


APPENDIX 


PARABLES. 

Parables in the Old Testament. 


Parables. 

By Whom Spoken. 

References. 

The ewe lamb 

Nathan to David 

2 Sam. 12 : 1-4. 

Two brethren and avengers 

Widow of Tekoah 

2 Sam. 14 : 1-11. 

Escaped captive 

Man of the sons of the prophets to Ahab 

1 Kings 20 : 35-40. 

Isa. 5 : 1-7. 

Vinevard and grapes 

Isaiah to Judah and Jerusalem 

Eagles and vine 

Ezekiel to Israel 

Ezek. 17 : 3-10. 

Lions’ whelps 

Ezekiel to Israel 

Ezek. 19 : 2-9. 

The boiling pot 

Ezekiel to Israel 

Ezek. 24 : 3-14. 

Parabolic Fables. 

Trees choosing a king 

Jotham to Shechemites 

Judges 9 : 7-15. 

1 Kings 22 : 19-23. 

2 Kings 14 : 9; 2 Chron. 25:18. 

Micaiah’s vision 

Thistle and cedar 

Jehoash to Amaziah 




Parables of our Lord. 


Parables. 

Matt. 

Mark. 

Luke. 

Leading Lessons. 

I. Recorded in one Gospel. 

The tares 

13:24 



Good and evil in life and judgment. 

Value of the gospel. 

The seeker finding salvation. . 

Visible Church a mixed body. 

Duty of forgiveness. 

Precedence in service gives no claim to 
priority in reward. 

Insincerity and repentance. 

Necessity of robe of righteousness. 

Watchful preparation and careless security. 
Use of advantages. 

Love the test of life. 

The hid treasure . . . 

13:44 



The goodly pearl. . 

13:45 



The draw-net 

13:47 



The linmereifnl servant 

18:23 



The labourers in the vineyard 

20:1 



The two sons 

21:28 



Thp. marriage of t,hp king’s son 

22:2 



The ten virgins. . 

25:1 



The talents 

25:14 



The sheep and goats 

25:31 



The seed growing secretly. . . 

4:26 


The law of growth in religion. 

Watchfulness. 

The householder 


13:34 


The two debtors 


7:41 

Gratitude for pardon. 

Active benevolence. 

The good Samaritan. . 



10:30 

The importunate friend . . 



11:5 

Perseverance in prayer. 

The rich fool 



12:16 

W orldly-mindedness. 

Servants watching 



12:35 

Expectancy of the Second Coming. 
Conscientiousness in trust. 

The wise steward 



12:42 

The barren fig tree .... 



13:6 

Unprofitableness under grace. 

The great, supper 



14:16 

Universality of the Divine call. 

Tower - king going to war 



14:28 

Prudence and self-denial. 

Thp pippp nf moripy 



15:8 

Joy over penitence. 

The prodigal son 



15:11 

Fatherly love to returning sinner. 

Thp n n just, steward 



16:1 

Faithfulness to trust. 

The rich man and Lazarus 



16:19 

Hopeless future of the unfaithful. 

God’s claim on all our service. 

TTnprofi table, servants 



17:7 

The unjust, judge 



18:2 

Advantage of persevering prayer. 

Thp Pharisee and publican 



18:10 

Self-righteousness and humility. 

The pounds 



19:12 

Diligence rewarded, sloth punished. 

II. Recorded in two Gospels. 

TTonse on rock and on the sand 

7:24 


6:47 

Consistent and false profession. 

The leaven 

13:33 


13:20 

Pervading influence of religion. 

The lost sheep 

18:12 


15:4 

Joy over penitent. 

III. Recorded in three Gospels. 
Handle under a bushel 

5:15 

4:21 

8:16; 11:33 

Dissemination of truth. 

New cloth on old garment 

9:16 

2:21 

5:36 

New doctrine on old prejudices. 

New wjne in old hot, ties 

9:17 

2:22 

5:37 

New spirit in unregenerate heart. 

The sower 

13:3 

4:3 

8:5 

Hearers divided into classes. 

Thp mustard-seed 

13:31 

4:30 

13:18 

Spread of the gospel. 

The wicked husbandmen 

21:33 

12:1 

20:9 

Rejection of Christ by the Jews. 

The fig tren and all the trees 

24:32 

13:28 

21:29 

Indications of Second Advent. 






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